Loose Ends

Comedy writer Ben Elton's autobiography What Have I Done? tells the story of a career of comedy firsts, writing hit shows like Blackadder, The Young Ones and Upstart Crow. His love of words is legendary - as a small child his mother wouldn't let him speak til she was on her second cup of tea to braving the "Oxbridge tutorial" vibe of the Blackadder rehearsal room with Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Rowan Atkinson.
Great Pottery Throw Down judge Keith Brymer Jones is a man so mad about pots they can move him to tears. He's now on the road with a tour about his renovation of a Welsh church complete with pigeon poo that took £40,000 to remove. But did you know he puts his remarkable resilience down to his ballet training?
Comic Suzi Ruffell is also on the road with her stand up show, dressed correctly - 'shirt, tie and mullet', she says - but she's also written a memoir slash how-to-guide, Am I having fun now?, about winning (and laughing) at life in spite of her deep anxiety about it.
And music from Sarah Jane Morris's new album paying tribute to the great women singer songwriters and from Anglo-American rocker Barns Courtney.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Olive Clancy
Assistant Producer: Sam Nixon
Technical Producers: John Cole and Kelly Young

Recorded in front of an audience at this year's Hay Festival, Clive Anderson is joined by comedian Athena Kugblenu, celebrating failure with her second history book for children, History's Most Epic Fails. Comedian Robin Morgan bears all in his latest stand-up hour, Let's Overshare. Food writer Georgina Hayden's new book is Medesque: Everyday Recipes with Mediterranean Roots. Keith Cameron is the author of 168 Songs of Hatred and Failure: A History of the Manic Street Preachers, telling their story song by song. Keith is joined by James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire from the band. And there's more music from Welsh harpist Cerys Hafana.
Presenter: Clive Anderson
Producer: Jessica Treen

Best-selling historical novelist Conn Iggulden on influencers in the Roman Empire, why Emperor Nero wasn't entirely a baddie and why we have far more in common with ancient Romans than we think.
The stand-up comedian Cally Beaton didn't get into comedy until she was in her 40s, but after a chance conversation with Joan Rivers, she left the boardroom for evenings telling funny stories from sticky stages at the back of pubs. She has plenty to say about career swerves.
Emma Kenny is best known as a TV parenting guru, but her dark side hustle is true crime tours - more gristle than toddler grizzle - and audiences love it.
Also, music from Rob Madge's joyful Bank of Dave Musical and from MOBO winner Guvna B's new album, The Bed I Made.
Presented in Salford by Stuart Maconie
Producer: Olive Clancy
Assistant producer: Sam Nixon
Technical producers: John Cole and Helen Williams

Ardal O'Hanlon's new book 'A Plot to Die For' is the first in a series of crime novels starring Finn O'Leary, the celebrity gardener who comes back to his small home town where it turns out things aren't quite so cosy. Ella Risbridger tells us why the maxim 'never met your heroes' absolutely does not apply to Nigella Lawson and comedian Kathy Maniura skewers a specific kind of male midlfe crisis in her show 'Cycling Man'. Music is from Jasmine Jethwa and Jim Moray.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Jessica Treen

Its food, glorious food week on Loose Ends as new Masterchef host - the Irish restaurateur and chef Anna Haugh - joins Clive to talk about her chemistry with co-host Grace Dent, kitchen etiquette and the hierarchy of carbohydrates (spuds on top, of course).
Potatoes just don't cut it for the comedian Phil Wang, who will always be a noodles-man. He's going on tour but has a number of foodie side hustles, including hosting the Great British Menu and judging "the slurpies" his award for best chinese restaurant at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
And the historian Tracy Borman has a new novel all about the Boleyn family, its seems Tudor real lives were strange enough to seem made up and yes, foods like marchpane and manchet feature alongside the odd turkducken roast.
Plus music from singer songwriter Finn Forster (who loves a Middlesborough chicken parmo) and from the golden era of the Hollywood musical from jazz pianist Joe Stilgoe with singer Liza Pulman (popcorn, anyone?).
Presenter: Clive Anderson
Producer: Olive Clancy
Assistant Producer: Sam Nixon
Technical Producers: Gayl Gordon and Giles Aspen