Showing titles in Entertainment & Celebrities

Jason Manford is firmly established as one of the country's favourite stand-ups and is up there with the best northern comedy legends. His career began one night in a pub in Chorlton when a comedian didn't arrive for his set and Jason, the 17-year-old glass collector stepped in to fill the gap. From that point on he's never looked back, until now that is.... This is the story in his own words of everything that lead up to that fateful moment – a colourful tale of growing up with lots of family and not enough money, of getting by and sticking together.

John Cooper Clarke is a phenomenon: Poet Laureate of Punk, rock star, fashion icon, TV and radio presenter, social and cultural commentator, reluctant national treasure. At 5 feet 11 inches (116lb, 32in chest, 27in waist), in trademark suit jacket, skin-tight drainpipes and dark glasses, with jet-black back-combed hair and mouth full of gold teeth, he is instantly recognisable. As a writer his voice is equally unmistakable and his inimitable dry Salford drawl shines through the prose.

Sinéad O'Connor's voice and trademark shaved head made her famous by the age of 21. Her recording of Prince's 'Nothing Compares 2 U' made her a global icon. She outraged millions when she tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on American television. O'Connor was unapologetic and impossible to ignore, calling out hypocrisy wherever she saw it. She remained that way for over three decades.

Sir Michael Caine is loved not just for his many films, but for his warmth, honesty, and humour in describing every aspect of his life from his humble South London beginnings to performing alongside the greatest Hollywood actors of the day.

In 2019, Johannes Radebe became the first male dancer to perform in heels in Strictly Come Dancing history. Wearing black patent leather boots, Johannes danced with a red 'Pose' fan to a rendition of Blondie's Rapture. Two years on, Johannes was part of only the second same-sex pair on the show, dancing with Great British Bake-Off winner, John Whaite and though they were runners up and the response from the UK public was overwhelmingly positive, Johannes still faced abuse that highlighted the continuing fight against homophobia and racism.

Simon Jordan made his fortune building a mobile phone company from scratch. When he sold it for £75 million, he bought Crystal Palace FC, the club he'd supported as a boy, and led them into the Premier League. Ten years later, Palace was in administration and Jordan had lost nigh on everything. Be Careful What You Wish For lifts the lid on being the owner of a football club and how the game really works. Hopes and dreams sit alongside greed, self-interest, dodgy transfers, boardroom fights and dressing room dressing downs.

No one is born a leader. But through sheer determination and by confronting life’s challenges, Ant Middleton has come to know the meaning of true leadership. In First Man In, he shares the core lessons he’s learned over the course of his fascinating, exhilarating life. Special forces training is no walk in the park. The rules are strict, and they make sure you learn the hard way, pushing you beyond the limits of what is physically possible. There is no mercy. Even when you are bleeding and broken, to admit defeat is failure.

Available exclusively in audio, Losing and Finding My Virginity is both of Sir Richard Branson’s multi-million-copy bestselling autobiographies in one combined edition, fully revised and updated, and read for you by the author in full for the first time. From living on a houseboat to a paradise island home, growing a small business into the global Virgin brand, turning a childhood dream of flying to space into a reality, and building a better world through business, this is an account of almost six decades of entrepreneurship, overcoming the odds and reaching for the stars.

"I've experienced a whole lot the last few years and I have a lot to share. So I hope that you'll take a moment to sit back, relax and enjoy the words I've put together for you in this book. I think you'll find I've left no stone unturned, no door unopened, no window unbroken, no rug unvacuumed, no ivories untickled. What I'm saying is, let us begin, shall we?" (Ellen DeGeneres)

So, I’ve written a book. This certainly doesn’t mean that I’m quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it’s like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician. From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall....

People 'know' my on-stage comedy persona or my scripted ballsy characters and wrongly assume that, at home, I must stomp around all day in designer dresses, eviscerating those who dare to cross my path and denouncing the existence of men in general. But mostly, I just sit eating pickles and being nice to some dogs. I'm often asked how I developed my lurid level of courage and assurance and for tips on how others can match. The Audacity is my chance to share my blueprint for just that.

From the scene-stealing star of Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids comes a refreshingly candid, hilarious, and inspiring book about her unconventional journey to Hollywood success and loving herself. Rebel Rising follows Rebel Wilson's incredible journey of "making it,” constantly questioning "Am I good enough?”, "Will I ever find love?" and "Will I ever change and become healthy?" Rebel writes for the first time about her most personal and important moments in her life. This memoir shows us how to love ourselves, while making us laugh uncontrollably.

In Gotta Get Theroux This, Louis takes the reader on a joyous journey from his anxiety-prone childhood to his unexpectedly successful career. Nervously accepting the BBC’s offer of his own series, he went on to create an award-winning documentary style that has seen him immersed in the weird worlds of paranoid US militias and secretive pro-wrestlers, get under the skin of celebrities like Max Clifford and Chris Eubank and tackle gang culture in San Quentin prison, all the time wondering whether the same qualities that make him good at documentaries might also make him bad at life.

From international drag superstar and pop culture icon RuPaul, comes his most revealing and personal work to date—a brutally honest, surprisingly poignant, and deeply intimate memoir of growing up Black, poor, and queer in a broken home to discovering the power of performance, found family, and self-acceptance. A profound introspection of his life, relationships, and identity, The House of Hidden Meanings is a self-portrait of the legendary icon on the road to global fame and changing the way the world thinks about drag.

Few people serve time in prison before studying at Cambridge. You might be surprised to know that Stephen Fry is one of them. Moab is My Washpot, the remarkable story of Stephen Fry's tumultuous early life, is by turns funny, shocking, tender, delicious, sad, lyrical, bruisingly frank and addictively listenable.

Steve Coogan was born and raised in Manchester in the 1960s, the fourth of six children. From an early age, he entertained his family with impressions and was often told he should "be on the telly". Failing to get into any of the London-based drama schools, he accepted a place at Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre and before graduating had been given his first break as a voice artist on the satirical puppet show Spitting Image. The late '80s and early '90s saw Coogan developing characters.

For over 10 years, Sue Townsend has written a monthly column for Sainsbury’s Magazine, which covers everything from hosepipe bans and Spanish restaurants to writer’s block and the posh middle-aged woman she once met who'd never heard of Winnie the Pooh. Collected now for the first time, these columns from one of Britain’s most popular and acclaimed writers are funny, perceptive, and touching.

A parish priest in Northamptonshire; a former rock-star whose number-one hit with The Communards was the biggest-selling single of 1986; the regular host of BBC Radio 4's SATURDAY LIVE - these three people are not usually embodied in one person. The Reverend Richard Coles' memoir offers his rich and personal insights into one of the most diverse of lives, encompassed with the wit and humour he brings to his popular radio show. Richard Coles gives the phrase 'time management' a new emphasis.

Werner Herzog is the undisputed master of extreme cinema: building an opera house in the middle of the jungle; walking from Munich to Paris in the dead of winter; descending into an active volcano; living in the wilderness among grizzly bears - he has always been intrigued by the extremes of human experience. From his early movies to his later documentaries, he has made a career out of exploring the boundaries of human endurance: what we are capable of in exceptional circumstances and what these situations reveal about who we really are. But these are not just great cinematic themes.

Dermot O’Leary sits down to talk with people from all walks of life who have led extraordinary lives Oscar-winning actors, world-renowned musicians, reformed mobsters, warzone doctors and sporting legends....

Dermot has curated an incredible line-up of guests to discuss the amazing paths they have taken.

Twenty episodes released weekly from 21st July 2022.