Saturday Live

Rory Bremner joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles, with his impressions of Trump and JP, among many others. He explains what he enjoys about the wordplay of translating operas and, as Scotland play today in the Six Nations, he recalls how his love of the game led to early impressions of sports commentators. As one fifth of The Saturdays Una Healy had success with 13 top ten hits. The singer...

Marti Pellow first hit the charts with Wet Wet Wet's Wishing I was Lucky in 1987. He's gone on to have a successful musical theatre career. With the forthcoming release of his solo album Mysterious, Marti joins Rev Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir and explains why soul and jazz have always inspired him. When Kerri Cameron lost her job working with horses- she unexpectedly found a new career as a motor...

Una Stubbs discusses her love of painting and her role playing Sherlock's landlady Mrs Hudson Dinosaur expert and primatologist Ben Garrod on how his love of nature started. Bill Griffin founder of the Crowdwish website explains how he helps people fulfil their wishes and tries to set them on the path to happiness Listener and folk singer Ian W. Brown on the perils of sharing your name with someon...

Amanda Redman, best known for her role as DSI Sandra Pullman in BBC1's New Tricks, joins Rev Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir to discuss filming in Sri Lanka for a new TV medical drama, her early years in hospital following a scalding accident and why she set up The Artists' Theatre School. Andrew Martin has had a passion for night trains since childhood. He talks about his recent experiences recreati...

Martin Kemp didn't realise when he was shifting kit for big brother Gary's band Spandau Ballet, that his future lay not back stage but ON stage. Invited to play bass in the band which conquered the world, with wedges and pantaloons and bandanas, he met and married backing singer Shirley from Wham, morphed into an actor in the Krays and in Hollywood, did a decade playing everyone's favourite wicked...

Mark Watson is an award winning comedian who has written six novels. He explains why in spite of his success, his dream job is still to be a football commentator. Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes make up The Shires, a British Country band. They discuss playing the Grand Ole Opry and how they both started out in choirs - one of them regularly singing for the Queen at Windsor Castle. Toby Capwell has lo...

Actor and presenter Martin Clunes, best known for his roles in Men Behaving Badly and Doc Martin, joins Rev Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir to discuss discovering the islands of Australia, his love of animals and life on his farm. Gemma Todd is a mobile librarian who has just published her first novel, as GX Todd. She talks about getting her HGV licence and her love of Lego. JP Devlin meets listener...

Former Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, joins Richard and Aasmah to discuss his surprise success on Strictly Come Dancing, passion for football, how he coped in public life with interiorised stammering and his life post politics "Gangnam style". 27 year old magician Troy has performed both street magic and for high profile audiences from Harry Styles to HRH Prince Harry. He describes how he overcame a...

Comedian Lucy Porter joins Aasmah Mir and Kate Silverton to discuss why she originally wanted to follow in the footsteps of Kate Adie, the pleasures and perils of setting up a Mums and Babies comedy club and the influential women in the early days of Hollywood slapstick films. Motivational writer and speaker Chris Barez-Brown will teach us how to switch off our inner auto pilots and become more cr...

Arabella Weir, star of Two Doors Down, talks to Aasmah Mir and Suzy Klein about what neighbours mean to her, festive celebrations and how she got into comedy. Mark Forsyth explains why he decided to explore the stories behind Christmas traditions- including why we have decorated trees in our house and the real Good King Wenceslas. Writer and musician Rhodri Marsden shared a picture of where he'd b...

Raymond Blanc grew up in a self sufficient household in France, and after a few false starts in other professions, became a self taught Michelin star winning chef, and restaurant entrepreneur. Kassia St Clair loves colour. After studying historical dress she wanted to understand the colours referred to. Her interest led to a column in Elle Decoration and finally a book. She joins us to talk about...

Crime writer Anthony Horowitz joins Richard and Aasmah in the studio to discuss his love of Tin Tin, Victorian fairgrounds and why villages are so well suited to murder mysteries. After his return from the International Space Station Major Tim Peake reflects on what home really means to him and and tells us why it's always good to wiggle your toes on a spacewalk. Comedian Dave Gorman who has flown...

Star of Birds of a Feather and Strictly Come Dancing, Lesley Joseph, joins Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles live from the Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House to talk about pantomime and her role as The Wicked Queen. Trevor Jones reveals the secrets of The Poison Garden at Alnwick. Paul Harris has been performing in pantomimes for more than 50 years. He recalls how he learnt the gags on the job, an...

Aled Jones will forever be associated with the song he made a hit - Walking in the Air. Now he's released a seasonal CD where he sings in harmony with his 14 year old self. He'll join Richard and Aasmah in the studio. Tez Ilyas left the civil service for comedy after doing a Saturday course in stand up. He's since appeared in eight competition finals, had a show in Edinburgh and wrote and performe...

Kate Silverton and the Rev Richard Coles talk to Adrian Chiles about football and a particular match that pitted black players against white players. Phoebe Wainman is the current British Stock Car Champion. She discusses the thrills and dangers of her sport and what it's like to come from a Stock Car racing dynasty. Mark Grist gave up teaching English when his other career as a rapper took off. H...

British Bushcraft, survival expert and photographer Ray Mears talks to Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles about what draws him to the outdoors. Charlie McDonnell was the first Video Blogger in the UK to reach one million YouTube subscribers. He explains why he's trying to make science fun. Saturday Live listener Paula Reid explains why she quit her job to become an Adventurer. Reporter JP Devlin mee...

Clare Balding and Sir David Tang join Aasmah and Richard Clare Balding was a horse mad girl who became a leading amateur flat jockey in her teens. She found success as a racing correspondent and since then has presented the Olympics 6 times, as well as numerous other chat shows, documentaries, and programmes about biking, walking. Now she's mined her own experience, and written a children's book a...

Actor and broadcaster Tony Robinson joins Aasmah Mir and Rev. Richard Coles to talk about his life onstage, the impact of playing Baldrick, and the unusual way his love of history developed. Gemma-Louise Stevenson shares the art of wheelchair dancing. Saturday Live Listener Dr. Ciaran O'Keeffe reveals how Ghostbusters inspired him to become a Parapsychologist. Writer Jonathan Harvey meets up with...

Alexander Armstrong, quizmaster, actor, classically trained baritone and occasional oboist shares his love of music and llamas. Arlene Phillips left home at 22 to follow a career in dance. She founded the dance troupe Hot Gossip, courting controversy with Mary Whitehouse, and went on to work with a string of artists from Aretha Franklin to Robbie Williams and choreographed Hollywood films and West...

Michael Ball joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles to discuss his musical collaboration with the Tenor Alfie Boe; his family's association with the Mini car, and how he deals with his superstitions. The inventor and designer, Max McMurdo, shares his passion for upcycling and explains how he made 25 items from an old Beetle, and converted a shipping container into his home. Adele Jackson desc...

Tom Fletcher of McFly, Silent Film pianist Neil Brand, Bookshop frequenter Erica Jones and extreme engineer Jimmy de Ville join Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir. Tom Fletcher is best known as singer and songwriter of McFly, he's also written for Busted and One Direction, clocking up ten UK number one singles. He's also a children's author, having written The Dinosaur that Pooped series with his band m...

Ian Wright joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles to discuss his football career, proudest achievements and life after retiring from the game aged 36. Reporter JP Devlin talks to Saturday Live listener Maria Prowse who talks about the special relationship with her dog- which nearly ended when Maria gave her dog away after her husband died. Writer India Knight shares her love of dogs and revea...

The illusionist Derren Brown joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles to discuss why he's spent three years researching what makes us happy. The ex-footballer and manager of the England Women's Team, Hope Powell, received 66 caps for England and became the first women to obtain the UEFA pro licence. After managing the England Women's team for 15 years she has recently been appointed as the firs...

Comedian and writer David Baddiel on writing for children and whether death and dementia make good subjects for comedy. Olympic diver Chris Mears won gold in Rio in spectacular style. He reveals how a brush with death inspired his success and his sideline as a music producer. On the centenary of Roald Dahl's birth, Dr Tom Solomon discusses how the writer's fascination with medicine inspired many o...

Cerys Matthews, Damon Hill, Meik Wiking and Benny Lewis join Aasmah and Richard for Saturday Live. He became Formula One World Champion in 1996, following in the footsteps of his father, the legendary F1 champion Graham Hill who tragically died in a plane crash when Damon was 15 years old. Now a SKYF1 racing commentator, Damon will be telling us how he ended up behind the wheel himself. Cerys Math...