Relatively

Dame Jenni Murray is an only child, whose “pushy and devoted” mother thought she was going to die giving birth to her, and so was determined to never have another baby. That meant Jennifer Susan Bailey grew up with loads and loads of adult attention – something which had its advantages as well as its definite disadvantages. In this episode, Jenni talks about why she wanted to giver her first born...

Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken were born 7 minutes apart but don't know who is the oldest... As older brothers to 'Bratty' , the trio enjoyed an idyllic childhood, with an "anarchic", fun-loving dad and a perfectly complementary mum who worked hard to provide for the family and instilled a work ethic in the three boys. As teens the twins decided to become doctors and cooperated beautifully to stu...

Naturalist Chris Packham and his little sister the fashion designer Jenny Packham, grew up in Southampton in a crazily creative and competitive family. They indulged Chris's enthusiasms and obsessions - trekking through nettles and staying out for hours to spot birds or catch newts. Later on Jenny developed her own interest in art and making clothes - inspired by her dress-making grandmothers. As...

This end-of-season special episode is a veritable pot-pourri of sibling love... We've rounded up Jane Garvey, Susie Dent, Chris Packham, Professor Alison Pike – an expert on siblings – and two very important guests: Catherine's (slightly overexcited) sisters Bex and CJ! Look out for listener messages to brothers and sisters around the world, and bonus episodes in the coming weeks. Don't forget Sib...

Eileen and Catherine Walsh grew up in Cork before moving to Dublin to pursue careers on stage and screen. On leaving school, older sister Catherine cried, saying “someone much better was coming” to fill her shoes – but as grown ups, both sisters hold each other in high professional regard and lean on each other for support in a tough industry. In this episode they talk about the influence of the I...

The barrister, writer and broadcaster Hashi Mohamed Hashi had 11 siblings: out of them all, he is closest to sister Shukri, from whom he has never been separated despite the ‘tornado’ which scattered their family following their father’s death. Aged 9 and 7, they travelled from Kenya to the UK as refugees – where a new home, languages and culture baffled them both. In this episode they talk about...

Nick Hornby and his sister Gill both loved books from an early age, spending Saturdays together at the public library. Reading was an escape from a childhood which became ‘strange and baffling’ after their father was more and more frequently absent from the family home. In this episode the two authors talk about keeping each other’s childhood memories safe, teenage kicks, and always looking for ap...

Stand up comedian Ahir Shah and his older sister Akanksha (Tash, Didi, Dips) are eight years apart but incredibly close. Ahir arrived like a Christmas present for Tash, who loved caring for him as a baby and still worries about him now - especially when he lays bare his soul on stage. The pair grew up in a funny household with 'giggly' parents where money worries couldn't take the shine off the fa...

Broadcaster Nicky Campbell first met his birth sister Esther as adults, after they had independently traced their Irish birth mother. Both had been given up for adoption as babies, grew up in Edinburgh and were left with complicated feelings around belonging. In his new book 'One of the Family' Nick tells the whole story of his breakdown, diagnosis as bi-polar and being saved by the love of his do...

Anna Whitehouse – aka Mother Pukka – and her little sister Karen Whitehouse (creator of true crime podcast "Who Shat On The Floor At My Wedding?") got off to a fractious start as siblings, with episodes of bum pinching, shin kicking and trolling through poetry. But something altered on a family holiday, and since then they have been incredibly close: “the yin to each other’s yang”. Karen (Anna’s s...

Baker Briony May Williams (Bri, Brizzle or Braz or Chewie) has two brothers, Max and Ben: they come as a pair and operate like "a comedy duo," so for the first time we have three guests! The family are close geographically as well as emotionally, and all live within 10 minutes of each other in Bristol. Briony has been on a bit of a journey since her star turn on GBBO and now speaks openly and bold...

Actress Julie ("Fernacka -Pants") Fernandez and her big brother Rab were not always as close as they are today. Their larger-than-life dad Barney could 'light up a room" and dominated their extraordinary childhood, moving the family around the world and creating a technicolour life – which could be thrilling, but was often unhappy and sometimes violent. At the same time, 'diddy' Julie's brittle bo...

Chef Rob Aikens (or 'mounds') is 5 minutes older and one inch taller than his twin brother and fellow chef, Tom (or 'eggy') . As children the duo who were "joined at the hip" were known as Double Trouble in their Norfolk village and caused havoc at school. A talented home-cook, their long -suffering mother taught them what good food was, and how it should taste – but inspiration to make a career i...

Before taking up running, Cory Wharton-Malcolm (or 'Beefy') was 'fat and unhappy in his own skin' – something his sister Janeen was totally oblivious to. She only ever saw her cool older brother, who had precious little time to spend with her. Fast forward to the present day: psychotherapist Janeen and coach Cory are now very close (she has her own keys to his house) and running has helped Cory to...

Ruby Wax's daughters Maddy and Marina Bye grew up in a household stuffed with performers where "nothing was normal" and being funny got you lots of attention. Now Maddy ("I give nicknames, I don't get them") and Marina ('The Beaver') are a professional comedy double act, who go by the name 'Siblings'. They feel invincible together on stage, drawing on lessons learnt at drama and clown school and p...

Historian Dan Snow's greatest regret is how he treated his little sister Beck Snow in childhood, though the duo (despite being separated by the Atlantic) are now as thick as thieves. In this episode of Relatively, Dan and Beck recount the summer they learned how to wow the dance floor at teenage parties and the soap-opera-like moment they found out about their father Peter Snow's love child Matthi...

Johnny Flynn (nickname Stumblebum) has a little sister Lillie (nickname Squirtface) as well as four much older half-siblings – and the performing gene, inherited from their dad Eric Flynn, runs strong in all of them. As children Johnny and Lillie were thick as thieves: he loved nothing more than making her laugh, so winning a choral scholarship to boarding school at 8 and leaving her was a real wr...

Divina de Campo is one of seven, and her childhood nickname was 'Rent-A-Wrecker'. Born Owen Farrow, Divina came out as a teenager and now makes a living from drag, appearing regularly on primetime TV including finishing as first runner up in the inaugural season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK. In this episode of Relatively, Divina and her sister Carys Cliffe talk about the teasing that goes on in a big...

Jess Phillips MP is the youngest of four, the only girl and cheerfully confesses to being "the bossy one". In this episode, she and her brother Luke Trainor talk about getting into big trouble as kids, whether or not you were allowed to smoke in the loft (you weren't) and how even as adults, they still have each other's backs: Jess tried to help when Luke suffered from serious drug addiction, and...

For most of us, our relationships with our brothers and sisters are the longest lasting of our lives, sometimes spanning 80 or 90 years. Sibling relationships come before friendships or romances, and usually outlive any links with our parents. On this brand new weekly podcast, Catherine Carr brings brothers and sisters together to talk about the connections they have with each other as adults - as...