

Radio Times Podcast
Radio Times
We’ve all been there – sat in front of the television, flicking through channels, getting increasingly frustrated – there’s so much on, but nothing to watch. TV critics Caroline Frost and Shem Law have you covered. Each Friday, they serve up short, sharp television recommendations to mark your cards for the week ahead. They’ll tell you what to watch – and what to avoid. They watch it all, so you don’t have to. No more asking: what’s on TV tonight? What to watch? Or, what should I watch? Instead, listen to Smart TV for your weekly round-up of TV programmes and film reviews. You’ll find out about the latest series dropping that week, what to binge and what television show will become the next watercooler moment. Radio Times’ journalists Caroline Frost and Shem Law will cover all things terrestrial as well as what’s on the streaming sites – they’ll cover what’s broadcast on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky to NOW, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Netflix and Apple TV. Whether you like Entertainment, Current Affairs, Documentaries, Dramas, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Thrillers, Sports or Radio – they’ll have you covered.If you enjoy our weekly round-up of television reviews, do search for the View From My Sofa podcast which sees Kelly-Anne Taylor sit down with a celebrity guests to talk about their lives through the prism of TV.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 17, 2023 • 15min
Smart TV: I'm A Celeb... Returns and Stunning New Dramas
Caroline Frost chats to Kelly-Anne Taylor about the best things coming up on the box this weekFollow our hosts on Twitter (@KA1_Taylor and @FrostReporter) and Instagram (@kellyannect and @frostreporter) You can get in touch with our hosts on either their soical media, or via email (podcast@radiotimes.com) and Spotify users can write in directly using the Q&A box at the bottom of the episode. ...SHOW NOTES:TV:Archie, ITVXDr Who Night, BBC4Boat Story, BBC1David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived, Sky DocumentariesI’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, ITV1Fisk, NetflixTHE ARCHIVE:Hollywood Women, BBCiPlayer...Happy Viewing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nov 14, 2023 • 34min
Shirley Ballas on Strictly, self-confidence and the toxic side of the dance industry
On this week’s episode of the Radio Times Podcast is the dancer and head judge on BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing, it is Shirley Ballas. Born and raised in Merseyside, she grew up with her mother and brother on a council estate – and found dance at the age of 7 when a tune caught her ear. She worked her way to the top of the dancing world – and has plenty of stories to tell of her journey. In this episode she talks to Kelly-Anne Taylor about everything from the phone call that changed her life but ended her engagement to Nigel Tiffany to how she was almost bullied out of the dance industry – but instead, landed the Strictly gig. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nov 10, 2023 • 13min
Smart TV: The Final Series of The Crown
Caroline Frost chats to Kelly-Anne Taylor about the best things coming up on the box this weekFollow our hosts on Twitter (@KA1_Taylor and @FrostReporter) and Instagram (@kellyannect and @frostreporter) You can get in touch with our hosts on either their soical media, or via email (podcast@radiotimes.com) and Spotify users can write in directly using the Q&A box at the bottom of the episode. ...SHOW NOTES:TV:The Crown, NetflixSquid Game: The Challenge, NetflixReturn to Lockerbie with Lorraine Kelly, ITV1Will’s Book: Shakespeare’s First Folio, Sky ArtsFILM:Little Women, Channel 4THE ARCHIVE:The 1981 Royal Wedding: A TV Event, ITVX...Happy Viewing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nov 7, 2023 • 47min
Jo Brand on Bake Off, her days as a psychiatric nurse and handling hecklers
On this week’s episode of the Radio Times Podcast is the comedian, Jo Brand. Raised in Kent, she was a student at Tunbridge Wells Girls Grammar School and on a sure-fire path to Oxbridge. However, when her parents attempted to uproot her and move to Hastings, she revolted and left home as a teenager. She got her life back on track after accidentally setting the bed-sit she was living in on fire and trained as a psychiatric nurse – a career she pursued until she made a name for herself in the alternative comedy scene of the 1980s. The rest is history – she’s a BAFTA award-winning actress and a national treasure. In this episode she sits down with Kelly-Anne Taylor to discuss how her nursing days primed her for a career in comedy, how she never had a life-plan and why she never watches herself on panel shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nov 3, 2023 • 15min
Smart TV: The Newsreader Returns and a Beatles Celebration
Caroline Frost chats to Kelly-Anne Taylor about the best things coming up on the box this weekFollow our hosts on Twitter (@KA1_Taylor and @FrostReporter) and Instagram (@kellyannect and @frostreporter) You can get in touch with our hosts on either their soical media, or via email (podcast@radiotimes.com) and Spotify users can write in directly using the Q&A box at the bottom of the episode. ...SHOW NOTES:TV:The Newsreader, BBC2The Buccaneers, Apple TV+Beatles Night, BBC2Louis Theroux Interviews Anthony Joshua, BBC2Judi Dench This Cultural Life: Shakespeare Special, BBC4The Secret Genius of Modern Life, BBC2FILM:Passages, Mubi...Happy Viewing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oct 31, 2023 • 44min
Big Zuu on learning Latin with Boris Johnson, the Strictly-Curse and being angry at the BAFTAs
To launch series five of the Radio Times Podcast, host Kelly-Anne Taylor is joined by the double-Bafta winning TV chef Big Zuu. Born Zuhair Hassan to a mother from Sierra Leone and a dad from Lebanon, he grew up on the Mozart Estate in West London. He started cooking aged nine to, as he says, ‘help around the house’ when his mother fell pregnant with his younger brother. It was whilst he was studying to become a social worker at University, that he decided to drop out in pursuit of a full-time music career. After making a name for himself as a Grime MC/Rapper, he turned the heads of TV commissioners when he started posting videos of himself on social media cooking. That landed him his Dave show Big Zuu, Big Eats. In this episode, Big Zuu talks about his love of Strictly, why his mum thought he was possessed by the devil and learning Latin with Boris Johnson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oct 27, 2023 • 13min
Smart TV: BBC Big Hitters and Celeb Stories
Caroline Frost chats to Kelly-Anne Taylor about the best things coming up on the box this weekFollow our hosts on Twitter (@KA1_Taylor and @FrostReporter) and Instagram (@kellyannect and @frostreporter) You can get in touch with our hosts on either their soical media, or via email (podcast@radiotimes.com) and Spotify users can write in directly using the Q&A box at the bottom of the episode. ...SHOW NOTES:TV:Shetland, BBC1Time, BBC1Rhod Gilbert: a Pain the Neck for Stand Up 2 Cancer, C4Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story, DisneyAll The Light We Cannot See, NetflixSurvivor, BBC1FILM:Fingernails, Apple TVTHE ARCHIVE:One of Us, BBCiPlayer...Happy Viewing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oct 27, 2023 • 57sec
Coming up in the new series...
Join us on the Radio Times Sofa every Tuesday, where we’ll be sitting down with celebrity guests to talk all things telly. What’s the view from their sofa? What do they watch? And who do they watch with? Kicking off our series we have the double-Bafta winning TV chef Big Zuu – which will be available on the 31st Oct. Don’t forget to follow so you never miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oct 20, 2023 • 13min
Smart TV: The Return of Planet Earth and a Lenny Henry Passion Project
Caroline Frost chats to Kelly-Anne Taylor about the best things coming up on the box this weekFollow our hosts on Twitter (@KA1_Taylor and @FrostReporter) and Instagram (@kellyannect and @frostreporter) You can get in touch with our hosts on either their soical media, or via email (podcast@radiotimes.com) and Spotify users can write in directly using the Q&A box at the bottom of the episode. ...SHOW NOTES:TV:Three LIittle Birds, ITV1Planet Earth III, BBC1The Pideon Tunnel, AppleTV+Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream!, ITV1FILMS:Killers of the Flower Moon, in cinemas nowSpencer, NetflixTHE ARCHIVE:Small Axe, BBC iPlayer...Happy Viewing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oct 13, 2023 • 13min
Smart TV: Wagatha Christie Returns and Happy TV
Caroline Frost chats to Kelly-Anne Taylor about the best things coming up on the box this weekFollow our hosts on Twitter (@KA1_Taylor and @FrostReporter) and Instagram (@kellyannect and @frostreporter) You can get in touch with our hosts on either their soical media, or via email (podcast@radiotimes.com) and Spotify users can write in directly using the Q&A box at the bottom of the episode. SHOW NOTES:TV:The Ex-Wife, C5 Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Christie, Disney+Bangers: Mad for Cars, Channel 4Pride of Britain: a Windrush Special, ITV1FILM:Fair Play, NetflixHAPPY TV:Detectorists, BBC iPlayerGogglebox, Channel 4Happy Viewing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices