Shows / Front Row
Episodes
- Front Row
Vince Gilligan on creating Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and Pluribus
Screenwriter Vince Gilligan is the creative mind behind the multi-awardwinning television dramas Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. His latest offering is…
- Front Row
Actors Bryan Cranston and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Also, director Jon M Chu
Actors Bryan Cranston and Marianne Jean-Baptiste discuss their production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons. Director Jon M Chu reveals the influence of watching…
- Front Row
The Hunger Games on stage, Nuremberg on film, Wild Cherry on TV
Tom and guests review The Hunger Games... now a stage play at a brand new theatre in London's Canary Wharf. The new film Nuremberg, starring Russell Crowe as…
- Front Row
Actor Fiona Shaw on her new film Park Avenue
Actor Fiona Shaw discusses her latest film Park Avenue, director Gaby Dellal's 'tense and witty drama about mother-daughter relationships set in New York…
- Front Row
Edgar Wright on The Running Man
Do Vermeer's paintings contain hidden religious symbolism? Art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon argues that the enigmatic painter's membership of a radical…
- Front Row
Winner of the 2025 Booker Prize announced live from the ceremony
Samira Ahmed presents live from Old Billingsgate in London, where the announcement of the winner of the 2025 Booker Prize is taking place.The novels on the…
- Front Row
All the authors shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2025
The six authors shortlisted for this year's Booker Prize discuss their novels ahead of tonight's ceremony, which is broadcast live on Radio 4 at 9.30pm in a…
- Front Row
Daniel Day Lewis on his return to the big screen
On this week's Front Row review, we discuss a new production of Othello with David Harewood as the Moor and Toby Jones as Iago. Tom speaks with Daniel Day…
- Front Row
Benedict Cumberbatch on The Thing with Feathers
Benedict Cumberbatch speaks to Kate Molleson about the new film adaptation of Max Porter's Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, an exploration of loss and…
- Front Row
Sarah Snook, Riz Ahmed and return of Play for Today
Riz Ahmed is one of his generation’s great British actors. He starred alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler, before landing roles in big budget films from…
- Front Row
Zadie Smith and Brenda Blethyn live in studio
Zadie Smith talks about the art of the essay, as she publishes a non-fiction collection, Dead and Alive. Brenda Blethyn discusses her new film Dragonfly, for…
- Front Row
Review Show: Bugonia, Salman Rushdie stories, The Line of Beauty
Tahmima Anam and Tristram Fane Saunders join Tom Sutcliffe to review The Eleventh Hour, a collection of five short stories from Salman Rushdie in his first…
- Front Row
Live from Derry: two of the stars of police drama Blue Lights
Live from Derry. As the climax of the current series approaches, actors Dearbháile McKinney and Martin McCann, two of the cast of hit police series Blue…
- Front Row
Prunella Scales, Palestine 36 film, Making Documentaries with World Leaders
In tribute to Prunella Scales, whose death was announced today, Front Row rebroadcasts an interview with the Fawlty Towers star from 2012, recorded on the eve…
- Front Row
Reese Witherspoon on her novel and Colin Farrell on his new film
Actor Reese Witherspoon on why she's teamed up with thriller writer Harlan Coben to write a novel called Gone Before Goodbye, about a struck-off army surgeon…
- Front Row
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere - Tom and guests deliver their verdict
Tom Sutcliffe and guests review the Bruce Springsteen film, Deliver Me From Nowhere, which tells the story of his recording of the album Nebraska Also there's…
- Front Row
John Grisham on his new thriller, The Widow
Bestselling thriller writer John Grisham on his latest book, The Widow, in which a smalltown lawyer from Virginia finds himself accused of a serious crime…
- Front Row
Steve Martin and Alison Brown talk bluegrass and banjos
Comedy giant Steve Martin on making new bluegrass music with pioneering banjo player Alison Brown with their new album, Safe, Sensible, and Sane. Filmmaker Nia…
- Front Row
Cathy Tyson on Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Cathy Tyson stars in the Leicester Curve Theatre production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee. She talks about the demanding, drunken role of…
- Front Row
Guillermo Del Toro discusses his new Frankenstein film
Guillermo Del Toro talks about his new Frankenstein film and our critics deliver their verdict. Julia Roberts plays a college professor whose career becomes…
- Front Row
Richard Ashcroft on his new album
Singer songwriter Richard Ashcroft - former frontman of The Verve - talks about the material on his new album Lovin You, and about supporting Oasis on their…
- Front Row
Sam Ryder performs live
Sam Ryder talks to Samira about his career, gaining Eurovision success with Space Man and he performs the song Armour live, a track from his forthcoming album…
- Front Row
Lang Lang plays in studio
Pianist Lang Lang's 2019 album Piano Book was one of the best selling classical albums that year, with over a billion streams and counting. He’s now followed…
- Front Row
Review Show: I Swear film and The Poems of Seamus Heaney
Alexander Larman and Susannah Clapp join Tom to discuss I Swear, a film which tells the life story of John Davidson MBE who was diagnosed with Tourette's age…
- Front Row
Tamsin Greig on her role in Sally Wainwright's Riot Women
Actor Tamsin Greig discusses her role in Sally Wainwright's latest drama series, Riot Women, in which a group of middle-aged women in Hebden Bridge, West…
- Front Row
Marina Abramović on her dream creation - Balkan Erotic Epic
Artist Marina Abramović on the world premiere of her largest-scale performance artwork - Balkan Erotic Epic - at Aviva Studios in Manchester. BBC Culture…
- Front Row
Kathryn Bigelow and Kiran Desai
Film director Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the Best Director Oscar for The Hurt Locker. She discusses her new film A House of Dynamite, which…
- Front Row
Review Show: The Smashing Machine film and Ben Elton’s autobiography
The Smashing Machine director Benny Safdie talks to Tom Sutcliffe about making his biographical drama about the life of mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr…
- Front Row
Steve Coogan on the return of Alan Partridge
Steve Coogan on his new spoof documentary series. in which his alter ego Alan Partridge returns from some time in Saudia Arabia to tackle one of the most…
- Front Row
BBC National Short Story Award and Young Writers Award
Tom Sutcliffe hosts the ceremony for the 2025 BBC National Short Story Award and Young Writers Award live from BBC Broadcasting House. Judges William Boyd…
- Front Row
Actors Matthew McConaughey and Harris Dickinson on their latest films
Actor Matthew McConaughey talks with Samira about The Lost Bus; a nerve shredding film based on a true story about a school bus driver who rescued 22 children…
- Front Row
Leonardo DiCaprio comes on Front Row to talk about One Battle After Another
Leonardo DiCaprio and director Paul Thomas Anderson tell Tom about their new film One Battle After Another. Our reviewers tonight are film critic Tim Robey and…
- Front Row
Will & Grace star Eric McCormack on his latest TV role.
Will & Grace star Eric McCormack tells us about his latest screen role – in the new BBC One thriller series Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue. McCormack plays…
- Front Row
Stephen Knight on House of Guinness
Peaky Blinders' screenwriter Stephen Knight on his new TV series, House of Guinness.Indhu Rubasingham talks about her vision as the new Artistic Director for…
- Front Row
Late-night shows under fire
Johnny Carson, David Letterman and Jay Leno made the late night talk wildly popular viewing for American audiences for decades, but those days are fading fast…
- Front Row
Front Row at the Contains Strong Language festival in Bradford
A special edition of Front Row live from the Contains Strong Language Festival, the BBC's annual celebration of poetry, performance and the spoken word. With…
- Front Row
Review Show: Ian McEwan's new novel and Small Acts of Love at Glasgow's Citizens Theatre
In our weekly review show, Kirsty Wark is joined by writer and critic Hannah McGill and writer and journalist Alan Taylor to discuss What Can We Know, the…
- Front Row
Robert Redford remembered, Mark Ronson and Picasso on stage
As news has broken of the death of Robert Redford aged 89, Front Row looks back over his astonishing career, from roles in iconic films such as All The…
- Front Row
Robert Plant and Alan Moore
Robert Plant on his journey from Led Zeppelin to his latest album of folk songs. Creator of V for Vendetta and Watchmen, Alan Moore is probably the world's…
- Front Row
Review Show: David Bowie Centre and the BBC National Short Story Award Shortlist
Writer Jenny McCartney and journalist and screenwriter Sarfraz Manzoor join Tom Sutcliffe to discuss the David Bowie Centre at the V&A East Storehouse in…
- Front Row
The Grand Finale of Downton Abbey
As the Downton Abbey franchise comes to an end after fifteen years, with the cinema release of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale this Friday, we discuss the…
- Front Row
Marks and Gran on Freud and Hitler, Jeneba Kanneh-Mason performance, Medea on stage and screen
Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran have created some of comedy's most beloved characters, including Birds of a Feather's Sharon and Tracey, and The New…
- Front Row
Maxine Peake on Mary Whitehouse, West End star Marisha Wallace
Maxine Peake talks about starring in the Nottingham Playhouse's new show The Last Stand of Mary Whitehouse, which explores the life of the 60s conservative…
- Front Row
Review Show: CMAT's new album, The Office spin-off series The Paper, Jacob Elordi in On Swift Horses
Critics William Lee Adams and Laura Barton join Samira to review the new album from Irish popstar CMAT which reflects on her home country, the sexist comments…
- Front Row
Bryan Adams’ new album, plus writer Damian Barr
Canadian rock and pop legend Bryan Adams on his new studio album – Roll With The Punches. He talks to Kirsty Wark about the inspiration for his lyrics…
- Front Row
Aaron Sorkin on adapting Harper Lee's novel To Kill Aa Mockingbird for the stage
West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin talks to Nick Ahad about his award winning and record-breaking adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee's seminal…
- Front Row
Sebastian Faulks' memoir
The subtitle of Sebastian Faulks' latest book is "Ten Essays in Place of a Memoir". Fires Which Burned Brightly tells of his childhood, schooldays, drinking…
- Front Row
Review: Historical TV epic King and Conqueror, and Boudicca's Daughter by Elodie Harper
Critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and Medieval English Literature lecturer Dr Eleanor Parker join Samira Ahmed to discuss the BBC’s historical epic King and Conqueror…
- Front Row
Indigenous Australian didgeridoo virtuoso William Barton performs live
Theatre producer Nica Burns, who has run the Edinburgh Comedy Awards since 1984, and judge Ashley Davies discuss the acts shortlisted for this year's prize…
- Front Row
Tom Hiddleston on becoming a dancing accountant in new Stephen King film, The Life of Chuck
Tom Hiddleston on becoming a dancing accountant in new Stephen King inspired film, The Life of Chuck. Sir Anish Kapoor on making a protest artwork in the North…
- Front Row
Should Stephen Fry play Lady Bracknell? Author R.F. Kuang and Marlowe and Shakespeare
As the National Theatre’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest transfers to the West End with Stephen Fry taking the role of Lady Bracknell, but do…
- Front Row
Review show: Brigadoon at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
A revival of Brigadoon at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre; is it Scottish cultural cringe or a tartan triumph? The Bitter Water of the Lake by Italian novelist…
- Front Row
Our critics' guide to the best theatre at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Scottish Ballet's new production Mary, Queen of Scots is a punk inspired production which tells the story of the ill-fated queen through the imagination and…
- Front Row
Norwich Castle reopening, plus director Adrian Noble
Norwich Castle has reopened to the public after a major revamp. Historian Alice Loxton joins Tom to discuss what has been done to bring the 900 year old site…
- Front Row
Peter Sellers at 100
Peter Sellers was a comic genius who changed British comedy forever. With this year marking his centenary, Samira is joined by Dick Fiddy, curator of an new…
- Front Row
Review: Alien Earth series plus Rom-Com Materialists
Noah Hawley talks about creating Alien: Earth which is the first ever TV series based on the blockbuster Alien films created by Ridley Scott. Film critic…
- Front Row
Special edition from the Edinburgh Festivals with guests including Emmy and Olivier Award-winning actor Brian Cox
A special edition of the programme recorded in front of an audience at the Edinburgh Festivals earlier this week. Emmy and Olivier Award-winning actor Brian…
- Front Row
Sean Hayes, from Will & Grace, on his Tony Award-winning stage show Good Night, Oscar
Tom Sutcliffe speaks to Sean Hayes, best known for his role as Jack in Will and Grace. Now he's playing pianist Oscar Levant in Broadway hit Good Night Oscar…
- Front Row
Freakier Friday
Freakier Friday is an update on the 2003 hit body-swap movie, and it features the return of the original stars - Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsey Lohan. Samira…
- Front Row
Review Show: The Naked Gun, Madonna, Paul Weller, The Assassin
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by reviewers Ekow Eshun and Hanna Flint to discuss Liam Neeson in a sequel to the beloved Naked Gun comedy film series, new Amazon…