Saturday Live

Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by the actor, writer and director Simon Callow. He discusses his stage and screen career and how he’ll be performing at the WAWA Weekender to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Wac Arts, a charity which empowers young people to change the world through the arts. Classical musician Hannah Rankin explains how the discipline of being a professional bass...

Ainsley Harriott found fame as a chef on Ready Steady Cook, which he went on to present for ten years. He has since presented cookery programmes both here and in America and has sold over two million recipe books worldwide. In his latest book, Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen, he explores the way that the different historical and cultural influences on the Caribbean islands have created a diverse and v...

Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by the former England cricketer and legendary spin bowler Graeme Swann. He discusses his sporting career, waltzing on Strictly and his upcoming tour with Henry Blofeld - Dancing Down the Wicket. Libby Liburd explains how her shows Muvahood and Fighter were inspired by her own personal life experience as a single mother and a female boxer. Christine...

Fresh from a neuroscience degree, she burst into our consciousness almost ten years ago with her club anthem track Heaven, and then Read all About it with Professor Green. She was the only artist to perform at the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2012 London Olympics. Writing for other artists as well as a successful solo career, she is back with a new single and tour and album to follow. Em...

Tony Blackburn talks to Aasmah Mir and Rev. Richard Coles about spending over 50 years as a DJ. He is still working for 4 radio stations, plus touring his Sounds Of The 60s show. Starting at Radio Caroline, the presenter opened Radio 1 and other career highlights include winning I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. Listener Red Szell shares his story of getting back into rock climbing after he lost...

The filmmaker Gurinder Chadha – of Bend it Like Beckham fame - joins Rev. Richard Coles and Luke Jones. She continues her exploration of Britain and India’s intertwined story, this time in late 18th Century Delhi. She also shares her love for Bruce Springsteen songs and the joys of hot tubs. Morris dancer cum morris milliner, Carole Jeffery, talks to us enroute to the National Morris Weekend in Ev...

Benjamin Zephaniah talks to Aasmah Mir and Rev. Richard Coles about the origins of his passion for rhyme, music and country living. Marian Newman went from being a forensic scientist to a nail expert whose career highlights include the supermodel nails for the Olympics 2012 Closing Ceremony. A clip of Daniel Alston and his sisters appeared on the Radio 4 programme Rewinder - they recall their memo...

Richard and Aasmah are joined by: Jo Brand, in comedy for over 30 years, trailblazing the way with her edgy humour at a time when there were very few women in standup. She came to comedy from psychiatric nursing and a strict upbringing. Listener and retired accountant Peter Barratt grew up hearing stories about his Great Grandmother Alice Hawkins who was a suffragette. 15 years ago he researched h...

Guest presenters Shaun Keaveny and Kate Silverton are joined by Anneka Rice. She reveals the story of Clemmie Hart, her fictional agent. Matthew Barley, the internationally renowned cellist, describes how a skiing accident transformed the way he plays. On the 50th anniversary of the John Lennon and Yoko’s Bed-In For Peace in Montreal, Saturday Live listener Gail Renard recalls her front row seat a...

Arlene Phillips talks to presenters Aasmah Mir and Luke Jones about her life and career, which includes choreographing Elton John and founding dance troupe Hot Gossip. Björn Again's founder and Agnetha talk about their life on and off stage. Johnboy Smith explains how an unexpected injury led to him becoming a successful wheelchair racer. Greg James shares his Inheritance Tracks: This is The Sea b...

Richard and Aasmah are joined by Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE, who began pursuing a pop career but drama took over with TV and theatre roles. As a writer, his first play won an award and his second transferred to the West End, he’s curated a World Festival of Black Arts and had an artistic directorship in Baltimore. Now he has been appointed Artistic Director of the Young Vic theatre in London. Caroline C...

David Harewood – actor, snowboarder, Brummie, goalie – joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles. Best known for roles in Homeland, Blood Diamond, The Night Manager and currently Supergirl, he reveals why he has now made a documentary called ‘Psychosis and Me’. Saturday Live listener Sarah Wyndham Lewis explains why she became a honey sommelier. A calling all the more remarkable because she is a...

Gok Wan talks to Aasmah Mir and Rev. Richard Coles about his latest show Say Yes to the Dress Lancashire, DJ’ing, cooking and his lifelong passion for fashion. Listener Hilary Wynter talks about her experience playing doubles with the Empress of Japan, the wife of the Emperor who has just abdicated. As it's the 4th May - Star Wars Day - we have Star Wars superfan Michael Absalom. Singer-songwriter...

Richard and Aasmah are joined by Dame Stephanie Shirley who arrived in the UK aged 5 as a refugee on the Kindertransport. She became a ground breaking IT entrepreneur who has since become a philanthropist and given over £60 million away. Her son inspired her to set up a school for children with Autism, and fund vital research. We also have Duff McKagan who joined Guns N' Roses as bass player aged...

Patti Boulaye is a British-Nigerian singer, actress and artist. She recalls coming to London aged 16, and appearing on the west end stage in shows from HAIR to Carmen Jones, and talks about her new one woman show Aretha and Me. Creative movement director and choreographer Yami ‘Rowdy’ Lofvenberg won the UK Hip Hop Championships in 2010, and worked on the London 2012 opening ceremony. She was adopt...

Photographer, publisher and film director Rankin joins Rev. Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir. He talks about swapping accountancy for photography, his career which includes photographing the Queen in 5 minutes, and the impact of having a child. Celebrating Record Store Day – we have Ashli Todd - owner of world’s oldest record store, Spillers in Cardiff. Journalist Babita Sharma recalls her experiences...

Ben Elton is co-writer of The Young Ones and Blackadder, a bestselling novelist, playwright, director and writer of Upstart Crow. He talks about his new and timely novel about identity, politics, middle age and murder; his life as a semi-Australian empty-nester, and why he’s about to embark on his first UK stand up tour in 15 years. The shortest shepherd in England, Sally Urwin, reveals why she ga...

Singer-songwriter and Great British Menu guest judge Keisha Buchanan talks to Rev. Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir about finding success as a teenager in Sugababes, a band which had six number one singles and two number one albums in the UK. Lamin Deen talks about his duel career as a Grenadier Guard and GB bobsleigh Olympian. We launch My Sound, a new feature where we ask you to tell us about a soun...

Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir are joined by the milliner Stephen Jones whose passion for hats has led him from the catwalks of Dior to the Brighton Pavillion, the adventurer and extreme sleeper Phoebe Smith who sends people to sleep with her travel stories, historian David Olusoga whose TV programme explores the lives of all the people who lived in one house in Newcastle and Saturday Live listener,...

Choirmaster Gareth Malone describes working with pupils from Kensington Aldridge Academy to help them create a concert to mark the return to their school building next to Grenfell Tower. Listener Rev'd Alan Dodds recalls his life before ordination - playing guitar in a band with David Bowie. Mya-Rose Craig, aka 'birdgirl', has seen 5,000 species of bird and explains how she spends her weekends bir...

Best-selling singer-songwriter Dido on her new album Still On My Mind, fame, life growing up and working with her brother. Wendy Gould and John Sandford talk about being reunited after many years – Wendy was taken from her parents’ front garden and dumped on the side of the road 20 miles from her home and John was the man who found her. Jerick Hoffer talks about creating alter ego Jinkx Monsoon –...

Richard and Aasmah are joined by Jo Malone CBE, who left school aged 15 with no qualifications and became a scent supremo and one of the UKs best known entrepreneurs. We also have comedian aka 'Badman' Humza Arshad who made his success online, took it mainstream and has written his first children's book: Little Badman and the Killer Aunties. There is Ishbel Holmes whose difficult upbringing prompt...

Aasmah Mir and the Reverend Richard Coles are joined by the writer Dame Jacqueline Wilson. She discusses her heroine Tracy Beaker who is now grown up with a daughter of her own and why she prefers writing for children to adults. Steve Bland talks about his late wife Rachael, the journalist and broadcaster who co-presented You, Me and the Big C, an inspiring podcast about living with cancer. The po...

The actor Shane Richie, star of East Enders talks about his latest role, in the West End show ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’. Chelcee Grimes describes how she combines her two careers, playing for Fulham Ladies and writing songs for the Grammy Award winner Dua Lipa and Kylie amongst others. Bethan Roberts grew up in the House of Elvis – not Graceland – but with a mum who loved The King so much...

Aasmah and Richard are joined by: Patrick Grant - he bought and revived a failing tailors in Savile Row in 2005, since then he’s been awarded Menswear designer at the British Fashion Awards, become a judge on The Great British Sewing Bee and promotes sustainable fashion. Adam Kay used to be a junior doctor, and left to become a writer and comedian. His book This is Going to Hurt was based on diari...