

Headliners with Nihal Arthanayake
BBC Radio 5 Live
Nihal Arthanayake presents in-depth interviews with headline guests across entertainment, sport, culture and politics.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 17, 2022 • 54min
Gary Lineker
“If I were an actor and needed to cry, I’d just think of that” The MotD presenter on Leicester City, Qatar and referee abuse.

Oct 12, 2022 • 48min
Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Bonneville, the star of Downton Abbey, Paddington and W1A talks early roles, embarrassing correspondence, and the sound of his mother's footsteps.

Oct 10, 2022 • 36min
Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott
The singers, who are former bandmates in The Beautiful South, have released their fifth studio album as a duo. They joined Nihal to talk about singing, football and photography.

Oct 6, 2022 • 52min
Rita Wilson
Rita Wilson is best known as an actress in films like Sleepless in Seattle, and as a producer on My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Mamma Mia. She’s also a country singer, and has released an album of duets with the likes of Smokey Robinson and Elvis Costello. She spoke to Nihal about her love of music.

Oct 4, 2022 • 30min
Craig David
“In my case it was: you move to Miami” The singer-songwriter and DJ on dealing with bullying.

Oct 3, 2022 • 51min
Alex Scott
Alex Scott tells Nihal about her journey from the east end of London to international football stardom. She discusses her relationship with her alcoholic father, the challenges she faced getting into the game, and the respect she has for her mother and grandmother – the women who brought her up.

Sep 30, 2022 • 42min
Rylan Clark
"It's time for partyless politics." The presenter on why he’s not ruling out a career in Parliament.

Sep 29, 2022 • 1h 4min
David Dimbleby
The veteran presenter talks to Nihal about how politicians have changed, the role of the BBC, and how it felt to cover some of the biggest news events of the past five decades.

Sep 28, 2022 • 1h 10min
Gary Neville
“I’m an ex-footballer with a big gob.” Gary tells Nihal why he’s resisting a career in politics.

Sep 26, 2022 • 43min
Sir Lenny Henry
“He was way ahead of the game.” Sir Lenny tells Nihal why Richard Pryor was such an influence on him.