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Private Notes
Mark Lawson talks to Frank Skinner about a career that has made him one of the most successful and well-paid comedians of his generation. By Skinner's own admission he's a 'nondescript bloke from a working class family in West Bromwich who got lucky'. Lawson explores what drove him to succeed in stand-up, broadcasting, writing and even a No 1 hit single with the football anthem Three Lions. Skinner also talks candidly about his personal life, including his former alcoholism and reputation as a womaniser.
Originally born Christopher Graham Collins, he first found fame when he won the prestigious 1991 Perrier prize for stand-up comedy at the Edinburgh Festival. He went on to present the highly successful Fantasy Football with David Baddiel as they inadvertently became the poster boys for the 'new laddism' of the 1990s. Skinner was subsequently poached by ITV and went on to present his own chat show, before parting ways with the broadcaster. In 2007 Skinner successfully returned to stand-up and has prodigiously worked on various BBC entertainment shows including Frank Skinner's Opinionated and the revamped Room 101.
Mark Lawson talks to legendary broadcaster Terry Wogan about his life and 50-year career. In this thoughtful interview Terry explores his early years growing up in Ireland, recalls how the shaky beginnings of Irish television provided him with a great training ground for a career in live broadcast and talks about how, because of his gentle demeanour, he has eluded the censors more than any of his peers.
Wogan made a name for himself as a DJ for Raidió Teilifís Éireann in Ireland in the 1960s. When Irish television started up in 1962, he began his career in front of the camera, transferring across the channel in 1967 as one of the first DJs for the BBC's new station Radio 1. Loved for his genial charm and cheeky optimism, he has seduced audiences and listeners for over half a century. His stamina and ambition to be a major player in live broadcast continues well into his 70s, as the face of BBC's Children in Need and the front of his ever-popular Radio 2 show.
Mark Lawson turns the tables on celebrity interviewer and chat show host Graham Norton and discusses seminal moments from his life and career. From his southern Irish Protestant beginnings, Lawson explores what drove Norton to become one of the biggest names in light entertainment, via a brief stint as an actor and an even briefer stint as a failed rent boy. In this frank and funny interview he discusses growing up in Ireland, his sexuality and a near fatal mugging whilst he was at drama school.
'I started finding my life engaging when I was about 16, when I started having experiences outside of Ireland, that's when I sort of came alive.' Norton's journey out of Ireland first took him to live in a hippy commune in San Francisco before he returned to study acting. One of his earliest roles was in Puss in Boots in Harrogate, an experience which made him realise that a life on the boards was not for him. His TV breakthrough came in 1997 when he filled in as the main presenter for Channel 5's Not the Jack Docherty Show, which led to a best newcomer gong at the British Comedy Awards. In 1998 he was given his own hit show on Channel 4 and in 2005 he transferred to the BBC, where he continues to thrill Friday night audiences with his unique blend of celebrity guests, tongue-in-cheek humour and audience participation.
Mark Lawson talks to former Oasis lynchpin Noel Gallagher about his life, career and becoming one of the most successful songwriters of his generation.
In this fascinating interview Noel talks frankly about his acrimonious relationship with his younger brother, the Oasis front man Liam. He explores his violent relationship with his father, his persistent truancy as a schoolboy and the fact that he was considered a weirdo because of his passion for music. Admitting that he was a control freak, he claims that he was driving force behind Oasis's phenomenal success: 'We were the last, we were the greatest, the end.'
Noel's career in music began in the late 1980's when he toured with Manchester based band Inspiral Carpets, working as their roadie. In 1991 he joined his brother Liam's new band, Oasis, where he established himself as the main songwriter. The band shot to fame after being signed by Creation Records during a gig that they very nearly weren't allowed to play in Glasgow in 1993. Their debut album Definitely Maybe went straight to number one on initial release and became the fastest selling debut album of all time.
Fuelling the Britpop movement , Oasis quickly became one of the biggest bands of the decade and, despite obvious tension between the Gallagher brothers, stayed together until 2009 when Noel quit after an argument with Liam minutes before they were due to appear on stage at a festival near Paris. Since then, Noel has formed his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.
Mark Lawson talks to writer, actor and comedian Mark Gatiss about his life, career and fulfilling childhood dreams. In this entertaining interview Gatiss explores formative memories of growing up opposite a psychiatric hospital in County Durham, admits the difficulty of coming out as a gay man, reveals why his role in the British film flop Sex Lives of the Potato Men was the biggest mistake of his career yet also his 'Pistols moment', and talks about how his lifelong passion for horror and science fiction have influenced his success and contributed to his 'long revenge against PE teachers who told me that I would never come to anything'.
Gatiss first made a name for himself as one of the comedy quartet The League of Gentlemen, which he formed with university friends Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Jeremy Dyson. Their first breakthrough was winning the Perrier Award for their stage show in 1997, and BBC radio and television success quickly followed. Gatiss has gone on to form a successful solo career as an actor, with notable roles including Bamber Gascoigne in Starter for Ten and Malcolm McLaren in Worried About the Boy. As a writer Gatiss is living out his childhood obsessions, writing episodes of Dr Who and the BAFTA-Award winning series Sherlock, and presenting a series on horror for the BBC.
Mark Lawson talks to Mark Rylance, one of the best stage actors of his generation, about his life and illustrious career. In this insightful interview, Rylance discusses how acting helped him overcome a childhood speech impediment; his lifelong relationship with Shakespeare and his controversial ideas about Shakespeare's authorship; how his role in the film Intimacy raised his respect for porn stars; and how he prepares for his highly-acclaimed role as Johnny Rooster Byron in the award-winning play Jerusalem.
After leaving RADA in 1980, Rylance quickly established himself as a classical actor through major roles at the RSC. Frustrated with so called 'director's theatre' which left him feeling as powerless as 'a waiter', Rylance left the RSC in 1983 to set up his own actor-led production companies. He was the first artistic director of the Globe, where he worked from 1995 to 2005. He has had various film roles, including the alcoholic boxer and chess genius John Healy in the award-winning The Grass Arena, and weapons inspector David Kelly in The Government Inspector. Rylance confesses, however, to being more at home on stage than on screen and his most recent role in Jerusalem has proven to be one of his career highs - earning him Tony and Olivier awards both in Britain and in the US.
Mark Lawson talks to Felicity Kendal about her childhood in India and returning to the UK in the 1960s to become one of the best-loved actors of her generation.
In this in-depth interview Mark Lawson meets the award-winning journalist and filmmaker Sean Langan, whose kidnap by the Taliban in 2008 inspired BBC Four's hostage drama The Kidnap Diaries.
Mark Lawson talks to Zoe Wanamaker about inheriting a showbusiness name and making it even more celebrated in her own right.
