Michael Sheen is an actor, director and Welshman who describes his vision and impact of the Welsh National Theatre, exploring how the stage can reflect and shape national identity, and what can be learned from football scouts to find the next generation of talent. Convicted fraudster Alex Wood reveals how he went from a would be child prodigy violinist to defrauding millions of pounds out of people. Now, he is a fraud hunter looking for personal redemption whilst helping the police and presentin...
Nov 22, 2025•57 min
On a wet and windy Saturday Live, Hollie Cook joins us to discuss a career that has seen her music streamed millions of times online, as well what it's like to be raised by a Sex Pistol - her dad, Paul Cook is with us too, still drumming up a storm half a century after it all started. The almost indecently talented Jasmine Mitchell - completing a degree in medicine while finding time to win Bake Off by a country mile. Extreme cleaner Ben Giles started out cleaning windows, and moved into cleanin...
Nov 15, 2025•57 min
The acclaimed illustrator and children’s author Oliver Jeffers discuses the power of fatherhood in both his life and work, from his father's visionary education beliefs during The Troubles, to how his own role as a father feeds into his work - his new book is "I'm Very Busy". Eleanor Thatcher, is a fifth generation cider maker, and the first woman in the family to join the senior leadership of Thatchers, she reveals the wise words that have been passed down the family tree. Lesley Pearse is a pr...
Nov 08, 2025•56 min
Ken Follett has sold 200 million books around the world, in more than 80 countries and into 30 different languages. He made his breakthrough with spy thrillers before working his way back through time, and now we find him telling the story of the building of Stonehenge in his latest book, "Circle of Days". The Macabees musician Felix White wanted to be a footballer, didn’t we all, until it became clear to him aged seven that he wasn’t good enough... so he turned to Football Manager by post. Foot...
Nov 01, 2025•56 min
Sir David Suchet has reignited his little grey cells to traverse the world, following in the footsteps of the great Agatha Christie in a new book and television series "Travels with Agatha Christie". Tony Foster is also a keen traveller, as an adventure artist he has ventured deep into the world’s wildernesses, painting 17,000ft up Mount Everest and in the very heart of the Grand Canyon. Stacey McNeil is someone else who finds inspiration from nature and expresses it through her art - after bein...
Oct 25, 2025•57 min
Peter James is one of the UK's bestselling authors who's Detective Grace series now hosts Queen Camila in a staring role, by Royal request, in his latest novel "The Hawk is Dead". But this isn't his first familial involvement with the Royal family, as his mother was the official glovemaker to Queen Elizabeth II. Jim Ashworth-Beaumont was a former army veteran and skilled prosthetics expert - until one day a dramatic crash with a lorry, whilst out cycling, left him needing his own expertise. Eliz...
Oct 18, 2025•57 min
It’s often said that one pretty sure route to happiness is to find something you love doing, and then make a career out of doing it, and seems to be exactly what Susie Dent has managed to do with her lifelong fascination with words. In her new book "The Roots We Share" Susie spreads her love of language. Fekky grew up in Lewisham, and used music as his escape from a life of gangs and violence. But during lockdown he, like many of us, found his green fingers and has since upped sticks and moved t...
Oct 11, 2025•56 min
Priscilla Presley met Elvis in Germany aged 14, moving with him to Graceland at 17 before their marriage, but despite the glamour surrounding their lives, Priscilla’s experience was marked by emotional complexity. In her new memoir, 'Softly as I Leave You', she reveals how she felt she was “living his life”. Ann Cleeves has written 37 novels, garnering huge critical acclaim. Her work’s been translated into more than 20 languages, including television, with adaptations of her work yielding ITV’s ...
Oct 04, 2025•57 min
Mary Portas revolutionised the art of window dressing during her time at Harvey Nichols when, still in her 20's, she rose beyond the all male leadership team to bring the brand into the 21st Century and grab headlines for their displays. In her new memoir "I Shop, Therefore I Am" she lets us see through the shop window to reveal the untold stories behind the success. Dr Grace Spence Green had been dreaming about becoming a paediatrician ever since she was seven years-old. But after a freak incid...
Sep 27, 2025•57 min
We all know Lulu for her breakout hit Shout, voicing the theme tune to James Bond's The Man With a Golden Gun, and winning Eurovision in an unprecedented 4-way tie. But, in her new memoir If You Only Knew, she reveals how her childhood in Glasgow was marked by trauma, her father was an alcoholic and mother never fully came to terms with being given away as a baby. Sami Tamimi first arrived in London from Palestine, in 1997, as a wide-eyed chef in his twenties looking to shake up the Arabic food ...
Sep 20, 2025•56 min
Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith have worked together for three decades on the likes of The League of Gentlemen and Inside No. 9. But, despite creating some of television's most twisted characters the pair are, as far as we can tell, relatively normal off-screen - Reece is a keen home-baker and Steve loves a good cryptic crossword. Today John Amaechi is a psychologist and leadership consultant, but in a previous life he was an NBA star. But, John spent most of his childhood in Stockport feel...
Sep 13, 2025•57 min
Former Children's Laureate, Michael Rosen, shares his guide to hope and happiness during troubling times in the world and after his battle against Covid-19 during the pandemic - plus he reveals the joy of returning to work with "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" illustrator, Helen Oxenbury, for the first time in more than 30 years with "Oh Dear, Look What I Got!". Kristie De Garis is a writer, photographer and one of the few female dry stone wallers in the UK. Based in Perthshire, she fixes the cracks...
Sep 06, 2025•57 min
Adam Kay from delivering babies to delivering punchlines, the former obs and gynae doctor turned BAFTA-winning writer and comedian, now stitches together stories in his bestselling books. The beloved voice of Dexys Midnight Runners and Dexys - the singer-songwriter Kevin Rowland. He’s traded melodies for memories in his raw and revealing memoir. And penning stories, teaching other writers and also throwing punches - the author Anna Whitwham proves she’s as fierce a pugilist as she is a wordsmith...
Jul 19, 2025•1 hr
Award-winning historian, broadcaster, and author Bettany Hughes wrote her first book when she was just five years old. Now she's written her first ever children's book, as part of her mission to make history accessible to all. Jay McGuiness swapped the glittery Strictly ballroom and The Wanted tour bus for the West End stage - and now has written a fantasy trilogy! And Dave Fishwick - the real Dave behind the hit Netflix film 'The Bank of Dave' - shares his inspiring life story, which all starte...
Jul 12, 2025•1 hr 2 min
Mother of champions and former tennis star and coach herself... Judy Murray has swapped a killer forehand for the mighty pen. Richard Turner is a cult survivor who knows a thing or two about love bombing, gaslighting and the prosperity gospel, but it was his autism diagnosis that opened his eyes to the truth. Defne Suman, is an acclaimed Turkish author, and hatha yoga teacher, whose novels unearth forgotten histories and turn memory into literature with sociological insight. All that plus the In...
Jul 05, 2025•1 hr 3 min
Dudley’s finest, Sir Lenny Henry, has always used his comedic and acting talents to infuse characters with humour and heart - his Comic Relief work turned laughter into social impact and he now has a list of ‘brilliant things’ to share. Violinist and Daughter of Dublin Aoife Ní Bhriain has, through her music, blended traditional Irish sounds with modern innovation, turning cultural roots into contemporary expressions. And, hailing from Nottingham, former refuse worker turned screenwriter William...
Jun 28, 2025•1 hr 3 min
Double BAFTA winning and shapeshifting actor Adeel Akhtar has been seen on screen in Murdered by My Father, Sherwood and Fool Me Once and on stage he’s currently playing a politician in The Estate. Terry Deary is the bestselling author of Horrible Histories and has now written his first adult crime thriller…Actually, I’m A Murderer. And Charlotte Philby is the investigative journalist, author of spy thrillers, and has uncovered the women behind her grandfather's double life as one of the Cambrid...
Jun 21, 2025•1 hr 3 min
Actor, director and playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah on the big decisions he’s faced from changing his name to the Herculean task of writing a super-hero musical. Mohammed Belal... Who became England's first paralysed surgeon after a cycling accident. He faced years of rehabilitation to return to work. George Egg who mixes comedy and cooking and says good nosh doesn’t have to be posh and how cooking helped him after the death of his father. Inheritance Tracks are picked by DJ-turned-novelist Fearne C...
Jun 14, 2025•1 hr 3 min
A man who serves up laughs and heart in equal measure - teller of stories David Baddiel is a comedian, author, screenwriter and presenter who has most recently taken inspiration from the humble burger. Mikey Please is the BAFTA winning short film maker. His stop-motion magic with Aardman Studios conjured the Oscar-nominated Robin Robin and has just won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. And fresh from one of her many eating sprees, the globe-trotting foodie and sustainability sage Leyla Kazi...
Jun 07, 2025•1 hr
Ashley Walters, the powerhouse actor, producer and rapper, who’s delivered unforgettable performances in Top Boy and the recent global Netflix hit Adolescence, his memoir unveils a tapestry of his inner workings, woven with candour and introspection. Rhys Darby is one of New Zealand’s finest comedy exports. Famous for his boundless curiosity and for blending quirky wit and brilliance he’ll tell us about being a real-life soldier and on-screen pirate. Plus his current stand-up tour. And Helen Led...
May 31, 2025•1 hr 1 min
Fresh from her recent BAFTA success – the award-winning actress, writer and producer - Ruth Jones is with us. Ruth’s latest book of fiction is a story where the main character embarks on one last investigation for a council’s Unclaimed Heirs Unit... and along the way, the character discovers the importance of holding onto friendship and community. He's the architectural alchemist who has guided us through communities around the UK, where people who turn their creative dreams into homes. The TV p...
May 24, 2025•56 min
Writer Francesca Simon swapped Californian sunshine for life in the UK, where she created one of the most iconic characters in children’s literature — Horrid Henry. She joins us to talk fairy folklore, presidential ambitions, and the stories that shaped her. Jude Kelly, founder of Women of the World and one of the UK’s most influential cultural figures, shares her journey from Toxteth to the South Bank. Writer Sophie Pierce and artist Alex Murdin open up about how the wild beauty of Dartmoor hel...
May 17, 2025•1 hr 3 min
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
May 10, 2025•58 min
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
May 03, 2025•1 hr 1 min
Broadcaster Jeremy Vine, who disappointingly didn't make his way to the studio on a penny farthing is here in his capacity as an Agatha Christie loving author. Poppy Okotcha, the model-turned-horticulturist, has swapped Vivienne Westwood runways for an edible and medicinal garden. Dr. Jack Mosley, son of the late Michael Mosley, has shut out the food noise to continue his father's legacy. All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of Nigel Havers. Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw Stephens Producer: Ben ...
Apr 26, 2025•58 min
One of Britain's best former art forgers, ‘brushstroke alchemist’ David Henty, has been called a Master Craftsman of his art with over 30 years' experience, producing near original copies. Sophie Pierce didn’t think she’d live to thirty but has just become the first person with cystic fibrosis to complete a world record breaking rowing challenge across the Atlantic. The writer and illustrator Nick Butterworth, who was raised above a corner shop in Essex full of sweets, wasn't able to read until ...
Apr 19, 2025•1 hr 3 min
Oscar award winning lyricist Sir Tim Rice, the man behind some of the world's most beloved musicals. From Evita to The Lion King, he's currently on tour bringing his own life stories and hit-filled career to a stage near you. Novelist Sareeta Domingo joins Saturday Live, she faced her own life altering plot-twist, when she was diagnosed with cancer. It proved to be more than a chapter to endure, it became a catalyst to re-examine who she is. And Alan Toyne joins the programme, a former zookeeper...
Apr 12, 2025•1 hr 3 min
The writer and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth discusses his love of words and language. Lorna Tucker is the fearless and celebrated filmmaker who rose from homelessness and a life of crime on the streets of Soho to Sundance glory. And Paul Lamb the wagon-living-hedge-laying wizard, who weaves living masterpieces from nature’s tangle, restoring ancient countryside hedgerows and keeping alive a vanishing ancient craft. Plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of the stand-up comedian and writer Sophie Duk...
Apr 05, 2025•1 hr 1 min
The author Michael Morpurgo, whose stories have enchanted children across the world...he’s now turned to non-fiction with a book for adults proving that the most magical storytellers have very real lives. Journalist and writer John Harris is a music chronicler and critic of music and critic since the age of nineteen...music’s been a massive part of his life, and now more than ever as it’s worked a kind of magic his son James who has autism. She bared all to help a friend, Tricia Stewart is one o...
Mar 29, 2025•1 hr 5 min
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Mar 22, 2025•1 hr 1 min
