On Saturday Live this week we’ll be looking up, down and all over the place.

Also today, we’ll rise from the depths to the surface for some sea shantying from The Longest Johns - and we’ll be getting the Inheritance Tracks of Andy Zaltzman.

Presenter: Adrian Chiles

(The live music performed in this programme has been shortened for music rights reasons)

Today we’re in the company of a billionaire, a hostage negotiator and the most sought after screenwriter in the business.

The screenwriter in question is Jack Thorne who’s now turned his considerable talent to a brilliant TV adaptation of Lord of the Flies.

Nicky Perfect says hostage negotiation is all about empathy, and less about talking than listening. And we’ll be all ears as she tells us what we can all learn from the techniques police negotiators use.

And we’ll certainly be paying close attention to what Welsh born billionaire Michael Moritz has to say to us, about his own story, and his telling of the story of his family which is fascinating, harrowing and inspiring in equal measure.

Also today the firefighter who spends his spare time being a Viking - and the Inheritance Tracks of Marian Keyes.

Presenter: Adrian Chiles

Today we have a comedian, a nun and an undertaker’s beautician.

Mark Steel says that when there’s a crisis afoot, while everyone else is panicking the comedians in the room are busy finding the funny side. This Mark’s done, with a book about what he calls his adventures in cancerland.

The remarkable Sister Libby Osgood, worked for NASA before she became a nun. Quite the career path that.

And Jayne Lownds - who brought her expertise as a high-street beautician into the family funeral business.

Also today the annual pancake race still being run more than 550 years after it started - and the Inheritance Tracks of Radio 1 DJ and boardgame designer Matt Edmondson.

Presenter: Adrian Chiles

Alexander Armstrong on life as a writer, Professor Patricia Wiltshire explains the role of a forensic botanist, Mackenzie Crook unveils the secrets behind his latest show.

We have a writer, a shepherdess, and a man in favour of doing more of nothing.

Our writer wrote one of the biggest books of the last 25 years. The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-time has brought joy to millions of children, and adults. And now Mark Haddon’s written a memoir just as memorable.

Our Shepherdess is almost certainly the only Shepherdess you can name. The Yorkshire Shepherdess herself, Amanda Owen, whose new tv series suggests her love of her farming life burns as brightly as ever.

And the man who wants us to give our brains a break is a neuroscientist who’s applied his considerable brain to the importance of giving all our tormented minds a bit more downtime. Dr Joseph Jebelli has a fascinating story to tell.

Also, we’ll be asking how many clowns can you fit into a church as we speak to the clown organising the 80th anniversary Joseph Grimaldi Service - and we’ll be enjoying the Inheritance Tracks of Mika.

Presenter: Adrian Chiles

Today's programme features a couple of very nice movers.

There’s Anton de Beke, fresh from the first night of the Strictly Tour to recount a life of dance and showbiz.

Lizzy Yarnold is used to moving at a rather more ferocious speed as our most successful winter Olympian.

Picking up on the sweet smell of success, Michael O’Shaugnassey is an expert in scents and uses them to access prisoners memories.

Also today, a man considered so dull that he’s won an award for it, and the Inheritance Tracks of Claire Foy.

Presenter: Adrian Chiles

This week's programme is fashioned out of clay and stone, against a background of beautiful birdsong.

Our potter is the king of clay himself, Keith Brymer Jones, the big, friendly, funny, tearful face of The Great Pottery Throw Down.

Our stonemason, Jennie Regan, was taught her craft with the help of the King, and has returned the favour by carving some stone for him.

The birdsong will be supplied by Sean Ronayne who has managed to record the sound of all but two of Ireland’s 200 native bird species.

All that, plus, the winner of surely the UK’s most gruelling race - 268-miles of mid-winter madness along the Pennine Way - and we’ve the Inheritance Tracks of Mark Heap.

Presenter: Adrian Chiles

Jake Humphrey is a High Performance broadcaster - he's spoken openly about his mental health and what drives him, and in his podcast and new book he uncovers what makes the likes of Sir Chris Hoy and Sarina Wiegman tick.

Madelaine Thomas has excelled in not one but two fields. Firstly as a dominatrix and then as a tech entrepreneur helping others protect their privacy.

Dr Uy Hoang, also has two strings to his bow. As an eminent epidemiologist he maps the path of diseases. As an enthusiast for waterways he’s single-handedly photographing thousands of miles of tow paths for Google. Never mind streetview...this is canalview.

Also today, the surfer waiting to hear if she’s bagged the world record for riding a bigger wave than any other woman ever - and the Inheritance Tracks of the catsuit wearing, falsetto singing, rockstar Justin Hawkins.

Presenter: Adrian Charles

Josh Widdicombe is about to take his stand up show on the road around the country and his latest new podcast series; Dr Helen Sharman talks about the time she became Britain’s first astronaut, and Finlay Wilson a Yoga teacher and author discusses all things yoga in all sorts of glorious Scottish settings.

Plus Emily Watson the actor with an astonishing list of theatre, film and television credits to her name, and an array of awards and nominations to match chooses her Inheritance Tracks.

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies

On this Christmas special edition of Saturday Live, we take a deep-dive into the world of board games.

Marcia Lewis’s has board games in her blood - her father was the creator of Cluedo.

Neil Scanllan holds not one, not two, but four world records for his remarkable collection of Monopoly sets.

Dr Harshan Lamabadusuriya, doctor by day, scrabble assassin by night, has had the best season of his life becoming the UK champion for the second time.

Also today, BBC Inside Science presenter Tom Whipple, shares with us the tips and tricks for winning some of Christmas’s classic family games - and the Mammoth star Mike Bubbins adds a sprinkling of 70’s Christmas nostalgia to proceedings.

Presenter: Adrian Chiles