Front Row

Two of the young stars of Saturday Night Live UK on bringing live satire back to television.
Director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, Captain Philips, United 93) on how the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 inspired his new film, Uprising.
The British Museum has taken steps to quell public dissent over long queues and ticket cancellations for the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition.
And novelist Sarah Hall on the rebelliousness of modern nature writing.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed

Susannah Clapp and Nick Hilton join Tom Sutcliffe to review Tom Cruise as a prosthetic laden billionaire oil tycoon in the film Digger, who is out to save humanity after causing a global catastrophe.
They also discuss Sky legal drama War – where Sienna Miller and Dominic West play a power couple who are getting divorced.
And they offer their verdicts on The Standard of Living, Dear England writer James Graham’s play about the life of economist John Maynard Keynes, played by Rory Kinnear.
Plus chair of judges, and former Front Row presenter, Kirsty Lang talks about the 2026 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction's shortlist which has been announced today.
Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Claire Bartleet

Sherwood and Homeland star David Harewood talks to us about his lead role in Channel 4's new legal drama Pierre, which is co-written by John Donnelly and playwright Roy Wiliams.
Actor Simon Russell Beale discusses playing Liberace on stage in I'll Be Seeing You, the new play from Martin Sherman (who wrote Bent and Mrs Henderson Presents), a sparkling fantasia which follows a young writer struggling to create a play about the flamboyant superstar with a carefully constructed public image, who was awarded £8,000 in damages after an article strongly hinted he was a homosexual. The production - directed by Alan Cumming and Ben Occhipinti - is at Pitlochry Festival Theatre until 11 October.
An avatar of acclaimed Chinese-American pianist Yuja Wang is performing at the Southbank Centre in London between now and January with audience members donning a VR headset and wandering around the stage to observe her at close range. The Guardian's critic Erica Jeal, who described the performance as "like Disney's Fantasia on steroids" tells us more about the experience.
And we discuss the rise of the cultural logging platform - such as Letterboxd and Storygraph - which help us curate what the films we watch and the books we read and which help us share recommendations with each other.
And Bill Buckley pays tribute to broadcaster and campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen, his colleague on the much-loved TV show That's Life!, who has died at the age of 86.
Presenter: Kirsty Wark
Producer: Mark Crossan

Tom Sutcliffe hosts the ceremony for BBC National Short Story Award and Young Writers Award 2026, in partnership with University of Cambridge, live from BBC Broadcasting House in London.
As well as the announcements of the winners of both awards, Tom is joined by judges David Almond, Tahmima Anam and Saba Sams to discuss the key ingredients for a standout short story. They also recommend the short story writers and collections which they love to read.
Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Lucy Collingwood

The multi-award winning stage designer and artist Es Devlin talks to Samira as a retrospective of her work opens at the Design Museum in London. Devlin has created sets for theatre and opera and also for stadium concerts, fashion shows, and the Olympics opening ceremony. This is her first UK museum show and her first retrospective in Europe, and it celebrates her 30-year creative practice across stage design, art installations, sculpture and music.
The music played in the exhibition and briefly on our programme was composed by Polyphonia.

Sebastian Faulks, one of the country’s most acclaimed novelists, imagines the life of an ex-soldier stationed in 1946 Palestine at the end of the British Mandate in his new book Farewell to Eden. He talks to Samira about why this troubled period of history has drawn him in.
The technology giant Apple has helped transform the way we listen to music through its devices and platforms, and is now opening its own 600-capacity concert venue at Battersea Power Station in London, with Elton John headlining its first show. Samira speaks to Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services and Health, about the company’s ambitions for Apple Music Hall and its role in the music industry.
Jonathan Jones reviews the work of the nominees for this year’s Turner Prize.
Producer: Eliane Glaser