Front Row

Writer Rebecca Stott and Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin join Tom to discuss The Bride! Maggie Gyllenhaal's film about the bride of Frankenstein, starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale.They also talk about the novel Bad Fiction by Rebecca Sarah Ley which is based around a creative writing course and relationships with the lauded course leader.There's going to be a new BBC TV documentary about reading and they want your stories about the book that changed your life. Maybe a book bought you love, transformed health or happiness or even saved a life? If you would like to tell your story please email: Reading@blinkfilmsuk.comArtistic director Seán Doran talks about a new Northern Literary Lands initiative, celebrating the literary legacy of eleven border counties in Ireland. With the new Samuel Beckett Biennale, several festivals and nine cross-border literary travel paths, the area is applying to become the world's first UNESCO Region of Literature. The German film Sound of Falling is the final item being reviewed. The award-winning film explores a home over a century which is haunted by family secrets.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet

Will Self dives in to his latest satirical novel in which he looks at the alienation of modern life, and takes a stab at middle-class life. He discusses how his experiences with cancer have impacted his writing, and his outlook. 75 years after the death of composer and performer Ivor Novello, we celebrate his life and works - from musicals to the talkies. Kirsty is joined by Novello specialist Ian McMillan-Davidson and conductor and composer Sir John Rutter. In 1976 a firebomb at Malone House in South Belfast destroyed almost the entire fashion and textile collection of the Ulster Museum. 50 years on, a new exhibition Ashes to Fashion showcases the story of its rebirth. Tonight, the winner of the Nero Gold Prize is crowned. Head judge and writer Nick Hornby shares what made the 2025 winner so special. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Caitlin Sneddon

Author Julia Quinn published The Duke and I, the first novel in her eight-part Bridgerton series, in 2000. Twenty years later the adaption of her books would become a television phenomenon. Julia reflects on the place of class, race, and sex in her Regency romances and why getting a call from one of television's most successful producers was such a transformative moment for the genre that she loves.With the government proposing an overnight visitor levy or ‘tourism tax' in England, Nick talks to travel journalist Simon Calder and CEO of London's Southbank Centre, Elaine Bedell. They discuss the potential impact of the levy and whether some of the revenue should be ringfenced for arts and culture.There's a new Rembrandt in town. Art historian Bendor Grosvenor on the newly attributed painting that's about to go on show at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.Beneath the Sheets: Anatomy, Art and Power is a new exhibition at the Thackray Museum of Medicine in Leeds. Curator Jack Gann discusses how attempts to understand the human body fused art and science.Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Media journalist Al Horner discusses the latest twist in Warner Bros sale.Pixar's chief creative officer Pete Docter on the inner workings of the animation giant as it marks its 40th anniversary this year.100 years after his birth, and with a special BFI season underway, we assess the work of the Polish director Andrzej Wajda, with fellow director Agnieszka Holland and film writer Ian Christie. British painter Rose Wylie's Royal academy retrospective opened last week. Samira sat down to speak with her at the RA in the shadow of one of her enormous canvasses. Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Art critic Louisa Buck and writer Chris Power giving their verdicts on Tracey Emin: a second life at Tate Modern. This landmark exhibition spans 40 years and includes famous works such as My Bed to recent paintings and bronzes which are on display for the first time.They will also be reviewing the Oscar nominated film Sirât - which tells the story of a father travelling the Moroccan desert with ravers in the hope of finding his missing daughter.And they discuss Bird Grove, a play which tells the story of Mary Ann Evans before she became George Eliot.Plus Tom interviews Linda Tolhurst, the National Theatre's Stage Door Keeper who is receiving the Industry Recognition Award at the Olivier Awards this year.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet

Poet Laureate of the United States, Arthur Sze is one of the most admired poets of the past five decades influencing the work of Poet Laureates and Nobel Physicists. His work focusses on imagery from nature and he will talk about his latest collection and his first UK publication, Into The Hush.The Glasgow Film Festival opening film, Everybody to Kenmure Street tells the story of the community response to a dawn raid by Immigration Officers on Kenmure Street, a diverse community in the southside of Glasgow in May 2021. Director Felipe Bustos Sierra joins Kirsty.Artist Ilana Halperin on her exhibition 'What Is Us and What is Earth' that blends sculpture, drawing and photography to explore the connection between human life and geological time. Curator Susanna Beaumont will also join the discussison to talk about the exhibition, 'Earth Matters' that marks 300 years since the birth of James Hutton, the Edinburgh born geologist whose radical ideas gave us the first sense of deep time and changed how we see the Earth

The full scale invasion of Ukraine began four years ago today. Ukraine Unbroken is an evening of five new plays written in response to the war. David Edgar talks about his, Five Day War, which imagines the puppet government waiting to move in when Kviv falls, and the other dramas. Between the plays Ukrainian musician Mariia Petrovska sings and plays the bandura. She talks about her involvement and the bandura, the national instrument that was once banned. And Mariia plays and sings live in the studio.As Oscar-winning British cinematographer Sir Roger Deakins looks back at his career through his visual memoir Reflections: On Cinematography, he talks to Samira about his practical and inventive approach to working on many iconic films such as 1984, O Brother Where Art Thou, 1917, tackling sci fi on Bladerunner 2049 and Bond with Skyfall. The government has announced the introduction of new legisation to introduce monitoring by Ofcom of streaming services. Front Row explores the implcations of this.And we consider the novels selected for the International Booker Prize longlist, announced today with writer and head judge Natasha Brown. The books in contention are: The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar, translated from German by Ruth Martin We Are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated from Spanish by Robin Myers The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje, translated from Dutch by David McKay The Deserters by Mathias Énard, translated from French by Charlotte Mandell Small Comfort by Ia Genberg, translated from Swedish by Kira Josefsson She Who Remains by Rene Karabash, translated from Bulgarian by Izidora Angel The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated from German by Ross Benjamin On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia, translated from Portuguese by Padma Viswanathan The Duke by Matteo Melchiorre, translated from Italian by Antonella Lettieri The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated from French by Jordan Stump Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur, translated from Persian by Faridoun Farrokh The Wax Child by Olga Ravn, translated from Danish by Martin Aitken Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from Mandarin Chinese by Lin KingPresenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Julian May

Fifty years on from the death of painter LS Lowry, the BBC has made a documentary featuring recently discovered recordings made in the last years of his life. Recorded by Lowry fan Angela Barratt over a period of four years, the tapes have been lip-synced for the documentary, with Ian McKellen playing Lowry and Annabel Smith as Barratt. Art historian Verity Babbs and curator of the Lowry Collection, Claire Stewart, join Samira Ahmed to discuss the painter's life and legacy. Actress Neve Campbell shot to fame playing the lead role of Sidney Prescott in Scream in 1996. She went on to appear in five of the six sequels - and now returns for another battle with the Ghostface killer in Scream 7. Francis Spufford is the award-winning author of Golden Hill and Light Perpetual. His new novel, Nonesuch, tells the story of a young woman who must thwart an occult plot by time-traveling fascists during the chaos of the London Blitz.And Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw reacts to last night's BAFTAs, as well as the winner of the Berlin Film Festival's coveted Golden Bear Award. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Tim Bano

Poet, playwright and curator Inua Ellams and film critic Hanna Flint join Tom Sutcliffe for this week's reviews. Riding high after the huge success of the Wicked films, actor Cynthia Erivo returns to the London stage for a one-woman production of Bram Stoker's Dracula, in which she plays all the parts. Last summer was dubbed 'brat summer' by the press, with the word 'brat' entering the dictionary as an adjective - all in response to the pop album Brat by singer Charli XCX. In a new mockumentary, The Moment, Charli considers how to follow up on Brat, and how to deal with fame. And Kleber Mendonça Filho's new film The Secret Agent follows a man caught in the turmoil of the Brazilian military dictatorship. With four Oscar nominations and two BAFTA nominations, it's widely tipped to be one of the big winners in this year's awards season. Plus authors Hallie Rubenhold and Jason Sanford tell Tom about a new and troubling marketing scam aimed at authors which promise good reviews and then resort to threats when authors do not respond.Producer: Tim Bano

Director Mona Fastvold and actor Amanda Seyfried discuss their film The Testament of Ann Lee, a musical history about the life of the founder of The Shakers, a mystic who moved from Manchester to the United States in the 18th century and founded a religious community, and who advocated for celibacy, communal living, and gender equality.As a new production of George Bernard Shaw's St Joan opens, director Stewart Laing and theologian and art historian Ayla Lepine discuss how the 15th-century French religious martyr who led France to victory in the Hundred Years War against England but who was burned at the stake after being found guilty of heresy has influenced culture, and why her story is particularly relevant today.In her new book Fashioning the Crown, journalist and author Justine Picardie explores how the women of The Windsors have used clothing to communicate messaging to the public. She speaks about her research in the Royal Archives and about how symbolic royal dress has been over the past century.Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

In 1986 Jim Cartwright's debut play, Road, was the theatrical sensation of the year and its reputation has only grown in the decades that have followed. As a new production to mark its 40th anniversary opens at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, Jim Cartwright joins Front Row to reflect on why the play has had such an enduring impact."How lovely yellow is! It stands for the sun.” So exclaimed Van Gogh in a letter. Now an exhibition, 'Yellow: Beyond Van Gogh's Colour', at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam explores why the artist and his contemporaries loved yellow so much. Art historians Martin Bailey and Kirsty Sinclair Dootson discuss the significance of yellow in art, and the long history of the colour.American filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir on her new Oscar-nominated documentary, The Perfect Neighbour, which looks at a 2023 shooting incident in Florida when white female, Susan Louise Lorincz, fatally shot her black female neighbour, Ajike Owens.Dr Jasmine Allen, Director of the Stained Glass Museum, on the "nation's favourite" stained glass window at Carlisle Cathedral.Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Baz Luhrman's newest film is recently rediscovered footage showing Elvis Presley, live in concert at the height of his fame. We speak with Baz about his continuing love for The King.75 years of The Archers; Emma Freud and Archer's editor Jeremy Howe discuss the world's longest running soap opera and how the programme has dealt with the attack on George Grundy.London's Royal Court Theatre is famous for productions that caused stir – Look Back in Anger, Saved, Blasted, The Rocky Horror Show. Its work may still be angry, but the theatre is no longer young, and its new director, David Byrne, has recently announced its 70th Anniversary Season. He talks to Samira Ahmed about his vision for this ‘writers' theatre', and its latest production, which might cause a stir, too - The Shitheads.Peter Bradshaw reports from the Berlin Film Festival - what's good, what's not-so-good, and what's making headlines.Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Anne Brontë biographer Samantha Ellis and writer Stephanie Merritt join Tom to discuss Emerald Fennell's racy adaptation of Wuthering Heights starring Margot Robbie.They also review Adolescence co-writer Jack Thorne's BBC adaptation of William Golding's Lord of the Flies.After a 35 year campaign, the South Bank Centre has secured Grade II listing. Former Artistic Director Jude Kelly and architecture historian Barnabas Calder talk about whether we're learning to love Brutalism.Finally, Samantha, Stephanie and Tom have read James Meek's book Your Life Without Me, which is concerned with the competing claims of the old and the new, in both architecture and life. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet

LIsa McGee on her fresh spin on the murder mystery genre How To Get to Heaven from Belfast, and on the impact of the Derry Girls phenomenon. At this month's Grammy Awards, Olivia Dean, Lola Young and FKA Twigs - all alumni of The Brit School in Croydon - walked off with prizes. We speak to the school's Principal, Stuart Worden, about how the school prepares students for a career in the music industry. And as the world premiere of The Great Wave, a new opera inspired by Hokusai's iconic print, takes place, composer Dai Fujikura talks to us about the man behind the art, and writer Fi Leith discusses the cultural love affair between Scotland and Japan. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

The creator of Yes Minister - Jonathan Lynn - on his new play I'm Sorry Prime Minister. Griff Rhys Jones plays Jim Hacker, the octogenarian former Prime Minister. Clive Francis plays civil servant Sir Humphrey in this elegiac comedy which draws the saga to a close.Inside Aardman is a new exhibition opening at the Young V&A this week to mark the 50th anniversary of the creative company who have brought plasticine stop-motion animation to a global stage in the form of Wallace and Gromit. Tom is joined by stop-motion animator and director Joseph Wallace and Jez Stewart, curator of animation for the BFI National Archive to discuss the exhibition and the state of stop-motion animation today. And director Amy Berg talks about her archive rich documentary It's Never Over about the late singer Jeff Buckley.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe

Hollywood star Kristen Stewart talks about her directorial debut, The Chronology of Water, which is a searing portrait of childhood abuse and redemption that's based on the life story of author Lidia Yuknavitch.Seurat and the Sea is a new exhibition opening at London's Courtauld Gallery. It features 26 paintings and sketches - many of which haven't been seen together since they were created - that show the pointillist painter's love for depicting the coast of northern France.Bad Bunny has made headlines in the last week for his outspoken political comments following his victory at the Grammys, as well as his historical performance at last weekend's Super Bowl. Radio 1xtra' s Fee Mak explains what it is about Bad Bunny's music that makes him Spotify's most streamed artist in the world.Here There are Blueberries is a play inspired by the discovery of an album of snaps of workers relaxing and enjoying time off. But these are the staff of Auschwitz. Writer and director Moises Kaufman explains why and how he and co-writer Amanda Gronich created their extraordinary and timely drama. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Julian May

Tom is joined by reviewers Tristram Fane Saunders and Natalie Jamieson to discuss... Mark (The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-time) Haddon's autobiography Leaving Home. The dark comedy film Twinless about two men who lost their respective twin brothers and develop a growing friendship after meeting in a support group. And Mackenzie Crook's new TV series Small Prophets, which stars Michael Palin. Also Saturday Night Live has announced its UK line-up, and the return of The Muppets. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe

Folk musician Martin Carthy speaks about his long career and about his recent decision to retire from live performance following a diagnosis of late-onset Alzheimer's Disease; As a major retrospective of the work of Gwen John goes on display at National Museum Cardiff, the exhibition's curator Lucy Wood and historian of visual culture Becca Voelcker discuss this formidable and fascinating modernist. 77-year-old curator Alison Luchs of the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC has gone viral with her social media videos in which she speaks to Gen Z in their own language. She speaks to Front Row about slaying as an online phenomenon. And ENO's new Music Director Designate, German conductor André de Ridder, speaks to us about his plans for the opera company and about the forthcoming production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny by Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht, a piece which he has described as "frighteningly relevant". Presenter: Kate Molleson Producer: Mark Crossan

Jared Bush, head of Walt Disney Animation Studios, on his record-breaking film Zootropolis 2.Alex Tadros, owner of Mars Tapes, the last cassette shop in the UK, and culture writer Sian Pattenden on the resurgence of the cassette tape.Oliver Royds, co-founder and joint CEO of Troubadour Theatres, on his company's plans to create London's biggest theatre venue in Greenwich.Debris Stevenson on her new play My Brother's a Genius, and how rap battles helped her to co-create the RSC's new production of Cyrano de Bergerac which will be heading to London's West End.Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Author Rachel Rachel Joyce and musician Passenger discuss the new musical based on Rachel's hit book The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation has been republished after 25 years as a Penguin Classic. Samira Ahmed talks to the author about the impact of the book.Emily Itami and comedian Iszi Lawrence review the British Museum's new exhibition "Samurai".Critic Tim Robey on the work of Catherine O'Hara, following news of her death.

Tom Sutcliffe and guests Viv Groskop and Dorian Lynskey, review Bradley Cooper's film Is This Thing On? - about a marriage in crisis and a comedian on the rise. Guess How Much I Love You? is the new play by Luke Norris at London's Royal Court Theatre, which deals with starting a family, enduring love and impossible choices And George Saunders' new book, Vigil, set in the living world and the world of the dead and the in-between. Also how successful is British soft power in China?Presenter Tom Sutcliffe

John Carter Cash on how the lives of his famous parents - Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash - have inspired a stage musical which tells the story of the couple's long love story but also tackles addiction head on. As a long-lost portrait of poet Robert Burns by the acclaimed artist Henry Raeburn goes on display, art historian Bendor Grosvenor and art journalist Melanie Journalist discuss how experts go about attributing a painting to a great artist. While technology can show us detail far beyond the paint on the canvas, will human expertise and discernment always be necessary in cases such as this? And author Benjamin Wood talks about his atmospheric novel Seascraper, which centres the story of a young shrimper in a coastal town in the north of England who dreams of becoming a folk singer, and which has won the Nero prize for fiction. Presenter: Kate Molleson Producer: Mark Crossan

Michael Sheen on the first production of his newly-formed Welsh National Theatre, Thornton Wilder's 1938 play Our Town seen through a Welsh lens. Film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reacts to the Bafta nominations announced today and how they compare with last week's Oscar's list. 100 years since Laurel and Hardy united for their first film, Neil Brand discusses the comedy duo with film historian Pamela Hutchinson.And writer Patrick Charnley discusses his Cornwall-set novel This My Second Life, which came out of his experience being clinically dead for forty minutes, and his subsequent recovery from a life changing brain injury.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Lucy Collingwood

Richard Linklater speaks to Samira Ahmed about his new film Nouvelle Vague.Robbie Williams has beaten the Beatles' record for the most UK album chart number ones - we ask former Spotify exec Will Page how he's done it.Daughters of Donbas is a musical project, created by Ukrainian musicians to bring the world's attention to the kidnapping by Russian authorities of Ukrainian children. Samira speaks with two of its members - Marichka and Liza – about what they hope it could achieveWhy is there a wave of children's authors turning to writing fiction for adults? We talk to Francesca Simon MBE - bestselling author of the Horrid Henry Books and now the Welsh-myth inspired Salka - as well as Liz Flanagan who has written her first historical novel for older readers, When We Were Divided.Presenter Samira Ahmed Producer Harry Graham

Tom Sutcliffe is joined by film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and novelist Lawrence Norfolk to review:Korean auteur Park Chan-Wook's redundancy revenge thriller No Other Choice.Julian Barnes' Departure(s) which he's said will be his last book.Oliver Hermanus' film The History of Sound starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor in a folk music love story.And they discuss the Oscar nominations which were announced today.And the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have announced that they will be investing £1.5 billion in cultural organisations, but is it enough and is it going to the right place. Georgia Luckhurst, news editor with Art Professional magazine, is on to discuss.

Actor Claire Foy on her role as a grieving academic who finds solace in falconry in the film adaptation of Helen Macdonald's award-winning memoir H Is For Hawk. As it goes on display for a period of three months, Chris Cassells of the National Library of Scotland, Ashleigh Hibbins of Perth Museum and playwright and poet Liz Lochhead discuss the cultural significance of the last letter of Mary Queen of Scots, written hours before her execution in 1587. Two of the creative team behind Trolleydarity, a National Theatre of Scotland-backed project which transports hospital patients and staff on multi-sensory micro-adventures talk about their innovative approach to taking art and theatre into NHS settings. And as the Music Venue Trust publishes a report about the fragile ecology of small music venues around the UK, we hear whether there might be hope on the horizon. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

Comedian John Bishop on how his life story inspired Bradley Cooper's new movie, Is This Thing On? starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern. Hull Truck Theatre has just won the Innovation prize at the Stage Awards for their new training scheme for GPs. Associate Director Tom Saunders and GP Dr Eman Shamsaee discuss why drama classes are helping doctors treat patients.Writer Jamila Gavin on winning the Children's Fiction category of the Nero Book Awards with her World War One-set novel My Soul, A Shining Tree.Poet Karen Solie discusses scooping this year's TS Eliot Prize - at £25,000 it's the biggest prize in the British poetry world.Presenter: NIck Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Artist Beryl Cook would have been 100 this year - famed for her cheeky paintings of large ladies and people having fun, there's a new exhibition opening in Plymouth. Cole Escola is the man behind the stage musical sensation, Oh Mary, which has been hailed in some circles at The Next Hamilton.Washington National Opera is leaving their base for more than half a century. They have cited a slump in ticket sales since Donald Trump became chair of the Trump Kennedy Center in America's capital, as well as "shattered" donor confidence.The Voice of Hind Rajab is a harrowing film from Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, based around a real emergency call from a 5 year old Palestinian girl under fire in Gaza. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Oliver Jones

In the Front Row review programme, author Emily Itami and critic Tim Robey assess the steamy Canadian drama Heated Rivalry, which has caused a sensation in North America. Also, The British Museum's new exhibition Hawaiʻi: a kingdom crossing oceans, and Jose Ando's novel about racial and sexual identity in Japan, Jackson Alone.Are contemporary art prizes favouring identity politics over artistic quality? Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones and artist/editor Veronica Simpson are on to discuss.Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Sir Ian McKellen talks about performing Laurie Slade's one-man play Equinox - about an older man wrestling with his past and conflicting desires - at the inaugural Out in the Hills LGBTI+ culture festival at Pitlochry Festival Theatre. One of the world's most renowned and influential choreographers Wayne McGregor on his book We Are Movement, an exploration of "physical intelligence" which also asks what it means to be human in the age of AI. Ahead of a European farewell tour, country and Americana legend Emmylou Harris discusses her incredible six-decade career in music.And UK Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy on the first ever UK Town of Culture competition Presenter: Kate Molleson Producer: Mark Crossan

The boyband Blue perform one of the biggest early hits - One Love - and talk to Tom Sutcliffe about celebrating 25 years together with new album Reflections and a major tour. Marty Supreme director Josh Safdie discusses his film about an ambitious 1950s table tennis player. Timothee Chalamet won a Best Actor Golden Globe for the title role this week.It's 40 years since Poems on the Underground was launched and a new collection is being released to mark the anniversary.And Claire Malcolm tells Tom about plans for the new Centre for Writing and Publishing in Newcastle.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Lucy Collingwood

Screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, Benjamin Button, Dune) on his West End stage adaptation of High Noon 50 years since her death, we ask whether Agatha Christie is still the preeminent crime writer Emmy-winning guitarist Tommy Emmanuel plays live Archaeologists in Wales have discovered a previously unknown Roman villa in Port Talbot - we speak with the leader of the team working on the sitePresenter Samira Ahmed

Jessie Buckley talks to Tom Sutcliffe about her role in the historical drama Hamnet, adapted from Maggie O'Farrell's book which explores the origins of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Journalist Bidisha Mamata and writer Mark Ravenhill join Tom to review Hamnet.They also discuss award-winning author Bryan Washington's Palaver, which focuses on an estranged mother and son who attempt to reconcile in Tokyo.And they offer their verdict on Sheridan Smith's starring role in a revival of Alan Ayckbourn's Woman in Mind, alongside Romesh Ranganathan in his West End stage debut.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet

American Ira Sachs' latest film is Peter Hujar's Day, which brings to life the transcripts from an unused 1974 interview that photographer Peter Hujar did with his friend, the nonfiction writer Linda Rosenkrantz. Ira shares what he's learned about the artist through the project.French pianist RIOPY first taught himself to play piano while growing up in a cult. After running away he was able to pursue a career in music, culminating in an album that topped the classical charts for years. His new album Be Love sees the artist sing for the first time.As Front Row continues it's exploration of UK literacy as part the Year of Reading 2026, we discuss how we can all become better readers to gain a deeper understanding of and more pleasure from books. We're joined by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, who is Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford, and Ann Morgan, a writer, editor, and critic best known for her exploration of global literature.We also talk to Arts critic Hannah McGill about the change in the format of the BBC 1 show, the Traitors.Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Gillian Wheelan

We hear from award-winning writer Dennis Kelly, the man behind Matilda the Musical and comedy show Pulling. In his new BBC One series Waiting for the Out he goes behind bars to tell the story of a man who teaches a philosophy class in prison. How do you choose the books you read? The Department of Education has launched the National Year of Reading and continuing Front Row's look at the subject of reading, today we're looking at the evolution of book clubs. Nick is joined by Guinevere de La Mare, creator of Silent Book Clubs, and Dr. Nicola Wilson whose book Recommended explores the story of Britain's first celebrity book club.The death of distinguished British theatre director Frank Dunlop has been announced today. Dunlop established the Young Vic theatre and directed the first full production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. Theatre critic Michael Coveney explores Dunlop's career.Often cited as a trailblazer Victoria Wood was one of the first women to write and star in a television comedy show, but the path she's beaten appears difficult to find and women are still in the minority when it comes to sitcom writing. Dr. Laura Minor, a BBC New Generation Thinker and Senior Lecturer in Television Studies at the University of Salford, and comedian Alexandra Haddow discuss. Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

As the tenth anniversary of David Bowie's death approaches, Alexander Larman - author of Lazarus: The Second Coming of David Bowie – and Jonathan Stiasny – director of the documentary Bowie: The Final Act - join Tom to discuss David Bowie's legacy and his less successful, low-profile period.The National Year of Reading 2026 is a government campaign to address declining literacy, and we're running a series of items on the state of modern literacy. Today, we're discussing reading and the brain, with neuroscietist, Dr Maryanne Wolf and journalist Jo Glanville.A giant of Iranian cinema, director Bahram Beyzai, died on Boxing Day aged 87. We take a look back at his career and impact with Dr Saeed Talajooy, a scholar of Persian Literature and Culture, who's also a fan of Beyzai's work.Goblin Band, a London-based folk group, are live in studio to sing a wassail celebrating Twelfth Night. They'll chat to Tom about the draw of folk music in modern times and exactly what a wassail is.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Harry Graham

As Scottish indie pop legends Belle & Sebastian prepare to celebrate 30 years of musicmaking, they look back at what got them here. Plus they help ring in the new year with a Rabbie Burns classic. Jamaica's former Poet Laureate Lorna Goodison reflects on her recent residency at Ellisland Farmhouse, where Robert Burns wrote Auld Lang Syne. Award-winning Scottish poet and spoken word artist Michael Mullen brought their debut collection Goonie in to the world this June. Now they share a poem written specially for Front Row, about the joys of Hogmanay. Kirsty celebrates the life of Scottish comedian and impressionist Stanley Baxter, who passed away earlier this month aged 99. His productions became staples of Christmas and New Year television, as broadcaster and cultural historian Matthew Sweet discusses with actor Juliet Cadzow.

Director Joachim Trier on his latest film Sentimental Value, which is nominated for eight Golden Globes, including Best Picture and Best Director. We take a look at the late Brigitte Bardot's three most important films, with critic Muriel Zhaga Writer John Lloyd on the 42nd anniversary release of The Meaning of Liff, the book he co-wrote with Douglas Adams. Ahead of a memorial concert for the late great pianist Alfred Brendel, Samira is joined by his son, the cellist Adrian Brendel, and the pianist Dame Imogen Cooper.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Oliver Jones

In 1776, the Founding Fathers of America signed the Declaration of Independence, embarking on a new experiment in how to build a nation.On the eve of the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence, Tom Sutcliffe and guests explore the founding fathers – and mothers – of American culture: the key figures who shaped American literature, music, visual art, and theatre and created a distinctively American voice.With the literary historian Sarah Churchwell, the art historian Erin Pauwels, the musicologist Glenda Goodman, the music critic Kevin Legendre, and the theatre historian Heather Nathans and critic Matt Wolf. Producer: Eliane Glaser

Scott Bryan and Rhianna Dhillon join Tom Sutcliffe to discuss sports drama Marty Supreme which stars Timothée Chalamet as a table tennis hustler who dreams of becoming a world champion in 1950s New York. They also discuss Stephen Sondheim's fairytale production Into the Woods which is at London's Bridge Theatre. Plus they review Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier's film which stars Stellan Skarsgård as a film director trying to mend his family through the camera. Finally, classicist and writer Natalie Haynes gives her verdict on the growing trend for Immersive Exhibitions about the Ancient World. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet

As a new adaptation of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus begins on Sky, actor Will Sharpe speaks to Front Row about he researched the role of Mozart, and music historian Flora Willson and Music Director of the Dunedin Consort John Butt discuss how recent research helps us better understand the man and his music. Baroness Margaret Hodge - whose review into Arts Council England was published this week - tells us about her findings and recommendations. And with just a week to go until Christmas, broadcaster Bex Lindsay delivers her recommendations of books for children this festive season. The books discussed were: How To Grow A Reindeer' written by Rachel Morrisroe, illustrated by Steven Lenton Robin by Sarah Ann Juckes Elle McNicoll's Role Model Presenter: Kate Molleson Producer: Mark Crossan

Jane Austen is often seen as an isolated genius who appeared from nowhere, or she is treated with a simplistic cult-like reverance which overlooks the complexities of her work. In this special edition of Front Row, exactly 250 years after Austen's birth, we take a close critical eye to a writer who innovated the novel as a form and revolutionised a literary style rarely seen before.Fellow novelists Tessa Hadley and Kamila Shamsie join Samira, alongside academics Professor John Mullan and Dr. Sophie Coulombeau, to deeply delve into the texts themselves, revealing a witty writer herself steeped in the literature of her day, discussing how she contsantly evolved her craft and why her status has fluctuated with trends across the last two centuries.With readings by Dame Harriet WalterPresenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Ciaran Bermingham