Thomas Keneally on the genesis of Napoleon’s Last Island

The challenges of playing Demelza

'Aidan was our one and only choice'

The difficulties of making Poldark on a budget

Steve Silberman: ‘There has been no autism tsunami’

Julian Clary and David Roberts: Drawing by committee

Sam Mendes on the James Bond franchise

Julian Clary and illustrator David Roberts on drawing a hyena

Shakespeare and the reformation

Claire Harman reads an extract from her book Charlotte Brontë: A Life

Imtiaz Dharker's In Wales, wanting to be Italian

Maxine Peake's approach to tackling Hamlet

Billy Bragg: 'Cynicism is the real enemy of all of us who want to make the world a better place'

Edna O'Brien on being invited to the White House for dinner