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 Producer: Jessica Treen

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 Producer Olive Clancy Assisstant producer Sam Nixon Technical Producers Gayl Gordon and Dave O'Neill Production Coordinator Pete Liggins

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 Producer: Jessica Treen

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 Producer: Caitlin Sneddon Technical Producers: Andrew Hay and Fraser Jackson Production Co-ordinator: Lauren Stewart

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 Producer: Olive Clancy Assistant Producer: Lizzie Foster Technical Producers: John Benton and John Cole Production Co-ordinator: Pete Liggins

Edith Bowman is joined by best-selling author Holly Jackson, whose Young Adult mystery crime series A Good Girl's Guide to Murder has been adapted into a TV series staring Emma Myers as the straight-laced amateur detective Pip. Comedian Nish Kumar is heading out on a new tour later this year 'Angry Humour from a Really Nice Guy', he joins Edith to tell her what makes him angry, (hopefully whilst being really nice about it). Rachel Parris is also going on tour soon, a musical comedy show called 'The Rachel Parris Songbook'. She talks about her greatest hits and also the new series of her podcast 'The Power of A Book'.

And there's music from Haircut 100, back with a new album - their first in 44 years, and Liam Bailey from his new album Shadow Town

Presenter: Edith Bowman Producer: Jessica Treen

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