Front Row

Samira Ahmed spoke to Dolly Parton in 2023. As her death is announced Front Row pays tribute to the star of country music who sold more than 100 million records and wrote over 3,000 songs in a career that spanned six decades.
A chance to hear Meg Mason, the bestselling author of Sorrow and Bliss, about her new novel, Sophie Standing There, which deals with celebrity obsession and the publishing industry.

A new film looks at the story of the Second World War through General De Gaulle’s eyes. We speak to its director, Antonin Baudry, about De Gaulle: Resistance - this summer's hit in French cinemas.

And we mark sixty years of the Notting Hill Carnival with founder member Allyson Williams and Ricky Belgrave, DJ and chair of the British Association of Sound Systems.
Producer: Ruth Watts

Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and William Lee Adams join Tom Sutcliffe to review:
The Life of M - the new novel from Rachel Cusk. The book centres on a writer’s attempt to chronicle the life of a globally famous film star, and explores the strangeness of celebrity.
Stop! That! Train! - a comedy disaster movie featuring many of the stars from RuPaul's Drag Race.
Coyote vs Acme - after a lengthy and tumultuous journey, including being shelved by its studio, the much anticipated Looney Tunes film finally reaches cinemas. The blend of live action and animated film follows Wile E. Coyote as he takes legal action against the Acme Corporation for providing him with defective goods.
Chinese animated film Niu Lai has become an unexpected box-office and social media phenomenon. Initially released to little attention, the film gained widespread visibility online, generating debate about independent filmmaking, internet culture and the economics of contemporary cinema in China.
And as HMV announces that it wants to become a 'destination' for books on the high street, a group of independent booksellers calls on the Prime Minister to provide the same tax relief that pubs and live music venues have recently been granted. What is the state of bookselling on the high street? Lauren Brown, Deputy News Editor at The Bookseller, joins.
Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Tim Bano

Ann Droid and Motherland star Paul Ready on his debut one man show Little Animals, a powerful piece of writing on climate, consumerism and the anxieties of being a Dad in today's world.
The founder of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales on his book The Seven Rules of Trust, an optimistic view of how technology can impact on our lives.
Comedian and actor Rosie Holt on her two shows at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe - Churchill's Urinal and The Illegal Aliens Have Landed.
And Senegalese musician Senny Camara talks to us about performing on the kora, traditionally the preserve of male musicians, and performs for us live.
Presenter: Kirsty Wark
Producer: Mark Crossan.

As contemporary art venue, The Light, prepares to open in Durham, its artistic director Tony Guillan, and the art critic Louisa Buck, discuss the new building and its opening exhibition, Victory Over the Sun: Encounters with Light.
Comedian Iain Stirling is known to many for narrating Love Island. He's stepped out from behind the scenes to front new reality tv show Race Against The Tide where participants compete against each other and the shoreline to create sandcastle art.
As her latest novel, Little Spark, is published, novelist Jess Kidd explains the appeal of the Victorian century.
Presenter: Nick Ahad
Producer: Ekene Akalawu

The comedian Joe Lycett has long dabbled in art, but it's a serious business now as his first ever solo exhibition ‘Everything Must Go’ has just opened at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. He talks about how this show came together and why its most eye-catching piece is a giant pink and blue woolly mammoth called Martin.
Charlotte Higgins talks to Samira Ahmed about her book Ukrainian Lessons, and the role artist's play in the cultural identity of the country.
With poetry sales at an all time high, we speak to poets Nikita Gill and Lucas Jones, two writers credited as being part of this boom.
Entries for A-level arts subjects continue to fall. However, this year saw a drop of nearly six per cent in entries for A level English Literature. What does this continued decline mean for the health of the arts and humanities? Hetan Shah is Chief Executive of the British Academy and Professor Robert Eaglestone is education policy lead at the English Association.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Andrea Kidd