Loose Ends

Kiri Pritchard-McLean presents Loose Ends from the Crossed Wires Festival in Sheffield. She's joined by author and broadcaster Andrew Hunter Murray who tells us how to write novels with the aid of a spreadsheet. Professional organiser Dilly Carter on unboxing a skull, comedian and Traitors star Hannah Byczkowski on crying into Claudia Winkleman's arms, and comedian David Eagle on negotiating a climate change protest at his wedding.

Presenter: Kiri Pritchard-McLean

Stuart Maconie finds himself "i lár an aonaigh" - at the heart of craic, ceol, and much more at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), as Belfast hosts the festival celebrating Irish music and culture for the very first time.

The Fleadh comes second nature to frontman and lead singer of Hothouse Flowers Liam Ó Maonlaí, who was brought up in a household full of traditional Irish music and song. As the band prepares for their "Greatest Hits" tour later this year, Liam reflects on the poignant story behind their hit single "Don't Go", and the time he was left behind by the band's tour bus.

Olivia McVeigh mightn't be in a band, but alongside her fellow podcasters of The Girls Groupchat she's taking the show onstage, alongside Irish girl group legends B*witched and even to ABBA Voyage. She tells Stuart about how her diagnosis of alopecia changed her entire career trajectory, into a world of advocacy and empowering others with the condition.

Emma Southon may have had a very different career as historian if she hadn't hated history so much at school. She talks about her new book Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, which sets out to give readers a full picture of the reality of enslaved people in Ancient Rome.

And Michael Fry muses on how a period of pure boredom pushed him towards comedy, and why he thinks the medium of radio is ripe for laughs, ahead of his third series of Lunchtime with Michael Fry on BBC Radio Ulster.

Plus, musicians Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin and Clare Sands give us just a "blaiseadh beag" - a very small taste of the great music coming out of the Fleadh.

Presenter: Stuart Maconie

TV presenter and wine expert Olly Smith's written a novel - Death by Noir - a crisp murder mystery set among the vineyards of Sussex.

Smack the Pony star Fiona Allen's taking a solo show - White Lies - to the Edinburgh Fringe, all about the fibs people tell to get out of socialising...and their dire consequences.

Tristan Gooley, author of The Hidden Seasons, tells us about 'shooting star' season, what to learn from a single tree and how to navigate using grass as a compass.

Music from Mari Wilson who sang Just What I Always Wanted in the 1980s and has her first new music out for a decade. Plus a song from rising star of lo-fi folk Natalie Wildgoose.

Presenter: Stuart Maconie

Kiri Pritchard-McLean is joined in Salford by writer and Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall who has turned his hand to crime novels, first with Death at the White Hart and now The Parkwood Murders.

Comedian Ayoade Bamgboye is fresh off the first season of Saturday Night Live UK and she's wrapping up the tour of her hit Edinburgh show Swings and Roundabouts, which earned her the best newcomer award at the festival in 2025, before heading back to the festival this year with a work in progress show.

Wendi Peters played Cilla Battersby-Brown in Eastenders and Dr Nina Bulsara in Doctors. Her latest role is in the new BBC One crime drama series The Hairdresser Mysteries.

Music is from The Anchoress, AKA Catherine Ann Davies who is soon to release a new album As We Once Were, her much anticipated follow up to her critically acclaimed 2021 album The Art of Losing, and Later Youth AKA Joe Dudderidge.

Presenter: Kiri Pritchard-McLean

West End star and Olivier Award winner Ruthie Henshall has a new memoir and as you might expect it's very glamorous and full of tales about the cast of Cats, Les Mis and Crazy for You. It also tells the story of her secret five year relationship with a young Prince Edward, how the now-King of England mixed her first martini and Princess Diana encouraged her to belt out a show tune after dinner.

Performer and all-round master entertainer Joe Pasquale is making his Edinburgh Fringe debut this year - before now he's always been too busy presenting The Price Is Right or competing in Dancing on Ice or winning I'm a Celebrity. Find out about his show - 11 and a half Angry Men.

The comedian Tez Ilyas, star of Man Like Mobeen and The Tez'O Clock Show is also heading for Edinburgh and then out on tour with his new show - Tez Things I Hate About You. He's entered his "uncle stage", he says, and thrives on deinfluencing.

Plus music from soul singer Mica Millar and from The Zutons front man Dave McCabe, now solo.

Presenter Kiri Pritchard-Mclean

Stuart Maconie is joined by Nigel Harman, best known for playing lovable rogue Dennis Rickman in Eastenders, he's also much in demand as a panto villian. Trained in musical theatre, he also started in Shrek the Musical and his latest stage role is playing Bruce Bechdel in a musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel's memoir 'Fun Home' at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. Daliso Chaponda describes himself as a 'comedian, writer and antisocial commentator' and has been touring the country with his latest show Topical Storm. A regular on Radio 4, Daliso tackles not the actual news, but look at news itself. Thriller writer Nikki Smith began her career in finance, and only turned to writing in 2017. Since then she's more than made up for lost time, publishing five best selling books and she's just about to publish book number six, 'The Last Place You Look'.

Music is from Liana Flores who had a viral hit with Rises The Moon in 2022 and has since released her debut album and toured round the world and Ibibio Sound Machine

Presenter: Stuart Maconie

Adrian Lester on the art of simultaneously sword-fighting while reciting poetry in his starring role in the RSC's acclaimed Cyrano de Bergerac.

Alexandra Burke pays tribute to Chaka Khan in her new show I'm Every Woman and sings a beautiful Loose Ends special version of Ain't Nobody.

Sir Grayson Perry is putting the fun into dysfunctional with a comedy musical about his life, he describes it as the "most expensive therapy ever".

Kathy Lette's new novel explores what happens when the sisterhood goes sour and how to put it right.

Plus musical comedy from Katie Norris's Edinburgh-bound show Mother Succubus.

Presenter Clive Anderson

Harry Shearer is a comedy legend. He’s the voice of Mr Burns in the Simpsons (and many other characters), he’s Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, and he’s over here with a brand new musical about J Edgar Hoover. Bella Hull first performed stand up a decade ago at the age of 17. In her new show ‘Mad Cow Disease’ she looks back on her decade in comedy. She also spills secrets from the writing room of Saturday Night Live UK. Best Selling novelist Joanna Cannon’s latest book is ‘An Unlikely Visitor’, the story of recently widowed Margaret, who is finally facing up to her past. And there’s music from Gina Birch whose band The Raincoats are a cult favourite. She performs from her latest solo album, ‘Trouble’ and we're also joined by Gabriella Cilmi whose song 'Sweet About Me' was a massive global hit. She performs new material and tells us about meeting her hero, Robert Plant.

Presenter: Stuart Maconie

Stuart Maconie sets up camp at Borders Book Festival in the Scottish Borders.

Comedian Daniel Sloss continues his world domination with his latest show Bitter which is helping him tick off 60 different countries.

She perhaps can't claim 60, but Helen Watson visited an incredible list of countries when she cycled 15,000km from Glasgow to China along the Silk Road in 2009. Her book Tea and Grit dives back in to memories of that expedition.

Actor Darren Brownlie's latest project takes us on another journey, to Cumbrae on the west coast of Scotland where musical Crocodile Rock tells a beautiful story of coming out and finding out who you really are.

Dan Richards adventures have been very much in the dark, as his book Overnight explores the many wonders and workers of the nighttime, from the high seas, to the top of a crane.

Plus, singer-songwriter Horse fills the tent up with glorious music, picked from her decades-long back catalogue.

Presenter: Stuart Maconie

Cosy crime, Mams and other people's Mam's and the joy of space travel are all explored on this week's Loose Ends. Death in Paradise creator Robert Thorogood reveals his Aunty Jess, a woman who thought two vegetables of the same colour on a place was "common", inspired his Marlow mysteries ace-investigator Judith Potts.

Dublin comedian Emma Doran is heading to Edinburgh Festival, but she's not convinced its anything other than a pyramid scheme. Her tour is called Emmaculate, after the ultimate compliment one Mam would give another Mam in her youth - "your house is immaculate".

And award winning playwright Tim Foley talks about his latest play Life Out There, set aboard a drifting space ship full of jobsworth astronauts in the near future. Its going to be staged at Jodrell Bank Observatory - find out what the real scientists make of his ideas.

With music from Hot Chip front man Alexis Taylor's new solo album Paris in the Spring and from folk pop act Creepy Crawly aka Rachel Cawley.

Presenter: Clive Anderson