Get Your Free Audiobook

Prime logo New to Audible Prime Member exclusive:
2 credits with free trial
1 credit a month to use on any title to download and keep
Listen to anything from the Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks
Download titles to your library and listen offline
₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.
Top of the Class cover art

Top of the Class

Written by: John Wilson, Bill Morris, Marcus du Sautoy, Tasmin Little, Lauren Child, Gary Rhodes, Digby Jones, Rachel Portman, Michael Portillo, Andrea Levy
Narrated by: John Wilson, Bill Morris, Lauren Child, Gary Rhodes, Rachel Portman, Digby Jones, Michael Portillo, Andrea Levy, Various
Free with 30-day trial

₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for ₹957.00

Buy Now for ₹957.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice.

Publisher's Summary

Major public figures go back to their beginnings and uncover where they really started.

John Wilson (acclaimed arts and culture reporter and journalist, and presenter of Front Row, Newsnight Review and Pick of the Week) meets up with a variety of public figures from such diverse fields as food, mathematics, politics, writing and music, and takes them back to the influential schools, teachers and early workplaces they may have forgotten, but which have not forgotten them.

His guests include the first Black trade union leader, Lord Bill Morris; classical violinist Tasmin Little; the late restaurateur and television chef, Gary Rhodes; Lord Digby Jones, former Minister of State for Trade and Investment; the late Women's Prize and Costa Book Award-winning author, Andrea Levy; veteran journalist, broadcaster and former politician Michael Portillo, and many more. The locations too are widely varied and richly formative—from car component manufacturers and specialist vocational institutions to grammar and private schools.

Top of the Class is a fascinating look beneath the usual façade of a public figure, perfect for anyone wanting to see the human face behind a successful life story, as well as the teachers, mentors, best friends and rivals who helped them grow into the person they became.

Episode guide
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates:
Bill Morris 28 July 2008
Tasmin Little 4 August 2008
Lauren Child 11 August 2008
Gary Rhodes 18 August 2008
Marcus du Sautoy 28 December 2010
Rachel Portman 18 January 2011
Lord Digby Jones 25 January 2011
Michael Portillo 19 July 2011
Andrea Levy 26 July 2011

Production credits
Presented by John Wilson
Produced by Sarah Taylor

©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

More from the same

What listeners say about Top of the Class

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.