The complete BBC Radio 4 comedy quiz series

The Personality Test

The comedy panel game where all the questions are about the guest host 
 
Welcome to The Personality Test, the panel show in which a brand new host takes the chair for every episode to present a quiz entirely themed around themselves. Each gets to run the show by their own rules, devising topics and queries based on their life, whims, fancies and past glories. Among the showbiz celebrities in the hot seat are Gyles Brandreth, Jennie Bond, Antony Worrall Thompson, Esther Rantzen, Janet Street-Porter and Edwina Currie, while the rounds include Love It Or Hate It, True or False, That Special Day and Life's a Pitch. 
 
Is John Sergeant a fan of Julia Roberts? Would Greg Dyke give Radio 4 just a minute, or leave it on a desert island? And does Claire Rayner have a penchant for jelly babies? Having spent a week swotting up on their host, the contestants must tackle these questions and more, as they do their best to amuse, entertain, charm, flatter - and occasionally, flirt outrageously - in a bid to chalk up the points and win the game. Battling it out are regular panellists and comedy heavyweights Alan Carr, Sue Perkins, Robert Ince, Lucy Porter, Will Smith and Carrie Quinlan. 
 
Intriguing and challenging, riotous and revealing, this unique panel show shines a fascinating spotlight on the interests and enthusiasms of your favourite personalities - and keeps you laughing along the way. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Richard Turner, Simon Littlefield and Kieron Quirke 
Devised and produced by Aled Evans 
 
Series 1 presented by: John Sergeant, Greg Dyke, Gyles Brandreth and Jennie Bond 
With Sue Perkins, Alan Carr, Lucy Porter, Will Smith, Robin Ince and Natalie Haynes 
 
Series 2 presented by: Roy Hattersley, Rick Wakeman, Adam Hart-Davis, Antony Worrall Thompson, Claire Rayner and Esther Rantzen 
With Sue Perkins, Lucy Porter, Robin Ince, Mark Dolan and Will Smith 
 
Series 3 presented by: Janet Street-Porter, Lorraine Kelly, Andrew Neill, Edwina Currie, Toyah Willcox and Eve Pollard 
With Sue Perkins, Will Smith, Nick Doody, Lucy Porter, Robin Ince, Carrie Quinlan and Dan Tetsell 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12 July-2 August 2006 (Series 1), 7 December 2006-11 January 2007 (Series 2), 5 July-9 August 2007 (Series 3) 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

A Secret Life

The powerful debut novel from one of TV's most enduring and popular personalities

An entertaining (and authentic) glimpse into the cut-throat world of television journalism

Esther Rantzen mercilessly exposes 'an industry fuelled by envy'; butshe also captures its seductive buzz and glamour, and fuses these     elements into a very readable thriller ...her story is well plotted, and moves at a cracking pace

A pacy debut novel ... a glamorous whodunit set in the cut-throat wor ld of daytime television

A very readable psychological detective story

Over a career spanning five decades, Dame Esther Rantzen has appeared in more than 2,000 television broadcasts. In her regular contributions to political and news programmes, including The One Show, she especially advocates protecting vulnerable people and growing old ungracefully. She is also a reality TV favourite with appearances on Strictly Come Dancing, First Dates and I'm a Celebrity. As a journalist, she writes for the Daily Mail, the Guardian, the Telegraph and The Times. 
 
Dame Esther was awarded a DBE in 2015 for her services to children and older people, through her pioneering work as founder of Childline and The Silver Line. This is her sixth book.

The gripping story of woman forced to fight for the truth in a competitive world. When Suzannah Piper, TV star and media personality, is killed in a tragic car accident, many publicly grieve but few genuinely mourn.  For Suzannah chose to live her life in the spotlight, and real friends are scarce in the glittering but shallow celebrity world. But investigative journalist Lucy Strong, one of the few people who knew the real Suzannah, mourns her.  When, a decade ago, Lucy arrived in London a na-ve, insecure young girl in search of a TV career, it was Suzannah who saw her intelligence and nurtured it.  It was Suzannah who taught her to play the media game.  And it was Suzannah who helped Lucy to achieve her dream. Now, after her death, Lucy suddenly gets her chance to repay Suzannah, for crucial things about the night of her death don't add up.  But as Lucy starts to discover the secret life that Suzannah kept from even her, she realises that Suzannah was playing a dangerous game.  And soon her own life is under threat -

Esther Rantzen

My A-Z of surviving almost everything

Be bolder as you grow older, and make sure you float above any challenges that threaten to overwhelm you. 
 
Multi-award-winning broadcaster, founder of Childline and The Silver Line, campaigner, mother, grandmother and joyous trailblazer of our times, Dame Esther Rantzen dazzles in the glory of getting older and ever bolder. 
 
And now in this energising A-Z, she time-travels through her most signi?cant memories, from meeting Princess Diana to creating a national outrage with a mischievous short ?lm about a driving dog, and re?ects with candour and humour on the life lessons she's learned, revealing the hints, hacks and personal philosophies that have been her secrets to surviving almost everything. 
 
We may not all achieve what Dame Esther has, but here we can soak up her wisdom, laugh with her, learn from her, embrace the passing years and march boldly on.

Esther Rantzen

Older and Bolder

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