

Saturday Live
BBC Radio 4
Join Adrian Chiles for a Saturday morning full of remarkable people with extraordinary stories.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 1, 2012 • 1h 25min
Richard Madeley, Nona Hendryx Inheritance Tracks, John McCarthy in Maastricht
Sian Williams and Richard Coles with broadcaster Richard Madeley, and a man who's spent many years pretending to be him and his 'Uncle' Stan Madeley, a woman who believes the secret to happiness lies in the Hawaiian hula dance, a rock and roll history in poetic form from Murray Lachlan Young, a father and son who've revived the sound and style of the original Proms orchestra, a couple who have both been diagnosed with terminal diseases, John McCarthy in Maastricht and the Inheritance Tracks of musician and activist Nona Hendryx.Producer: Dixi Stewart.

Nov 24, 2012 • 1h 25min
Writer and comic Emma Kennedy, John McCarthy in Maastricht and Sir John Major's Inheritance Tracks
Sian Williams and Richard Coles talk to comic, writer, children's author, winner of celebrity masterchef and fan of noir Danish cop show 'The Killing', Emma Kennedy, hear about former investment banker and farmer Jan McCourt's 'love letter' to the NHS after he narrowly escaped death under the wheels of his own tractor, remember the first ordination of women in the Church of England with the Revered Jane Hayward, squeal as JP Devlin recreates James Bond's wet shave with a cut throat razor, enjoy the metronomic pleasure of a listener's clock built by their father, travel to Maastricht with John McCarthy and listen to Sir John Major's Inheritance Tracks.Producer: Chris Wilson.

Nov 17, 2012 • 1h 25min
Val McDermid, Ulrika Jonsson's Secret Life, John McCarthy in Utrecht, Glenn Tilbrook's Inheritance Tracks
Sian Williams and Richard Coles with crime writer Val McDermid and ex-offender Junior Smart who is helping gangsters escape a life of crime, Tony Lynn investigates the mystery of the Saltburn yarnbomber, broadcaster Jeremy Vine talks about his early career on Drainpipe Radio, TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson reveals her Secret Life, John McCarthy continues his exploration of Utrecht and Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook shares his Inheritance Tracks.Producer: Dixi Stewartv.

Nov 10, 2012 • 1h 25min
Alfie Boe and Andrew Motion's Inheritance Tracks
Sian Williams and Richard Coles talk to tenor Alfie Boe, find out about a World War Two Lancaster Bomber airman's letter from his daughter which was lost in France during the War then found again, hear from the British Legion's youngest member, talk to a man who has recorded everyday day of his son's 21 years with a camera, shudder to the sound of a TVR sports car exhaust, thrill to the commanding presence of a circus ringmaster, enjoy Andrew Motion's Inheritance Tracks and travel with John McCarthy to Utrecht.
Producer: Chris Wilson.

Nov 3, 2012 • 1h 25min
Jan Ravens and Charley Pride's Inheritance Tracks
Richard Coles and JP Devlin with actress and impressionist Jan Ravens Producer: Harry Parker.

Oct 27, 2012 • 1h 25min
Phil Redmond, Kate Fox, and Hazel O'Connor's Inheritance Tracks
Richard Coles and Sian Williams meet TV screenwriter and producer Phil Redmond, hear the story of Addisu Demissie and Junaid Jemal Sendi, two professional Ethiopian dancers and choreographers who used a dance project to move from the harsh streets of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to London's West End, share the sound sculpture of listener Lynn Tolmon who rejoices in the evocative squeak of a Victorian gate latch in Anfield, talk to Sean Enright who was held hostage at gunpoint in a London street, thrill to the recollections of the current owner of ventriloquist dummy Archie Andrews, listen to poetry from Newcastle with poet Kate Fox and revel in Hazel O Connor's Inheritance Tracks.Producer: Chris Wilson.

Oct 20, 2012 • 1h 25min
Michael Morpurgo, John McCarthy in the Wye Valley, dialect poet Raymond Reed, Lenny Henry's Inheritance Tracks
Sian Williams and Richard Coles with author, playwright and poet Michael Morpurgo, Jane Esuantsiwa Goldsmith who went to Ghana to find her father and ended up being anointed Queen Mother of Akoanso village, Northumbrian dialect poet Raymond Reed, and animal movement coach Peter Elliott. John McCarthy continues his romantic tour of the Wye Valley, best-selling crime writer Peter James takes a stroll through Brighton's dark underbelly and actor and comedian Lenny Henry shares his Inheritance Tracks. Producer: Dixi Stewart.

Oct 13, 2012 • 1h 25min
Robin Ince, John McCarthy in the Wye Valley, Hugh Masekela's Inheritance Tracks
On Saturday Live this week the Reverend Richard Coles and Sian Williams talk to broadcaster and comedian Robin Ince about science, art and rationalism, find out how Martin Spinelli coped with the car crash that killed his wife and nearly killed his young son, explore psychiatrist R.D. Laing's experiment at the Kingsley Hall commune in the 1960's with a patient who spent 4 years there, reunite a former policeman with his former police Ford Cortina, travel with John McCarthy along the Wye Valley- this week from Ross On Wye to Monmouth, revel in the sound of the potter's wheel with Duffy Bocking and share Hugh Masekela's Inheritance Tracks.Produced by Chris Wilson.

Oct 6, 2012 • 1h 25min
Jackie Clune, stargazing with Jon Culshaw, John McCarthy in Thorpeness, Ralph McTell's Inheritance Tracks
Richard Coles and Sian Williams with performer Jackie Clune, Rob Manuel who turned carnivore after 15 years of vegetarianism, Courtney Stewart who is turning the New Testament into Jamaican, and Sylvia Hillier and Jenni Evennett who as teenagers hopped on board the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour bus. JP goes stargazing with comedian and impressionist Jon Culshaw, and plays conkers with poet Luke Wright, John McCarthy explores Thorpeness and Ralph McTell shares his Inheritance Tracks.Producer: Dixi Stewart.

Sep 29, 2012 • 1h 25min
29/09/2012
Richard Coles and Sian Williams meet author and screenwriter Anthony Horowitz, talk to Dolores O'Reilly who grew up signing for her deaf and mute parents, rack their brains with Italian memory man Gianni Golfera, and get rhyming with National Poetry Day founder William Sieghart. There's a Thing About Me feature about the UK's oldest working computer and an appreciation of spiders from Lawrence Bee of the British Arachnological Society. John McCarthy explores Martello Towers on the East coast of England and actress Frances de la Tour shares her Inheritance Tracks.Producer: Chris Wilson.