Dave Stewart is a true music icon. Born in Sunderland in 1952 his first love affair was with football – dreaming of a career playing for the Black Cats, but a knee injury and his parents’ divorce changed his entire outlook. Music filled a hole - despite a music teacher who described his dreams as ‘idiotic’ it became his passion, inspired by his Dad’s high-tech (for the 70s!) stereo system, a Robert Johnson blues album and some eye-opening teenage experimentation with acid.

He signed to Elton John’s record label shortly after leaving school and after several false starts he met Annie Lennox in 1976 and formed a band together called The Tourists – a pre-curser to the significantly more successful 80s project The Eurythmics .

In the 45 years since then Dave has done it all – as an artist he’s a Grammy winner, as a producer he’s won multiple Brit Awards, as a song-writer he’s won the prestigious Silver Clef award, he’s won a Golden Glove for composing a song with Mick Jagger for Alfie and in 2024 he teamed up with Joss Stone to write a musical version of The Time Traveller’s Wife. It’s hard to put his contribution to music into context because his impact on popular music is so vast.

Let me list just SOME of the artists he’s produced, written for or recorded with:

Paul McCartney, Bono, Aretha Franklin, Alison Moyet, Bryan Ferry, Sinead O’Connor, No Doubt, Jon Bon Jovi, Bob Geldoff, Bryan Ferry, & Stevie Nicks. In fact in 2011 he briefly formed a supergroup comprised of himself, Mick Jagger, Joss Stone, Damian Marley and A.R. Rahman.

He’s one of the great innovators – in 1998 his album SlyFi became the first album to be released on the internet – it predates Google, and MySpace and Facebook wouldn’t be launched for another SEVEN years.

Now in his early 70s he continues to inspire – until Covid he owned and ran a creative members club in London, and through his production company Dave Stewart Entertainment he continues to push musical boundaries and work with some of the world’s biggest names in music.

Enjoy our chat with an icon.

Cheers!

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Valentine's weekend may have been and gone, but throughout February we're looking back at some of our favourite couples' conversations from our archive.

This week it's Strictly Come Dancing's power couple - Janette Manrara & Aljaž Škorjanec. Hear how their romance bloomed on the touring dance show 'Burn the Floor', why they only row once every three years and the best engagement story we've ever had on the podcast.

Enjoy the conversation - we'll be back on Thursday with a brand new episode.

Cheers.

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Josh Widdicombe is one of the most recognisable comedians on our TV screens right now. Along with Adam Hills and Alex Brooker (both in our back catalogue) he's presented more than THIRTY seasons into The Last Leg - a show which was only meant to run for a few weeks during the 2012 Paralympics!

He's also, along with fellow comedian Rob Beckett, responsible for Parenting Hell - one of the most successful podcasts of all time. It's fast approaching a BILLION downloads, and having been sold to Spotify in a big money deal it's still a fan favourite.

Now Josh is turning his attention to the 90s and his passion for the decade's pop culture. And why not - it was brilliant. From Nasty Nick to Mr Blobby, we chat about some of the moments that defined the decade, as well as his relation to Henry VIII and the moments that made him.

It's a lovely chat as he joins us from his relatively new Devon home (which used to belong to Noel Edmonds!) so get comfortable and enjoy.

Cheers

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Well we had to didn't we?

Throughout February we're celebrating the best of the couples' conversations we've shared over the past seven years, and with the Winter Olympics under way in Italy we're reliving one of Team GB's most iconic moments on ice with Jane Torvill & Christopher Dean.

WE KNOW their relationship is a professional one, and a decades-long friendship - but here on White Wine Question Time we think Valentines can be for those partners in life who just make everything better - so this episode is dedicated to the best friends, mates, and pals who are always there for us no matter what!

Enjoy the conversation and good luck to the newest generation of Olympians in Milan.

Cheers.

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Welcome to White Wine Question Time - we're not far away from our 500th episode - and as ever we do want to say thank you for listening whether you're new to our show or whether you're one of the OG listeners.

As we prepare for the NEXT 500 shows we'd love to know who your favourite guests have been - drop us an email (about that or anything else!) to [email protected].

Now this week we have a phenomenal woman on the podcast. Helen Skelton done it all - cycled to the South Pole, kayaked along the Amazon and run marathons through the desert. She continues to redefine her life and career - bending the traditions and so-called rules to fit her ambitions and her family.

Those who have worked with her (including our producer Geoff who worked with Helen at BBC Radio 5 Live) are quick to say she's one of the nicest people in the industry and deserves every opportunity she's fought for. In the past few years we've watched her grow in confidence after some setbacks - and we're all ready for her triumphant era.

As Helen would have said on Blue Peter... here's one we made earlier.

Cheers xx

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Throughout February we’re celebrating the month of love by hearing some of our favourite couples conversations from the Cellar. This week it's a couple so iconic that no surnames are required; it’s Richard and Judy.

With their signature warmth, wit, and unmistakable chemistry, these broadcasting legends dominated the breakfast TV schedules in the nineties and early noughties. In this show they share stories of rising through the ranks of journalism, how they first met, the lessons they’ve learned from working together, and the highs and lows of a lifetime in the spotlight. It’s the perfect tonic for Valentine’s season!

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January is almost over, the days are getting (slightly!) longer and this week we've got something else to brighten your mood - an extremely funny, and emotional chat with one third of The Last Leg trio, Alex Brooker.

As a child he underwent over 40 operations with no guarantee that he'd ever walk. Now with two daughters of his own he reflects on what that time must have been like for his own parents. He talks about how he actually looks back with fond memories on the many hospital trips, and with his typical dark humour wonders if his mum might have been a bit hasty with the decision to amputate!

You get the impression listening to this interview that Alex understands, and appreciate the many people who've helped him on his journey from Great Ormond Street to winning awards for his TV work, especially as there have been a few moments where some simple decisions could have changed his story completely.

Thanks so much to Alex for stopping by for a chat - I hope you all enjoy it too.

Cheers!

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This week, we’re heading back down to the cellar to revisit a fascinating chat with renowned psychotherapist and bestselling author Owen O’Kane.

Owen’s journey is as compelling as his advice—growing up during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, training as a priest, working in palliative care, and finally finding his true calling as a therapist. In this episode, he shares powerful tools to recognise anxiety triggers, disrupt negative cycles, and bring more calm into your life. Plus, he answers your questions, tackling everything from therapy timelines to simple exercises for managing worry.

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Jimmy Nesbitt is one of the guests we've always wanted to get on the podcast. He doesn't do many interviews, so we're thrilled he chose to sit down with us and look back at his extraordinary career.

From his very first performance (aged 5) he recognised the buzz he got from performing, and having started as a comic actor his portrayals of The Throubles in Bloody Sunday showed the world what a versatile performer he is. Since then he's taken roles which (in his own words) mean he's lost about four children and as a cop about ten partners - and he's now starring in one of the world's most-watched shows; Harlen Coben's Run Away on Netflix.

James spoke to us from his home in Belfast after an extremely busy start to the year and reminisced about his Dad and everything he taught him (literally - his Dad was his primary school teacher), the people in his life who've changed the narrative - like Director Paul Greengrass who cast James in Bloody Sunday.

It's a fabulous chat, so we hope you can find somewhere to enjoy it.

As ever - thanks for listening, and cheers!

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It's our 7th birthday, congratulations if you've been listening since we started back in early 2019!

One person who did feature on one of our early episodes is Scarlett Moffatt. She's always been one of our favourite guests and we're thrilled she's popped back in for a chat this week.

She's always brilliant and in this episode we talk about the jobs she had before she became famous as Scarlett's about to release a documentary she's presented about side hustles.

Scarlett is always honest, and as you'll hear we've now made a promise to have her on EVERY January.

Thanks for listening (whether you're one of the OG 2019 listeners, or if this is you're first time listening) - we really do appreciate it.

Cheers,

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Ready to feel inspired?

All this month we're digging into our archive of almost 500 episodes to bring you the MOST inspirational guests - and well, it doesn't come more inspirational than this. If you've ever looked up to the stars and wondered about the enormity of space... well today's White Wine Question Time guest has done more than just dream. He's been there.

Sir Tim Peake had to undertake the equivalent of two degrees as part of his training to go to the International Space Station - including being fluent in Russian. His desire to travel into space served as his motivation, also drawing on his military training and reserves.

His perspective on life has changed, and it serves as a timely reminder that we are all inhabitants of Earth - whatever our race, religion or politics - we all call this third rock from the sun 'home'

Enjoy this episode from our archive and we'll be back on Thursday with something brand new.

Cheers!

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