Saturday Live

Joining Adrian this week on Saturday Live, BBC Radio treasure and bestselling author Sara Cox. She just taken over BBC Radio 2's breakfast show but has found the time to write a brand new novel, 'The Truth of Us' that is published on the 16th July. We have the Booker Prize Winning Author and poet Ben Okri, he is a giant amongst writers, a master storyteller with a fascinating life story of his own to tell. And Chris Terill has more than 200 documentaries under his belt, awards galore, and a long career worthy of a documentary in its own right. Plus, the inheritance tracks of the chef and restaurateur behind Mowgli Street Food restaurants, Nisha Katona. Presenter: Adrian Chiles Producer: Lowri Morgan Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy

Joining Adrian Chiles on this week's programme is Mark Foster, for a good while the fastest swimmer on the planet.We have author and psychologist Katriona O’Sullivan, a woman raised in poverty in Coventry, who went on to get a PhD from Trinity College, Dublin. And the remarkably gifted Ralf Little, who we know as an actor but might equally have been a doctor or a footballer. Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the singer-songwriter Clare Grogan. Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producers: Catherine Powell and Imy Harper Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy

Adrian Chiles presents Radio 4's Saturday morning programme. On today's programme:Paul Merton’s been at the top of his game for BBC One's Have I Got News for You and a familiar voice here on BBC Radio 4’s Just A Minute. He is about to take his Improv show with his wife Suki Webster to the Edinburgh Fringe this August. They’ll also be taking the show back to The Comedy Store in London from November through to December. Professor Lady Sue Black - Baroness of Black Strome – is a world‑renowned forensic anthropologist, celebrated for her pioneering work in forensics and human identification. David James is a football pundit and a former England international. His career as a goalkeeper has taken him from grassroots sport in Welwyn Garden City to the international stage and World Cup tournaments.Plus we'll have the Inheritance Tracks of the best selling crime author Mark Billingham. Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producer: Imy Harper Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy

Joining Adrian Chiles on this week's programme is Professor of social history, a writer with a first class degree from Cambridge and a TV legend with a masters from Oxford.Ruby Wax is as well known now for her work in mental health, but she’s been looking back at some of her biggest interviews to see what she can learn about herself as well as her subjects.Professor Carl Chinn is a social historian, proud son of Birmingham and great grandson of a Peaky Blinder.Sathnam Sanghera’s written novels, an acclaimed memoir, acclaimed histories of the British Empire. Now he’s exploring the meaning of one of his heroes - George Michael. Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the broadcaster Lorraine Kelly. Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producers: Catherine Powell and Imy Harper Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyIf you have been affected by any of the details discussed in today’s programme you can find information for help and support in the UK at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Three great guests on the show, as per normal. One of them’s all about the paranormal, one is a legendary entrepreneur, and a lifelong journalist whose greatest story turned up in her own family. Danny Robins is a man with an uncanny ability to explore the supernatural in a way which delights sceptics and believers alike.Sharon Ring worked on Fleet Street in newspapers and magazines for more than three decades before finding the full story of her mother and uncle’s childhood in Nazi Germany.And Simon Woodroofe had a great career in music and television behind him before he got round to keeping the promise he made to himself to make his million - Yo Sushi being the business which made his name. He's just released his memoir: Yo! Man: Rock n’Roll, Robots and Reinventing British Dining.Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant producer: Catherine Powell & Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy

Adrian Chiles is joined by three hugely successful guests - all shining stars in their fields.Victoria Pendleton won it all as a track cyclist, a quite astounding athlete who dug so deep, physically and mentally, in her career, and also in navigating her life after cycling.Cressida Cowell is the writer and illustrator behind - amongst other things - the incredibly successful How to Train your Dragon series.So we have a sports star, and a star author, and in Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell we have someone whose work enabled the discovery of a new kind of star, a discovery which changed astronomy forever. Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producer: Imy Harper & Ribika Moktan Productions co-ordinator: Josie Hardy Editor: Andrea Kennedy

Adrian Chiles with a pop star, a comedian and a writer, but there’s a lot more to each of them than that.Tom Fletcher was starring on the West End stage at the age of 10. 30 years later he’s been back there writing the music for Paddington - The Musical. In between he’s squeezed in popstardom with the hugely successful band McFly. Bethany Handley grew up loving life in the great outdoors of Monmouthshire and she has written a memoir, My Body is a Meadow: Finding Freedom in the Outdoors.And with Russell Kane there’s an awful lot going on. Terrifyingly clever, award-winning comedian, writer, children's book author and now Shakespearean actor. Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producers: Ribika Moktan and Sofia Popova Production co-ordinator: Josie Hardy Editor: Andrea Kennedy

Martha Kearney is a titan of news and political broadcasting who these days takes a more relaxed approach to her work, swapping the campaign trail for a nature trail.Matt Haig can do it all, fiction, non-fiction, and children’s books - and we’re all aboard for his latest novel the Midnight Train - but it's Winnie the Pooh that Ian Fletcher, Earl Grantham, Mr Brown…are but some of the much loved characters of Hugh Bonneville - he’s now turned his hand to a children’s book where, as we’ll hear, the most unbelievable stories within it are true!All that, plus the Inheritance Tracks of Prue Leith.Presenter: Adrian Chiles Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Lowri Morgan Researcher: Jesse Edwards and Josie Hardy Editor: Andrea Kennedy

Adrian Chiles presents Radio 4's Saturday morning show. Our wonderful guests today include JJ Chalmers, who has been a design-technology teacher, Royal Marine and Invictus games medallist. He is now a regular presenter on Television and Radio. We also have with us a legend of the food and restaurant world, Ruth Rogers. And a couple of podcasting Dads - Matthew Carter and Lawrence Price - who’ve got fellow fathers to come together and share their feelings by offering classes in braiding girls’ hair.Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the actor Jason Watkins. Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan and Lowri Morgan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy

On today's programme, Adrian Chiles is with Steve Backshall. The adventurer and naturalist has captivated all of us with his work, but especially children - millions of them - who he’s led wide-eyed into the natural world. Frank Cottrell-Boyce is blessed with a similar gift for capturing the imagination of children, as well as grownups. The esteemed screenwriter is presently the Children’s Laureate. Frank will be appearing on the programme ahead of his appearance at the Children's Laureate Lecture called The Kids Are Not Alright, which is being held on Thursday 14 May at the Royal Institution in London. And amazing storytellers though Frank and Steve are, even they might struggle to do justice to the tale of what Natalie Queiroz has been through. Her work campaigning for the victims of crime has earned her a well-deserved MBE.Also, we'll hear the Inheritance Tracks of broadcaster and journalist Nick Robinson. Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyAnd if you have been affected by any of the details discussed in today’s programme, you can find information for help and support in the UK at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall found his calling in the countryside of Gloucestershire and Devon to become a cook on the wild side championing seasonal and sustainable ingredients. Lucy Shepherd is our explorer who has navigated her way from the safety of the Suffolk countryside to the amazon and arctic, including the Cardiff studio.And Jonathan Shalit, who began writing music reviews at school and ended up managing the talents of some of the biggest names in music and show business. Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the beauty entrepreneur and author Liz Earle.Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producers: Ribika Moktan and Lowri Morgan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy

Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Michael Rosen: Bear Hunt writer, broadcaster, covid survivor, national treasure… he tells us about his life lessons.Susanna Thornton tells us about her lifelong association with cycling and freedom – which led to a mammoth cycle from Hong Kong to London and many much smaller, wild bikepacking trips in the UK, which she documents online.  She joins us.Actor Nikki Amuka Bird joins us to talk about her route into acting and her latest role. Nature writer and conservationist Nick Acheson spent winter 2020 on his mum’s red bike following the hundreds of thousands of geese that descend on his native Norfolk, he joins us. Former rugby union player Chris Robshaw chooses his tracks: If You Don’t Know Me By Now by Simply Red and California King Bed by Rihanna and we have your thank you.Producer: Corinna Jones

Nikki Bedi and Adil Ray are joined by Julia Donaldson CBE, the children's writer who has written over 200 books, not least The Gruffulo, Stick Man, The Highway Rat and Room on the Broom to name a few. She is also a composer and ex children’s laureate and her repertoire includes books for school use to help children learning to read. From running an Argos store and working as a stand up comedian, to being a parish priest in Burnley, Fr Alex Frost has become a campaigner against poverty and deprivation. He joins us.Cat Turnbull is a search and rescue paramedic based in Portsmouth who was part of the all female final for SAS Who dares wins, the programme that puts contestants through a military training regime. and Vikki Stone is an award-winning writer, composer, comedian and musician who has co-adapted children’s TV favourite Hey Duggee for a major live theatre tour. Actor David Harewood chooses his inheritance tracks: Everything I Own by Ken Boothe and Stevie Wonder Living for the City and we have your Thank you.Producer: Corinna Jones

Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by comedian, writer, presenter and disability rights campaigner Sally Phillips whose career covers some of the most successful British comedies of all time, including I'm Alan Partridge and Miranda, as well as Hollywood movies like Bridget Jones. Her new series My Life At Christmas features interviews with big name stars to find out what Christmas means to them. Nadiyka Gerbish joins live from Ukraine to talk about how her country celebrates Christmas, especially with the constant threat of blackouts. Alex Pine tells us about his career as a bestselling crime writer, heavily influenced by his early life as a street trader which featured many brushes with the law. Scotty Mills is the highest-ranking black officer in the history of the Royal Marines and led Britain's Commandos around the world, before going on to a career which has included being an author, inspiring others with his approach to leadership, and advising the England men's football team, playing a huge part in their recent success.This week's Inheritance Tracks come from Hollywood actor Kate Hudson who stars in the new film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Kate chooses Bruce Springsteen's The Promise and Bob Dylan's Simple Twist of Fate. And we have a special Thank You from screenwriter and children's author Frank Cottrell Boyce. Producer: Tim Bano and Annette Wells

Michael Ball joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. In a career spanning over 30 years the singer, actor and presenter has appeared in musicals from Les Miserables and Aspects of Love, to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Phantom of the Opera, winning Olivier Awards for his roles in Hairspray and Sweeney Todd. Michael's debut novel is a love letter to the theatre.As a boy, Hamed Amiri fled Herat with his parents and two brothers after the Taliban put out an execution order for his mother. Their journey from Afghanistan to the UK was made more complicated as his eldest brother had a heart condition. 20 years later, his story of displacement has been made into a play, shedding light on the plight of refugees.Donna Ashworth started a social media account to share inspirational quotes but after posting her poems anonymously she’s now a bestselling writer.Gabby Logan shares her Inheritance Tracks: Reach Out I'll Be There by the Four Tops and One Day Like This by Elbow.Ranvir Singh is an award-winning presenter and former political editor for ITV’s Good Morning Britain. She talks about her path to broadcasting and why riddles are featuring in her future.The Empire by Michael Ball is out now, Ball & Boe Together In Vegas is out on October 28th and Aspects of Love is booking from Friday 12 May 2023 until Saturday 11 November 2023 at London’s Lyric Theatre.The Boy with Two Hearts is at the National Theatre and runs until 12 November. The books Love, Life and Loss by Donna Ashworth are out now. Gabby Logan’s memoir The First Half is out now.Riddiculous starts on Monday 24th October at 3pm on ITV.Producer: Claire Bartleet

Nikki Bedi and Rev Richard Coles are joined by actor Ralf Little who first appeared on our screens as the awkward Antony in the Royle Family, went on to star in Two Pints and a packet of crisps, and now Death in Paradise. Legendary football manager Brian Clough took our guest Craig Bromfield under his wing as a troubled youngster but their relationship ended when Craig betrayed Brian and never saw him again. Craig has written about his experience to make sense of what he did and why he did it. Helen Kirkham is a Saturday Live listener who had a road accident as a teen and later trained to be a nurse. She attended a lecture by the doctor who saved her life. Sports reporter Emma John who is a cricket fan, a bluegrass fiddler and singledom advocate. Andy Summers, guitarist with The Police, chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Manha de Carnaval from the film Black Orpheus by Luiz Bonfa and West Coast Blues by Wes Montgomery and your thank you.Producer: Corinna Jones

Award winning comedian and actor Omid Djalili joins us to talk about his route to fame, taking part in Splash, quiz show catchphrases, performing in Persian for the first time recently and getting back on stage after lockdown.In 1974, aged 17, Debbie Gayle travelled to the Soviet Union to train at the Kirov school of ballet. It was the height of the Cold war, and she found the experience thoroughly unwelcoming with the exception of a woman called Natasha who became her friend. When Debbie became ill and was isolated in hospital, Natasha proved to be a life line, helping her return to the UK where she left ballet and started a family. Almost 50 years later she told the story to her son and tracked Natasha down, creating a podcast about her experience called "Finding Natasha".Former Chelsea and Everton winger turned 5live pundit Pat Nevin on becoming a footballer by accident. Emma Gray is a world-renowned sheepdog trainer who recently relocated from a remote farm in Northumberland to the even more remote Isle of Bute in Scotland. Not only did she take along her husband and baby, as one would expect, but she packed up her 500 sheep, 40 cows and 20 dogs and transported them by ferry. She talks to us about uprooting, new love and new pastures.Mary Beard chooses her inheritance tracks: Bridge over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel and Sisters are Doin' it for Themselves by Eurythmics with Aretha Franklin. And your thank you!Producer: Corinna Jones

Chef Raymond Blanc began to write a recipe book at the beginning of 2020 inspired by the fast and simple cooking of French scientist Edouard de Pomaine and by his mother. He had no idea the world was about to change. A few months later, Raymond was self-isolating when he found that his mother had died in France and then he was hospitalised with Covid for a month over Christmas and into January. He joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles to explain how Simply Raymond: Recipes from Home reflects how the past year has changed his approach to food and life.Kathryn Heyman experienced a horrific assault in her early 20s on her way home from a party. In a bid to escape the trauma, Kathryn joined four trawlermen on the Timor Sea where she was unexpectedly able to heal from the wounds of the past. She joins us to talk about her new memoir Fury. Actor Joseph Marcell has been well-known to British theatre audiences for 50 years, beginning his stint at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1972 and now sitting on the board of The Globe Theatre. He is globally famous for a different reason, having played the role of British butler Geoffrey in hit 90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which launched the career of Will Smith and is still in syndication on television networks around the world.Asian Network presenter Yasser got his first break in TV when he was 12. He talks about discovering a different side to Pakistan when he went there as a DJ, being a 2012 Olympic Torch Bearer and shares stories from his Ramadan tracker, which is discovering out how Muslims are celebrating Ramadan around the world. And we have the Inheritance Tracks of designer Anya Hindmarch.Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland

Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Ray Mears - an authority on bushcraft and survival, he's been presenting TV series and teaching on the subject for 3 decades.Jono Lancaster has a rare genetic condition called Treacher Collins Syndrome and was adopted at birth. He has made TV programmes, set up a charity and travelled extensively supporting other young people with facial difference. He discusses his journey to self acceptance.Jenny Packham’s designs have graced countless red carpets and award shows since she launched her eponymous label in her early 20s. She tells us how she was inspired from a young age by her two dressmaker Grandmothers.Jake Tyler got severe depression and felt burnt out as a manager of a busy London pub. He ditched city life and embarked on a 3,000 mile walk around Britain, visiting every national park while meeting dozens of friendly strangers who offered him a bed. And the poet, actor and DJ Craig Charles chooses his inheritance tracks: Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit and Wilson Pickett singing Hey Jude. And your thank you.Producer: Corinna Jones

Alan Davies joins Richard Coles and Marverine Cole. Having spent nearly 20 years on the QI panel, performing sell-out comedy tours and appearing in television sitcoms and dramas, Alan has branched out and written an unflinching memoir about his painful childhood.Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason is a former lecturer at Birmingham University and the mother of seven children. The third eldest, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, was BBC Young Musician 2016 and performed at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The siblings have performed at the 2018 BAFTA ceremony, Britain's Got Talent, The Royal Variety Performance and at major concert halls around the world. How did she do it?Harry Shearer is an American comedian, radio host and actor who is known for his stints on Saturday Night Live, for co-creating and performing in This Is Spinal Tap and for voicing up several characters on The Simpsons, including Mr Burns, Principal Skinner and Ned Flanders. He is now using his vocal skills to create an album of songs which Harry performs as Donald Trump.Listener Barbara Butcher contacted Saturday Live to tell us about her grandfather, who died during the First World War at Ypres in 1917. He left behind a beautiful watch which has been in the family for four generations, but when her son had the watch opened up a few years ago, he was surprised by what he discovered…And we have the Inheritance Tracks of food critic and broadcaster Jay Rayner whose latest book Last Supper: One Meal, a Lifetime in the Making is out now and the Jay Rayner Quartet will be live-streaming their gig on Oct 17th. Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland

Reverend Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir are joined by Katy Brand.Comedian Katy Brand graced our screen in her Big Ass Show where we saw her parody pop culture. She danced like Beyonce for Sport Relief, has written her first novel Brenda Monk is Funny and her acting credits include Peep show and Nanny McPhee. Now she's a judge on the Costa book awards.Almost four years ago Clare Owen found a gold wedding ring with an inscription and date. Her desire to reunite the ring with it's owner led her to set up her own lost and found company, Lostbox. She joins us to talk about how she's since reunited animals, soft toys and even people and to sing the praises of much maligned social media.Levison Wood is an explorer who can currently be seen Walking the Himalayas in a Channel 4 documentary series. It's a distance of 1700 miles. He previously Walked the Nile. He joins Aasmah and Richard to share his experiences and explain why he is drawn to such expeditions.Dr Eugenia Cheng is on a mission to make maths accessible. She does online maths tutorials, teaches maths to arts students and advises primary school teachers and she's even written a book about it in relation to baking: How to Bake Pi. She'll be talking about her passion for maths, music and infinity.Wombles composer Mike Batt tells us his Inheritance Tracks. Her chooses the 1st movement of Schubert's 9th Symphony (The Great C major) and Little Red Rooster performed by Howling Wolf, written by Willy DixonJP takes a look in the diary of listener Barbara Bindley and we have your thankyous.Levison Wood's book Walking the Himalayas is out now, and the fourth and fifth parts of the series air on Channel 4, 8pm Sundays and the whole series can be viewed on All 4.Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Karen Dalziel.

The journalist and novelist, Tony Parsons, joins Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir. Tony was working on the night shift at Gordon's Gin Distillery when he was offered his first job as a journalist on the New Musical Express. When he wasn't hanging out with rock stars he was embedded with the Vice Squad at 27 Savile Row, West End Central, where the roots of his crime character, DC Max Wolfe, first began.Saturday Live listener, Hilary Nicoll, talks about The Museum of Dad. Featuring a music case, a trombone, old jazz 78s, and a chair made of steel tube and leather, it's a blog in remembrance of her architect father, who is now living in a nursing home with Alzheimer's.Ex-Blue Peter presenter, Janet Ellis, has long been fascinated by the lives of people who were here before us, so much so that she has developed a life-long passion for looking around graveyards. She visits the cemetery at St Nicholas' Church in Chiswick, with Dan Parker. Janet describes Fern Hill by Dylan Thomas, as a possible epitaph.Sarah Woods describes her travels to Central and South America in an eight year quest to see the Harpy Eagle in the wild. She explains why helping a teenage girl in labour, and seeing the Harpy Eagle up close, were life-changing experiences.Jonathan Moore is an ex-punk who became an opera director. Art and spirituality are his vocation - as shown in his current play about Ignatius of Loyola.And the Inheritance Tracks of Dom Joly. He chooses America by Simon and Garfunkel and In a Room by The House of Love.The Slaughter Man by Tony Parsons is published by Century. On a Wing and a Prayer, by Sarah Woods, is published by Bloomsbury. Janet Ellis' first novel, The Butcher's Hook, is scheduled for publication in February 2016. Inigo, written and directed by Jonathan Moore, runs at the Pleasance in north London until 13 June, 2015. The exhibition Peter Wilkins - Great British Music from the 1960s - 2010s, is at Dray Walk Gallery, London E1 6QL until 1 June, 2015.