News

Jane Garvey hosts the 200th episode of Fortunately on Radio 4 tonight at 11pm. In this special edition, comedian Shappi Khorsandi joins Jane and Fi, along with a live and socially distanced audience, at London’s Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre. With the help of a high tech interactive Q&A, Jane and Fi quiz the audience and face a few probing questions themselves. They are later joined by Shappi, who tells them about her upcoming book Kissing Emma, Rambo crushes and likens the ladies to Muppets.

Mike Bushell hosted the Made in the North West Awards for Newsco Insider this Wednesday. Mike was a massive hit, moderating the event to and receiving high paise. Newsco reported back with the accolade: Mike was an absolute dream to work with! What a lovely man! He was also very good on stage, made an effort to mingle with the crowd before and after dinner and overall, I thought he was fantastic – looking forward to having him again!

Sian Williams joins the Dalai Lama alongside Richard Layard, co-founder of Action for Happiness for a unique online event. The talk will feature exclusive highlights from the Action for Happiness Patron, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in conversation with Sian and Richard – plus Andy Puddicombe from Headspace and some of the incredible Action for Happiness supporters making a difference in their communities.

Live from the Brighton Dome, Jane Garvey kicks off a series of live events with Fi Glover to celebrate their new book Did I Say That Out Loud? They guarantee an evening of behind-the-scenes revelations and inconsequential, but strangely compelling, chat about living some of their lives in front of and behind the microphone. Covering essential life skills (never buy an acrylic jumper, always decline the offer of a limoncello), Fi and Jane will riff on the chuff of life, from pet deaths to broadcasting hierarchies, via the importance of hair dye, the perils and pleasures of judging other women, and the perplexing overconfidence of chino-wearing middle-aged white men named Roger.

Marverine Cole will feature as the Dictionary Corner special guest on Channel 4’s Black to Front edition of Countdown in Autumn 2021. Hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald, Channel 4’s longest running show will feature Marverine alongside Lemn Sissay OBE who will adjudicate the words from Dictionary Corner and Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE. Black to Front is part of Channel 4’s on-going commitment to improve Black representation on and off screen. From breakfast right through to late night, some of Channel 4’s most iconic shows will have Black talent at the forefront offering viewers a new perspective of much-loved programmes.

Michael Buerk has a double header of programming this week, beginning with The Moral Maze on Wednesday 21st at 8pm on Radio 4. This is then followed by the finale of How the Victorians Built Britain on Channel 5 at 8pm Thursday 22nd. Michael will be exploring the Victorian’s sense of exploration as he comes face to face with a dinosaur that changed history at the Natural History Museum.

Suzannah Lipscomb’s Walking Tudor England continues tonight on 5 Select at 9pm or catch up with the previous episodes on My5. This week, Suzannah will be visiting parts of East Anglia associated with Queen Mary, including the castle where she was crowned and a site in Norwich where protestants were burned alive.

James King takes us through the 6 Films You Loved in ’96 on BBC Radio 2 this Saturday. For each of these seminal films, James takes a look behind the curtain to see what makes these masterpieces just so good.

Michael Buerk presents a new series of How the Victorians Built Britain, starting on Wednesday 14th and continuing Thursday 15th at 7pm on Channel 5. Michael discovers how bold Victorian experiments built Britain, revolutionised the medical world and created the first modern police force.

Suzannah Lipscomb presents a new series, Walking Tudor England, for 5 Select. Starting on Tuesday 13th July at 9pm over 6 episodes, Suzannah will be travelling across the country to visit the most significant locations in the absorbing tales of the Tudors.