Saturday Live

Jason Manford began his stand up career at the age of 17 and was nominated for the Perrier Award in Edinburgh in 2005 at just 24. As he embarks on a starring role in the West End run of Curtains, Jason tells Suzy Klein and Aasmah Mir why he won't be pigeonholed. Justin Myers had been secretly detailing his romantic encounters and reviewing dates in the Blind Date column in the Guardian Weekend Magazine on his blog The Guyliner for ten years. Then he began to receive messages threatening to reveal his true identity. After deciding to unmask himself, Justin’s career has taken off; he published his first novel, The Last Romeo, in 2018 and his second novel The Magnificent Sons will published in May 2020. Esther Rutter grew up on a sheep farm in Suffolk, where she learned to knit at the age of seven. She’s been an enthusiastic knitter ever since and last year, she set out to write a history of the craft, a journey which took her across the country, from Shetland to Guernsey. Lara Band is a listener who emailed Saturday Live about her unusual hobby - creating dioramas of Pre-Raphaelite paintings using mummified rodents. Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland

Actor and comedian Ben Miller joins Richard Coles and Suzy Klein to talk about why he chose comedy over physics and about his new children's book, The Boy Who Made The World A Disappear, in which the main character is inspired by his son. Zena Cooper was diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome, a genetic condition which affected her eyesight to the extent that she hid her blindness from family and friends for over thirty years. Emily Chappell went from cycle courier to endurance cyclist, entering the Transcontinental, a 4,000km race across Europe, which is considered one of the world’s toughest endurance challenges. She only made it halfway – but the following year, she entered the race again and won. Dancer, actor and choreographer, Adam Cooper leapt to fame as The Swan in Matthew Bourne’s ground breaking production of Swan Lake in 1995, and now returns after twenty years in another Bourne franchise, The Red Shoes, the 1948 film by Powell and Pressburger based on a Hans Christian Andersen tale, at London’s Sadler’s Wells. Plus the Inheritance Tracks of children’s author Eoin Colfer who chooses - Get Down Make Love by Queen and Kindling (Fickle Flame) by Elbow feat. John Grant. Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Eleanor Garland

Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles are joined by Barbara Taylor Bradford who has just published her 37th book. Age 15 she started in the typing pool for a newspaper and was in Fleet Street as a reporter age 20. She published her first novel, A Woman of Substance, in 1979 and has sold 90 million books world wide. Also in the studio is David Loftus, who is a lone identical twin whose brother John died shortly after their 24th birthday. At the start of 2018 he set himself the challenge of writing a daily memoir reflecting on the events of just over 30 years ago leading up to his brother’s tragic death. Brenda Edwards is with us - she finally realised her dream of performing on the stage by entering the X factor in her mid 30s and is now appearing on the West End and Simon Yates who, during a climb up the Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes, infamously cut the rope of his climbing partner Joe Simpson as depicted in the book, film and now play, Touching the Void. As well as your thank yous, we have the inheritance tracks of conductor and violinist Andre Rieu who chooses Sphärenklänge by Josef Strauss and What a Wonderful World performed by Louis Armstrong. Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland

Jazz/pop singer/songwriter Jamie Cullum joins Aasmah Mir and Mobeen Azhar. He talks about his music, and the personal stories that inspired his latest album Taller, his family and what's been passed down through the generations. Mark Bright tells his story of from foster care to football to reach the FA Cup in 1990. Alice Gorman AKA ‘Dr Space Junk’ is an archaeologist who’s made it her mission to explore artefacts that mankind has left in space. She describes how growing up on a farm in Australia inspired her passion. Nicola Wren wants to be not just a star – but a superstar – and she will NOT let her four siblings and her world-famous brother get in the way. And Dan Snow chooses his Inheritance Tracks - Slide Away by Oasis, and Mr. Brightside by The Killers. Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell

This year marks Lorraine Kelly's 35th year as a broadcaster and her 60th birthday. Born in the Gorbals to teenage parents, Lorraine took a job at her local newspaper instead of a place at university and, despite being sacked while on maternity leave, is now one of Britain’s best known television presenters. Her new book Shine shares her secrets for success. Amy Powney, creative director of sustainable fashion label Mother of Pearl, spent much of her childhood without mains electricity or running water when her parents sold their house to live off-grid in rural Lancashire. Despite being taken to school in a handmade trailer and having requests for tracksuits denied, Amy found that her parents approach to ethical living had influenced her when she began a career in fashion. Professor Adam M Hill MB PhD is a dual-qualified Clinician and Mechanical Engineer with a military background and a career built at the interface of industry, academia and health systems. Adam is the Chief Executive Officer at immuno-diagnostics company Oncimmune, a company who are trailing new ways to detect cancer, but he has previously worked for the McClaren F1 team and has served in the Household Cavalry. Carol Bates' mum Vivien Grant contacted us after hearing our interview with former footballer Casey Stoney, talking about her struggles to play the game she loved. Carol is from the generation of girls who weren’t able to play football at school or elsewhere and it wasn’t until she set up her own team at the age of 48, that she fulfilled her dream. For Inheritance Tracks this week, actor Toby Stephens chooses You Are In My Vision by Gary Numan and Tubeway Army and She Belongs To Me by Bob Dylan. Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland