Blue Lights star, actress Sian Brooke

Over the next five Tuesdays we're holding our own mini literature festival. We've delved deep in the archive to find some of the very best authors we've spoken to over the past seven years, and what an icon we have to kick it off! After a successful career as an actor Lynda La Plante became intrigued by the production process of television drama and began writing treatments, ideas for potential shows that were, well, very much her own. Although most were rejected, one was praised as utterly brilliant. By 1983, her six-part series Widows premiered and became the highest rating series of the early 1980s. Following the show's success, she established herself as a highly sought-after crime writer with women at the heart of her stories, and the release of her debut novel in 1987 quickly established her as a critically acclaimed best-selling author to boot, paving the way for a series of hit books that followed in rapid succession.   By 1991, she hit new heights and broke new ground with the premiere of the world-renowned Prime Suspect. A detective drama starring Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennyson, which went on to win numerous BAFTAs, Emmys and Golden Globes over the course of its seven seasons and made Helen Mirren a bona fide global superstar. It's no surprise that in 2008 she was awarded a CBE for her services to literature, drama and charity. is a member of the Crime Thriller Award Hall of Fame We'll be back on Thursday with a brand new episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jon Richardson will not like this podcast description - as you'll hear! Whether you know Jon from 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, his stand-up specials, playing 'himself' in Meet The Richardsons or from his Saturday morning show on Absolute Radio - you'll know one thing... he's extremely funny. Behind the humour is a man as complicated as he is kind - someone who hoards everything (he still has a copy of the newspapers from the day of the 1999 Solar Eclipse), but who values friendships from every stage of his life. We were delighted when Jon agreed to talk about his new acting role as a drug-taking ex-Marine-turned-Creative Arts teacher in Waterloo Road. It was fascinating to see how uneasily Jon takes a compliment, for someone so used to the validation of a live audience he struggled to watch the Gogglebox clip we played him. Modest, sincere and painfully funny - it turned out to be a great conversation. We hope you enjoy it! Cheers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A National Treasure. That's what Stephen Fry is. Whether you know him as General Melchett, Jeeves, half of Fry & Laurie, the sound of Harry Potter, the genius of QI or the modern Homer retelling Greek mythology to a new generation - he has touched most of our lives in some way over the past half century. So seeing as Stephen is currently on our screens as himself in The Traitors we thought it was a timely opportunity to bring his episode of White Wine Question Time up from the cellar for another airing. We spoke in early 2025 - with Stephen in LA - about the UK import of Jeopardy, what attracted him to It's A Sin, his incredible documentaries on gay rights around the world and his advice for young creatives joining the entertainment industry. As you would expect, it was truly fascinating. Enjoy the episode and don't forget we'll be back on Thursday with a brand new episode. Cheers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a brand new episode of White Wine Question Time. Penny Lancaster takes a break from her Special Constable policing duties to join us for three glasses of wine and answer three thought provoking questions. Some of the topics in this episode might be difficult for some listeners - Penny talks honestly about a childhood assault, and a sexual assault that took place during her modelling days. There is also discussion of miscarriage and difficulties conceiving. It is a really honest chat which also touches on menopause, blending families and Rod's (eventual) decision to father more children. If you would like more from Penny - we can highly recommend her new book Someone Like Me Thanks for listening - if you enjoy this podcast here are some things you can do to help spread the word: 1 Tell your friends - we love a personal recomendation 2 Hit the 'Follow' button in your podcast app - you'll get new episodes sent to you for free every week 3 Leave us a star rating and a review. Cheers! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grace Dent joined us for White Wine Question Time back in 2021 - it was such a lovely episode, full of food, formative moments and fond memories. Grace talked about losing her mum only months before we spoke, finding her partner on social media and her three-week 'holiday' to a West London shopping centre! Every week we'll be pulling out a highlight from our back catalogue of almost 500 episodes - we hope you like them, and if you do there are LOADS more to choose from, plus every Thursday we'll be uncorking a new guest for you. Don't forget to follow the podcast, and if you'd like to get in touch you can email [email protected] Cheers! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.