Podcasts about rev richard coles

Here we are look it's another round up of a couple of classic episodes of My Mate Bought a Toaster.This week we start with some Joel Dommett from the vaults. He LOVES him some Kaiser Chiefs and going to America by himself, turns out. We also grab the first half of the Reverend Richard Coles episode, where we discuss Jack Reacher and eggs. And other things.For the full episodes:Joel Dommett!Rev Richard Coles!!And that's it, Toaster fans. We'll be back with Miranda Hart, Joe Swash and more very soonToast x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

JK & Al catch up with music and entertainment legend, Rev. Richard Coles! Check out Dadsnet on YouTube for reviews, jokes and loads more: https://shorturl.at/cinZ1 Or head to Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDadsnet Join the Dadsnet community to have your say: https://www.facebook.com/groups/298654160327022 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All Christmas classics become a franchise and so this episode is our third annual Christmas Cracker. Despite it being a question that most guests moan about, and worryingly, most comedians try to cop out with 'I'm not good at telling jokes,' Cally persevered with it in 2023 and here are just some of our favourites including guests like Deborah Meadon, Kirsty Wark, Rev Richard Coles, Mark Steel, Al Murray, Phillipa Perry and more. If you haven't already, why not follow Namaste Motherf**kers  at https://auddy.co/shows/entertainment/namaste - that way you'll never miss a show! More about Cally Instagram: @callybeatoncomedian Twitter: @callybeaton Produced by Mike Hanson for Pod People Productions Instagram: @podpeopleuk Music by Jake Yapp Cover art by Jaijo Sales & advertising: advertising@audioboom.com Sponsorship: info@theloniouspunkproductions.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bitten, spat on, denounced - in the 1990s newly-ordained women were met with fury by a vocal minority. But women have always played an important role in the Church, as mystics, the heads of religious houses, saints or simply as normal women seeking salvation. Joining Philippa to tell the story of women's changing place in the Church of England - from 'weaker vessels' in the sixteenth century to women bishops in the twenty-first:Rev Richard Coles, writer, broadcaster and clergymanDr Grace Heaton, historian, University of OxfordNormal Women: 900 Years of Making History is Philippa Gregory's radical retelling of our nation's story – not of the rise and fall of kings and the occasional queen, but a history of the millions of women missing from the record: wives and workers, viragoes and angels, female husbands, priests and pirates. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us for our 125th (and potentially last) episode. If it is to be the end, what a way to go out. Rev Richard Coles thrills us with anecdotes and tells us all about his latest book, A Death In The Parish.

Writer, radio presenter, Church of England clergyman and multi-instrumentalist Richard Coles joins Steve to pick his Pride Playlist.Richard shares stories from his time in The Communards with Jimmy Somerville, coming to terms with his sexuality, his work as a Vicar and life as an author. Richard's Pride Playlist includes tracks from Bronski Beat, Prince, Soul II Soul, Noel Coward & The Smiths. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joining us today is a jack of all trades—and a master of seemingly all of them, too: it's Rev. Richard Coles!Richard talks us through his fascinating and varied life, which has taken him from the drug-filled clubs of Ibiza to celebrated broadcasting stints on the BBC and beyond, and not to mention his commendable work as perhaps the most famous clergyman in Britain. He's a fascinating, affable and emotive storyteller - you don't want to miss this one!***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane and Fi are back and well rested from their week away.They're joined by Reverend Richard Coles, cosy crime King and Radio 4 jock, and his old neighbour Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer to discuss their new history podcast.The podcast 'The Rabbit Hole Detectives' is hosted by Dr. Cat Jarman, Rev. Richard Coles and Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer. It's out now. If you want to contact the show to ask a question and get involved in the conversation then please email us: janeandfi@times.radioAssistant Producer: Kea BrowningTimes Radio Producer: Rosie CutlerPodcast Executive Producer: Ben Mitchell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Fenton Stevens is an actor and comedian. He is best known for being a founder member of The Hee Bee Gee Bees and the voice behind the Spitting Image 1986 number 1 hit "The Chicken Song". He also starred in KYTV, its Radio 4 predecessor, Radio Active and Benidorm as Sir Henry since Series 4 which was first broadcast in 2011, and as an anchor on 3rd & Bird on CBeebies.Fenton Stevens featured in regular roles as Hank in the 1996 series The Legacy of Reginald Perrin, and as Ralph in Andy Hamilton's 2003 television sitcom Trevor's World of Sport, as well as in the Radio 4 version of the latter which was broadcast in 2004. Stevens had previously appeared in a guest role in Drop the Dead Donkey, another television comedy series written by Hamilton, and appears regularly in various roles in Hamilton's Radio 4 sitcom Old Harry's Game. He has also featured in Ian Hislop's sitcom My Dad's the Prime Minister as the Home Secretary. He plays the eponymous Inspector Steine in Lynne Truss' long-running Radio 4 comedy series. From 2004 until 2005 he appeared in two series of Julia Davis's dark comedy series Nighty Night as the Reverend Gordon Fox. He also appeared in various roles in the Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series. In 2007, he played the similarly named Michael Wenton Weeks in Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. He has provided the voice of Mr Beakman, a toucan, in the CBeebies show 3rd & Bird. He has a recurring role in the sitcom My Family as Mr Griffith, the boss of the dental corporation "Cavitex". He has played Sir Henry in Benidorm since Series 4 which was first broadcast in 2011.Notable guest appearances have been as the next door hotel guest in "Mr. Bean in Room 426"; and alongside Hee Bee Gee Bees bandmate Angus Deayton as the brother-in-law of Deayton's character in an episode of One Foot in the Grave. He played Alan Perkins, a holiday rep in Spain in "The Unlucky Winner Is" episode of Only Fools And Horses. He played a guest role in Coronation Street in November 2004. In 2006, he guest-starred in the Doctor Who audio adventure The Kingmaker. He also appeared in Series 3 Episode 3 of Outnumbered, as a substitute player called 'Lance' in a tennis match, and in the "Music 2000" episode of Look Around You as the chairman of the Royal Pop and Rock Association. In 2022 he appeared as Tony Vanoli in a fourth season episode of Ghosts.He is a very successful Pantomime Dame, having written and appeared in a number of pantos over the years. From December 2006 until January 2007, he starred in and wrote the Cambridge Arts Theatre pantomime version of Aladdin in the role of Widow Twankey. In 2015, Stevens appeared as Dr. John Radcliffe in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Helen Edmundson's Queen Anne.Since 2020, with help from his son John Fenton Stevens, a series of podcasts has been released called My Time Capsule with guests such as Stephen Fry, Rebecca Front, Rick Wakeman, Mark Gatiss, Rufus Hound, David Mitchell, Anthony Head, Chris Addison, Rev Richard Coles, Griff Rhys Jones, Richard Herring and David Baddiel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Rev. Richard Coles, former rock star and vicar turned crime author, discusses his novel Murder at Evensong, St. Guinefort the greyhound, and the meaning of modern faith, while Abir and Vaseem have a rant about the unfolding social crisis in Britain.

Speaking ahead of the release of his Channel 4 documentary on grief, the Rev Richard Coles talks about losing his partner David, and how that bereavement effected his faith. In this special edition of the podcast, Richard also shares his view on the Lambeth Conference, and the ongoing discussions and disagreements in the Anglican Communion on LGBT issues.   You can also read this interview at premierchristianity.com   Good Grief airs at 10pm on Monday 8 August on Channel 4

Doon Mackichan joins Nikki Bedi and Rev Richard Coles. The actor, writer and comedian – and double Emmy winner - be talking about her latest comedy role set in a suburban street in Glasgow, how she did impressions to avoid the school bullies and her love of wild swimming. Loree Draude is one of the first women to fly combat jets in the U.S. Navy. She switched to start-ups in Silicon Valley, rediscovered her love of theatre and now has a one-woman show. Matt Rowland Hill grew up the son of a minister in an evangelical Christian church in South Wales, then lost his faith in his late teens and began his search for salvation elsewhere, turning to books and then to alcohol and drugs. Carol Kirkwood shares her Inheritance Tracks – Surfin' USA by The Beach Boys and Love Will Keep Us Alive by The Eagles. Mike Gayle was the first man to win Romantic Fiction's top award and was an Agony Uncle for girls' teen magazine Bliss before becoming a novelist. Two Doors Down is BBC Two on Tuesday nights at 10pm, and all five series are available to watch on the BBC iplayer. Loree Draude's show, I Feel the Need runs from 4th to 27th August at the Assembly Rooms - Powder Room in Edinburgh. Matt Rowland Hill's memoir, Original Sins is published by Chatto & Windus. Mike Gayle's book, The Museum of Ordinary People is published by Hodder & Stoughton.  Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Richard Hooper

Have you heard the one about the priest, the vicar and the podcast host? Comedian and writer Ardal O'Hanlon goes head to head with popstar vicar and author Rev. Richard Coles in a war of the words. They discuss their new novels, their writing, getting the tone right, the perks of wearing a dog collar and #taskmaster. They also give us some brilliant book recommendations as well...In the Book Off they pit "Whereabouts" by Jhumpa Lahiri against Robin Jenkins' "The Changeling" - but which one will win?? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From appearing on Strictly Come Dancing to hosting a national radio show - all amongst his regular commitments as a local vicar - Rev. Richard Coles' life is a truly varied one. Much like his own collection of seven wonders!He joins Clive to discuss everything from engineering feats like the Brompton bicycle, to pastimes enjoyed every Sunday by his congregation and TV icons. Join Clive for a delightful chat with a man as fascinated with the world as he is self-deprecating about his place in it.**If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!** See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dan, Irenosen and Simon are joined by broadcaster, author and former Communards member, Reverend Richard Coles. He talks honestly about the loss of his life partner David, and how grief affected him, which he decided to write about in his latest book. Richard also discusses his love of libraries and dissects the Novels That Shaped Our World category of Life, Death And Other Worlds.

Nikki Bedi and Rev Richard Coles are joined by actor Ralf Little who first appeared on our screens as the awkward Antony in the Royle Family, went on to star in Two Pints and a packet of crisps, and now Death in Paradise. Legendary football manager Brian Clough took our guest Craig Bromfield under his wing as a troubled youngster but their relationship ended when Craig betrayed Brian and never saw him again. Craig has written about his experience to make sense of what he did and why he did it. Helen Kirkham is a Saturday Live listener who had a road accident as a teen and later trained to be a nurse. She attended a lecture by the doctor who saved her life. Sports reporter Emma John who is a cricket fan, a bluegrass fiddler and singledom advocate. Andy Summers, guitarist with The Police, chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Manha de Carnaval from the film Black Orpheus by Luiz Bonfa and West Coast Blues by Wes Montgomery and your thank you. Producer: Corinna Jones

Part 2 of the best of My Time Capsule from 2020. Featuring Griff Rhys Jones, Rebecca Front, Arthur Smith, Janet Ellis, Rick Wakeman, Mark Gatiss, Anneka Rice, John Challis, Ellie White, Richard Herring, Rev Richard Coles, Robert Bathurst, Jan Ravens, Stephen K. Amos, Andy Hamilton and Rufus Hound. What a year!! .Follow My Time Capsule on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook: @MyTCpod .Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter: @fentonstevens and Instagram @mikefentonstevens .Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .Music by Pass The Peas Music .Artwork by Matthew Boxall .This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's the BBC's 99th birthday! Well it was on the day this episode landed. So for episode 37, here's the podcast's story so far...   Between season 2 (covering the BBC in 1922) and season 3 (the BBC in 1923), we're on a run of specials. So here we summarise EVERYTHING we've learned so far. 36 episodes condensed into one.   Condensed, yet also extended - because we recorded a shorter version of this episode for The History of England Podcast. So to lure in folks who've heard that already, I've added a ton of new stuff, including some brand new bits. By which I mean, very old bits. As well as hearing the voices of: First teenager to listen to the radio in his bedroom GuglielmoMarconi First major broadcast engineer Captain HJ Round First voice of the BBC Arthur Burrows First regular broadcaster Peter Eckersley First slightly terrifying boss John Reith …You'll now also hear from: First broadcast singer Winifred Sayer First BBC pianist Maurice Cole (the most wonderful accent, “off" = "orff") First BBC singer Leonard Hawke (although WE know from episode 28 that the Birmingham and Manchester stations broadcast music the day before - but the BBC didn't know that) That's a lot of firsts. Plus more recent voices - hear from these marvellous experts: Professor Gabriele Balbi of USI Switzerland Marconi historian Tim Wander (buy his book From Marconi to Melba) Radio historian Gordon Bathgate (buy his book Radio Broadcasting: A History of the Airwaves)   SHOWNOTES: This podcast is NOTHING to do with the present-day BBC - it's entirely run, researched, presented and dogsbodied by Paul Kerensa You can email me to add something to the show. eg. Send your ‘Firsthand Memories' - in text form, a time you've seen radio or TV being broadcast before your eyes: a studio, an outside broadcast - what were your behind-the-scenes insights? Or record your ‘Airwave Memories' (AM) - a voice memo of 1-2mins of your earliest memories hearing/seeing radio/TV. Be on the podcast! My new one-man play The First Broadcast is now booking for dates in 2022. Got a venue? Book me for your place. Here's one - The Museum of Comedy. Join me, in April or in November on the very date of the BBC's 100th birthday! Thanks for joining us on Patreon if you do - or if you might! It supports the show, keeps it running, keeps me in books, which I then devour and add it all to the mixing-pot of research for this podcast. In return, I give you video, audio, advance writings, an occasional reading from C.A. Lewis' 1924 book Broadcasting From Within etc. Thanks if you've ever bought me a coffee at ko-fi.com/paulkerensa. Again, it all helps keep us afloat. Like our British Broadcasting Facebook page, or better still, join our British Broadcasting Century Facebook group where you can share your favourite old broadcasting things. Follow us on Twitter  if you're on the ol' Twits. I have another podcast of interviews, A Paul Kerensa Podcast, inc Miranda Hart, Tim Vine, Rev Richard Coles and many more. Give us a listen! Please rate and review this podcast where you found it... and keep liking/sharing/commenting on what we do online. It all helps others find us.  My mailing list is here - sign up for updates on all I do, writing, teaching writing, stand-up, radio etc. My books are available here or orderable from bookshops, inc Hark! The Biography of Christmas. Coming in 2022: a novel on all this radio malarkey. Archive clips are either public domain or used with kind permission from the BBC, copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. Oh yes they are. Next time: What Marconi Thought of Broadcasting - plus 1920s adverts, voiced by listeners...       APPROX TRANSCRIPT:   Marconi himself appeared on the BBC in 1936, playing himself in a reconstruction of when he first sent Morse code across the Atlantic in 1901...   Those are Marconi's last recorded words before he died, there with his assistants Pagett and Kemp, though Kemp was played by an actor. They're recreating the moment when they sent Morse Code from Poldhu in Cornwall to Newfoundland, 2000+ miles away. Prior to that 255 miles was the wireless record.   Marconi was always outdoing himself. As a teenager he'd sent radiowaves across his bedroom – a transmitter and receiver ringing a bell. Then outside, asking his assistant across a field to fire a gunshot if the wireless signal reached him. Then over water. Then... in 1896 the 21yr old Marconi came to England. The Italian army weren't interested in his new invention, so he thought he'd try the influential engineers of London. I think it's that decision that set London and the BBC as the beating heart of broadcasting a couple of decades later.   There was a magical moment where Marconi strode into Toynbee Hall in East London, with two boxes. They communicated, wirelessly, and he simply said: “My name is Gooly-elmo Marconi, and I have just invented wireless.” That's a drop mic moment. If they had a mic to drop.   Others played with this technology. In December 1906, Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden managed to make a very faint speech broadcast for ships near Brant Rock Massachusetts – making the first entertainment show for radio. He played a record, Handel's Largo, played O Holy Night on violin, and read from Luke's gospel, chapter 2. Well it was Christmas Eve.   This was actually my way in to this whole radio story. I wrote a book on the history of Christmas, called Hark! The b of C. So I researched Fesseden's Christmas entertainment first... and also the first BBC Christmas of 1922. When I read that the Beeb had 35,000 listeners at that point, but 4 employees, I had to know who these 4 employees were! I started digging. When I discovered that 2 of those people had an on-air feud, one of them was John Reith, an arguably immoral moralist, and the 4th was soon sacked by him... I thought, there's a book in this. So as I research and write that, I'm podcasting as I go on the BBCentury. I love that this medium of podcasting owes so much to those early pioneers... and I'm no engineer. For me, it's all about the characters. We'll get to the BBC pioneers soon enough, but Marconi, he was one of those characters.   Through the 1910s, business was booming for Marconi, but he still saw radio as a two-way thing – we ‘radio' for help. Marconi took the credit for radio's use in catching criminals – Dr Crippen, who'd escaped on a ship across the ocean. And saving lives, onboard Titanic. Soon every major vessel carried radios and a Marconi operator – for a fee of course. He made his money in sending messages, the world over, between two people. The broadcast aspect was an accident – a pitfall of radio being too ‘leaky'. So the first listeners were actually called ‘listeners-in' – the messages weren't intended for them.   So it was at a more amateur level – the radio hams – who'd be experimenting with ‘broadcasting'. Britain's first DJ, technically, was a woman called Gertrude Donisthorpe in WWI. Her husband Horace was the eager experimenter, an army wireless trainer by day, and at night the couple would cycle to a field near Worcester, he'd set up one side, her on the other, and she'd play records and recite rhymes just for her audience of 1 – her husband, to see if it worked. She'd cycle across the field to see if it had, often finding he'd cycled off to tell her via a different route. As they progressed, they started transmitting limited wireless concerts for some local troops. And they were popular. Radio amateurs enjoyed what they heard, when they could hear it. There was demand for wireless entertainment... just not much supply.   But the engineers like those at the Marconi Company, were continually strengthening and improving the technology. Marconi's right-hand man Captain Round for example...   No fan of red tape... this Churchill lookalike, round face, cigars and no-nonsense... joined 1902, genius... designed radios... especially for aircraft... Jutland direction-finding... But Captain Round is a name to watch.   After the war, 1919, just months from the birth of broadcasting, The Marconi Company still had no real interest in radio as an artform or entertainment or anything other than point to point messaging. Apart from one person, their Head of Publicity, Arthur Burrows...   In 1918 Burrows wrote: “There appears to be no serious reason why, before we are many years older, politicians speaking, say, in Parliament, should not be heard simultaneously by wireless in the reporting room of every newspaper office in the United Kingdom. . . . The field of wireless telephone, however, is by no means restricted to newspaper work. The same idea might be extended to make possible the correct reproduction in all private residences of Albert Hall or Queen's Hall concerts or the important recitals at the lesser rendezvous of the musical world. . . . There would be no technical difficulty in the way of an enterprising advertisement agency arranging for the interval in the musical programme to be filled with audible advertisements, pathetic or forcible appeals—in appropriate tones—on behalf of somebody's soap or tomato ketchup.” We'll come back to Arthur Burrows.   Around the same time in America, future radio mogul David Sarnoff sent a memo referring to a “radio music box”, that could “listeners-in” could have in their homes, playing the music broadcast by wireless stations, that were cropping up, especially in America, and a steadily increasing rate.   In Britain, Captain Round of the Marconi Company continued to experiment. Rightly medalled after the war, he switched his attention from using radio to find enemy ships, to using radio to transmit the human voice further and stronger than ever before. This meant tests.   Now the nature of radio, the quirk of it, is that it's not private. You can't experiment without anyone with a set listening in – and since the war there were more and more ex wireless operators and amateur radio “hams”. So as Round experimented, in Chelmsford at the end of 1919, with his assistant William Ditcham, across Britain and even into Europe, people heard him. Ditcham had to read out something into his microphone – just the candlestick part of an old telephone. Ditcham would begin by addressing those listening – the ‘leaky' nature of these radio experiments meant the engineers actually used those cheekly listening in to find their range and signal strength. So Ditcham would begin: “MZX calling, MZX calling! This is the Marconi valve transmitter in Chelmsford, England, testing on a wavelength of 2750metres. How are our signals coming in today? Can you hear us clearly? I will now recite to you my usual collection of British railway stations for test purposes... ...The Great Northern Railway starts Kings cross, London, and the North Western Railway starts from Euston. The Midland railway starts from St Pancras. The Great Western Railway starts from...”   Railway timetables! And they were a hit. Mr Ditcham became an expert is this new art of broadcasting, before the word was even invented. He noted: “Distinct enunciation is essential and it's desirable to speak in as loud a tone as possible!”   Word spread. Letters to newspapers said how much radio amateurs were enjoying Ditcham and Round's wireless experiments... but the content could do with being a bit more exciting. How about a newspaper?   So in January 1920, William Ditcham became our first broadcast newsreader, literally reading the news, from a paper he'd bought that morning. Well, he'd sit on it a day, and read yesterday's paper... The press might have a problem with their copyrighted news being given away for free. And thus begins the rocky relp between broadcasters and the press. It's worth keeping them on side...   In Jan 1920, there are 2 weeks of ‘Ditcham's News Service' – that's Britain's first programme title. That gains over 200 reports from listeners-in, as far as Spain, Portgula, Norway... up to 1500 mi away. So the transmitter is replaced, from 6kw to 15kw. Ditcham ups his game too. Throws in a gramophone record or two. 15mins of news, 15mins of music. A half hour in total – that seems a good length for a programme – really it was what the licence allowed, but it's clearly stuck – at least till Netflix and the like mean programme length has becoame a little more variable, a century later.   Then in Feb, there's live music – just a few fellow staff at the Marconi Works in Chelmsford, including Mr White on piano, Mr Beeton on oboe and Mr Higby on woodwind.   At Marconi HQ, Arthur Burrows, that publicity director who wrote of possible wireless concerts and ketchup sponsors, he gets behind this in a big way. He heads to Chelmsford, supports Ditcham and Round, and even joins the band. And you know who else joins the band...   ...from the neighbouring works building – Hoffman's Ball Bearings - a singer, Miss Winifred Sayer. Now as she's not a Marconi employee, she needs to be paid... so she's radio's first professional   Previous broadcasts had been a little luck of the draw, but this one, well it would be nice to tell people it's going to happen. So Captain Round sends out the first listings – the pre Radio Times, radio... times... you can hear Winifred Sayer and the band: 11am and 8pm, Feb 23rd till March 6th That memo goes out to all the Marconi land stations and ships at sea. The first song Winifred sang was called Absent – she later called it a “punch and judy show”, and enjoyed her ten shillings a show. As she left, the MD of Marconi's said to her: “You've just made history.”   So, we have radio, right? Not so fast! The fun is just beginning...   The press, you see, were worth keeping on side. The Daily Mail got wind of this. Arthur Burrows, that publicity chap and radio prophet, he became friends in the war with Tom Clarke, now editor of the Daily Mail. And the Mail loved a novelty. They'd sponsor air races and car dashes and design-a-top-hat competitions. Radio was right up their fleet street.   But they'd need a bigger singer than Winifred Sayer from Hoffman's Ball Bearings. They wanted to see how big an audience there'd be for broadcasting – a word just coming into use, a farming term, about how you spread seed, far and wide, scattershot, never quite knowing how far it reaches, and whether it will be well received and grow into something. So the Daily Mail fund one of the world's biggest singers: Dame Nellie Melba – of Peach Melba fame. She was over in England at the Albert Hall doing some shows, so for a thousand pounds – enough to buy a house – she came to Chelmsford. Outside broadcasts didn't exist at the time, given the size of the kit. Ditcham and Round prepared the Chelmsford Works building, although that involved a small fire, a carpet Melba rolled away as soon as she saw it, and a microphone made from an old cigar box and a hat rack. Arthur Burrows gave Madame Melba a tour when they weren't quite ready... She took one look at the 450ft radio mast and said “Young man if you think I'm going to climb up there, you are greatly mistaken.”   She broadcasts on June 15th 1920, and it's a huge hit, despite a shutdown just before finishing her last song. Captain Round makes her do it again, without telling her of the shutdown, by simply asking for an encore.   Arthur Burrows gives the opening and closing announcements, instead of William Ditcham, because this has been Burrows' dream. Broadcast radio concerts. So what next? It spanned Britain, reached Madrid, parts of the Middle East...   But it's too successful. The Air Ministry finds planes couldn't land during the concert. It dominated the airwaves. So despite a few extra professional concerts from Chelmsford that summer – opera stars like Lauritz Melchior, and Dame Clara Butt – the govt step in and shut all radio experiments down.   Arthur Burrows finds himself at sea, literally, that summer, demonstrating radio to the press on the way to an interionational press event... but without govt backing, journalists now see radio as maybe a means to communicate newsroom to newsroom. Ditcham's news and Melba's music seem to be all that broadcasting amounted to.   For 18 months, nothing. Radio amateurs, and indeed Arthur Burrows at Marconi, petition the PostmasterGeneral to reconsider. And finally... it worked.   Because while the ether had fallen silent in Britain, it continued in Holland, a bit in France, and in America radio is booming. Not wanting to be left behind, the British govt say ok, you can have one radio station. The Marconi Company is granted a permit. But much to Burrows dismay... the job lands on the desk of another person I want to introduce you to... Peter Eckersley   Eckersley was with the Designs Dept of the Aircraft Section of Marconi's. His team had helped create air traffic control; Eckersley had been there in the war for the first ground to air wireless communication, and now in their spare team, his team in a muddy field in the village of Writtle in Essex, not far from Chelmsford, would have to fit this broadcasting malarkey in in their spare time, for an extra pound a show, not much.   It was odd. Radio amateurs wanted it. Burrows the Marconi publicity guy wanted it. Eckersley and his team couldn't give two hoots about it – in fact they celebrated when the govt banned radio 18 months earlier, as finally the airwaves were clear for them and their serious work, instead of constant blinking opera from Chelmsford.   But it's Eckersley's job, to start Britain's first regular radio station: 2MT Writtle. And from Feb 14th 1920, for the first few weeks it sounds pretty normal. They play gramophone records, chosen by Arthur Burrows at head office. Burrows has arranged a sponsorship deal – not with ketchup with a gramophone company, who provide a player so long as it's mentioned on air. Peter Eckersley's team of boffins break the gramophone player. There was a live singer – the first song on the first regular broadcast radio show was the Floral Dance, though the Times called it only “faintly audible”. It is not a hit. For 5 weeks this continues, bland introductions to records, a live singer or two. And Peter Eckersley, the man in charge, goes home each night to hear the show his crew put out on the wireless. Until week 6, when he stays, for a pre-show gin and fish and chips and more gin at the pub. Then he... runs down the lane to the hut and reaches the microphone first! And he starts talking......   Eckersley talks and talks and mimics and carouses... He plays the fool, plays the gramophone records, off-centre, or covered in jam...   ...the strict licence meant closing down for 3mins in every 10, to listen for govt messages, in case they have to stop broadcasting. Eckersley doesn't shut down for 3mins. The licence limited them to half an hour. Not Eckersley. Over an hour later, he stops. And sleeps it off. Next day, his team gather round and tell him what he said.   Our man Arthur Burrows gets in touch. A stern admonishment! Burrows' dream of broadcasting, had been dashed on the rocks by Eckersley, a man drinking, on the rocks. But accompanying Burrows' angry missive came a postbag of listener fanmail. “We loved it” they said. “Do it again.” Burrows was a lone voice against Eckersley's antics, so the following Tuesday, and every Tuesday in 1922, Peter Eckersley seized the mic again and again.   Demand for radio sets boomed. Ports stopped receiving ships when Peter Eckersley was on. Parliament even closed their sessions early to hear him. He was our first radio star. And he helped spawn an industry.   Burrows is still fuming, but there is no greater demand for radio. So he applies for a 2nd licence, for a London station – let's do this radio thing properly. 2LO in London is granted that licence, and Burrows isn't taking any chances – HE will be the primary broadcaster.   Poetry readings, sports commentary, opening night boxing match. Later in the summer, garden party concerts. And as Burrows is a publicity and demonstration man, many of these broadcast concerts are for private institutions, charity events, a chance to show what broadcasting can do.   Other wireless manufacturers other than Marconi's express an interest, they ask the PMG for a licence to broadcast too. MetroVick in Manchester, they want in, so the PMG says fine. Kenneth Wright is the engineer at MetroVick who gets the job of launching in Manchester.   Wright continues in Manchester... Eck continues in Writtle in Essex... Burrows continues in London...   But Eckersley mocks Burrows. In fact people write to Arthur Burrows saying how much they enjoy his broadcasts on 2LO London, but could he stop broadcasting every Tuesday evening for the half hour Eckersley's on, cos listeners want to hear Eckersley lampoon Burrows. For instance, Burrows played the Westminster chimes in the studio – this is 18mths before Big Ben's chimes would be heard on the BBC. So Eckersley outdoes Burrows by finding all the pots, pans, bottles and scrap metal he can, and bashing it all with sticks. Messy chaos! He loved it.   He's another, retold by Eckersley and Burrows themselves, some 20 years apart... You see, both would close their broadcasts with a poem.   All through the spring and summer of 1922, each broadcast is still experimental. Official broadcasting hasn't quite yet begun – because no one knows if there's a future in this. In fact the Marconi Company largely thought all this was one big advert to show consumers how easy wireless communication is, and how they should all pay Marconi's to help them send point-to-point messages.   But the bug grows. The press want in. The Daily Mail apply for a licence for to set up a radio station. They're turned down – it would be too powerful for a a newspaper to have a radio station. It only took Times Radio 100 years...   In Westminster, the PostGen is inundated by applications for pop-up radio stations. He can't just keep licensing all of them. What is this, America?! Arthur Burrows...   In May 1922, the PostGen says to the wireless manufacturers, look. I can't have all of you setting up rival radio stations. But I will licence one or maybe two of you. Get together, chat it through, work out how you can work together.   For a while, it looks like there will be two british Broadcasting companies – a north and a south. Kenneth Wright...   ...but after weeks, even months of meetings, primareily with the big 6 wireless firms, an agreement is struck.   ...You may wonder where Reith is in all this. Wasn't he meant to be the fella who started the thing!? He arrives when the BBC is one month old. For now, he's leaving a factory management job in Scotland, settling down with his new wife, having moved on from a possibly gay affair with his best friend Charlie... and he's about to try a career in politics. He's never heard of broadcasting at this stage. But for those who have, in the summer of 1922, Parliament announces there will be one broadcasting company, funded by a licence fee.....   One British Broadcasting Company. Marconi, MetroVick, Western Electric, General Electric and so on... each will have one representative on the board of this BBC, and then broadcasting can continue, they'll all sell wireless radio sets, and to fund the operation, there'll be a licence fee.   The name ‘BBCo' is coined by one of the wireless manufacturer bosses in one of those meetings, Frank Gill, who notes in a memo before the name ‘broadcasting company', the word ‘British'. A few lines down, he's the first to write the word ‘pirates' regarding those broadcasting without a licence.   But there's one more hurdle to conquer – news. That takes some time to iron out with the press, and finally it's agreed that us broadcasters will lease the news from them, for a fee, and no daytime news, to ensure readers still bought papers.   The press and the broadcasters still have an uneasy relationship, so whenever you see the newspapers having a pop at the BBC, know that the Daily Mail sponsored the first ever broadcast with Dame Melba, they were turned down for a radio station when they applied, and for years they were annoyed this radio upstart was trying to steal their readers.   With the starting pistol sounded, Arthur Burrows gets his dream: he's convinced his employer, the Marconi Company that radio isn't just about sending messages to individuals, it's about reaching many listeners... or better still, it's still about reaching individuals, just lots of them. Flash forward to Terry Wogan's sad goodbye from his Radio 2 Breakfast Show. “Thank you for being my friend.” Singular. Radio – even podcasts like this – still speak to one listener at a time. I make a connection with you. Arthur Burrows and Peter Eckersley, were among the first to realise that.   But which of them would launch or join the BBC? The wild unpredictable Eckersley, who created demand for radio, and was still mocking Burrows in his field hut in an Essex village? Or the straight-laced Arthur Burrows, who's prophesied broadcasting for years?   I think we know the answer to that. Playing it safe, The Marconi Company kept 2LO as part of this new British Broadcasting Company, as well as 2ZY Manchester under MetroVick, and a new station in Birmingham, 5IT, run by Western Electric. Marconi's would also build new stations, in Newcastle, Cardiff, Glasgow, and more, growing in reach and ambition.   But it starts in London, on November 14th 1922, with a souped-up transmitter, rebuilt by good old Captain Round, the Marconi whizz who helped start it all. Arthur Burrows is before the mic, achieving his dream, to see broadcasting come to fruition. There are no recordings of that first broadcast, but we recreated it...   The next day, the Birmingham station 5IT launches – they quickly bring in the first regular children's presenters, Uncle Edgar and Uncle Tom. An hour after they launch, Manchester 2ZY starts under the BBC banner, with more children's programming there, plus an early home for an in-house BBC orchestra.   When the jobs go out for the this new BBC, bizarrely after it's actually launched, there are just 4 employees hired before the end of the year, and Burrows is first, a shoo-in for Director of Programmes. John Reith applies for General Managership, having tried a bit of politics, but been pointed towards the BBC advert by his MP boss. On arriving, one of the first things he says is: ‘So what is broadcasting?'   As for Peter Eckersley, he continues at 2MT Writtle, every Tuesday evening into January 1923. The only non-BBC station to share the airwaves till commercial, pirate or... well there's Radio Luxembourg but that's for a future episode. But Eckersley too is ultimately convinced to join the good ship BBC. And all it takes is an opera, broadcast live from the Royal Opera House in January 1923 – one of the first outside broadcasts.   A penny drops for Eckersley, and he realises the power and potential of this broadcasting lark. Reith convinces him to stop his frivolous Tuesday show in Essex, and offers him a job as the BBC's first Chief Engineer. And here Eckersley prospers, giving us new technology, nationwide broadcasting, the world's first high-power long-wave transmitter at Daventry, he brings choice to the airwaves, with a regional and national scheme. Without Burrows, without Eckersley, without Reith, British broadcasting would look very different.   There's one other name, among many, I'm particularly enthusiastic about: Hilda Matheson. An ex-spy who becomes the first Director of Talks, who reinvents talk radio and gives us the basis for Radio 4 and speech radio and indeed podcasting, you could argue, as we know it. She's a fascinating character – part of a gay love triangle with the poet Vita Sackville West and Virginia Woolf. She's the only BBC employee allowed to bring a dog to work.   And so much more, we'll unpack on the British Broadcasting Century podcast, plus the Pips, the Proms, the Radio Times, and everything else you know and love, tolerate or loathe about British broadcasting today.  

Our story of early British broadcasting reaches the week before Christmas 1922. The BBC staff of four have found Savoy Hill, made an offer, but for now have one room at GEC's Magnet House lined up for the first few months of 1923. But while Reith goes off on his hols, and Major Anderson the secretary puzzles out the new BBC accounts (see last episode), the other two head office staff won't wait for a Head Office, because they're still broadcasting down the road at Marconi House... Arthur Burrows as Uncle Arthur and Cecil Lewis as Uncle Caractacus. Here we meet other broadcasters, including the first couple of the BBC, L Stanton Jeffries (Uncle Jeff) and Vivienne Chatterton (not an official radio 'Auntie', even though she was second voice on London's first Children's Hour - AND married to an 'Uncle'). Married in 1921, on air in December 1922, you'll hear their voices from years later. Plus we have reminiscences from Harold Bishop, Cecil Lewis and Arthur Burrows, and press cuttings of the day courtesy of our Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker. There's also the return of our AMs and FMs - Airwave Memories and Firsthand Memories. Send us yours, in word form or voice form via an emailed Voice Memo to paul at paulkerensa dot com. That's what Poppy did, and she brings her tale of trying to Michael Bentine back on air. Poppy's podcast is confessionsofaclosetromantic.com. This podcast is NOTHING to do with the present-day BBC - it's entirely run, researched, presented and corralled by Paul Kerensa, who you can email if you want to add something to the show on radio history. Your contributions are welcome. Thank you to all who support us on Patreon - discover extra things there, including our new British Broadcasting Century Book Club, where I read and explain/interrupt Cecil Lewis' Broadcasting From Within, the first book on broadcasting, from 1924. You can hear Cecil Lewis' voice on this podcast. THANK YOU if you support us there, or with one-off chip-in tips at ko-fi.com/paulkerensa. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook page is here. Do like. I post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook group is here. Do join. You post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Twitter profile is here. Do follow. My other podcast of interviews, from Rev Richard Coles, Miranda Hart, Milton Jones and more is called A Paul Kerensa Podcast - and the latest episode there is the FULL chat with Gareth Jones, who appeared on this podcast some episodes ago, with tales of children's broadcasting in the 1990s, ITV companies, and his wonder for all things science. Have a listen! And subscribe there for more like that. My mailing list is here - do subscribe to keep up with things. My books are available here or orderable from bookshops. Archive clips are either public domain or the BBC's or someone's domain but the mists of time has hidden from us whose they are. Thank you, all rights holders! And we hope this is ok with you... Do please rate and review this podcast where you found it... and keep liking/sharing/commenting on what we do online. It all helps others find us.  Next time: All I want for Christmas 1922 is a new radio station: Newcastle 5NO is born! Just.

December 22nd 1922: The Chairman of the Broadcasting Committee writes to the Postmaster General urging him to address the licence fee problem. "Listeners-in" are already dodging the tariffs... and John Reith hasn't even started yet! Here on episode 32, aka season 2 episode 5, we look at the problems facing the pre-Reith BBC with regard to income. Gladly a hundred years later, the BBC has solved that licence fee problem... er... nearly. And the return of radio reverend Cindy Kent, with tales of commercial radio, announcing celebrity deaths and the joys of pandemic Poirot. Plus we have news of a meet-up! May 22nd-ish 2022 - Writtle, Essex. More info soon. AND radio historian Alan Stafford plays us on his piano one of the earliest songs about radio: Ernest Longstaffe's 'Everybody's List'ning In'. We are a one-man band - we're NOTHING to do with the present-day BBC - this podcast is entirely run by Paul Kerensa, who you can email if you want to add something to the show on radio history, offer any correspondence, or send us a short audio clip of your earliest broadcasting memories (not as old as 1922, don't worry) for inclusion on a future episode. Thank you to all who support us on Patreon - if you'd like to join this growing band of marvellous people, I upload extra things there, about half of which are to do with this podcast and radio history (the latest of which is a reading of Cecil Lewis' Broadcasting From Within, the first book on broadcasting, in 1924), and about half of which are general comedy/writing things more like to the weekly Facebook Live I do. Join us on Patreon, and keep us in books and web hosting. It all helps keep us making episodes - we'd genuinely have stopped by now if no one had! So THANK YOU. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook page is here. Do like. I post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook group is here. Do join. You post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Twitter profile is here. Do follow. My other podcast of interviews, from Rev Richard Coles, Miranda Hart, Milton Jones and more is called A Paul Kerensa Podcast - and I'm adding more interviews all the time. Do listen. My mailing list is here - do subscribe to keep up with things. My books are available here or orderable from bookshops. Archive clips are either public domain or the BBC's or someone's domain but the mists of time has hidden from us whose they are. Thank you, all rights holders! And we hope this is ok with you... Do please rate and review this podcast where you found it... and keep liking/sharing/commenting on what we do online. It all helps others find us.  Next time: The staff grows! We look at Marconi House in late December 1922, with the first couple of the BBC. Aw... Subscribe / share / thanks! Closing down now, closing down.

Season 2 Episode 4 (aka Episode 31 in total) flashes us back to Arthur Burrows' pre-BBC days, and brings us to December 17th-20th 1922, when 4/5 of the BBC workforce (ie. 4 people of the 5) tour central London searching for a building. They can use Magnet House for now, on loan from General Electric, but after that, where? After deciding against a gold-flatting mill (now a Gym Box), they discover a nice little premises on Savoy Hill. But before that, Arthur Burrows shows John Reith the ropes, via a chart, of everything this new BBC will need, from engineers to commissionaires a lady's assistant. Reith is still baffled. But before THAT - several years before that - Burrows was the lone voice trying to convince the Marconi Company that broadcasting was a Good Thing. The Marconi bosses didn't agree. Our special guest knows all about this: Professor Gabriele Balbi, Associate Professor of Media Studies at USI in Switzerland, has written a paper called 'Wireless' Critical Flaw: The Marconi Company, Corporation Mentalities and the Broadcasting Option'. He fills in Burrows' back-story, explains how several voices can be heard within a company's culture, and is a lone voice in academia too, suggesting that the Marconi Company still didn't get behind broadcasting even when the Melba concerts showed it was possible. Even then, he argues, the transmissions were just to show home-users that wireless communication was easy. So perhaps when Burrows was explaining to Reith everything about broadcasting, he was STILL fighting the corner for his vision of what radio was, and could be. And broadcasting has clearly reached its pinnacle in this podcast, so thank you for supporting it... We are a one-man band - we're NOTHING to do with the present-day BBC - this podcast is entirely run by Paul Kerensa, who you can email if you want to add something to the show on radio history, offer any correspondence, or send us a short audio clip of your earliest broadcasting memories (not as old as 1922, don't worry) for inclusion on a future episode. Thank you to all who support us on Patreon - if you'd like to join this growing band of marvellous people, I upload extra things there, about half of which are to do with this podcast and radio history (the latest of which is a reading of Cecil Lewis' Broadcasting From Within, the first book on broadcasting, in 1924), and about half of which are general comedy/writing things more like to the weekly Facebook Live I do. Join us on Patreon, and keep us in books and web hosting. It all helps keep us making episodes - we'd genuinely have stopped by now if no one had! So THANK YOU. I guest-presented an episode for The History of England podcast. Hear it here! It's essentially the entire first season of this podcast, squidged into half an hour. (If it vanishes from their feed, we'll be posting it as a special episode on this podcast in a few months' time). 30,000 people have heard that episode now - 100 times the listenership of our episodes here! So welcome if you've joined us from there... The British Broadcasting Century Facebook page is here. Do like. I post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook group is here. Do join. You post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Twitter profile is here. Do follow. My other podcast of interviews, from Rev Richard Coles, Miranda Hart, Milton Jones and more is called A Paul Kerensa Podcast - and I'm adding more interviews all the time. Do listen. My mailing list is here - do subscribe to keep up with things. My books are available here or orderable from bookshops. Memos included in this episode are BBC copyright content, reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation, all rights reserved. Archive clips are either public domain or someone's domain but the mists of time has hidden from us whose they are. Thank you, all rights holders! And we hope this is ok with you... Do please rate and review this podcast where you found it... and keep liking/sharing/commenting on what we do online. It all helps others find us.  Next time: The staff grows! We look at Marconi House in late December 1922, as Rex Palmer joins, but experimental licences cause a headache for those hoping for any income from this new 'BBC' experiment. Subscribe to get this next time. Closing down now, closing down.

Hi toasters. I love this man. You will too by the end of this deep, deep dive into his Shopping Listory. She-wees, grief, egg cutting and more all in one episode, you lucky things. If you enjoy the episode feel free to subscribe and drop us a review. Thanks loves! All the best kind regards xx See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"I had little idea what broadcasting was." So said John Reith after his job interview to become General Manager of the brand new BBC. On this exciting episode, meet your first General Manager (Reith), Director of Programmes (Arthur Burrows v Cecil Lewis - who'll get the job?), Secretary (Major Anderson beats 245 others to it, but doesn't last six months) and Chief Engineer (R.H. White - nothing to do with the lemonade - he's appointed but doesn't last the weekend...). Spanning December 7th-16th 1922, we've got the nerves, the prayers, the interviews, the winks, the nudges, the near-misses (discover who turned down the top job before it was offered to Reith - how different it could have been...) and the programmes. You'll hear Charles Penrose's The Laughing Policeman, Peter Eckersley spoofing the chimes, A.E. Thompson literally nailing down where the police band sit... plus complaints, correspondence and memos about the broadcasts one month into the BBC's being. Our special guest is 'Diddy' David Hamilton (who was not one of the first staff, to clarify our episode title). David's a delight, and brings tales of playing Elvis to Elvis, introducing the Beatles and the Stones, and his latest radio home, Boom Radio.   LINKS FOR YOUR CLICKING PLEASURE: Watch the full David Hamilton interview, including his face, my face + audio from a future episode, here on our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/posts/47583443. You'll need to sign up to our Patreon, but a) you only need sign up to the minimum level to watch the video, b) you can cancel any time, and c) it all helps support this podcast and keeps us in web-hosting and books. Books like... David Hamilton's fab radio books are The Golden Days of Radio 1 and Commercial Radio Daze - recommended. I guest-presented an episode for The History of England podcast. Hear it here! It's essentially the entire first season of this podcast, squidged into half an hour. (If it vanishes from their feed, we'll be posting it as a special episode on this podcast in a few months' time). 30,000 people have heard that episode now - 100 times the listenership of our episodes here! So welcome if you've joined us from there... The Britishbroadcastingchallenge.com is on a mission to open up the future of public service broadcasting Want to hear the full version of Charles Penrose's The Laughing Policeman? Course you do... The British Broadcasting Century Facebook page is here. Do like. I post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Facebook group is here. Do join. You post things there. The British Broadcasting Century Twitter profile is here. Do follow. My other podcast of interviews, from Rev Richard Coles, Miranda Hart, Milton Jones and more is called A Paul Kerensa Podcast - and I'm adding more interviews all the time. Do listen.  My mailing list is here - do subscribe to keep up with things. My books are available here or orderable from bookshops. Support us at patreon.com/paulkerensa or paypal.me/paulkerensa - Thanks to those who do/have/will! We're nothing to do with today's BBC - we're talking about the BBCompany, not made by or anything to with the BBCorporation. But they have loaned us the memo we read out - so that's BBC copyright content, reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation, all rights reserved. Archive clips are either public domain or someone's domain and we don't know whose. But we thank them and reiterate that all copyright belongs to them, whoever they are... Do please rate and review this podcast where you found it... and keep liking/sharing/commenting on what we do online. It all helps others find us. We are a one-man band. I mean, I am. Not we. I. Email the podcast here. Your comments are always welcome. Next time: Burrows' broadcasting company vs Marconi's messaging company. Who'll win? Both!  Subscribe to get the podcast in your in-tray. Thanks for listening! Now stand for the National Anthem.

On a surprising interruption during a colonoscopy, coaching Tom Hollander for his role in ‘Rev.‘, and his experiences during the AIDS epidemic. Broadcaster, writer and clergyman Reverend Richard Coles stays in for lunch with Jay.  Richard and Jay are treated to a warming meal box sent from The Game Bird in The Stafford Hotel in London: https://thestaffordlondon.com/the-game-bird/ A Somethin’ Else / Jay Rayner production For the exciting new range of OTL merch, head to: https://kontraband.shop/collections/out-to-lunch

This week I’m talking to the wonderful Reverend Richard Coles about his partner David. As ever we talk grief, cologne + having to reimagine future plansYou can follow Richard on Twitter @RevRichardColes and you can follow Griefcast on Twitter and Instagram @TheGriefcastGriefcast is hosted by Cariad Lloyd, edited by Kate Holland, recorded at Whistledown Studios (or Cariad's living room in lockdown), artwork is by Jayde Perkin and the music is provided by The Glue Ensemble. And remember, you are not alone.Rose D'or Nominee 2019, Podcast of the Year 2018, Best Podcast ARIA's 2018."the pandemic's most important podcast" TelegraphSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/griefcast. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/griefcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Reverend Richard Coles joined Mark on The Thursday Interview on The Hard Shoulder to discuss his life, the death of his partner David, and how he deals with grief - all chronicled in his new memoir 'The Madness Of Grief'.

Rev Richard Coles on The Madness Of Grief, his account of coping with the death of his long-term partner

Nikki Bedi and Rev Richard Coles are joined by Mel Giedroyc, one half of Mel and Sue who shot to fame hosting Light Lunch, and then warmed our hearts and made us drool with the comforting TV cooking competition programme Great British Bake Off. Since Mel has acted, presented, podcasted about quilting, and she’s written her first novel. Stuart Lawrence’s life was thrown into disarray aged 17 when his adored older brother Stephen was killed in a racially motivated attack. Determined to have an positive impact on young people, he became a teacher, and is now a motivational speaker. Tiggi Trethowan is a listener who contacted us with her story of losing her sight. Ade Adepitan is a paralympian and TV presenter whose latest series meets the people whose lives have already been affected by climate change. Alice Cooper chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Train Kept a Rollin’ by The Yardbirds and Thunderclap Newman, Something in the air and your Thank you. Producer: Corinna Jones

The Reverend Richard Coles has me in stitches as he recounts his experiences of music as a child, from a tone-deaf father, a tonally sharp mother and a brilliant but misleading great aunt, I piece together what made him the skilled and entertaining all-rounder he is today!Produced by Cheryl Davis Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

My Christmas Time Capsule, an advent calendar of podcasts! 25 mini episodes, one a day, up to Christmas Day, where we ask our guests what they would put in a Christmas time capsule! One thing they love and one they hate. The guests behind door number 23 are the BAFTA nominated comedian from The Mash Report, Rachel Parris, comedian Marcus Brigstocke and musician, journalist, former member of The Communards and priest, Rev Richard Coles .If you're enjoying our Christmas specials, please consider donating to Crisis this Christmas https://www.crisis.org.uk/crisis-this-christmas .Follow My Time Capsule on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook: @MyTCpod .Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter: @fentonstevens and Instagram @mikefentonstevens .Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .Music by Pass The Peas Music .Artwork by Matthew Boxall .This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nikki Bedi and Rev Richard Coles are joined by Michel Roux Jr. whose father and uncle were the first in the UK to achieve three Michelin stars for their London restaurant Le Gavroche, where he partly trained in classical French cookery, also doing military service working in the kitchens of the Elysee Palace cooking for two French presidents. He now runs Le Gavroche, and has continued the cooking dynasty as his own daughter has also become a chef. Maria Leijerstam Edy holds the Guinness World Record for being the first person to cycle to the South Pole, in 2013. Navigating avalanches and crevasses, extreme weather conditions and chronic pain, she reached her goal in just 10 days. She joins us. Meriel Larken has spent over 30 years rescuing a ship that lies today on the world’s highest navigable lake, Lake Titicaca in Peru. The Yavari, a Victorian steamboat built in a Birmingham shipyard was transported piecemeal through the Andes on mule back. It's now a popular tourist destination and B&B. Rainer Hersch studied economics, but has made his name in orchestral music that has the audience laughing raucously in scenes more expected at a stand-up show. He joins us. Don Black chooses his inheritance tracks: Besame Mucho by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme and The Way You Look Tonight by Fred Astaire and we have your thank you. Producer: Corinna Jones

Reverend Richard Coles has led a colourful and vibrant life, forming the band 'The communards’ with singer Jimmy Somerville in the mid-'80s. He’s the only reverend in the UK and probably the world to have a number 1 hit. After some drug-fuelled years and witnessing the death of many of his friends from AIDS Richard had an awakening which led him to become a reverend for a parish in rural Northamptonshire. Richard’s civil partner David died in December 2019 at the age of 42. A year on Richard talks candidly about his extraordinary life, the madness of grief, and how he is doing now.

Justin Brierley did not "DESTROY RICHARD DAWKINS" regardless of what the internet would have you believe. He did interview him and get to ask him a significant question, with a fascinating answer. (You can find out what it was by listening to this interview.) He did also put Derren Brown and Rev Richard Coles together to talk about the Christian faith. That's because Justin Brierley is the mastermind behind Premier Christian Radio's apologetics and debate show, Unbelievable? - which gives Christians, atheists, agnostics and skeptics the opportunity to talk in depth about Christianity. Justin talks to Malky, Laura and Jonty about the people who have come to (and departed from ) faith through his radio show, about apologetics and reasonable debate. He also reveals probably the best beer in the world. Heady stuff. This was a really fascinating interview with a great Christian journalist. We didn't have nearly enough time to ask him all our questions. Check it out! Unbelievable? airs every Saturday at 2:30 pm on Premier Christian Radio.  Also check out Justin's book: Unbelievable? and get your copy.    Follow Beer Christianity on Twitter: @beerxianity and find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Stitcher.  All Beer Christianity shows and info available at http://beerchristianity.libsyn.com  Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to teach us a better way to be while reconciling us to God and each other in a way we could never do without Him. He also changed water into wine. Nice. 

Out with Suzi Ruffell - S2 EP8: Rev. Richard ColesOn this weeks episode I chat to the wonderful musician, journalist and Church of England parish priest - Rev. Richard Coles. loved hearing about his story. I hope you do too. Thanks. SuzixxPlease subscribe and leave a review.And if you want to get in touch with me on the show, here's how...email: hello@outwithsuziruffell.comtwitter: @outwithsuzi  A 'Keep It Light Media' ProductionSales, advertising and general enquiries: hello@keepitlightmedia.com

The podcast that drinks with the stars brings you Rev Richard Coles! Find out more at aglasswith.com

Rachel chats to Rev Richard Coles - former pop-star turned broadcaster, Anglican vicar, ballroom dancer and national treasure. The pair enjoy Elixir Distillers bottlings of Glen Moray 2007, Linkwood and Port Askaig.ENTER THE GLENCAIRN GLASS GIVEAWAY: https://www.thebiglight.com/glencairnglassgiveawayThe Reverend Richard Coles is a Church of England priest in the English village of Finedon, Northamptonshire. More than a quarter of a century ago, Richard was the instrumentalist half of pop band The Communards with Jimmy Somerville.Follow Richard on Twitter: @RevRichardColesWebsite: https://www.richardcoles.comFor more information about the podcast, visit: www.thebiglight.com/doublescotch See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this episode we delve into the world of horror, taking a look at the classic 70s film The Wicker Man and talking with someone whose latest short story collection is currently being considered in Hollywood. What is the appeal of horror? Why has it increased in popularity during lockdown? Why do we tell stories about ghosts? In this episode we will try to find out. Award winning novelist and short story writer Kirsty Logan tells us why Things We Say In The Dark, her latest collection, is darker and more horror inspired than her previous work. She also talks about the appeal of horror fiction in general and why The Wicker Man in particular leaves us so uneasy. We also feature an edited excerpt from our Midsummer Wigtown Wednesdays event, which was a discussion on the classic 1970s horror film The Wicker Man. Musician, journalist and Church of England Parish Priest Rev. Richard Coles and comedian, writer and broadcaster Robin Ince discuss the enduring appeal of the film and consider its many themes with our marvellous chair Lee Randall. Presented by Peggy Hughes with incidental music by Ragland.

Former band member of Bronski Beat and The Communards, regular contributor to QI, Would I Lie To You and Have I Got News For You, and ordained priest, Rev Richard Coles is guest number 11 on My Time Capsule. He chats to Michael Fenton Stevens about the five things he'd like to put in a time capsule; four he’d like to preserve and one he’d like to bury and never have to think about again .Follow Richard Coles on Twitter: @RevRichardColes .Follow us on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook: @MyTCpod .Follow Michael on Twitter: @fentonstevens .Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .Music by Pass The Peas Music .Artwork by Matthew Boxall .Social media support by Harriet Stevens .This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

PJ talks to Rev Richard Coles, famous of Communards fame on his love for his Cork roots, Normal People and the Barrs in Togher! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I chatted with my friend Rev Richard Coles about what life has been like since the death of his partner David in December 2019. This was recorded at the beginning of March 2020.

#271 Cadging Fags Off The Homeless - Richard is at the Northampton Deco and amazed by the local news headlines and tourists’ Lady Diana disappointments. His guest is Communard turned Communion-giver, the Reverend Richard Coles. They discuss the terrifying streets of Northampton, the Bay City Rollers in a carpet shop, forgetting you had a speed boat, being the only priest to have tried non-recreational drugs, whether it’s possible to be a better Christian than Jesus, the post-traumatic stress of HIV, what it’s like when the Prime Minister votes for you and inspiring two fictional characters. Richard forgot to ask Richard if he’d ever seen a Holy Ghost and will never forgive himself.SUPPORT THE SHOW!Watch our TWITCH CHANNELBecome a badger and see extra content at our WEBSITESee details of the RHLSTP TOUR DATESBuy DVDs and Books from GO FASTER STRIPE See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hey WTAF-ers!For this SuperFan episode we welcome the wonderful Rev.Richard Coles. We chat about his work in the Parish of Finedon, his pop music career with The Communards and what his autobiography might be called.Come and be a Patreon Bozo! You can support the podcast for as little as $1 a month and get great rewards such as : Early access to Podcast Episodes. Exclusive Content Early Live Show ticket access Limited Edition WTAF enamel PinGo to www.patreon.com/wtaf to join the fun!https://www.podcastmerch.co.uk/wtaf-this-countrywww.wtafpodcast.comTwitter https://twitter.com/wtafthiscountryFacebook https://facebook.com/wtafthiscountryInstagram https://instagram.com/wtafthiscountrySupport the show (http://www.patreon.com/wtaf )

Senior Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner talks to the wonderful Reverend Richard Coles on his birthday. The perfect chat to listen to on an isolating day indoors, the pair discuss the role of clergy in the time of coronavirus and ask if recent times represented a golden age of living. Rev Richard also gives us a special treat on his accordion.

Jo Whiley joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles. Jo presents on Radio 2 and from Glastonbury, as well as pursing her passion for gardening. A competitive swimmer in her youth, she is about to take on the triathlon for Sport Relief. Saturday Live listener Deborah Rowland, who trained as an archaeologist and an anthropologist, describes how she uncovered her own human heritage when she tracked down her birth parents. When Ryan Riley’s mum Krista was diagnosed with terminal small cell lung cancer, he cared for her for two years. In that time chemotherapy and radiotherapy dulled her sense of taste and she couldn’t enjoy food. After she died, Ryan had a life changing moment and decided to set up a cookery school for people like his mum. Adapted from his memoir, Greetings From Bury Park, the feature film Blinded by the Light tells the story of Javed (Sarfraz Manzoor), a British Muslim teenager growing up in Luton and how he finds inspiration and hope in the unlikely form of Bruce Springsteen. Sarfraz explains how this has inspired his new show at the Leicester Square Theatre, Blinded by the Light – The True Story. Dame Kristin Scott Thomas shares her Inheritance Tracks – These Boots Are Made for Walkin’, by Nancy Sinatra; and The Planets - Mars, The Bringer Of War, by Holst. Producer: Louise Corley Editor: John Goudie

Rev Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir are joined by Fay Ripley. Most famous for playing Jenny, her northern counterpart, in TV’s Cold Feet, the series started 24 years ago and continues next week. The actor also cooks - she has written 3 cookbooks, drives fast, has had a chat show and likes to try her hand at anything she fancies. Sam Jalloh, who left Sierra Leone to play tennis, which he learnt playing barefoot and with a plywood raquet. Dr Zoe Williams played Amazon in TV's Gladiators, whilst studying to be a doctor. Now a GP, she is also a TV doctor and health educator. Christabel Carlisle (now Lady Christabel Watson) was a motor-racing pioneer, racing Saloon cars in the sixties (1960-63), competing against men, including some of the big names in the sport - Graham Hill, Jim Clark and Jack Brabham - at tracks from Silverstone to the famous Nurburgring. We have the inheritance tracks of Golden Globe winner Brian Cox, who chooses Sonny boy performed by Al Jolson, and God Only Knows performed by the Beach Boys. And a listener thanks someone they were unable to thank at the time. Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland

Asking For A Friend - the comedy panel show that answers those question's you've never dared ask! In this Christmas special, comedians Jarred Christmas & Maria Shehata and the Reverend Richard Coles answer festive questions like... Is it time we all gave up turkey? Is re-gifting economical or just rude? And is it okay to invite your uncle over for Christmas even if he's a little bit racist?  Union JACK Radio is on DAB digital radio, online, on the app and on that Alexa woman.

In this episode we have some absolute corkers! From the compelling "My Lovely Wife" by Samantha Downing, to the super "Sycamore Gap" by L J Ross & then "Poems For Happiness" introduced by Rev Richard Coles. Plus more bookish chat!

Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles talk to former SAS soldier Andy McNab. He was captured in Iraq while leading the Bravo Two Zero mission in 1991. His book on his ordeal became a bestseller - his first of many. His latest book "Get Me Out Of Here" is aimed at young readers. Children's book illustrator Axel Scheffler has given visual form to Julia Donaldson's characters The Gruffalo, Stick Man, Room on the Broom, A Squash and a Squeeze and many more. But if you find the Gruffalo scary, be aware that Axel's original version was even more menacing. His latest books are "Kind" and "The Smeds and the Smoos" - two stories about tolerance and inclusivity. Veronica Thompson goes by the stage name Fancy Chance when she performs aerial burlesque while hanging from her hair. Her show Flights of Fancy explores ideas of beauty and her feelings of alienation at having been abandoned as a baby on the doorstep of a South Korean police station. Actor and comedian Roisin Conaty shares her Inheritance Tracks. And listener Emma Wyatt-Haines talks about overcoming serious spinal injury to compete in an Iron Man contest. Presenters: Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles Producer: Paul Waters

We're back! And what happened in Glasgow definitely doesn't stay in Glasgow as Lucy and Jenny bring us the second part of their behind the scenes look at Lucy's appearance on Impossible Celebrities. We find out if Jenny's coaching influenced her performance and there's green room chat with fellow contestant Rev. Richard Coles and comedian Stephen Bailey, who was forced to cheer from the sidelines.Plus, Jenny and Lucy go head-to-head with another fantastic listener quiz! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hello and welcome to series 2 of Fingers On Buzzers! Well, nearly... the full series starts on Friday June 28th and promises some pretty awesome guest, such as: Henry Kelly, Rev Richard Coles, Tim Vine and Basil Brush!But before all of that, we thought we'd give you something to be going on with - this episode is the first part of what happened when Lucy and Jenny went up to Glasgow for Lucy to film Impossible Celebrities!Here's a little peak behind the curtain and you'll hear part two on June 28th! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles are joined in the Saturday Live studio by stand-up comedian Bridget Christie, digital artist and mental health campaigner Kirsty Latoya, milkman Ian Beardwell and etymologist Paul Anthony Jones, the author of Around the World in 80 Words. We also hear the Inheritance Tracks of dancer and choreographer Akram Khan - Mera Joota Hai Japani by Raj Kapoor & Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel. Presenters: Aasmah Mir & Rev Richard Coles Producer: Paul Waters

In the 70s and 80s gay activists fought against discrimination and inequality in all aspects of society. Although enormous strides have been made, there’s still more to do, and we can’t take hard-fought gains for granted.  In this episode the Rev Richard Coles discusses with Alice Ramsey, from the employment team at Leigh Day, the changes he has seen in his lifetime and where efforts need to be made for true equality for the LGBT community in society.   Guest speakersRev Richard Coles Alice Ramsay

Composer Mark-Anthony Turnage, Kim Wilde's inheritance tracks, Bryony Gordon on staying sober and running, the Urban birder David Lindo and Thames plastic picking cyclist Dhruv Boruah join Rev Richard Coles and Suzy Klein. Mark-Anthony Turnage is one of the most admired and widely-performed composers of his generation whose operas include Anna Nicole and Coraline. He'll be talking about why he likes to mix pop culture into classical and provoke a response from his audiences. Former corporate guy Dhruv Boruah likes a challenge, the more he can learn the better - he learnt to drive so he could drive an ambulance to Mongolia, learnt to swim so he could join an ocean race and he made a bike on which he cycled the Thames from source to sea to pick up rubbish and started The Thames Project. He joins us to discuss his motivations. David Lindo aka The Urban Birder, is a naturalist, writer, broadcaster and photographer. His obsession with birds began from a young age, when he first started noticing the birds from his window growing up in Wembley, North London. Since then he's been birding round urban environments from Newcastle to New York. Bryony Gordon has been a Telegraph writer and columnist since her teens, often writing about her own life. More recently she has become a mental health campaigner, given up alcohol and run two marathons. Listener Wendy Chalk gives her thank you and we'll hear from Nicky White from the Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival (11th - 19th August). Kim Wilde tells us her inheritance tracks - she chooses Anyone who had a heart performed by Cilla Black and Everything put together falls apart by Paul Simon. Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland.

In the third Big Conversation episode, Justin is joined by illusionist Derren Brown and popstar-turned-media-priest Rev Richard Coles. In a wide-ranging conversation they tell their respective stories of moving away from and towards Christian faith. Drawing on his book Happy: Why more or less everything is absolutely fine, Derren makes the case for living a fulfilled life as an atheist in the absence of God. Richard draws from his experience of ‘meeting the resurrected Christ’ as they discuss suffering, death and ultimate meaning. The Big Conversation is produced in partnership with Templeton Religion Trust. For Big Conversation videos, updates and bonus content sign up: http://www.thebigconversation.show  Register for Unbelievable? the Conference USA, Portland, Sat 1 Sep https://westsideajc.org/unbelievable-conference For Derren Brown: http://derrenbrown.co.uk  For Richard Coles: http://www.richardcoles.com/  Get signed copies of Unbelievable? the book and audiobook: www.unbelievablebook.co.uk  For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes

Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles host and perform with opera star Bryn Terfel. He's appearing in the title role in Falstaff at the Royal Opera House. Edwina "IronGran" Brocklesby, tells how she took up marathons, triathlons and Iron Man racing in her 50s. She's still going strong at 75 and wants to spread the message that exercise helps physical and mental health whatever your age. BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner talks about his latest thriller, Ultimatum, set in Iran. Rai Rafiq tells how she came from Zanzibar as a child, to become co-host of one of the UK's most respected podcasts - Mostly Lit. And to mark the start of Wimbledon fortnight, Judy Murray shares the track she inherited and the song she'll pass on to the next generation in Inheritance Tracks. Also: Edwina Brocklesby's grandmother - Nan - cooked for Winston and Clementine Churchill at No 10 Downing Street during World War Two. Her mousseline pudding was almost the death of her and Britain's wartime leader during the Blitz. We want to hear stories about your grandmother - inspiring, heroic or just funny. EMAIL saturdaylive@bbc.co.uk TWEET #bbcsaturdaylive TEXT: 84844 (Texts will be charged at your standard message rate. Check with your network provider for exact costs.) PRESENTERS: Aasmah Mir & Rev Richard Coles PRODUCER: Paul Waters.

Dame Evelyn Glennie tells presenters Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles about her mission to find new ways to help people really listen. She blazed a trail as the world's first professional solo percussionist, having become profoundly deaf at the age of 12. When she's not touring internationally, there's little she likes better than getting out her trusty metal detector and going searching for buried treasure. Max Beesley was no stranger to showbiz glamour even before he became a TV star, having played drums onstage with Robbie Williams, Stevie Wonder and The Jam. But he was inspired by Robert De Niro to make the switch to acting. He's starred in series like Suits and Hotel Babylon, and is back on screen playing the rugged Harry Sharrow in the second series of Jamestown - which has been described as a Jacobean western. Jordanian-Irish singer songwriter Keeva explains how she copes with anxiety and depression while putting her life into song and performing on stage. She also pulls pints in a bar, and draws artistic inspiration from her customers' personal dramas. Have a listen to see if you recognise yourself. Storyteller Matt Hopwood shares love stories he gathered while walking from Lindisfarne in Northumberland to Callanish on the Isle of Lewis. During his 500 mile journey across Scotland, Matt relied on the kindness of strangers for food and shelter. His mission was to listen, and the tales he heard of love for partner, friend, family and place are collected in his book, A Human Love Story - Journeys to the Heart. We also hear Martin McCutcheon's Inheritance Tracks, and take a icy dip with some chilly open water swimmers at Bardowie. Presenters: Aasmah Mir & Rev Richard Coles Producer: Paul Waters.

This week Tim Lovejoy talks to the remarkable Reverend Richard Coles about his new album, faith and love. If you would like to contact us then our email address is dearlovejoypodcast@gmail.com or you can tweet Tim @timlovejoy Richard’s album is available here – https://goo.gl/GddP9R

Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles are joined by broadcaster and actor Reggie Yates. From Desmonds to Top of the Pops, he's been on camera nearly all of his life, but it's as a documentary filmmaker that he's now familiar, investigating everything from religion in South Africa, race and homophobia in Russia to gun crime in Chicago. John Virgo has spent the last forty years playing snooker as a player and commentator. Famous for his impersonations of fellow players from Ray Reardon to Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins and and his jazzy waistcoats, he'll be telling us how he went from a childhood in Salford, through smoky snooker dens, to winning the UK Snooker Championship. Mandy Hickson is a former Royal Air Force fast jet pilot - only the second woman to fly a Tornado GR4 aircraft - who served on the front line defending the no fly zone in the Gulf. Julia Newth is a Bewick swan specialist at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, who is awaiting the arrival of the Bewick swans to the UK this weekend from their summer billets in Russia's Arctic north. The musician, Benny Andersson, formerly of the seventies group Abba reveals his Inheritance Tracks - Rattvikarnas Ganglat by Dalarnas Spelmansforbund Mon oeur S'ouvre A Ta Voix (Samson Et Dalila) by Maria Callas. If you are listening to this programme on demand, competitions may no longer be running. Unseen by Reggie Yates is published by BBC Books. Say Goodnight JV - John Virgo - My Autobiography is published by John Blake.

Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles are joined by chef, restaurateur and TV presenter Rick Stein whose latest culinary journey has taken him to California and Mexico. Showjumper Nick Skelton went on to win Olympic Gold after breaking his neck in a fall. After 60 years, Lin Sunderland has fulfilled her ambition to become a lighthouse keeper. Mary-Ann Ochota has been travelling the waterways of Britain, discovering how boats have shaped our lives. Plus, Inheritance Tracks from musician Nitin Sawhney. Nitin chooses So What by Miles Davis and Mustt Mustt by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Massive Attack remix). The Road to Mexico by Rick Stein is published by BBC Books. Gold by Nick Skelton is published by Orion. Britain Afloat presented by Mary-Ann Ochota is currently on BBC 2 , Saturdays at 8.00pm. Nitin Sawhney's latest project is the score for the film Breathe which is released on the 27th October.

Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles are joined by the Queen of Baking, Mary Berry who has been teaching the nation to cook for over four decades. She's now turning her attention to home maintenance and tells us how to air our beds and clean our loos in a new book. Harry Judd is best known as the drummer for pop band McFly and a winner of Strictly Come Dancing. Now a fitness fanatic, he explains how exercise has helped him get over his anxiety, OCD and panic attacks Father and daughter performers Victoria and Mike Melody tell the story of how after a fatal diagnosis Mike planned his own funeral with Victoria. After a reprieve, they decided to go ahead with the funeral away - and put on a show about it. Dentist and mum of four, Ursula Goode, recently won a gold medal in gymnastics at the British Adult Gymnastics championship at the age of 44. The broadcaster and theatre critic, Libby Purves reveals her Inheritance Tracks - Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and Noel Coward's There are Bad Times Just Around the Corner. Mary's Household Tips and Tricks - Your Guide to Happiness in the Home by Mary Berry is published by Michael Joseph. Ugly Chief with Victoria & Mike Melody runs at the Battersea Arts Centre from 31 October - 18 November. Get Fit, Get Happy by Harry Judd is published by Coronet. Libby Purves presents Planks and a Passion on Radio 4 on 17th October. Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Eleanor Garland.

Musician, broadcaster and vicar, Rev Richard Coles talks with Sam Hailes on The Profile Broadcast every Saturday at 4 p.m., The Profile is an in-depth interview, delving into the lives of well known Christians, their work and their faith journey. For more information visit premierchristianradio.com/theprofile

Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles chat with cricket commentator Henry "Blowers" Blofeld, Keane singer Tom Chaplin on his solo career, comedian Kiri Pritchard-Mclean & British Antarctic winter base commander Jess Walkup. We also hear interior designer Nicky Haslam's inheritance tracks and from the World Egg Throwing Championships in Lincolnshire. Producer: Paul Waters Presenters: Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles.

Lee Mack star of the long running BBC sit com Not Going Out, former stable boy and keen darts players joins the Rev Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir. Life-long petrolhead Bron Burrell on why she is racing from London to Portugal in an 1970s Austin Maxi. Saturday Live listener Philippa O'Sullivan who is preparing to take part in the only round the world yacht race for amateurs. Former Commonwealth champion Matthew Syed gives a table tennis masterclass live in the studio. Burlesque performer Iestyn Edwards shares his experiences of entertaining British Army personnel in some of the least hospitable places on earth. Plus 1980 pop punk singer Toyah Wilcox with a brace of Inheritance Tracks. Lee Mack is in The Miser at The Garrick Theatre, London from 10th March The Greatest - The Quest for Sporting Perfection by Matthew Syed is published by John Murray My Tutu Went AWOL by Iestyn Edwards is published as an e-book Producer: Steven Williams Editor: Eleanor Garland.

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 motorcycle stuntwoman. She talks about her unexpected career change. Anna Bailey speaks to Saturday Live listener Annabel Dunstan, who got in contact, via the Royal Academy of Dance, to talk about how ballet has bought her closer to her mother who has dementia. Max Décharné talks about why he's fascinated by slang, and how many contemporary words are a lot older than you'd expect. Hypnotist and author Paul McKenna shares his Inheritance Tracks. Paul has chosen Dancing Queen by Abba and Us and Them by Pink Floyd. Comedian, actor and lover of magic Nick Mohammed explains how he's learnt to pick locks like an escapologist for his latest show Mr Swallow - Houdini. Marti Pellow's single Sound of My Breaking Heart is out now and his album Mysterious is released on the 10th March. Max Décharné's Vulgar Tongues: An Alternative History of English Slang is out now. Paul McKenna's latest book Get Control of Sugar is out now. The run of Mr Swallow - Houdini staring Nick Mohammed ends at the Soho Theatre in London on the 18th February. His children's book The Young Magicians and the Thieves' Almanac is out now. Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Anne Peacock.

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 recreating journeys across Europe. JP meets up with Saturday Live listeners who are related to cast members from Brief Encounter, to reunite them with Cyril Raymond's diaries. Dave Morris shares his passion for Shepherds' Huts and describes how he restored one that was featured in Far From the Madding Crowd. The gardener and designer, Joe Swift, explains how he came to gardening via a post punk band and a spell on a kibbutz, what it takes to win gold at the Chelsea Flower Show and the healing power of horticulture. Bill Turnbull chooses his Inheritance Tracks: 'Three Little Maids' from the Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan and 'Che Gelida Manina' sung by Vittorio Grigolo, from Puccini's La Boheme. The Good Karma Hospital is on ITV on Sunday night at 9pm. Night Trains - The Rise and Fall of The Sleeper by Andrew Martin is published on 9th February. Shepherd's Huts and Living Vans, by Dave Morris, is published by Amberley Publishing. Joe Swift is on A Man About a Garden Tour 2017. The album 'Bill Turnbull's Relaxing Classics' is out now.

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 Jean Rawson, 93, who describes how her family dog comforted her in a time of great need. Della O'Sullivan runs the Dulwich Wing Tsun Academy. She explains how she got into Chinese martial arts. Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain shares her Inheritance Tracks. She has chosen Blackbird by The Beatles and Michael Jackson's Black or White. DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles talks about his early music and sporting ambitions, love of cooking and passion for motorbikes. Martin Clunes: Islands of Australia continues on ITV at 8pm on Tuesday. Defender by GX Todd is out now. Nadiya Hussain's debut novel The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters is out now. Proper Healthy Food book by Nick Knowles is out now. Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland.

Happy New Year! We’ve packed a lot of good stuff into the January 2017 edition. Sam, Katie and Justin discuss the conversation we hosted between comedians Milton Jones, Sally Phillips and Paul Kerensa. We’re all a bit worried about Sam after he went to a new age fair, Joe Ogborn has an atheist friend he takes to church every Sunday and we hear how Rev Richard Coles went from 80s popstar to media missionary. See the January edition at http://www.premierchristianity.com/Past-Issues/2017/January-2017 Get a free copy of the magazine at www.premierchristianity.com/freesample Get the MP3 podcast of Premier Christianity Magazine, or Subscribe Via a href=“https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/premier-christianity-podcast/id959882582?mt=2”>iTunes

Premier Christianity is your source of unique Christian content to help you grow deeper in your faith, engage with the Church, tackle current issues from a Christian perspective and be inspired by the faith stories of others. Request your free sample copy of Premier Christianity magazine at premierchristianity.com/freesample

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, and explains what makes a good Dame. The Saturday Live pantomime, written by Alan McHugh, and performed by our listeners, with surprise cameo appearances from Radio 4 presenters. Cast members from Bollywood Jack perform live in the Radio Theatre. And real life Fairy Godmother, Jaime Thurston, describes how she makes wishes come true. Phil Collins shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen All My Loving by The Beatles and The Times They Are A Changin' by Bob Dylan. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs runs at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth from 16 December 2016 - 14 January 2017. Bollywood Jack runs at the Tara Theatre in south west London from 7 December 2016 - 7 January 2017. Not Dead Yet by Phil Collins, is out now. Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Karen Dalziel.

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. He explains how a chance encounter at a poetry performance evening ended up with him taking part in battle rapping competitions around the globe. Photographer Richard Weston reveals why taking a picture of his son Sam had a tremendous effect on both their lives. And Everton superfan Dr David France explains how he amassed the biggest collection of Everton memorabilia in the world. Plus guitarist from the Smiths, The The and Electronic Johnny Marr shares his Inheritance Tracks. Producer: Steven Williams Editor: Beverley Purcel.

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 meets Zucchero, an Italian singer-songwriter most famous in the UK for the duet "Senza Una Donna (Without a Woman)" with Paul Young. Presenter Matt Baker is currently taking part in the One Show Rickshaw Challenge in aid of BBC Children in Need. He shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by the Sherman brothers Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason is the winner of BBC Young Musician 2016. He performs live and discusses his musical ambitions, A-Levels and playing football. Out on the Land by Ray Mears and Lars Fält is out now. Fun Science by Charlie McDonnell is out now. Zucchero's new album Black Cat is out now. The BBC 4 documentary Young, Gifted and Classical: The Making of a Maestro, featuring Sheku Kanneh-Mason and his family, will be broadcast 20th November at 8pm. Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Karen Dalziel.

Miles Jupp joins the Rev Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir and shares his love of cricket, rollercoasters and why he is possibly the poshest stand-up comedian on the circuit. Lance Corporal Richard Jones from the Household Cavalry reveals how he combines being a magician alongside his military career. Plus a trio of extreme sports enthusiasts: Blake Aldridge on why he left the world of Olympic diving to become a cliff diver, Emily Guilding explains the appeal of wing walking and why she performs headstands strapped to the wings of a plane and Saturday Live listener Romy Shovelton who races camels in her spare time. Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the former head of the army Lord Richard Dannatt, High on a Hill by the Band and Bugles Of The Light Division and Highland Cathedral by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guard. Miles Jupp's stand-up tour Songs Of Freedom starts on September 7th at the Stables in Milton Keynes, and continues around the UK finishing in February 2017. Richard Jones is starring in the Impossible magic show, at the Noel Coward Theatre in London until the 27th August. Romy Shovelton will be camel racing at Chilham Castle, Canterbury on 4th September. Blake Aldridge can next be seen diving in the UK at Blue Lagoon in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the 11th September. Produced by Claire Bartleet and Steven Williams Editor: Beverley Purcell.

Dancer and choreographer Wayne Sleep talks about life as a dancer, his love of the stars and shares his unusual new hobby. Gary Fildes is a bricklayer turned astronomer, and founder of the Kielder Observatory in Northumberland. Listener Andrew Townsend talks about how his life changed after taking up running when he was 55. Reporter JP Devlin will be hearing all about how to train cats with Sarah Ellis, a Feline Behaviour Specialist. Writer and Producer Tony Garnett shares his Inheritance Tracks - he's chosen Tea for Two and Beautiful Boy by John Lennon. With the Rev Richard Coles and Suzy Klein Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Karen Dalziel.

Rick Astley rolls into the studio to talk to Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles about his comeback album, what it's like to be at the top of the charts the second time round and why he drives to as many different concerts as possible even if they are abroad. Police Sergeant Colin Taylor reveals the trials of policing one of Britain's most remote communities on the Scilly Isles. Professional clown Dan Lees discusses his experiences of performing for children in refugee camps as part of the Clown Without Borders ensemble and why he thinks clowns are the most misunderstood of theatrical performers. Lido lover and Saturday Live listener Sarah Thelwall on why she is planning to swim in every open air pool in the UK. Plus British Skeleton Bob competitor Amy Williams shares the music that inspired her Olympic gold medal success. Producer: Steven Williams Editor: Karen Dalziel.

To celebrate the launch of BBC Get Playing, Suzy talks to lapsed organist Rev Richard Coles, who is offered some advice by Martin Baker, Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral.

Libby Purves meets artist Arabella Dorman; presenter and parish priest the Reverend Richard Coles; former baker Ted the Bread Davies and director Joan Littlewood's former assistant, Peter Rankin. Arabella Dorman is a war artist and portrait painter. Her exhibition, Before the Dawn, features work reflecting her time in Afghanistan over the last five years. The exhibition shows the reality of life for Afghan families and British soldiers at a time of transition with the withdrawal of British and US troops. Before the Dawn is at La Galleria Pall Mall, London. The Reverend Richard Coles is a parish priest in Northamptonshire and presenter of BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live. He was also half of the eighties pop duo the Communards with Jimmy Somerville. In his memoir he reveals his journey from a rock-and-roll life of sex and drugs to a life devoted to God and Christianity. Fathomless Riches - or How I went from Pop to Pulpit is published by Weidenfeld And Nicolson. Ted Davies is a former chef and baker with the RAF. He has written a children's book, Ted the Bread and the Harvest Festival, based on the character Ted, a teddy bear who is a baker in a small Welsh village. The character of Ted the Bread is inspired by Ted's own story when he was stationed in Tobruk in North Africa, baking bread for 2000 service staff a day. Ted the Bread and the Harvest Festival by Ted Davies and Lynn Dulson is published by Wilton 65. Peter Rankin worked as Joan Littlewood's assistant, becoming a close friend of the innovative theatre director. His biography Joan Littlewood: Dreams and Realities draws on their conversations, letters and Littlewood's personal archives to tell the story of how she rose from lowly beginnings to become a dominant figure in British theatre. Joan Littlewood: Dreams and Realities is published by Oberon Books. Producer: Paula McGinley.

Continuing the Sound of Cinema season, the Rev Richard Coles ponders heaven and hell in the classic 1946 Powell and Pressburger film A Matter of Life and Death, starring David Niven.Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, together known as The Archers, were one of the most influential and audacious film-makers of the 1930s and 40s. Their groundbreaking works include: 'The Red Shoes', 'The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp', 'A Matter of Life and Death' and 'Black Narcissus'.The Rev Richard Coles is a cleric and broadcaster. Producer: Justine Willett.

Rev Richard Coles and Suzy Klein with the chairman of The National Trust, Sir Simon Jenkins, talking about the National Trust and his new book 'England's 100 Best Views', Francesco Da Mosto sharing his views of Venice and elsewhere, Tony Bennett, the 'VisitBritain' and 'Countryside is Great' Take a View Landscape Photographer of the year 2013 on the perfect landscape photograph, Ang Zangbhu, a supporter of the Himalayan Trust UK and a former sherpa in the foothills of Everest who now flies jets out of Gatwick, describing the view of his birthplace from the air, Ron Price, at 95, the oldest National Trust volunteer, on the joys of volunteering and a life involved with Buckland Abbey in Devon, Judy Worham and Carol Blacher, retired friends, who are exploring London's underground stations, The Inheritance Tracks of Dame Kiri te Kanawa who chooses O Mio Babbino Caro by Giacomo Puccini and Marschallin's Monologue from Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, and JP Devlin visits the Irish town of Gort, population around 3,000 and with a significant Brazilian community. Produced by Chris Wilson.

Rev Richard Coles and Andrea Catherwood with maths writer Alex Bellos, English-speaker Caroline Sarll who decided to bring her children up to be bilingual, Charlie Corr whose childhood dream came true when he met Pele, Frank McCauley from lowly Salford City FC who've caught the eye of Manchester United's famous 'Class of '92', Ken Jones who was caught in an avalanche, and Simon Duncan and Mark Atkinson whose band's name earned them a Banksy. Plus the Inheritance Tracks of writer and broadcaster Judy Finnigan.Alex Bellos's new book is Alex Through the Looking-Glass. His first maths book was the hugely acclaimed Alex's Adventures in Numberland. He set up favouritenumber.net, a global survey to find the world's favourite number. His book on Brazilian football Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life has been revised and updated with a new chapter for the 2014 World Cup. He ghostwrote Pele: The Autobiography. He blogs about maths for The Guardian.On June 25 1966, 13 year-old Charlie Corr ran onto the pitch at Hampden to meet his football idol Pele. The moment was captured on camera and the picture was printed recently in the Sunday Mail in Scotland.Caroline Sarll and her husband are both native English speakers but she decided to bring up their two daughters to be bilingual in German.Ken Jones survived an avalanche in Transylvania in 2003. His book Darkness Descending is out now.Simon Duncan and Mark Atkinson's original band name was Exit Via The Giftshop. They changed it to Brace Yourself and gained a BanksyWriter and broadcaster Judy Finnigan's book Eloise is out now.Frank McCauley has been involved with Salford City FC for 30 years and is now a member of the committee.Producer: Dixi Stewart.

Fi Glover with guests Gary Kemp and Dame Joan Bakewell. Murray Lachlan Young brings poems and the Rev Richard Coles delivers e-mails. There are interviews with Alan and Irene Brogan who met in a children's home in Newcastle and met again years later and got married; they appeared on Saturday Live and as a result of being on the programme a book was written about them. Also Kate Shipton and her son Matthew tell the story of how he donated a kidney to save her life, and Margaret Pellegrini describes how she came to be one of the original munchkins in the Wizard of Oz, and how that experience has shaped her life. There's an I Was There with Professor Colin Pillinger on his involvement in the Apollo 8 which was in space during Christmas 1968, a Crowdscape from Leeds Christmas Market, a Day Trip with John McCarthy and Sandi Toksvig at Denis Severs' House in Spitalfields and a Sound Sculpture from Santa Claus. Inheritance Tracks from entertainer Bette Midler and actor and Pantomime Dame par excellence Clive Rowe.