Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Entertainment & Celebrities

Joyce Grenfell was one of the last century’s greatest entertainers, renowned worldwide for her monologues, songs, and comic writing. Her career spanned over 30 years, ranging from wartime tours to solo stage shows, films such as the St Trinian’s series, appearances on BBC TV and numerous radio broadcasts. Contained here are five sparkling productions of her work, performed by acting legend Maureen Lipman – who is celebrated for portraying Joyce in the 1991 TV film Re-Joyce – alongside a delightful reading by Joyce Grenfell herself of her autobiography.

Career highlights from one of this country’s funniest satirists and comedy men.

Willie Rushton’s career spanned decades, from the cutting edge satire of television’s That Was the Week That Was to the razor-sharp punnery and verbal wizardry of radio’s I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue.

Stephen Fry presents a special tribute to Humphrey Lyttelton, the sublime host of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, through the eyes of his close pals on the show and distinguished admirers, from Dame Judi Dench to Radiohead. The programme features many highlights taken from his thirty-six years at the helm of Radio 4's perennial antidote to panel games.

Join Donald Macleod, presenter of BBC Radio 3’s Composer of the Week, as he brings Beethoven vividly to life: from his childhood in Bonn to how he won over the aristocratic music circles of Vienna, from the creation of his timeless works to the tragic loss of his hearing - and everything in between.

Alistair Cooke looks back on a rich and varied life, one which has taken him across the ocean but never far away from the BBC.

Brian Johnston covered cricket for BBC Radio and Television, at home and abroad, beginning in 1946. After Eton, Oxford, and The Guards, he joined the BBC only by chance. In this reading from his book, he covers his career and family life from the start.

Since winning the Perrier Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1993, Dominic Holland has gone on to become one of the UK’s best loved comedians. He’s worked with Armando Iannucci, Rob Brydon and supported Eddie Izzard on tour. He is also the father of Tom Holland (best known for starring in the blockbuster Spider-man movies) and made the brilliant 2017 Dominic Holland Eclipsed Edinburgh Fringe show out of the experience of being a superhero’s dad.

A special compilation of highlights from cuddly Ken’s television and radio shows.

Kenny Everett was one of radio’s great innovators, the funniest DJ of our time and a one-off whose madcap comedy burst the boundaries of broadcasting. Introduced and presented by Barry Cryer, this recording features the definitive Kenny Everett: the jokes, the jingles and the high-jinks, the interviews, the comic characters – and some naughty bits.

John Peel Remembered includes the Radio 4 Book of the Week serialisation of Margrave of the Marshes, Peel's part-written autobiography completed by his wife, Sheila Ravenscroft. Also included is a Home Truths Special programme to mark the anniversary of John Peel's death, in which Tom Robinson visits Peel Acres to meet John's wife and their four children.

For 20 years, Great Lives has been a linchpin of Radio 4, presented by Joan Bakewell, Humphrey Carpenter, Francine Stock and Matthew Parris. In it, a household name is invited to choose one of their heroes to discuss with the presenter and a guest expert. But will their chosen person live up to intensive scrutiny, and merit the description of having led a great life? In this special collection, celebrating the programme's 20th anniversary, the very best episodes featuring musicians' lives are collected together.

Sir Laurence Olivier, Lord Mountbatten, and Joyce Carey are just some of the voices heard paying tribute to the elegant star in this audio biography, which is linked by the broadcaster and critic Sheridan Morley.

Extracts from interviews with Coward himself, several of his songs and moments from his plays come together to form a fascinating picture of one of the 20th century's theatre greats.

If you Google 'Lemn Sissay', all the results will be about him - he's the only person in the world with that name. But that's not the only thing that makes him unique. In this fascinating series, he mixe

Sir Richard Branson is a world-famous entrepreneur and businessman. Here he discusses his life and achievements in a series of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archive.

John Lennon was a world famous and influential singer/songwriter and former member of the Beatles. Here he discusses his life and achievements in a series of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archive.

Regarded by many as the greatest actor of the 20th century, Laurence Olivier enjoyed a stellar career in film, theatre and television, winning multiple awards along the way from the 1920s to the 1980s. In this absorbing collection of archive interviews he discusses his schooldays and early acting career, his drama training, his spells as actor-manager running the Old Vic and the National Theatre (which he helped create), his wartime service and his friendship and collaboration with fellow actors, including John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson.

David Dickinson is a household name, the king of the catchphrase, undisputed darling of daytime TV and a rising star. He's a respected antiques expert and exudes a taste for the finer things in life. But the road to his success has not been as smooth as his patter and he's learnt a lot at the school of hard knocks. David was first introduced to showbiz when he travelled the world as the manager of his international cabaret star wife, Lorne.

Stephen King is one of the world's most successful authors, with a long list of hit novels to his name including Carrie, Misery, The Shining and Doctor Sleep. Here he discusses his life, his writing career and his many achievements in a series of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archives.

In this fascinating collection of archive interviews with the famed lead singer of the Rolling Stones, we hear—in his owns words—about being the voice of his generation. Mick Jagger talks about touring with one of the biggest bands in the world and why he needs to perform. He discusses his favourite Stones songs and is extraordinarily open about some of his personal experiences, which have included drugs and alcohol, prison and being anti-establishment.

In interviews ranging from 1963 to 2009, Shirley Bassey talks about her childhood in Tiger Bay, being a tomboy and how she began her singing career. As well as clothes, concerts and controversially performing in Sun City (South Africa), she also talks in detail about her long career in show business.

Sir John Gielgud was one of his generation's leading actors, who won an Academy Award. In this collection we hear—in his own words—about his family and childhood, deciding to be an actor and his first confident performance. He discusses understudying Noël Coward and failing as Romeo, playing Hamlet for the first time and working with other actors. He also talks about bringing Shakespeare back to the West End, directing plays himself, film vs theatre acting, making mistakes and writing his autobiographies.