Mary Beard unearths some of the fascinating little-known stories that helped build the Roman Empire in her new series of Being Roman, and reveals how a cake is responsible for making her Britain’s best-known classicist.

From the senate and the people of Rome to the Sherlock Holmes of Tudor England – star of the new Shardlake series, Arthur Hughes joins us. Born with a rare condition affecting his right arm, Arthur was the first disabled actor to swap his kingdom for a horse and portray Richard III at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

How a story of star-crossed lovers helped bring together two friends thanks to a collection of lost letters written more than 80 years ago. Dawn Donkin and Theresa Moon are with us.

All that, plus the podcasting power-couple responsible for their son Jack...Michael and Hilary Whitehall share their Inheritance Tracks.

Presenters: Huw Stephens and Kiri Pritchard-McLean Producer: Ben Mitchell