Extraordinary

Ed Stoppard talks to the brilliant Adrian Scarborough about his hidden passion and how it grew through the Covid 19 lockdown. Adrian is one of Britain's most versatile actrors - from intense stage performances, most recently in Leopoldstadt in the West End, to Gavin and Stacey and everything in between.

The Fringe Report was an arts website that ran from 2002 to 2012. It documented 1000s of shows from the fringe - from theatre and comedy to dance, art, poetry and more. It was a hugely valuable voice in its day, giving a platform and a voice to 100s of artists who may have otherwise never been recognised or reported on. Its founder John Park discusses why Fringe Report was started and what happened to it.

Ed Stoppard speaks to Scottish actor Mark Bonnar about his secret passion and how it all began. Mark is one of Ed's favourite actors, and when you look at Mark's credits, Catastrophe, Apple Tree Yard, Unforgotten, Home Fires, Shetland - to name just a few of the titles that Mark has been involved with - you can see why.

I talk to the young PR impresario Will Wood about how he got his successful Entertainment PR business Multitude Media started. He's still only 33 and I was fascinated at what got him going so young as he'd started this business when he was just 19 and still at University. We also talk about what it takes to grow a bigger business whilst keeping your feet on the ground and what the future holds for entertainment in a post Covid world.

Victoria Markou, football fan, and more specifically, a long time suffering Aston Villa supporter, talks about her 25 year love affair with the club and what it has meant to her family. From the first time she embraced the team in the early 90s when meeting her future husband, to how travelling up from London for mid week games has bonded her relationship with her teenage son, through relegation and then promotion.

I caught up with Greg Thompson, who is currently warm weather training in Florida. Last year Greg broke the World Championship qualification distance by throwing a mighty 65.5 metres, placing him fourth in the British All Time for discus. Still only in his mid 20s, he has yet to reach his peak as an athlete. We talked about his progress so far, the extreme disappointment of not being selected for the World Championships, even with that throw, and what it means to be black during these times o...

Every few weeks, my friend Ed Stoppard, the actor, takes over the mic and interviews someone of note about their "B Side" - a hidden passion that people might not know about. This week, Ed made his Podcast debut with the wonderfully talented Katherine Jakeways - whom Ed and I were at drama school with (LAMDA) in the 90s. Katherine started life as an actress and comedienne but has developed into one of our finest British writers today. We had no idea about her "B Side" and we were thrilled to ...

Inspired by a late, lockdown conversation with my 11-year old on the subject of making friends when he moved schools a couple of years ago, I thought it would be a good podcast. However, the conversation quickly moved onto gaming and how the kids were using online games to maintain their friendships. This then moved onto social media and Tik Tok and Youtube and I was highly amused to hear his disdain for how celebrities had "ruined" Youtube by simply being on it!

Marcus talks with Martin Law, a teacher of film at Bury College. They discuss how a bad education and unpleasant professional work experiences are essential in becoming a well rounded educator. They also discuss the importance of having a day job as part of the commitment to independent film.