Andi Oliver

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

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

Previous Episode

Tim Burgess

Tim Burgess joins Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi. The Charlatans frontman talks music, meditation and how his lockdown Twitter listening parties have become more successful than he could have imagined.

Natasha Coates developed severe allergies when she was 18. She threw herself into gymnastics and won 22 British titles and 38 British medals. Natasha talks about living with her condition and what sport means to her.

Lawrence Okolie tells the story of how he went from an unhealthy fast food server to world boxing champion and Olympian , inspired by seeing boxer Anthony Joshua in the 2012 Olympics.

Presenter Liz Kershaw shares her Inheritance Tracks: Bobby Darin - Beyond the Sea and You Could Be Mine by Guns N' Roses.

George Butler talks about his experiences as an award-winning artist and illustrator. His work, specialising in reportage, travel and current affairs, has taken him around the world, drawing and telling the stories of people in war zones, refugee camps and most recently on the Covid frontline.

Tim's Twitter Listening Party is on daily, replays available via the website. Tim Burgess' book The Listening Party is being published in September. Lawrence Okolie's book Dare to Change Your Life is out now. George Butler's Drawn Across Borders: True Stories of Migration is out now.

Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland

Next Episode

Raymond Blanc

Chef Raymond Blanc began to write a recipe book at the beginning of 2020 inspired by the fast and simple cooking of French scientist Edouard de Pomaine and by his mother. He had no idea the world was about to change. A few months later, Raymond was self-isolating when he found that his mother had died in France and then he was hospitalised with Covid for a month over Christmas and into January. He joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles to explain how Simply Raymond: Recipes from Home reflects how the past year has changed his approach to food and life.

Kathryn Heyman experienced a horrific assault in her early 20s on her way home from a party. In a bid to escape the trauma, Kathryn joined four trawlermen on the Timor Sea where she was unexpectedly able to heal from the wounds of the past. She joins us to talk about her new memoir Fury.

Actor Joseph Marcell has been well-known to British theatre audiences for 50 years, beginning his stint at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1972 and now sitting on the board of The Globe Theatre. He is globally famous for a different reason, having played the role of British butler Geoffrey in hit 90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which launched the career of Will Smith and is still in syndication on television networks around the world.

Asian Network presenter Yasser got his first break in TV when he was 12. He talks about discovering a different side to Pakistan when he went there as a DJ, being a 2012 Olympic Torch Bearer and shares stories from his Ramadan tracker, which is discovering out how Muslims are celebrating Ramadan around the world.

And we have the Inheritance Tracks of designer Anya Hindmarch.

Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland