Saturday Live

Katie Melua joins Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir. She talks about her childhood from Georgia to Belfast and London, her music, and she describes how the late Sir Terry Wogan championed her career and how she has released this year's official BBC Children in Need single in his honour. Saturday Live hosts Radio 4's BBC Children in Need auction, offering listeners the chance to bid for some amazing prize packages to raise money for BBC Children in Need. Auctioneer, Will Farmer is on hand to update the bids. Jonathan Agnew describes The Test Match Special VIP Experience at Lord's; Corrie Corfield reveals life Behind the Scenes at BBC Radio News, and Barry Cryer, talks about I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue Experience, including the legendary Mornington Crescent. LINES ARE NOW CLOSED - DO NOT CALL OR TRY TO BID.We hear from children who have been helped by projects supported by Children in Need. Anna Bailey visits an equine therapy project, Taking the Reins. Poppy tells Aasmah how her visits to the Shakespeare Hospice ha

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 bi

Goldie, producer, DJ and artist; actor Tim Bentinck and model and campaigner Mary Russell join Aasmah Mir and the Reverend Richard Coles..Born in Walsall and brought up in a series of children's homes, Goldie made his name as a graffiti artist before becoming a sought after producer and DJ. As an actor he appeared in the James Bond film the World is Not Enough and learned how to conduct an orchestra in the BBC series Maestro. His new book, All Things Remembered, written with Ben Thompson, looks back at his eventful life and reveals how hot yoga has helped him come to terms with his past. All Things Remembered is published by Faber and Faber.Mary Russell is a model, disability rights campaigner and a television personality. Born with achondroplasia - a common cause of dwarfism - she also works for a range of charities which aim to educate people about disability. Mary has appeared in the television series the Undateables and more recently in the BBC series Without Limits in which a group of people with disabil

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 B

Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny are joined by the broadcaster Gloria Hunniford - who started out as a singer at the age of seven and went on to become the first woman to have a daily radio programme on BBC Radio 2. She describes how she has interviewed everyone from Salman Rushdie to Doris Day and even managed to stay on air during a bombing. Arctic explorer Erling Kagge discusses the enemy of all radio broadcasters - SILENCE. Head Concierge, Nigel Bowen, explains how he keeps guests happy at one of London's 5 star hotels. From having to arrange for frozen breast milk to be flown across the Atlantic to tracking down an obscure perfume with no name. The comedian, writer and agony aunt, Viv Groskop, shares life lessons gleaned from Russian literature and explains why she is such a Strictly superfan, and The Rev. Richard Coles updates us on his preparations for Strictly Come Dancing. Johnny Ball reveals his Inheritance Tracks - Sing Sing Sing (With a Swing) performed by Benny Goodman and the title track of Guys

Monty Don joins presenters Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny to discuss his television gardening career, his new book Down To Earth, and how getting your hands dirty is good for your mental well-being.Tree climber and award-winning documentary cameraman James Aldred shares his love of trees and the adventures he's had with gorillas, leopards, snakes and poisonous frogs in rainforests around the world.Soil scientist Jackie Stroud loves worms. She reveals why.And listener Suzanne Gray explains why, at the age of 49, she joined the Territorial Army to work as an operating theatre nurse in a military field hospital in Afghanistan.We'll also hear the inheritance tracks of TV property presenter Kirstie Allsopp.Presenters: Aasmah Mir & Shaun Keaveny Producer: Paul Waters.

Presented by Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny.The singer Marc Almond talks about his new album of 1960s orchestral pop and his diverse career using world music influences, including Russian folksongs. Saturday Live listener Lisa Cooper tells the fascinating story of her grandmother Pearl, who was born in 1900 in a village near Kiev, in Russia and experienced pogroms, the Bolshevik Revolution and Civil War. The 'Poetry Postie', Sally Crabtree, started out as a promising gymnast. However, a TS Eliot poem inspired her to try a career in poetry, and taking it into the community, where her projects have ranged from Poetry Bingo to Edible Poetry.JP Devlin meets Strictly Come Dancing's warm up man, Stuart Holdham, and Aasmah phones Richard, who's preparing for the big night!At 26 Tom Aikens became the youngest British chef to be awarded two Michelin stars. He reveals what spurred him on to succeed, and why he competed in the Marathon des Sables - to run six marathons across the Sahara Desert in five days.Fergal Keane sh

As he prepares to join the forthcoming Living Legends tour, David Essex tells us about his route from blue-eyed East End boy to star of stage, screen and soap via a barrage of screaming fans. The Living Legends tour begins in October.Comedian Katherine Ryan joins the Saturday Live panel show ahead of her stand-up tour. She'll tell us how she's found her move from Canada to the UK has been good for her career and... her skin. Katherine's tour runs from September to March.For Barney Shaw it's all about the attraction of olfaction. The former civil servant sniffs out the biology, psychology and history of our sense of smell. The Smell of Fresh Rain by Barney Shaw is published by Icon.Following a horse riding accident Claire Lomas became paraplegic. She has since become a campaigner, fundraiser and completed the 2012 London Marathon in 17 days using a robotic suit.Dianne Buswell is the Rev's partner for Strictly. She'll tell us about the challenges that lie ahead.Plus, the Inheritance Tracks of guitar hero Wilko

Jeremy Vine recalls his dad-built tree house and hoisting Karen Clifton aloft on Strictly. Sally Goble tells us what it's like to swim the channel. Malachy Tallack spends his time cresting the ocean wave in search of legendary and lost islands of the worldAnd look heavenwards with Penny Thornton, chef-astrologer, for tips on going Virgotarian...Your Thank You and the Inheritance Tracks form Anthea Turner.

Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by Stephen McGann, who plays Dr. Turner in BBC TV series Call the Midwife. He reveals why he has combined his passion for genealogy, with his academic interest in the social dimensions of medicine, to write a personal history of his family. Sarah Walker's father wrote the Countryman's Diary column in a couple of local newspapers until his death earlier this year. Sarah describes how she is now carrying on the tradition by writing her own column, The Countryman's Daughter, using his archive. Grace Savage is two-time UK Female beatbox champion, two-time UK Team Beatbox Champion - she explains how to beat box, record loops and why she used an ironing board in her act. The DJ Jo Whiley is an avid gardener. Anna Bailey visits her in Northamptonshire to discover the natural sounds she enjoys away from music. Despite training for the priesthood, A.N. Wilson left to concentrate on his writing, including biographies of famous figures from Jesus to Tolstoy, and most rec

Sixty years in showbiz for Marty Wilde this year. The south London boy was signed by the famously unsentimental pop Svengali Larry Parnes, and rose to fame with the generation that included Sir Cliff and Billy Fury. He co-wrote Kids in America for his daughter, 80s pop star Kim Wilde, and has just produced his granddaughter's cover of the Lulu hit 'I'm a Tiger'. If that were not enough, this autumn he's off tour, the Solid Gold Rock'n'Roll TourLara Jewitt's office is pretty unusual - the Tropical Nursery and the Alpine Nursery at Kew Gardens - where the world's rarest plant life begins. She has travelled widely around South America in search of rare plants and most recently won Gold with her team at this year's Chelsea Flower Show.Sweetpea Slight grew up I suppose unconventionally in Dorset, the daughter of artists, but it was theatre for which she was destined. Event intervened, when just before she went to audition for drama school she got rather annexed by the theatre producer Thelma Holt, as famous for he

Actor Simon Williams; singer Heather Small; writer John Higgs and angler Marina Gibson join Aasmah Mir and the Reverend Richard Coles.The actor Simon Williams got his big break playing James Bellamy in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. He is currently starring as Justin Elliott in the BBC Radio 4 series the Archers and a mysterious property developer - known as "the chairman" - in East Enders on BBC One. He is performing in Posting Letters to the Moon with his wife, the actress Lucy Fleming in which the couple read the wartime letters between Lucy's parents Celia Johnson and her husband Peter Fleming. Posting Letters to the Moon is at the Jermyn Street Theatre on November 19th.Heather Small is a singer and songwriter, best known for her work with the soul band M People who came to attention with hits including Moving on Up, One Night in Heaven and Search for the Hero. Now a solo performer, Heather is a former contestant on the BBC One series Strictly Come Dancing. Heather Small is on tour in 2018.Marina

Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by the chef and musician Levi Roots, whose business success began following an appearance on BBC Two's Dragon's Den. He's performed with James Brown, been nominated for a Best Reggae Act MOBO award and has returned to his musical roots with Reggae Reggae Hits. Alastair Sawday describes the joys of travelling, and travelling slow. Dominic Sewell is a champion jouster. He is at Dover Castle taking part in the first modern day joust, alongside Tobias Capwell against France. The stuntwoman Annabel Wood recalls doubling for Hollywood's leading actresses including stunts for Game of Thrones and the latest Mission Impossible film. JP meets listener Ant Grant, whose father's death inspired him to take up photography. Anoushka Shankar chooses her Inheritance Tracks - Tana Mana and Shanti Mantra - both by her father Ravi Shankar.Levi Roots presents Reggae Reggae Hits. Travelling Light, by Alastair Sawday is out now. Anoushka Shankar is playing at the Proms at the Royal

Good morning from Blenheim, where to the sounds of the xxxx brass band, we join Countryfile Live for an early harvest festival of things rural.We're joined by John Craven, who's been reporting country matters from mad cow disease to morris dancing for nearly thirty years. His co-presenter James Wong, ethnobiologist and man who knows his anise from his edamame joins us too... ....from the Blenheim Palace staff, social historian Antonia Keaney is here to talk parks and gardens, blue blood and green backs, kind hearts and coronets... ....and marriage guidance is available from Rabbi Jonathan Romain, whose new book revisits hijacked weddings, catastrophic funerals, and the various triumphs and disasters that attend the human condition. All these, plus Inheritance Tracks from actor Miranda Richardson; and whiskered men in tweed shouting "get off my land" at JP Devlin to come.Presenters: Aasmah Mir & the Rev Richard Coles Producer: Maire Devine Editor: Eleanor Garland.

Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of the Eden Project; actor and writer John Gordon Sinclair; performer Sophie Willan and confectioner Andy Baxendale join Aasmah Mir and the Reverend Richard Coles.Sir Tim Smit co-founded the Eden Project in Cornwall in 2001. The Dutch born businessman is also known for restoring the Lost Gardens of Heligan with John Nelson. It's 25 years since these gardens were restored to their former glory. This week the Eden Project launched a new company Eden Project International Ltd (EPIL) to establish Eden projects with international partners around the world. Eden Project International is currently working on three projects in China and others in Australia and New Zealand. John Gordon Sinclair is an author and actor, best known for playing Gregory in Bill Forsyth's film Gregory's Girl. In 2012 he turned his attention to writing crime novels and his current book, Walk In Silence, is the story of lawyer Keira Lynch who is caught up in the murky Albanian underworld. As an actor Gordon was nomina

Feargal Sharkey talks about his journey from Undertone to executive.Josette Simon tells us about her career as an actor and current role as Cleopatra at the RSC Stratford.Cat Irving is Human Remains Conservator at Surgeons' Hall Museums which are part of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.Hugh Thomson describes his journey across England accompanied by Jethro, his mule. (One Man and a Mule by Hugh Thomson is out now).Richard and Emily Gottfried have played their way around more than 740 crazy golf courses all over Britain.Poet John Cooper Clarke chooses his Inheritance Tracks: The Spaniard Who Blighted My Life by Bing Crosby & Al Jolson and What's So Funny About Peace, Love And Understanding? by Nick Lowe.

Martine McCutcheon, real life east ender, became famous as a TV Eastender in the 90s playing Tiffany, on off love interest for hi-maintenance Grant Mitchell, until she was squished by Frank Butcher outside the Queen Vic on Christmas Eve. She reinvented herself as a pop star - having a Perfect Moment in 1999 with the chart topping song of that name - and then another perfect moment co-starring with Hugh Grant in the Richard Curtis romcom, Love Actually. Off screen life, however, was complicated and after an award winning but stormy run in My Fair Lady in the West End, things went Pete Tong. Illness, bankruptcy, time to regroup - but now, fighting fit, she's back with a new album. When Benjamin Mee's dad died, he persuaded his mum to buy a zoo so that the whole family could live together. Of course it wasn't as easy as that - there were plenty of challenges along the way. But his story was made into a film starring Matt Damon in 2013.With the thank you slot, when we offer you the opportunity to thank someone fo

Alexei Sayle talks about his Imaginary Sandwich Shop and forthcoming appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.Martine Wright lost both her legs in the 7/7 London bombings and went on to represent Great Britain in the London Paralympics in 2012. Unbroken by Martine Wright is out on the 13th July.Cyrus Todiwala is a chef and restaurateur who has followed the spice route from Bombay to London. Mr Todiwala's Spice Box is out now.Barn the Spoon is an artisan spoon carver, teacher, author and co-founder of Spoonfest. Spon: A Guide to Spoon Carving and the New Wood Culture by Barn the Spoon is out now.JP meets electronic dance music duo Orbital.Plus the Inheritance Tracks of Alan Partridge. Alan chooses Who Put The Bomp by Barry Mann and the theme from Grandstand by Keith Mansfield. A-ha!

Judy Murray talks about her family and their tennis story - and her subsequent projects from dancing the Viennese Waltz at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, to heading the women's tennis coaching initiative She Rallies. Jamie Chadwick has just become the youngest British female racing driver to sign for a Formula 1 feeder series team. She explains how she got into the sport and became the first female and youngest racing driver to win a British GT championship. Wolfgang Puck has catered to the Oscars for 23 consecutive years. With the 35th anniversary of his flagship restaurant Spago this year, he recalls his culinary career. JP Devlin meets James Shepherd-Barron, the son of the inventor of the ATM, which celebrates it's 50th anniversary this week. The prize-winning author Adam Nicolson describes his childhood at Sissinghurst and how his visits to the Hebridean Islands sparked his fascination with seabirds. And the actress and singer Ute Lemper shares her Inheritance Tracks: Where Have All The Flowers Gone, per