White Wine Question Time

Were you one of the six million people who watched the Women's Rugby World Cup Final on TV? An absolutely phenomenal performance from the England Roses saw them victorious, and in that moment their lives changed forever. We're incredibly lucky to have the Captain of the England Roses, Zoe Aldcroft on the podcast reflecting on the huge team effort, the personal sacrifices and the whirlwind of the past few weeks. You do not have to love rugby to love what these women have achieved - this is a story as universal as any - even with a little bit of romance thrown in for good measure. Enjoy the episode - and don't forget to hit subscribe so you can get new episodes directly in your podcast app every Thursday morning. It's completely free but it really helps us. Cheers!

EL James doesn't do podcasts - in fact appropriately enough we popped her podcast cherry (Absolutely no safe words required).As part of our look back at some of our favourite authors to have appeared on the podcast we couldn't look past this one. Erika (her real name) is one of the best selling authors on the planet - but her fame came later, after a successful career in British TV. It is an extraordinary conversation - which took place back in 2001 - at a time when she was trying to juggle homeschooling and launching a range of adult toys. Weren't we all. Hope you enjoy it - but just a word of warning, it probably is one for listening to on headphones - you can imagine but some of the chat is quite saucy. Cheers

Are you watching Blue Lights? If not, why not? On this episode is one of the stars of the Belfast-based cop drama. She's a star of stage and screen at the peak of her acting prowess. You may have seen her as Sherlock' Holmes' evil sister in Sherlock alongside Benedict Cumberbatch or starring opposite Suranne Jones in Doctor Foster. If you're really lucky you may have even seen her break-out theatre role as Ophelia in Hamlet at London's Barbican. Sian rarely does podcast interviews - so what an honour to share a couple of glasses of wine and a really lovely chat about the confidence gained from early drama classes, the women who've reached down to help her on her journey, and the illness that nearly ended her career before it really began. Sit back, grab whatever drink you fancy and enjoy!

Over the next five Tuesdays we're holding our own mini literature festival. We've delved deep in the archive to find some of the very best authors we've spoken to over the past seven years, and what an icon we have to kick it off! After a successful career as an actor Lynda La Plante became intrigued by the production process of television drama and began writing treatments, ideas for potential shows that were, well, very much her own. Although most were rejected, one was praised as utterly brilliant. By 1983, her six-part series Widows premiered and became the highest rating series of the early 1980s. Following the show's success, she established herself as a highly sought-after crime writer with women at the heart of her stories, and the release of her debut novel in 1987 quickly established her as a critically acclaimed best-selling author to boot, paving the way for a series of hit books that followed in rapid succession.  By 1991, she hit new heights and broke new ground with the premiere of the world-renowned Prime Suspect. A detective drama starring Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennyson, which went on to win numerous BAFTAs, Emmys and Golden Globes over the course of its seven seasons and made Helen Mirren a bona fide global superstar. It's no surprise that in 2008 she was awarded a CBE for her services to literature, drama and charity. is a member of the Crime Thriller Award Hall of FameWe'll be back on Thursday with a brand new episode.

Jon Richardson will not like this podcast description - as you'll hear! Whether you know Jon from 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, his stand-up specials, playing 'himself' in Meet The Richardsons or from his Saturday morning show on Absolute Radio - you'll know one thing... he's extremely funny. Behind the humour is a man as complicated as he is kind - someone who hoards everything (he still has a copy of the newspapers from the day of the 1999 Solar Eclipse), but who values friendships from every stage of his life. We were delighted when Jon agreed to talk about his new acting role as a drug-taking ex-Marine-turned-Creative Arts teacher in Waterloo Road. It was fascinating to see how uneasily Jon takes a compliment, for someone so used to the validation of a live audience he struggled to watch the Gogglebox clip we played him. Modest, sincere and painfully funny - it turned out to be a great conversation. We hope you enjoy it! Cheers.

A National Treasure. That's what Stephen Fry is. Whether you know him as General Melchett, Jeeves, half of Fry & Laurie, the sound of Harry Potter, the genius of QI or the modern Homer retelling Greek mythology to a new generation - he has touched most of our lives in some way over the past half century. So seeing as Stephen is currently on our screens as himself in The Traitors we thought it was a timely opportunity to bring his episode of White Wine Question Time up from the cellar for another airing. We spoke in early 2025 - with Stephen in LA - about the UK import of Jeopardy, what attracted him to It's A Sin, his incredible documentaries on gay rights around the world and his advice for young creatives joining the entertainment industry. As you would expect, it was truly fascinating. Enjoy the episode and don't forget we'll be back on Thursday with a brand new episode. Cheers.

Welcome to a brand new episode of White Wine Question Time. Penny Lancaster takes a break from her Special Constable policing duties to join us for three glasses of wine and answer three thought provoking questions.Some of the topics in this episode might be difficult for some listeners - Penny talks honestly about a childhood assault, and a sexual assault that took place during her modelling days. There is also discussion of miscarriage and difficulties conceiving. It is a really honest chat which also touches on menopause, blending families and Rod's (eventual) decision to father more children. If you would like more from Penny - we can highly recommend her new book Someone Like MeThanks for listening - if you enjoy this podcast here are some things you can do to help spread the word:1 Tell your friends - we love a personal recomendation2 Hit the 'Follow' button in your podcast app - you'll get new episodes sent to you for free every week3 Leave us a star rating and a review. Cheers!

Grace Dent joined us for White Wine Question Time back in 2021 - it was such a lovely episode, full of food, formative moments and fond memories. Grace talked about losing her mum only months before we spoke, finding her partner on social media and her three-week 'holiday' to a West London shopping centre! Every week we'll be pulling out a highlight from our back catalogue of almost 500 episodes - we hope you like them, and if you do there are LOADS more to choose from, plus every Thursday we'll be uncorking a new guest for you. Don't forget to follow the podcast, and if you'd like to get in touch you can email hello@whitewinepod.comCheers!

Hello! Welcome to White Wine Question Time. On the podcast this week it's a friend of the show - the brilliant Denise Van Outen. In the 90s she hosted The Big Breakfast which launched her into a career that's taken in the West End, Broadway, TV, DJ'ing some of the world's biggest clubs and best-selling author. Denise was one of our first ever guests on the podcast, and in this episode we break her career down into 'eras' Let us know what you think - send us an email to hello@whitewinepod.comThanks for listening - we'll be back with another new guest next Thursday - and something from the cellar (a gift from our back catalogue of almost 500 episodes) next Tuesday.