Loose Ends

Clive Anderson is joined by a giggle of comics or should that be a brace of jokers in the Loose Ends studio this week. Fawlty Towers creator John Cleese recalls being told his nascent sitcom - 50 years old this year - would fail if they didn't "get it out of the hotel more". Sue Perkins describes the urge to get out on a stand up tour again after a decade presenting shows from Great British Bake Off to Just a Minute, her show is called The Eternal Shame of Sue Perkins - what could be so embarrassing? Judi Love is on our screens practically daily - on ITV's Loose Women or shows from Taskmaster to The Wheel but she too is drawn to the stage - what gives? Meanwhile Hugh Dennis is not on tour, but he's on stage, as Rev Chasuble in the National Theatre's production of The Importance of Being Earnest - he may not be planning to go all churchy but he does feel right at home in clerical garb.

Produced by Olive Clancy

It's a particulary spooky edition of Loose Ends as we're joined by Danny Robins - host of Uncanny and writer of 2.22 a Ghost Story and cult horror author Garth Marenghi. But which of them is the real king of horror? Rebecca Lucy Taylor, AKA Self Esteem brings us her literary debut, A Complicated Woman and there's music from The New Eves with a song from their debut album 'The New Eve is Rising' and Donna Thompson performs 'Gardner Street'

Presenter: Clive Anderson

Kiri Pritchard-McLean loves a bit of crime - so much so that she hosts a podcast about serial killers. So she's right at home on Loose Ends this week talking cosy crime and laminating machines with actor and comedian Kerry Godliman, who stars as the charming private detective and oyster-shucking restaurateur Pearl Nolan in TV drama Whitstable Pearl. Then things take a dark turn with The Long Firm author Jake Arnott's latest novel Blood Rival - a psychological thriller based on the Oedipus myth but also rooted in true crime journalism - turns out he worries a lot about libel suits but he names no names. India Knight's book Home is a plea to chuck out social media and get in touch with our charm-ometers at home. Nothing nefarious there but she does want us all to steal her design tips. Star folk musicians Eliza Carthy and Jon Boden sing songs from their Wassail album and attempt to solve the mystery of the top motorway service stations in the country as they head out on tour.

Presented by Kiri Pritchard-McLean

Clive kicks off in Belfast's Black Box as the Belfast International Arts Festival begins to light up venues around the city. Poet Brian Bilston is in town after putting some of his poetry to music with the help of The Catenary Wires. US folk and blues musician Chris Smither tells all about his musical journey spanning over six decades. Someone else who knows a lot about blues as of recent is opera singer Jolene O'Hara, who has taken on the role of County Down musician and 'godmother of British blues' Ottilie Patterson in the one-woman show, Ottilie. Plus, Teresa Livingstone has plenty of embarrassing stories from former jobs and her own work in stand-up, so she's channelling it all into gathering the same from other comedians in her podcast Scundered.

Belfast's AOIBHA reflects on her year of her debut EP Insignificance, and folk-duo Stick in the Wheel chat about their current tour as they bring a bit of Tudor-era satire with their track The Cramp.

Presenter: Clive Anderson

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.

Clive Anderson is joined in Glasgow by comedian Dom Joly who first introduced the world to the concept of a very loud man yelling in to a giant mobile phone 25 years ago. He’s celebrating Trigger Happy TV on a national tour. Lauren Lyle is used to an investigation in her role as Val McDermid's Karen Pirie, and in new psychological thriller The Ridge she embarks on another kind of search for the truth, this time in New Zealand. In his varied career, actor Lorn Macdonald has made us chuckle with his turn as Albion Finch in TV hit Bridgeton, taken on Trainspotting on stage and now plays the tormented young playwright Konstantin in Chekhov’s The Seagull at the Lyceum in Edinburgh. After becoming a finalist on MasterChef in 2022 Sarah Rankin has cooked up a storm in the culinary world, and her newest cookbook Feast has the perfect recipes for hosting cosy dinner parties all through the darker months. Plus – she’ll be explaining why she’s been hanging out with the world champions of porridge-making.

Cara Rose shares her reflective new single, and Highlands four-piece Tide Lines look ahead to their 10th anniversary celebrations.

Presenter: Clive Anderson

There's plenty of treasures, national and otherwise in this week's Loose Ends. Joanna Lumley describes selecting from a lifetime's worth of lists, poems and anecdotes to create a thoughtful, moving and often hilarious anthology that she says describes the workings of her mind perfectly. Playwright James Graham on updating his play Dear England to send it touring the country and why the story of England football manager Gareth Southgate is exactly the way to cheer us all, even if you never want or need to understand the offside rule. Journalist Esther Walker on being rejected umpteen times by "very mean" publishers before bringing out her debut novel that explores what it is children give us and what it is they take away. With music from ex-Flight of the Conchords frontman and Oscar-winning Muppets songwriter Bret McKenzie and Egyptian-British singer and TikTok star Nxdia.

Presenter: Clive Anderson

Loose Ends this week is full of people who aren't afraid to say or do difficult things in the name of entertainment. The actor Nigel Planer will forever be associated with the character Neil from The Young Ones, so much so that Nigel's Mum thought he was vegetarian because Neil was, though Nigel definitely isn't. At least, he says, she remembered his name. His autobiography - Young Once - reflects the fact that brilliant though Neil is, Nigel has done far, far more than that as a poet, author and performer. Life merges with art, or at least comedy in Bryony Kimmings' new show - Bog Witch - too. It's all about what happened when she moved to the country, had an eco-conversion and found out the difference between a frog and a toad. Rowan McCabe's written about being a doorstep poet, who knocks on the doors of perfect strangers and offers to write them a poem about the things that mean most to them. Find out how many ways that can go wrong.

Hosted by Stuart Maconie

Edith Bowman is your host for a special Loose Ends live at the BBC's Contains Strong Language Festival in Bradford. Guests include the celebrated actor - from Sherlock to Mission Impossible - and writer - from Dr Who to Bookish - Mark Gatiss. He's at the festival starring in a Radio 4 comedy drama written by his League of Gentlemen colleague Jeremy Dyson. We'll hear from Amit Dhand, who credits working in his Dad's Bradford cornershop with providing the psychological insight needed to be a best-selling thriller writer. Writing as AA Dhand, he's behind the high octane BBC drama Virdee and his latest book The Chemist, set against a raging drugs war in Leeds, is his most personal yet, based on what he learnt while working as a Bradford community pharmacist. We'll have festival poet Kate Fox, who is also a standup, a Dr Who superfan and has a phd in northern comedy.

Produced by Olive Clancy

Stuart Maconie's guests in Salford include comedian Josh Jones on his new tour 'I Haven't Won The Lottery So here's Another Show'. We find out what happens if he wins the lottery mid-run. Actor and writer Moira Buffini has just won the YA Book Prize for her debut novel Songlight. George Egg is the Snack Hacker, brining us goodies from his kitchen and Urielle Klein-Mekongo is the author of a new musical, Black Power Desk. And there's music from Black Country, New Road from their critically acclaimed album Forever Howlong.

Presenter: Stuart Maconie

Clive Anderson is joined by the multi-platinum selling American Jazz singer Curtis Stigers, Rob Webb on Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping, best-selling Irish novelist Cecila Ahern, author of P.S I Love you, on her new book Paper Heart, director Patrick Marber discusses his spin on Mel Brook's musical The Producers and Mercury prize shortlisted rock duo Nova Twins.

Presenter: Clive Anderson