Our More Rosebud guest today is the Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel De Souza. Dame Rachel advocates for children in parliament, and on May 8 published a major survey of 1 million children in the UK - entitled "The Big Future". The children she's surveyed are especially those who are hardest to reach, living away from home, with disabilities, or in care – and the survey provides an urgent and definitive state of the nation of childhood, at a time when children are facing numerous challenges.

Regular listeners to Rosebud will know that we're particularly interested in childhood, and the huge impact the memories of our earliest years have on us. A childhood lasts a lifetime. And that's why Gyles is talking to Dame Rachel today - to ask her about the state of childhood in the country today, and to find out about her own story. Rachel tells Gyles about growing up in a working class family in Scunthorpe, about studying theology, and about becoming one of the most successful headteachers in the country.

Thank you to Dame Rachel De Souza for this frank and fascinating conversation.

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Our guest today is Sir Lenny Henry, the pioneering comedian, entertainer, actor and campaigner, who tells Gyles his story, and it's an impressive one: from the streets of Dudley in the West Midlands, to winning New Faces at only 16 years old, to an acclaimed run as Othello at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Lenny brings his childhood home to life - his mother, a gifted preacher who came to the UK from Jamaica, and whose formidable personality was a huge influence on Lenny. His dads - Winston and Uncle Albert. The "tall food". The park. The mood board on his bedroom wall. This is an evocative, fascinating and very funny edition of Rosebud.

This episode was recorded at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith in London, in front of a live audience, as part of Riverside's 50th birthday celebrations.

Lenny Henry is on tour nationwide, tickets are available here.

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Rosebud has been on its first international road trip, to New York City. In this episode, Gyles and Harriet chat about their trip... about how they gossiped for 15 hours straight on the flight over, about being guests of the Queen at the New York Public Library and seeing Pooh Bear, Kanga, Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet and the new Roo, and about Anna Wintour giving Gyles an unexpected compliment. In the second half of the show, Gyles talks to Josh Ellis, one of Broadway's most distinguished Press Agents, who worked on productions such as 42nd Street, Into the Woods, The King and I, The Elephant Man and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. He tells Gyles insider tales about some of the stars he worked with during his long career, including Yul Brynner, Rex Harrison, Katharine Hepburn, Eartha Kitt, Cher, David Bowie and Ethel Merman. It's fascinating, and gives a real flavour of life at the heart New York's theatre land.

Our thanks for Josh Ellis for this fun and fascinating conversation. Our thanks to New York City for being fabulous. And our thanks to you for listening. Enjoy this.

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Jeremy Corbyn MP is our guest on this May Day morning. Now an independent MP and the leader of Your Party, Jeremy has been in Westminster for 43 years - for 41 of those as a Labour MP. He was leader of Labour Party from 2015 to 2020, and fought two general elections in 2017 and 2019. He talks about this to Gyles in this episode, and about the bitter divisions and recriminations that followed the final defeat. He also talks about his childhood, growing up in Wiltshire and Shropshire, with free-thinking parents who encouraged him to make things and gave him a lot of freedom. He talks about being an academic under-achiever, his formative experiences with VSO in Jamaica as a teenager, and travelling in revolutionary South America. He talks about being awkward, his love of reading, and his continuing commitment to making the world a better place. Whatever your politics, we hope you find this an inspiring, interesting and illuminating listen with one of the longest-standing and most committed of our politicians.

With our thanks to Jeremy Corbyn for his time, energy and conversation.

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It's the second of our guests this week with a royal connection: India Hicks. India is the granddaughter of Lord Mountbatten - the last Viceroy of India who oversaw the transition to independence, and his fascinating wife, Edwina Mountbatten, who was rumoured to have had a love affair with Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. India tells Gyles about this, and about her experiences of the day Mountbatten was assassinated in 1979. India is the daughter of Lady Pamela Hicks, a close friend of Queen Elizabeth II, who was actually with Princess Elizabeth in Kenya on the day she heard that her father had died and that she was to be Queen. India tells Gyles about this. India is also the goddaughter of King Charles, and they discuss his thoughtfulness, and her experiences of being a bridesmaid at his wedding to Princess Diana in 1981. All in all, this is a fascinating episode, full of stories of royalty, but also wisdom about life, duty and the importance of good manners.

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Today - Tuesday 21 April 2026 - would have been Queen Elizabeth II's 100th birthday, and we're marking the occasion with two regal Rosebuds. Our guest in this episode is Major General Alastair Bruce, the former Army Reserves officer and governor of Edinburgh Castle who is now a respected royal expert and commentator for Sky News. Alastair talks to Gyles about his family, and how they got to know the Queen and Prince Phillip in Malta. He talks about his unusual childhood passions of dressing up like an admiral and making models of the crown jewels. He talks about his experiences as an officer in the Falklands War, when he lost one of his men to sniper fire. And he talks about commentating on the Queen's funeral and a moving moment from that day.

This is a fascinating discussion for anyone interested in British military or royal history. Our thanks to Alastair Bruce for being our guest on Rosebud.

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On Hayley Mills's 80th birthday weekend, Gyles speaks to the legendary actress and her sister, Juliet Mills, about their remarkable lives and careers. They talk about their parents, Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell. They talk about their famous godparents, who included Vivien Leigh and Noel Coward. They talk about their first acting jobs - Juliet on stage, and Hayley in Tiger Bay. They talk about taking a Pekingese to a meeting with Walt Disney and about losing Oscars. There are moments of great insight and wisdom - it's worth listening for Juliet's philosophy of a happy marriage, and for Hayley's life lessons. This is a very special, star-studded, and very touching episode of Rosebud, and we're honoured to bring it to you.

Happy birthday Hayley Mills!

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Gyles continues to have success, failure and everything in between with the Oxford Theatre Festival... and even gets to open some plays in the West End. We hear from a listener in a far-flung location, and we chat about the upsides and downsides of going out without your underwear on. All human life is here! It's Gyles's diaries. Enjoy this.

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In this episode, Gyles is charmed and fascinated by Amol Rajan, the podcaster, broadcaster and host of Radical and Radio 4's Today programme. Amol tells Gyles about his family background - his parents moved to the UK from India when he was three years old. He talks about his father's insatiable love of English literature, his mother's brilliant cooking, and his own love of cricket. He talks about decline and opportunity, and why he has chosen to leave Radio 4. And finally, Amol and Gyles discuss bereavement, grief and Hamlet.

Amol Rajan's podcast Radical is available to download here.

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Yes, diary fans, it's a big one, because this episode describes some of the most stressful months of Gyles's life. It's spring 1974, and he's desperately trying to put together a stellar line-up of plays and stars for his Oxford Theatre Festival, but all around him are obstacles. Trying to raise the money is challenging. Trying to find a play Celia Johnson will agree to is a struggle. And trying to get Rita Tushingham to make a firm commitment is almost impossible. Buckle up for an episode which will make you realise your day job is a walk in the park!

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