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Andi Oliver, Greg Davies and Alex Horne

Andi Oliver tells Zoe about the brand new series of The Great British Menu. Greg Davies and Alex Horne talk Taskmaster on Channel 4. Plus it’s The Why Workshop with the QI Elves.

Andi Oliver, chef and presenter, tells Zoe all about the brand new series of The Great British Menu on BBC Two. The show starts with the central region heats, featuring a mix of exciting new talent and one popular returner, the theme for this year's competition is a celebration of British invention and innovation. The chefs are welcomed to the kitchen, where they prepare canapes, starters and fish courses for the eyes of the week's veteran judge, a former winner who remains a surprise to the chefs until the moment they walk into the kitchen. With one of the four being sent home, the pressure is on to produce something delicious and ingenious.

Greg Davies and Alex Horne, comedians and creators of Taskmaster, are here to tell Zoe about the new series of the hit Channel 4 show. Series 11 will see five new TV stars take on a series of wacky tasks in a bid to win points and head home with a golden bust of Greg’s head. Charlotte Ritchie, Lee Mack, Jamali Maddix, Sarah Kendall and Mike Wozniak are the celebrities heading to the Taskmaster house and awaiting Alex Horne’s instructions in the battle to be victorious.

It’s The Why Workshop, and Zoe quizzes the QI Elves with more wonders and ponders, including your questions. If you've got something for the Elves, just email [email protected]

Along with Clare Runacres on news, Richie Anderson on travel and Mike Williams on sport, she and the team have the best start to your morning. With celeb guests, headlines, tunes chosen by listeners, and more music that you can shake a glitterball at!

There's also a daily Pause For Thought and listeners on the line, as Zoe entertains the nation with fun for the family!

2 hours, 59 minutes

Last on

Wed 17 Mar 202106:30
BBC Radio 2

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Music Played

  • The Isley Brothers

    Harvest For The World

    • The Greatest Hits Of 1976 (Various).
    • Premier.

  • Dua Lipa

    We're Good

    • Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition).
    • Warner Records.

  • Matt Bianco

    Get Out of Your Lazy Bed

    • Whose Side Are You On (Deluxe Edition).
    • Cherry Pop.
    • 006.

  • Katy Perry

    Chained To The Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley)

    • (CD Single).
    • Capitol Records.

  • Finley Quaye

    Your Love Gets Sweeter

    • New Hits 98 (Various Artists).
    • Sony Music TV.

  • The Lotus Eaters

    First Picture Of You

    • New Frontiers (Various Artists).
    • Temple Records.

  • Madonna

    Material Girl

    • Finally Enough Love (Deluxe Edition).
    • Rhino.
    • 2.

  • Rag’n’Bone Man

    All You Ever Wanted

    • Life By Misadventure.
    • Best Laid Plans.

  • Shakira

    Whenever, Wherever

    • (CD Single).
    • Epic.

  • George Ezra

    Pretty Shining People

    • Staying At Tamara's.
    • Columbia.

  • Eurythmics

    Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

    • NOW That's What I Call The 80s (Various Artists).
    • Now.

  • Rebecca Ferguson

    No Words Needed (feat. Nile Rodgers)

    • (CD Single).
    • Platoon.

  • U2

    Angel Of Harlem

    • U2 - The Best Of 1980-1990.
    • Island.
    • 12.

  • James Arthur

    Medicine

    • (CD Single).
    • Columbia.

  • The Coral

    In The Morning

    • (CD Single).
    • Deltasonic.

  • Laura Branigan

    Gloria

    • Disco Queens: The '80s (Various Artists).
    • Rhino.

  • Gabrielle

    Stop Right Now

    • Do It Again.
    • BMG Rights Management (UK).

  • James

    She's a Star

    • James - Whiplash.
    • Mercury.
    • 9.

  • M

    Pop Muzik

    • Million Sellers Vol.16 - The Seventie.
    • Disky.

  • Bryan Adams

    Cloud Number Nine

    • Now 43 (Various Artists).
    • Now.

  • Justin Bieber

    Hold On

    • JUSTICE.
    • Def Jam Recordings.

  • Wings

    Listen To What The Man Said

    • The 7" Singles Box.
    • MPL.

  • The Weeknd

    Blinding Lights

    • (CD Single).
    • Universal Republic Records.
    • 1.

  • Busted

    Year 3000

    • Top Of The Pops Spring 2003 (Various).
    • Universal.

  • Blur

    Parklife

    • (CD Single).
    • Parlophone.

  • N‐Trance

    Set You Free

    • (CD Single).
    • All Around The World.

  • Take That

    Never Forget

    • Now That's What I Call Music 1995 (Various Artists).
    • Now.

  • Dolly Parton

    Light Of A Clear Blue Morning

    • Straight Talk.
    • Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd.

Pause For Thought

Pause For Thought

I’ve been casting my mind back to that hiatus last summer when those glorious things that are weddings were allowed, albeit in pared back numbers. In the year that was 2020, being able to witness two best friends tie the knot was a real delight - to put it mildly. 

After their beautiful service and never-ending feast – the groom had been up until the early hours making the pasta himself - I stood having a drink with another dear friend, Kate, underneath a starlight August sky. 

Music is a shared love of ours and she wanted to tell me about a song that I simply had to hear. 

The tune was from none other than the chief ambassador of optimism, Dolly Parton. Her bold hopefulness being a trait she’s said to have inherited from her grandfather, Reverend Jake Owens. Dolly’s messages of faith and inspiration (though not of specific working hours, it’s gotta be said) were carried over from his renowned Sunday sermons. 

Kate filled me in on how Dolly had written, what I think is, her most buoyant creation. Or rather, how it landed, as if from on-high, in her head. 

After a meeting with her manager where she ended their long relationship, she drove home. It began to rain and, as Dolly writes “so did I.” As her tears fell, tears of freedom and change, she started saying these words: “it’s been a long dark night and I’ve been waiting for the morning; it’s been a long hard fight, but I see a brand-new day dawning. I’ve been looking for the sunshine, I ain’t seen it in so long, everything’s gonna work out just fine. Everything’s gonna be alright that’s been all wrong.” 

Dolly swears, on her life (!), that as she said those words, the sky cleared up, it stopped raining and the sun came out. Before she arrived home, The Light of a Clear Blue Morning was written. She’s said since it’s her song of deliverance, that she knew God was in it and that she was finally free.

I put it to you Zoe, that we make it – The Light of a Clear Blue Morning - our post lockdown anthem, as we see the light of the summer of 2021 ahead. 

Broadcast

  • Wed 17 Mar 202106:30
    BBC Radio 2