Radio Gorgeous

Tim Wardle, Director of Three Identical Strangers with Donna Freed, MAN WEEK on Radio Gorgeous  PLEASE NOTE: THIS INTERVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!! Three Identical Strangers is the quintessential ‘life is stranger than fiction’ story that starts out with the heartwarming reunion of triplets who were separated at birth. What follows is the unravelling of the dark mystery…

Natasha Courtenay-Smith, Stand Out ONLINE, GORGEOUS ENTREPRENEURS with Donna Freed Former journalist, Natasha knows the power of personal brands. When she started her own press agency, she made her agency stand out from the competition by putting herself and her staff front and centre of the business. As a result, she became the trusted, go to…

  Caroline Taggart, Bognor and Other Regises, A Potted History of Britain in 100 Royal Places Sunday Times Bestselling author Caroline Taggart turns her searchlight on some of Britain’s quirkiest royals, uncovering fascinating facts and anecdotes, all in highly amusing and accessible prose. Meet Ethelred the Unready and Eleanor of Castile, travel from the Isle…

  Ella Mills, Deliciously Ella: The Plant Based Cookbook at the Cookbook Festival 2018 with Donna Freed Ella Mills, food writer and entrepreneur under the brand Deliciously Ella focuses on natural food and putting vegetables at the centre of our plates and palates. Her latest book includes tried and tested recipes that she has developed…

  Noelle Harrison  The Gravity of Love AUTHOR with Donna Freed A sweeping story of love spanning the swinging 60’s of London and sultry desert nights in 80’s Arizona. When your very identity is under question, how far and in what direction will love pull you? The death of her father sends shock waves through…

Caroline’s Bikini by Kirsty Gunn AUTHOR of THE WEEK with Donna Freed Kirsty Gunn rips it up and starts again with each of her books, wrenching original novels out of her imagination. Her latest, a comedy about the impossible perfection of unrequited love, leaves as much out as in… much like a bikini! www.kirsty-gunn.com #RadioGorgeous…

Lindsey Fitzharris The Butchering Art with Donna Freed – AUTHOR OF THE WEEK  Shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize, Lindsey’s The Butchering Art is a propulsive dramatisation of Joseph Lister’s quest to transform the grisly world of Victorian Medicine. www.drlindseyfitzharris.com @DrLindseyFitz                            …

Silla Bjerrum, Robata: Japanese Home Grilling, with Donna Freed  GORGEOUS FOOD on Radio Gorgeous We catch up with chef and cookbook author, Silla Bjerrum as she takes over the kitchen at Charlottes W5, serving food from her latest cookbook. After mastering sushi, where to cut is to cook, Silla has turned to robata – meaning ‘fireside…

S. K. Perry, Let Me Be Like Water with Donna Freed AUTHOR OF THE WEEK on Radio Gorgeous   Poet and author, Sarah Perry has written a poetic novel about grief and growing up. Set in the achingly painful and chaotic year after Holly’s partner of 5 years dies, the novel explores what it is for…

Author of the Week: Bonnie MacBird, Unquiet Spirits with Donna Freed The second of Bonnie MacBird’s faithful, full length Sherlock Holmes novels is infused with the ghostly presences of the past history of the MacLaren whiskey family and Sherlock himself. The explosive adventure travels through London, the Cote d’Azur and the Highlands. Bonnie brings all…

Holly Black, The Cruel Prince – with Donna Freed    Holly Black is the prolific writer of young adult fantasy fiction: she is best known for The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), The Modern Faerie Tale series and the Magesterium series (with Cassandra Clare). The Cruel Prince is the propulsive first book in another series:…

Alex Hourston, Love After Love with Donna Freed AUTHOR OF THE WEEK on Radio Gorgeous  Alex’s latest trixy heroine is a mother, therapist, wife, sister, daughter and now lover. Despite what she thinks, she cannot have it all when her various roles collide. Alex Hourston excels at propulsive and emotional explorations of the internal lives of…

  Linda Nolan, From My Heart, Gorgeous Lives: with Donna Freed After all the drama: the Nolan Sisters break up, her sister and husband died, she was caught out as a benefits cheat, her own breast cancer and depression, Linda bears all and embraces life in the face of secondary breast cancer. Donna makes a…

  Karena Johnson, Director Female Parts: Shorts with Donna Freed GORGEOUS ENTERTAINMENT  Karena Johnson talks about Hoxton Hall’s female centred festival culminating in three short plays she is directing: A Woman Alone, The Immigrant and A Mother. Each of these one woman pieces play with stereotype and women’s roles: wife, mother, immigrant that also reflect…

Self-Care for the Real World: Nadia Narain & Katia Narain Phillips GORGEOUS WELLBEING with Donna Freed After years of fads and the shoulds and shouldn’ts of self-improvement/punishment, sisters Nadia (yoga teacher to the stars) and Katia (raw food restauranteur) yearned for a kinder approach to life; one that included self-love and self-care. They believe that…

  Emma Hall, Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties: Gorgeous Entertainment:  Emma has a mission: produce powerfully entertaining and though provoking theatre that addresses gender imbalances and encourages young people to work in all aspects of the theatre. As Peter Hall’s daughter, she didn’t really have a choice but her production company, Antic Face, which…

Jackie Lynch, VA VA VOOM, The 10-Day Energy Diet with Donna Freed Tired of feeling tired all the time? Embarrassed about how many times: I’m so stressed, I’m so tired… comes out of your mouth? Nutritionist Jackie Lynch offers a 10, reboot/kick start to get you va va vooming back into action. Eat your way…

Ellyn Daniels, Emotional Terrorism Gorgeous Entertainment with Donna Freed    In her one-woman show, Ellyn Daniels charts her life of Paris runways; ballet dancing; world travel; parties at Hollywood mansions and the dark underbelly of this seemingly glamorous life: bulimia; blacking out; and sitting on the precipice of suicide. Drayton Arms Pub & Theatre December…

Photographer Ian Hoskin with Donna Freed MAN WEEK on Radio Gorgeous Ladies First is a photographic essay first undertaken by Ian for his thesis project but put aside. He came across the images 30 years later and realised how little had changed. Meaningful change can only come from dialogue; the twinned images and phrases –…

Nicola Upson, Nine Lessons GORGEOUS READS, with Donna Freed   Nicola Upson weaves fact and fiction throughout her Josephine Tey mysteries; she incorporates what is known of the real life Golden Age crime writer and casts her in the role of detective. Upson’s triumph is to not only resurrect historical crimes cleverly and enjoyably but…