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Saturday Live

Saturday Live

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.

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Top 10 Saturday Live Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Saturday Live episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Saturday Live for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Saturday Live episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Saturday Live - Richard Ayoade

Richard Ayoade

Saturday Live

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09/07/19 • 85 min

Richard Ayoade became famous for playing Moss in the IT Crowd and went on to present Gadget Man, Travel Man and The Crystal Maze. He was nominated for a BAFTA for directing his first feature film Submarine and has directed music videos for Artic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend and Radiohead. Despite that, he describes himself primarily as a writer and his third book Ayoade on Top has just been published.

Choreographer, dancer and artistic director Kevin Turner was spotted for his talent as a child. However, as his career soared, his mental health suffered. He describes how he used dance to recover and now coaches other mentally ill people in how to use movement to heal.

When Isabel Vincent was in her 40s and living in New York, her friend Valerie suggested that she meet up with her 91 year-old father for dinner. To Isabel’s surprise they had an immediate spark and became best friends. She went to have dinner with him almost every week for five years until he died at 95-years old.

Actor Amanda Abbington became a national hero when, as Mary Watson, she took a bullet for Sherlock. Her new play, The Son, explores the domestic struggle of divorce and depression and she joins us in the studio.

And singer Marty Wilde shares his Inheritance Tracks.

Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland

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Saturday Live - Marian Keyes and Tori Amos
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05/02/20 • 83 min

Richard Coles and Suzy Klein are joined by writer Marian Keyes, who has just published her 14th novel and has over 30 million of her books sold to date in 36 languages. Also with us is Tori Amos, the Grammy nominated singer-songwriter who has made 15 studio albums, sold 15 million records and also branched off into the worlds of classical music and musical theatre. John Partridge is known for his contribution to EastEnders and Celebrity MasterChef - which he won - he'll be talking about how cooking helped him through difficult stages of his life. And Flavian Obiero, the Sussex pig farmer who arrived in the UK from Kenya aged 15 and, as a keen sportsman, entered Britain's Fittest Farmer competition. We have the Inheritance Tracks of DJ and presenter Janice Long who chooses Happiness performed by Ken Dodd and Love Song by The Cure, and your thank yous.

Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland

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Saturday Live - Skin, George RR Martin
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08/17/19 • 84 min

Skin from Skunk Anansie made headlines this summer when it was pointed out that she was the first black British artist to headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, not Stormzy. That was in 1999 and Skunk Anansie were five years into an incredible run of chart hits such as “Weak”, “Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)” and “Charity”. Skin discusses her childhood, her career and what it was like being the only black, gay woman in the 1990’s music scene.

Lisa Faulkner was scouted as a model at 16 before becoming an actor at the age of 20. She was well known for roles in Dangerfield, Brookside and Holby City before famously meeting a grisly end in Spooks. In 2010 she won Celebrity Masterchef, has since become a food writer and now co-presents John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen with her fiancé John Torode. She has published the memoir Meant To Be: My Journey to Motherhood which describes the death of her mother when Lisa was just 16 and her years navigating infertility, IVF and adoption.

Joel Golby’s book Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant: Modern Life as Interpreted by Someone Who is Reasonably Bad at Living It describes how the journalist, whose father died when he was 15, became an adult orphan at the age of 25 when his mother died. He talks about the impact of the sudden and unwelcome intrusion of adult responsibility into his otherwise hedonistic life.

Dr Dean Burnett is a neuroscientist, author and stand-up comedian. He wrote the international best -sellers The Idiot Brain and The Happy Brain. His new book for teenagers is called Why Your Parents Are Driving You Up The Wall and What To Do About It.

Game of Thrones author George RR Martin shares his Inheritance Tracks.

Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland

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Saturday Live - Goldie

Goldie

Saturday Live

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10/28/17 • 84 min

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 disabilities travelled to Vietnam.

Actor Tim Bentinck has played the role of David Archer in BBC Radio 4's soap opera The Archers for the past 35 years. In his memoir, Being David Archer, he recounts his varied life from being born in Tasmania to being the Earl of Portland (a title he inherited from a distant cousin) the voice of Mind the Gap on the Piccadilly Line, an HGV truck driver, an inventor and the voice of James Bond in the computer game The World is Not Enough. Being David Archer is published by Constable and Robinson.

Also on the programme is Eloise Sentito who left her job as an academic to drive around the country in a campervan which is now her home and where she weaves blankets and shawls inspired by the landscape around her.

JP Devlin visits Rosamund Young who runs a farm in the Cotswolds where she observes the mannerisms and relationships developed by her cattle - all the better to learn from their behaviour. The Secret Life of Cows is published by Faber and Faber.

And comedian Shazia Mirza reveals her inheritance tracks - Verdi's The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from the opera Nabucco and Heroes by David Bowie.

Producer: Paula McGinley.

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Saturday Live - Pattie Boyd

Pattie Boyd

Saturday Live

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12/10/22 • 82 min

Pattie Boyd joins Nikki Bedi and Danny Wallace. The model, muse and photographer talks about her life, the influence of her early years and how she dealt with many years in the public eye, where relationships with George Harrison and Eric Clapton inspired songs such as Harrison's Something and Clapton’s Layla and Wonderful Tonight.

When listener Andrew Lock heard our science lesson call in it prompted him to get in touch and tell us about his surprising career as an inventor on a TV show in the late 1990s, while he was still a student. Andrew joins us to talk about his ingenious inventions and his brief taste of life as a TV presenter.

Richie Barlow’s childhood was littered with abuse and chaos, as he struggled to find his place in the world. He spent most of his childhood in care, from the age of nine. Richie talks about turning his life around and running a successful business, the women who helped him, and how Star Trek taught Richie how to survive and forgive.

Howard Blake OBE is best known for composing the music for The Snowman, which is celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the film’s debut and 25 years as a stage play. Outside this festive staple, Blake has a hugely varied body of work which includes creating the music for The Avengers and a string of big commercials. He was also commissioned to write a new piece for Princess Diana’s thirtieth birthday.

Pattie Boyd: My Life In Pictures is out now. Richie - Who Cares? by Richie Barlow – with Becky Bond is available online now. To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of ‘The Snowman’ Sony are releasing of a newly-remastered edition of the soundtrack. The Snowman stage show is running until 31 December at the Peacock Theatre in London.

Producer: Claire Bartleet

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The author Michael Morpurgo, whose stories have enchanted children across the world...he’s now turned to non-fiction with a book for adults proving that the most magical storytellers have very real lives. Journalist and writer John Harris is a music chronicler and critic of music and critic since the age of nineteen...music’s been a massive part of his life, and now more than ever as it’s worked a kind of magic his son James who has autism.

She bared all to help a friend, Tricia Stewart is one of the original Calendar Girls who helped transform a cheeky fundraising idea into a global phenomenon.

All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of the BAFTA award winning actor, Gina McKee.

Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Adrian Chiles Producer: Catherine Powell

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The actor, memoirist and ‘woman relishing Old Rage’ Dame Sheila Hancock looks back on her storied career having worked at the top of the game for seven decades.

The multi-hyphenate Vogue Williams, model, podcaster, media star, business woman and mother of three describes what the podcast world has done for her.

Engineering presenter Fran Scott, famous for her fiery TV demonstrations, reveals the secrets of how to build an F1 car.

And we’ll hear the Inheritance Tracks of actor, rapper and writer Ben Bailey Smith.

Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw Stephens

Producer: Ben Mitchell

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Saturday Live - Andi Oliver

Andi Oliver

Saturday Live

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05/01/21 • 84 min

Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Andi Oliver whose first career was as vocalist and performer in the band Rip Rig + Panic with her brother Sean and Neneh Cherry, amongst others. She then explored her passion for food and had a cookery show, more recently she became a judge on The Great British Menu and this year is hosting the show for the first time.

Joe Marler plays rugby union for Harlequins and has 72 caps for England, has played for the British Lions and the Barbarians. He plays loose head prop and has been known to sport a mohican. He has said that ‘loose head’ was a good way to describe him - on the field he played the role of the pantomime villain, using the game as a way of letting out his aggression – legally! But off the field he was struggling with his mental health... he joins us.

IT consultant Ed Accura never learnt to swim as a child growing up in Ghana and it was only after the birth of his daughter that he decided jump in a pool. Spurred on by shocking statistics which said 95 per cent of black people don’t swim in the UK, Ed has created two docu-dramas called Blacks Can’t Swim. He joins us to talk about his journey to the poolside.

Writer Rebecca Schiller decided to try her hand at outdoors living by moving into a smallholding in the heart of Kent. But instead of finding calm, her mental health deteriorated and she began wondering if she had made a terrible mistake.

And Deborah Meaden from Dragon’s Den chooses her Inheritance Tracks: Smooth Sailing by the Temptations and Mercy Mercy Me by Marvin Gaye. And your thank you.

Producer: Corinna Jones

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Saturday Live - Joe McFadden

Joe McFadden

Saturday Live

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08/10/19 • 84 min

Joe McFadden joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles. He started out in the detective series Taggart and went on to star in Take The High Road, The Crow Road, Heartbeat and Holby City. In 2017 he won Strictly, and he describes why he is donning sparkles again - to appear as Tick/Mitzi in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Gelong Thubten grew up in London and found himself in New York making a career as an actor. He explains how he ended up as a monk and a spiritual teacher, teaching meditation to clients including: the United Nations, Google, Her Majesty’s Prison Service, and the actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton. Victoria Nixon was spotted in Bond Street in London by the photographer Helmut Newton. She reminisces about working as an international model while grieving the loss of her entire family by the age of 24 – two by suicide. Colleen Blair became the first person to swim the Minch, the challenging stretch of water between the Inner Hebrides and the Scottish mainland. She also swam the English Channel when she was 20 and Loch Ness. She comes live from The Scottish National Open Water Championships at Loch Venachar. Professor Hugh Montgomery is a distinguished physician, known for his pioneering genetic research. He’s also climbed mountains, run ultra-marathons, and he holds the world record for playing a piano underwater. He reveals how he came to write a novel after a late night drinking session with Lynda La Plante. Susan Hill shares her Inheritance Tracks: The Sea Interludes from Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes, and Mozart’s Oboe concerto 3rd movement played by Nicholas Daniel.

Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland

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Saturday Live - Bruce Dickinson

Bruce Dickinson

Saturday Live

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11/25/17 • 84 min

Bruce Dickinson is best known as lead singer one of the most successful heavy metal bands in history, Iron Maiden. But he's also a airline captain, international fencer, radio presenter, and writer, who has now written his autobiography. The man once billed a "Human air raid siren" joins Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir in the studio.

Alby Shale's father, Christopher Shale, died of a heart attack aged 56 in 2011 when Alby was 20. Not long before he died, he'd taken Alby to Rwanda to show him the volunteering work he'd been doing there, which had resulted in a plan to open the country's first national Cricket stadium. After his father's sudden death, Alby decided to help complete the project and joins us after having just returned from Rwanda where he watched the stadium's opening ceremony and inaugural match.

We also meet Shobna Gulati, actress, writer and dancer known for her roles in Dinnerladies and Coronation Street, about to star in Daisy Pulls it off.

And listener Clorinda Goodman is a solicitor turned stone mason. She will join us to talk about what she's got out of turning to this physically demanding and creative craft in later life.

We also have the inheritance tracks of television presenter, reality TV star, life coach and former professional footballer, Jeff Brazier.

and JP gets an insiders tour of Birmingham Royal Ballet's Nutcracker.

What does this Button do by Bruce Dickinson is out now Daisy Pulls it Off is at the Park Theatre in London until 13 January Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of The Nutcracker is at the Birmingham Hippodrome until the 13th of December

Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Beverley Purcell.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Saturday Live have?

Saturday Live currently has 763 episodes available.

What topics does Saturday Live cover?

The podcast is about Society & Culture, Personal Journals and Podcasts.

What is the most popular episode on Saturday Live?

The episode title 'Marian Keyes and Tori Amos' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Saturday Live?

The average episode length on Saturday Live is 78 minutes.

How often are episodes of Saturday Live released?

Episodes of Saturday Live are typically released every 6 days, 23 hours.

When was the first episode of Saturday Live?

The first episode of Saturday Live was released on Sep 4, 2010.

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