Mark Lawson Talks To

The director of Cold Mountain, released on Boxing Day, and The English Patient in conversation.

An interview with Professor Colin Blakemore, who has been at the forefront of UK scientific research for over 30 years.

Interviewing the US politician who lost out in the Democratic presidential nomination battle back in February.

Writer and television performer Jonathan Meades discusses his life and career with Mark Lawson. In his unmistakable dark suits and sunglasses, Meades has presented many opinionated and sometimes controversial documentaries on architecture, culture and food. Meades talks about the secrets of his distinctive presenting style, gaining weight as restaurant critic for The Times and his Humanist beliefs.

John le Carre converses with Mark Lawson about his fragmented childhood, life in the diplomatic service, working with Alec Guinness and his book A Most Wanted Man.

Mark Lawson talks to the astronomer and English eccentric Sir Patrick Moore about his early life, career and the future of space exploration in an interview that was recorded in 2007. The late Sir Patrick presented the BBC programme The Sky at Night for over 50 years, making him the longest-running host of the same television show ever. He presented the first edition of the programme on 24th April 1957 and last appeared in an episode broadcast in late 2012.

Mark Lawson in conversation with satirist Armando Ianucci.

Bestselling author Ian Rankin in conversation with Mark Lawson.

Luvvie actor Nicholas Craig chews the fat with Mark Lawson. Craig discusses his prolific 35-year career and reveals how the relationship with his mother heavily influenced his decision to become an actor.

Top scriptwriter Russell T Davies in conversation with Mark Lawson.

Just a Minute host and raconteur Nicholas Parsons in conversation with Mark Lawson.

Journalist and broadcaster Lionel Blue, the first openly gay British rabbi, in conversation with Mark Lawson.

Phil Collins made his name as the drummer and then the lead singer of Genesis, before embarking on a successful solo career with hits including In the Air Tonight. In the 1980s he took on the role of one of the great train robbers in the film Buster and has recently had success with scoring for films such as Disney's Tarzan. Collins talks frankly to Mark Lawson about his three marriages and the various myths that surround him, including that he divorced his second wife by fax.

Actress and writer Maureen Lipman talks to Mark Lawson about life after the death of her screen-writer husband Jack Rosenthal, working with Roman Polanski, being the face of BT, and how she has been banned from Woking shopping centre.

Anglophile travel writer Bill Bryson, whose books include The Lost Continent and Notes From a Small Island, chats to Mark Lawson about how a boy from Iowa who dropped out of college has ended up as Chancellor of Durham University. He also discusses how he shares the British sense of humour, his techniques for tackling litter louts and his childhood superpowers.

Mark Lawson talks to Brian Cox, ahead of his lead role in the BBC4 Westminster drama, On Expenses. In this candid interview, Cox talks about his passion for portraying complex and difficult characters, but also about his personal psychological battles and the low point in his career when he almost gave up acting.

Mark Lawson talks to the enfant terrible of the British art world, Tracey Emin, famed for her unmade bed and the tent embroidered with the names of everyone she had ever slept with. The 1990s wild child talks in detail about her unconventional childhood and the traumatic adolescent experiences which inspired much of her controversial work.

Veteran 'home economist' Marguerite Patten reflects on nine decades of cookery. From learning to cook as a child, to being one of the first celebrity TV chefs to her performances at the Palladium, to writing over 170 books, she explains what has motivated her to keep going and how, in her early 90s, she shows little sign of slowing down.

Mark Lawson talks to the controversial artists and 'living sculptures' Gilbert and George about their lives and careers. Since meeting as students at St Martins School of Art in 1967, Gilbert Proesch and George Passmore have forged an extraordinary artistic partnership ranging from photo-pieces and dirty word pictures to their latest postcard exhibition. Their vivid, graphic work set out to challenge the elitist art world through universal themes of identity, sex, class and nationality.

Sculptor Sir Anthony Caro reflects on his time as Henry Moore's assistant, his groundbreaking shift from figurative to abstract sculpture and his position on public art.

In a candid interview, Anne Robinson reflects on the journey from finishing school to Fleet Street, alcoholism to America and print journalism to prime-time television.

Mark Lawson talks to comedian Frank Skinner about a career that has involved stand-up, broadcasting, writing and pop music. Skinner also talks candidly about his personal life.

Mark Lawson talks to legendary broadcaster Terry Wogan about his life and 50-year career, from his early years on Irish radio to his ever-popular Radio 2 show.

Mark Lawson talks to celebrity interviewer and chat show host Graham Norton about growing up in Ireland, his sexuality and a near fatal mugging whilst he was at drama school.

Mark Lawson talks to the astronomer and English eccentric Sir Patrick Moore about his early life, career and the future of space exploration in an interview that was recorded in 2007. The late Sir Patrick presented the BBC programme The Sky at Night for over 50 years, making him the longest-running host of the same television show ever. He presented the first edition of the programme on 24th April 1957 and last appeared in an episode broadcast in late 2012.

Mark Lawson talks to songwriter Mark Knopfler about his early life and influences, the years with Dire Straits and his quiet contempt for modern TV talent shows.

Mark Lawson talks to Python and globetrotting national treasure Michael Palin about his childhood and early career days. He recalls some of the highs and lows of the famous ensemble and regales Mark with a German rendition of the Lumberjack song. Palin has been a successful writer, comedian and broadcaster for nearly fifty years. After his early global success with Monty Python, he reinvented himself as our favourite Englishman abroad with his prolific travelogues, as well as an author of novels and diaries.

In a career spanning more than five decades, photographer David Bailey has captured many of the 20th century's most iconic faces. With his first major solo exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery currently on show, he talks frankly to Mark Lawson about his life, loves and illustrious career.

As she publishes her eighteenth novel, Joanna Trollope talks to Mark Lawson about creativity, divorce and the inescapable drama of domestic life. Her hugely popular novels include The Rector's Wife, The Choir and A Village Affair, which have all been adapted into major television dramas.

Julian Barnes won the 2011 Man Booker Prize for his novel The Sense of an Ending and his latest, Levels of Life is a memoir of bereavement following the loss of his wife to cancer. He talks candidly to Mark Lawson about love, death, memory and grief.

Mark Lawson talks to one of Britain's greatest exponents of the detective novel, the late PD James. In this frank discussion she talks about her need to write, the impact that the two world wars have had on her, religion and death.

From the long-suffering Miss Jones in Rising Damp to headmistress Madame Maxime in Harry Potter, Tony and triple Olivier award-winning actress Frances de la Tour has a career spanning five decades. The star of stage, screen and television started out at the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s and is currently thrilling audiences as the giant in Hollywood blockbuster Into the Woods. Mark Lawson talks to her about her life and career.

From Calendar Girls to Cranford, Celia Imrie has been a familiar face on both TV and film for more than four decades. Ahead of her latest cinema release The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and the publication of her first novel Not Quite Nice, the actress talks to Mark Lawson about her life and career.