Inheritance Tracks

Before Lucy Worsley became a fixture on our TV screens as a trusted architectural and social historian she wanted to be either a spy, a witch or a nun. But her father was a geologist and he wanted Lucy to be a scientist, so when she switched from the sciences to the humanities he was unimpressed and told her she’d never earn a living with a history degree! It was a visit to Mompesson House, a Nati...

This edition of Inheritance Tracks are chosen by Jonathan Ranganathan – better known, of course, by his middle name, Romesh. The comedian, presenter and DJ was born in West Sussex in the late 1970s to Sri Lankan parents. When he was 11, a friend left a cassette-tape at his house – labelled Public Enemy. Romesh listened – and that day, his love of hip-hop music began. But not just hip-hop. Music ha...

If farmer, TV presenter and writer Adam Henson was a stick of rock the word Cotswolds would be sweetly written through him. He’s loved by millions of Countryfile viewers and probably a lot of lambs, Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, Highland cattle and horses too. And he knows a thing or two about how food gets from farm to fork being an ambassador for British farming. But will his Inheritance Tracks...

The actor, writer, comedian and Radio 4 treasure, Miles Jupp has been delighting audiences for decades; from Balamory to The News Quiz and Rev. Miles recently shared the news that he’d suffered a brain seizure - requiring complex neurosurgery. Happily, he’s has made a good recovery, and he's about to go on tour...no doubt with his favourite music playing in the car as he criss-crosses the country....

Derren Brown amazes audiences with his extraordinary illusions and showmanship, as a mentalist and magic creator. He captivates with his charm and is also disarmingly forthright and emotionally eloquent which is evident in his writing, podcast Bootcamp and painting. Born in London and brought up in Purley, which he describes as the epitome of middle-class suburbia, Derren studied law and German at...

From the moment he became a cub scout in Sussex in the 1970s, Tim Peake wanted to have adventures. He joined the army...became an Apache helicopter pilot...and then set his sights even higher...A LOT higher. As an astronaut, he became the first Brit to walk in space during a voyage to the International Space Station. But what kind of music did he listen to while he was up there? Inherited: It Must...

The Reverend Kate Bottley is a not your run of the mill vicar... ...since rising to fame on Channel 4’s Gogglebox she’s gone on to become a writer and broadcaster on the likes of Songs of Praise, and you can hear her every Sunday with Jason Mohammad (formerly of this parish) on Radio 2’s Good Morning Sunday. Kate’s latest book, Have a Little Faith, isn’t out to convert, quite the opposite, it’s a...

Simon Farnaby is famed for his parts in Ghosts, Horrible Histories and Detectorists, but it's his starring role in that iconic sketch from the Diamond Jubilee, seen over 30 million times on YouTube, in which he served the late Queen tea with Paddington Bear. Indeed, he was one of the writers of Paddington 2 – and his latest screenplay, Wonka, is actually a musical origin story of Roald Dahl’s ecce...

She’s cycled to the South Pole, ran the Namibia ultra-marathon, kayaked the entire length of the River Amazon, solo, yet competing on Strictly made TV presenter and adventurer, Helen Skelton feel most vulnerable. Helen began her presenting career at Newsround and has been a household name since 2008, when she became a Blue Peter presenter and graduated to Countryfile. Her new memoir In My Stride c...

Chef Tom Kerridge is more than just a Michelin-starred foodie – he's a TV presenter, author and entrepreneur. Married to sculptor Beth Cullen-Kerridge, Tom’s new book ‘Pub Kitchen: The Ultimate Modern British Food Bible’ was recently published and we asked him to serve up his Inheritance Tracks. Inherited: English Rose by The Jam Passed on: Proof by I Am Kloot As featured on BBC Radio 4's Saturday...

Casual, fun, yet competent and assuring Alan Fletcher's character, Dr Karl Kennedy, along with his on-screen wife Susan, was a genuine tea-time idol to a generation. What you might not know is that the actor is a country music aficionado, part of a burgeoning Australian Americana scene, and at the age of 65, he's just released his first solo album. As Neighbours returns to our screens we asked him...

The actor, comedian and writer Mawaan Rizwan, recently told the NME, “In every job I do, I want to smash the box that people put me in”. Born in Pakistan, Mawaan’s family moved to the UK when he was three, he grew up in East London, with a mother who’d been a child star in Pakistan so if the performance gene were a thing, he very much has it it. As an actor he’s played roles in Simon Amstell’s Ben...

If you type ‘right wing comedian’ into a search engine the top answer will be Geoff Norcott. Amazingly...the second, third and fourth results would also be the comedian and podcaster. He's certainly cornered his niche making us laugh on Live At The Apollo, Have I Got News For You, and his own stand-up special for Radio 4 Geoff-erendum. But, ironically, it seems Geoff doesn't necessarily skew right...

Born in Billericay, Richard Osman got his first taste for broadcasting on BBC Radio Sussex, when he was still at school. He read Politics and Sociology at Cambridge and then worked behind the scenes in TV before creating and co-presenting the BBC quiz show, Pointless. His own show, Richard Osman’s House of Games followed, another huge success, and along the way he’s managed to become an internatio...

Johnny Flynn - actor, poet, musician - he can do pretty much anything. On stage and screen, he’s played Albert Einstein, Richard Burton and David Bowie - and in the studio he’s recorded albums of classic folk as well as the title track for The Detectorists. Johnny took a break from playing a political broadcaster in his new show The Lovers to tell us about the musicians who have inspired him throu...

Comedian, writer and actor Rose Matafeo grew up in New Zealand, the daughter of a Samoan father and a mother with Scottish/Croatian heritage. In 2018 she won the prestigious ‘Best Show’ at The Edinburgh Fringe for ‘Horndog' - only the second woman, and the first person of colour, to win it. As an actor, she was brilliant in the New Zealand movie Baby Done and she’s soon to be back on our screens i...

You’ll no doubt have seen the comedian Lou Sanders on pretty much every tv comedy show; from Live at the Apollo, to 8 out of 10 Cats and she was even champion on Taskmaster. Her memoir "What's that Lady Doing?" charts a life of mistakes with funny look at what happens when we work through our issues and come out the other side. The songs she has chosen to cherish from her past and to pass on to th...

The BBC’s News Analysis Editor, Ros Atkins, knew he wanted to be a journalist when he was ten years old. He grew up in Cornwall and the Caribbean and read history at Cambridge. He’s now a trusted broadcaster and a man synonymous with news and, he became a bit of a social media sensation with his explainer videos. As he once dabbled as a drum’n’bass DJ we wondered what his Inheritance Tracks might...

Award-winning author, illustrator and screen-writer Alice Oseman created the hugely popular “Heartstopper” series about two teenage boys, Nick and Charlie, falling in love at a British school. The story has been a sensation going from online-comic to printed book to blockbuster Netflix show. Inherited: Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac Pass On: Dance with me by Beabadoobe Producer: Ben Mitchell

The Megadeth frontman on the tracks that inspire him both personally and his music.

The barrister turned broadcaster reveals the music that is most important to him.

Actor and musician Minnie Driver's breakout film roles include Circle of Friends, Grosse Pointe Blank and the hugely successful 1997 movie, Good Will Hunting, for which she was Oscar nominated. You may have recently seen her in the movies Cinderella or Chevalier - and on TV in the US sitcom Speechless or in Rose Matafeo’s Starstruck here on the BBC. Minnie’s side-hustles are equally successful, sh...

Annie MacManus, known professionally as Annie Mac, is the DJ turned author whose new book ‘The Mess We're In’ is a story about how music can break you down and build you back up again. Annie presented shows on BBC Radio 1 for seventeen years and, as well as writing, performs at music festivals all over the world and at some of the biggest clubs. Inherited: A Rainy Night in Soho by The Pogues Pass...

After the indie rock band, The Audience, disbanded in the late 90’s, their lead singer began her solo career. Sophie Ellis-Bextor had early solo hits like Murder on the Dancefloor and Groovejet (If This Ain't Love). Sophie has now released her seventh studio album, Hana. BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live asked Sophie to share her Inheritance Tracks with us. Inherited: Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd Pass...

Actor, writer and stand-up comedian Guz Khan was born in Birmingham and raised in Coventry. The former humanities teacher quit his job to pursue a career in comedy after his social media videos gained a following. He went on to create the hit BBC television series Man Like Mobeen, and the fourth series is currently streaming via the BBC iPlayer. Inherited: Tumhein Dillagi Bhool Jani Paray Gi by Us...