

Saturday Live
BBC Radio 4
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 8, 2023 • 59min
Dawn O'Porter, Robert Kasanga, Nick Hounsfield, Annie Mac
Dawn O’Porter reigned supreme in the area of TV that wanted the presenter ‘immersed’ in the subject; exploring the dangerous size-zero aesthetic, attitudes to nudity, mail order brides, geisha traditions and most personally perhaps, breast cancer, the disease to which she lost her mother. But since 2006 she’s refocused her attention to the written word having penned eight books, with two more on the way, her latest is Cat Lady.Believe it or not the new football season is just three weeks away. But Robert Kasanga is worlds away from the big money world of Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp. Having turned his life around from a world of inner-city gangs to founding Hackney Wick FC – a club that gives young people involved in gangs a way out through football.Nick Hounsfield began his career as an osteopath, following in the footsteps of his father, and set up his own practice alongside his wife. A passionate surfer since he was knee high to a grasshopper, Nick has since founded The Wave, a pioneering artificial surfing park which opened its first site near Bristol in 2019. But less than a year later, at the age of 46, Nick suffered a series of strokes, and his infant business was forced to close because of the pandeminc.And we’ll hear the Inheritance Tracks of DJ turned author and podcaster Annie Mac.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jason Mohammad
Producer: Ben MitchellDetails of support for bereavement and victims of crime is available at BBC Action Line: www.bbc.co.uk/actionline

Jul 1, 2023 • 1h 1min
Martin Roberts, Jimi Famurewa, Nadine Cooper, Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Today we welcome the writer, broadcaster and journalist Jimi Famurewa.Martin Roberts, the broadcaster, property expert and host of BBC Television series Homes Under the Hammer.And the founder of the Tuneless Choir, Nadine Cooper. Plus, we’ll hear the Inheritance Tracks from 'kitchen disco queen' and singer, Sophie Ellis-Bextor.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jason Mohammad.Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies

Jun 24, 2023 • 59min
Charlotte Church, Reverend Eve Pitts, Clare Mackintosh, Guz Khan
Today we welcome singer-songwriter, television presenter and sound healing practitioner, Charlotte Church. Reverend Eve Pitts, one of the first Black Caribbean Vicars in the Church of England and a campaigner for racial justice.Former police officer turned best-selling author Clare Mackintosh.And we’ll hear the Inheritance Tracks from actor, comedian and writer, Guz Khan.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jason Mohammad. Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies

Jun 17, 2023 • 57min
Kiri Te Kanawa, Joe Jaquest Oteng, Tanya Moodie
Today we say 'kia ora' to Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, opera legend and Patron of the BBC Cardiff Singer of The World - which is in it's 40th anniversary year. With a story of ‘hidden roots’, singer Joe Jaquest Oteng reveals the huge family secrets he unearthed after the death of his father, which took his search to Ghana.And we’ll hear the Inheritance Tracks of the wonderful actor Tanya Moodie.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell

Jun 10, 2023 • 59min
Sheila Hancock, Vogue Williams, Fran Scott, Ben Bailey Smith
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 StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell

Jun 3, 2023 • 58min
Eoin Colfer, Jennifer and Robert Beckford, Alan Bateson, Gaz Coombes
Eoin Colfer, the international bestselling Artemis Fowl author reveals why he’s tackling climate change via a graphic novel and how you write subjects like this for children.Taking on the challenge of the great outdoors in a very personal way, is hairdresser Alan Bateson who's about to run 1,047 miles in 22 days...we’ll find out why! Tackling each other’s very different views, on the 75th anniversary of Windrush, we have squabbling couple Jennifer Beckford and Professor Robert Beckford. And we’ll hear the Inheritance Tracks of Supergrass frontman and solo singer Gaz Coombes.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben MitchellDetails of support for addiction and child sexual abuse is available at BBC Action Line: www.bbc.co.uk/actionline

May 27, 2023 • 57min
Hay Festival - Lisa Snowdon, Fats Timbo, Horatio Clare, Sadiq Khan
Live from the Hay Festival Nikki and Huw are joined by the model, presenter and writer Lisa Snowdon whose book 'Just Getting Started' urges women, especially those who’re menopausing, to seize their power.Author, travel writer, broadcaster and local boy Horatio Clare has been asking ‘Does Psychiatry Work’ in his latest radio series and as someone who understands psychosis personally, he may have some good insights. More empowering guidance is at hand in the shape of the irrepressible TikTok star and funny woman Fats Timbo with her ten commandments to live with 'Main Character Energy'. And The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, shares his Inheritance Tracks.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell

May 20, 2023 • 59min
Billy Billingham, Louise Minchin, Shaun Escoffery and George Asprey, Dr Alex George
We’re all standing to attention, as the paragon of discipline, former SAS member Billy Billingham and chief instructor on Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins talks about how he's gone from a life of crime to towing the line.
Louise Minchin is a broadcaster who spent twenty years on the BBC Breakfast sofa, but did you know she is passionate about endurance sports? Her latest book "Fearless" sees her taking on physical challenges with inspirational women.And completing the Circle of Life are the leonine brothers and longest serving cast members of The Lion King, actors Shaun Escoffery and George Asprey.Former A & E doctor, Love Island star and mental health campaigner Dr Alex George shares his Inheritance Tracks. Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell

May 13, 2023 • 60min
Steve Jones, Rekha Mistry, Freya Bromley, Mathew Baynton
Multi-hyphenate Steve Jones, TV presenter, podcaster, novelist and librocubicularist, discusses his debut novel Call Time.Not one for lying in bed reading, Gardener's World gardener Rekha Mistry reveals what it takes to make great marmalade. Freya Bromley, author and podcaster of The Tidal Year, expounds upon the virtues of swimming in every tidal pool in the UK and how it helped her grief.Ghost and Horrible Histories star, Mathew Baynton, shares his Inheritance Tracks.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell

May 6, 2023 • 59min
AJ Pearce, Ian Holloway, Magdalena Osinska, Douglas Stuart
Bestselling novelist AJ Pearce, whose work has been inspired by a personal collection of women’s magazines and journals dating back to 1761! Her new book, "Mrs Porter Calling", is the third in her Emmy Lake Chronicles, set in London during The Second World War.Ian Holloway, the celebrated football manager and pundit, whose post-match interviews do wonders for the English language, reveals what it was like balancing the abuse he received on the pitch with coming to terms with raising three children who were born profoundly deaf.The next big thing from Aardman Animations, Magdalena Osinska, charts how her journey from Warsaw to Bristol has led her to writing and directing her very own stop-motion Star Wars film - "I Am Your Mother".The Booker Prize winning author Douglas Stuart shares his Inheritance Tracks.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Peter Curran
Producer: Ben Mitchell