Showing results by author "Holly Newson" in All Categories

Making his west end debut in 1985, Ball has been a constant in musical theatre, performing many parts in Les Misérables around the country over the years, appearing in The Phantom of the Opera, Hairspray and Sweeny Todd. Ball is no stranger to the charts either: after representing the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest, he has regularly released albums. Michael has now taken to writing and we will be talking about his debut novel, The Empire.

When Covid struck and the country entered lockdown, Widdicombe and Beckett were stuck at home and the reality of parenting young children without the escape of work hit hard. They decided to start a podcast, Lockdown Parenting Hell, which meant they could go upstairs, leave the children for a while, and moan about the difficulties of being a dad, which over 2 million people a month started listening to! With the success of the podcast, Beckett and Widdicombe decided there was plenty they hadn’t covered that would make a great audiobook.

Born in London and trained at Lamda, Joseph's acting career began in the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has appeared regularly on television in shows such as Peep Show, Timeless and BBC drama Vigil, and on the big screen in movies such as Æon Flux and The Beach. Joseph wrote and performed in a one man play, titled Sancho: An Act of Remembrance. Now, he has been looking more deeply at the life of Charles Ignatius Sancho, the first Black person to vote in Britain, publishing a novel about his life.

A familiar face to many, playing Mr Brown in the Paddington films, and Lord Grantham in Downton Abbey, Hugh Bonneville has been on our screens and stages since the late '80s. His love of acting came from the National Youth Theatre, where his hobby turned into a career path. Ranging from Shakespeare to Mr Stink, Bonneville has playing an incredible range of characters. Looking back at his life so far, Hugh has written his memoir, Playing Under the Piano, giving us an insight into one of Britain’s best-loved actor’s life behind the scenes.

In 2008, Cain began playing football for Coventry City but in 2012 he had to give up football after an injury put an end to his career. Cain then pursued reality TV, and appeared in shows such as Ex on the Beach, The Challenge and, more recently, SAS: Who Dares Wins. In 2020, life changed for Cain. His 8-week-old daughter, Azaylia, was diagnosed with cancer and passed away aged 8 months. Cain has done his utmost to raise awareness of childhood cancers and raise money, putting himself through grueling physical challenges.

Joining us at Audible Studios is comedian and writer, Josie Long. Having performed stand-up comedy since the age of fourteen, Long is a familiar with the comedy circuit. We'll be talking to Josie Long about her newest venture, a collection of short stories titled Because I Don't Know What You Mean and What You Don't. We'll find out if Josie is a cat lover, why rubbish housing pops up a lot in her stories, and what impact her ADHD diagnosis has had on understanding her writing process.

Rising to fame as a pop star as part of The Communards, Richard Coles has had a very varied career - he has worked as a vicar for several parishes after finding religion later in life, has appeared on many panel shows. He shared his life through his memoirs, including details of his civil partnership and grief following the death of his partner. Coles has begun writing fiction – the Canon Clement Mystery series – starting with Murder Before Evensong, and is with us to talk about the second in the series, A Death in the Parish.

Karen Yates has been a journalist for over ten years; she writes regularly on immigration, politics, housing and culture and has written for publications including The Guardian, The Independent and VICE. Yates has been nominated for accolades such as Culture Writer of the Year, and has contributed to award-winning titles such as The Good Immigrant. We'll be chatting to Kieran Yates about her first solo book, All the Houses I've Ever Lived In, finding out what home means to her, how Britain's housing crisis came about, and how we can fight against it.

Beginning her professional career as a fashion journalist and stylist, Scanlon has gone on to become a household name at the BBC, fronting documentaries on BBC Three, and presenting Your Home Made Perfect. Scanlon has not stopped there: she has also presented a BBC Radio 2 show and often presents The One Show too. Scanlon has hosted her own podcast since 2019 titled Thanks A Million which has proved to be hugely popular, currently on its fifth series, and her book Joyrider is now on the (virtual and physical) shelves. 

Easily one of the most recognisable pop singers from the '90s, thanks to his trademark style, the founder, front man and sole consistent member of Pulp, Jarvis Cocker, is deeply ingrained in the world of music. He has written for The Guardian and presented the BBC Radio 6 Music show, Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Service, for seven years. So much of his life relates to music, is influenced by it and, in turn, he is influenced by the music surrounding him at any given time.

Bardugo is best known for creating the Grishaverse, a world in which several of her book series are set, the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the duology, Six of Crows among others. Bardugo has also written short stories, and her first adult fiction title was The Ninth House, which tells of the secret societies in Yale, the university Bardugo herself attended to gain her English degree. Bardugo's novel Hell Bent is the second book based at Yale university, and again follows protagonist Alex Stern, who gained her place at Yale with the help of a mysterious benefactor.

Lloyd is well known for her comedy, regularly appearing on panel shows such as QI, Would I Lie To You and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and acting in Give Out Girls and Peep Show among many others. She is prolific in her radio work, including The Cariad Radio Show, and Here Be Dragons. Lloyd is now equally well known for her conversations on grief. And now, You Are Not Alone, Lloyd's first book, which shares her experiences of death at a young age, and how we deal (or don't) with grief.

Born and raised in West Lothian, Brady pursued a career in journalism after university, though always had an interest in comedy. After reaching the final of "So You Think You're Funny" at the Edinburgh Fringe, Brady launched her stand-up career and has since appeared on panel shows. Brady knew she was autistic as a teenager, but was told she couldn't be, as she was good at making eye contact and had a boyfriend. After finally getting a diagnosis in 2021, Brady has now penned her autobiography, Strong Female Character, which details the struggles she faced growing up with autism.