Showing results by author "Holly Newson" in All Categories

Ant and Dec met on CBBC's Byker Grove and an instant friendship was formed, on and off screen. They moved from acting to music, releasing three albums as PJ & Duncan, including their still popular hit, 'Let's Get Ready to Rhumble'. From there, presenting children's TV with shows such as SMTV and Gimme 5 was the next step in their journey towards international renown. Next came primetime slots, with the duo presenting shows such as Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Britain's Got Talent and I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

Gray has written for many major publications, such as The Guardian, The Telegraph, Grazia, BBC Earth and Marie Claire. During her 20s, Gray worked for Glamour and Cosmopolitan. As you might have read in her debut book, The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, Gray battled addiction to alcohol during her 20s and early 30s but managed to keep holding down her job. We spoke to Catherine Gray about what counts as ‘fun gratitude’, what the significance is of the Hedonic Treadmill and why ordinary things are so great.

Joining us in the studio to talk about his latest book, Rebel Ideas, is British table tennis Olympian, author, journalist and broadcaster Matthew Syed. Known for being the ping-pong guy from popular sports podcast Flintoff, Savage and the Ping Pong Guy, Matthew Syed started his career as a table tennis player, competing in two Olympic games, and was ranked as a top player in England for 10 years. Since then, Matthew moved on to a career in journalism, writing a column in The Times and broadcasting on the BBC and Eurosport.

Joining us in the Audible Studios to talk about his narration of Tony Lee’s audio drama Dodge and Twist is British actor Stephen Mangan. Known for his roles as Guy Secretan in Green Wing, Sean Lincoln in Episodes and Dan Moody in I’m Alan Partridge, Stephen Mangan has had a respected career across both stage and screen. The Tony-nominated actor now plays the part of Charles Dickens in the audio drama Dodge and Twist. In this interview, Stephen Mangan talks to us about what it’s like to voice a Victorian, why he didn’t get to sing in Postman Pat: The Movie and what got him into acting.

Max Brooks, the New York Times best-selling author of The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z, talks to Audible about his latest release, Minecraft: The Island. As a true fan of the world of Minecraft, Brooks discusses his creative journey and the highlights of writing this highly inventive take on a classic and hugely celebrated game.

Kay’s books, looking back on his medical career, give an insight into the trials and tribulations of life as a junior doctor. His latest title, Undoctored, looks into Kay’s life as a medical student and how things have been since leaving the medical world. We chatted to Adam Kay about the one good thing Matt Hancock did, how mental health is regarded in medicine, and whether or not Adam would say he is a bad patient.

Joining us at Audible Studios is high profile human rights and civil liberties barrister Leslie Thomas QC. Thomas was called to the bar in 1988 and has represented some very high-profile cases, including families of the Hillsborough disaster, the family of Mark Duggan, whose death sparked the 2011 London riots, and more recently, the families of the victims of Grenfell Tower. It's clear that Thomas has a passion for supporting the voiceless and vulnerable, and is an expert in claims against the police and other public authorities.

Joining us at Audible Studios is award-winning television and radio presenter Anita Rani. Rani, with a career presenting television spanning over 20 years, is a household name. Born and raised in Bradford, Rani moved to London with a goal to pursue a career in broadcasting. She is now a lead presenter on Countryfile, regularly presents on Radio 2 and hosts Woman's Hour on Radio 4 every week. Rani has now penned her powerful memoir, The Right Sort of Girl.

Joining us at Audible Studios is British racing driver Jenson Button, who won the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship. Button began racing at the age of eight, when his dad bought him his first kart, and he entered Formula 1 in 2000. As with the career of any F1 driver, there are ups and downs due to car issues and failures, but Button was on his way up. In 2009, Button won the Formula 1 World Championship, and at every race along the way, his father was there cheering him on.

Joining us at Audible Studios is David Nicholls, the best-selling and award-winning author of One Day, Us, Starter for Ten, and his latest release Sweet Sorrow. Sweet Sorrow tells the coming of age story of Charlie, a pretty average kid who meets a girl called Fran. Things at home aren’t great for Charlie, so he would like to spend the summer anywhere but there. A theatre company would have been pretty low down his list, but Fran is there, so why not give it a go?

Joining us in the Audible Studios to discuss their new book together, New Power: How It’s Changing the 21st Century - and Why You Need to Know, are Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms. Their new book, New Power, follows on from their seminal Harvard Business Review article on leadership in 2014 and Heimans’ TED talk on the same subject. Here, Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms chat to us about what new power is, why it’s a force for both bad and good and how we can use it to our advantage.

With over 70 titles available on Audible, narrator and actor Daniel Weyman is one of Audible’s most popular narrators, even winning Narrator of the Year in 2016. He’s well-known for being the voice of novels from the likes of P. D. James, Paula Hawkins and Peter James and appearing on hit TV series Foyle's War and Silent Witness. In this interview he talks about the recording and preparation process for audiobook narration, how he got into it and how he portrays different characters.

Louise Allen talks to us about the release of her first audiobook, Thrown Away Child, a memoir in which she revisits a childhood plagued with abuse and neglect from the very people who were supposed to protect her. Louise explains why she has set out to challenge the UK’s foster system. Hoping to improve the lives of the many foster children whose futures hang in the balance, Louise offers firsthand insight as to why we need to change our approach in dealing with vulnerable children and why she is now in a position to speak out.

The Three Dimensions of Freedom explains how strongman politics and neo-liberalism have dwindled the power of political parties and how voters have been disillusioned into believing they are helpless to effect change. Bragg's book details the argument that accountability is the antidote to authoritarianism and that we can never be free without it. In this interview, Billy spoke about what constitutes freedom, why Trump is so difficult to hold accountable and the problems with the voting system in the UK.

Joining us in the Audible Studios to talk about his latest book, Our Great Canal Journeys: A Lifetime of Memories on Britain’s Most Beautiful Waterways, is lauded British stage, film and television actor Timothy West. With a career spanning over 50 years in the industry, Timothy West has appeared frequently in film and television, including time on Coronation Street and EastEnders as well as many classical theatre performances. Since 2014, West and his wife, Prunella Scales, have been seen travelling together across British canals in the Channel 4 series Great Canal Journeys.

Joining us at Audible Studios is award winning actress and national treasure, Miriam Margolyes. Though she might be remembered for her occasional profanity on air, or crude outburst, Miriam is also loved for her theatrical skill. We'll be asking Miriam Margolyes about her new book, and second memoir, Oh Miriam! We will find out what her most important life lessons are, what she thinks of being called a national treasure, and things will get a little lewd as we discuss how she loves to see people’s reactions.

Following her break out role in Circle of Friends in 1995, Minnie Driver has starred in a wide range of films, including Grosse Pointe Blank and Good Will Hunting, with nominations for Academy Awards and an Oscar nod. Despite her many accolades, awards and nominations, Driver has not appeared in a vast number of movies, firmly believing that she takes the roles that are right for her, happily saying no to job offers and knowing that the journey often opens better doors.

Celebrated for being the ‘Nora Ephron’ of the millennial generation, Dolly Alderton joined us for a chat about female friendships, recording her audiobook, and revealed who she’d like to play her in a film.

Dolly Alderton is an award-winning journalist, writer and director, known for her podcast The High Low, as well as her honest and relatable writing. She brings us her debut audiobook, Everything I Know about Love, a spot-on, wildly funny and sometimes heartbreaking book about growing up, growing older and navigating all kinds of love along the way.

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.

Robert Peston is the presenter of ITV's politics show, Peston, and has been ITV News' political editor since 2015, having previously worked as BBC's business editor for a decade. We spoke with Peston about his latest venture, a novel titled The Whistleblower, his first work of fiction. Holly Newson asked him about this foray into fiction and his everlasting interest in the world of politics, and heard which parts of the book are based on his own life.