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Radical with Amol Rajan

Interview: Frank Cottrell-Boyce talks about being a Today Christmas guest editor

Radical with Amol Rajan

BBC

Society & Culture

4.5919 Ratings

🗓️ 25 November 2024

⏱️ 22 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Each year the Today programme gives guest editors the chance to explore the issues that matter to them. In this bonus episode one of this year’s guest editors, screenwriter and UK Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, tells Amol what he’s planning for his programme. The Today Podcast is hosted by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson who are both presenters of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Amol was the BBC’s media editor for six years and is the former editor of the Independent, he’s also the current presenter of University Challenge. Nick has presented the Today programme since 2015, he was the BBC’s political editor for ten years before that and also previously worked as ITV’s political editor. To get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories and insights from behind the scenes at the UK's most influential radio news programme make sure you subscribe to The Today Podcast on BBC Sounds. That way you’ll get an alert every time we release a new episode, and you won’t miss our extra bonus episodes either.

The senior producer is Lewis Vickers and the producer is Nadia Gyane. Research and digital production by Joe Wilkinson. The editor is Louisa Lewis. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths. Technical production from Daniel Ehrlich.

Transcript

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0:00.0

We get it. Life is busy. You want to keep up with the news, but there's just too much going on.

0:06.9

Which is where Newscast comes in. We do the work, and when you're ready to dig deeper into the day's news, you just pop us into your ears.

0:14.8

It does mean we have to put in the hard work, though.

0:17.5

Listen to Newscast every day on BBC Sounds.

0:21.6

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.

0:25.5

We have got an extra special Christmas treat for you today, and I know what you're

0:29.1

thinking.

0:29.8

It's a little bit early for Christmas, but we've made a very important announcement on the

0:34.1

mothership this morning, because every year we let a gang of guest editors gang

0:38.5

posse squad group collective crew anyway we let a uh a collective of guest editors take the editorial

0:45.6

reins of the today program and they work with our fantastic team to make a program about the

0:50.9

stories and issues that they are most interested in. And this morning,

0:55.5

we announced this year's lineup of six guest editors. They are Baroness Fluella Benjamin. She's

1:02.5

now a liberal Democrat peer, but of course spent nearly 50 years on television. Dame Laura Kenny,

1:08.3

Britain's most decorated female Olympian. Dwayne Fields, he's the

1:12.7

explorer who was appointed a few months back as the Chief Scout. Professor Irene Tracy, she's

1:20.1

the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Frank Cottrell-Boyce, screenwriter,

1:24.7

children's author and UK Children's Laureate, and Sir Sajid Javid,

1:29.4

former Conservative Chancellor, who did some very powerful reporting for the Today Programme a couple

1:34.9

of years back on male suicide. You can catch all those special editions of today between

1:40.6

Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

1:45.7

And in this special Christmas-themed episode of the Today podcast,

...

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