Homepage

Accessibility links

  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
BBC Account
Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBeebies
  • CBBC
  • Food
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Innovation
  • Culture
  • Travel
  • Earth
  • Video
  • Live
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBeebies
  • CBBC
  • Food
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Innovation
  • Culture
  • Travel
  • Earth
  • Video
  • Live
Close menu
BBC Arts at Hay Festival
  • 2015 Home
  • Video
  • Radio
  • /
  • BBC at Hay archive
  • Hay Video Player
  • Hay 2025

Audio & Video

You must enable JavaScript to play content
Tom Holland on why Lord of the Rings is the greatest historical novel
Tom Holland, Bettany Hughes and Peter Stothard on Mary Renault’s Greek historical novels
  1. Tom Holland on why Lord of the Rings is the greatest historical novel
    00:58
    Tom Holland on why Lord of the Rings is the greatest historical novel
  2. Cressida Cowell: Could dragons be real?
    03:31
    Cressida Cowell: Could dragons be real?
    View More From Cressida Cowell
  3. Cressida Cowell on maps and the writer's imagination
    02:55
    Cressida Cowell on maps and the writer's imagination
    View More From Cressida Cowell
  4. Cressida Cowell: You can be a writer
    01:47
    Cressida Cowell: You can be a writer
    View More From Cressida Cowell
  5. Alan Bennett to the reluctant rescue
    02:28
    Alan Bennett to the reluctant rescue
  6. Stephen Fry on Francis Bacon and his 'little man'
    01:45
    Stephen Fry on Francis Bacon and his 'little man'
  7. James Rhodes on the first time he met Stephen Fry
    02:34
    James Rhodes on the first time he met Stephen Fry
  8. Stephen Fry on an unexpected Royal visit
    12:23
    Stephen Fry on an unexpected Royal visit
  9. Jon Ronson: Can I interview you about your special brain anomaly?
    03:58
    Jon Ronson: Can I interview you about your special brain anomaly?
  10. Halcyon Halston days: William Banks-Blaney on the first super-designer
    05:29
    Halcyon Halston days: William Banks-Blaney on the first super-designer
  11. Oxfam's Mark Goldring calls for a new Magna Carta
    07:09
    Oxfam's Mark Goldring calls for a new Magna Carta
  12. Frank Cottrell Boyce's first day at school
    02:39
    Frank Cottrell Boyce's first day at school
  13. Sheila Hancock: John was more like The Sweeney than Morse
    01:27
    Sheila Hancock: John was more like The Sweeney than Morse
  14. Alex Salmond on joining the SNP while at university
    01:20
    Alex Salmond on joining the SNP while at university
  15. Now playing
    Up next

Featured Collections

  • Hay Festival 2015: All clips
    Hay Festival 2015: All clips
    Authors and guests at the book festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales.
  • Music and musicians at Hay 2015
    Music and musicians at Hay 2015
    A selection of music-themed clips from the festival in Hay-on-Wye.
  • Kids' corner at Hay 2015
    Kids' corner at Hay 2015
    Children's authors at the book festival in Hay-on-Wye.
  • TV favourites at Hay 2015
    TV favourites at Hay 2015
    Stars of the small screen at the book festival in Hay-on-Wye.
  • Novelists at Hay 2015
    Novelists at Hay 2015
    Authors discuss their work at the festival in Hay-on-Wye.
  • Thinkers at Hay 2015
    Thinkers at Hay 2015
    Big ideas and award-winning writers at the festival in Hay-on-Wye.

Act Videos

  • Alan Bennett and Nicholas Hytner
  • Alex Salmond
  • Alexander McCall Smith
  • Andrew O’Hagan
  • Andrew Solomon
  • Anne Enright
  • Antonia Fraser
  • Ben and David Crystal
  • Call The Midwife
  • Celia Imrie and Terry Waite
  • Dan & Peter Snow
  • David Mitchell
  • Frank Cottrell Boyce
  • Germaine Greer: Liberation
  • Germaine Greer: Shakespeare's Women
  • Helen Macdonald
  • Ian Bostridge
  • Irvine Welsh
  • James Rhodes
  • John Boyne
  • Jon Ronson
  • Karen Armstrong
  • Kazuo Ishiguro
  • Marcus Brigstocke, Steve Punt and guests
  • Mary Portas
  • Meera Syal
  • Michael Morpurgo, Alison Reid, Daniel Pioro and The Storyteller’s Ensemble
  • Neil Gaiman
  • Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell
  • Nigel Kennedy
  • QI’s Greatest Hits
  • Robert Macfarlane
  • Rose Tremain
  • Sandi Toksvig
  • Sheila Hancock
  • Simon Schama
  • Stephen Fry
  • Stephen Fry, Sandi Toksvig and guests
  • Steve Punt, Will Smith and Marcus Brigstocke
  • Tom Holland, Bettany Hughes, Peter Stothard
  • Tom Holland: De-radicalising Muhammad
  • Vikram Seth
  • William Banks-Blaney
  • Yuval Noah Harari
  • Cymraeg
  • Gàidhlig
  • Gaeilge

Explore the BBC

  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBeebies
  • CBBC
  • Food
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Innovation
  • Culture
  • Travel
  • Earth
  • Video
  • Live
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you
  • Advertise with us
Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.

You might also like:

news | sport | weather | worklife | travel | future | culture | world | business | technology