It's 1975 and new father Gyles Brandreth is multi-tasking, like any young parent. One day he's feeding the ducks in Regent's Park with his new baby, the next, spearheading the campaign for Britain to remain in the European Common Market. He's also planning his next Oxford Theatre Festival, learning to play bridge, and being interviewed by the Mail. Plus Gyles and Harriet chat about their favourite day of the week, and snoring. Enjoy this!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At Rosebud we know how lucky we are to meet and talk to so many talented and fascinating guests. And this week we are especially lucky, as our guest is one of our greatest living actors: Ralph Fiennes. In this conversation recorded at the Haymarket Theatre (where Ralph is currently appearing with Miranda Raison in the David Hare play Grace Pervades), Ralph talks to Gyles about his childhood. He talks about his parents - the writer and artist Jennifer Lash, and the farmer-turned-photographer Mark Fiennes - their strengths, their challenges, and their love. He talks about the unusual and artistic home they made for their six children, and the legacy of hard work and creativity that has given him and his siblings. He talks about his mother's illness and death. Ralph also talks about becoming an actor and about the great Victorian actor Henry Irving - who he's playing in Grace Pervades.

This episode was recorded on Shakespeare's birthday at the Haymarket Theatre. Our thanks to the team there.

Ralph Fiennes is appearing in Grace Pervades until 11th July. It tells the story of Sir Henry Irving and his relationship with the great actress Ellen Terry - and is highly recommended. Tickets are available here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our More Rosebud guest today is the Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel De Souza. Dame Rachel advocates for children in parliament, and on May 8 published a major survey of 1 million children in the UK - entitled "The Big Future". The children she's surveyed are especially those who are hardest to reach, living away from home, with disabilities, or in care – and the survey provides an urgent and definitive state of the nation of childhood, at a time when children are facing numerous challenges.

Regular listeners to Rosebud will know that we're particularly interested in childhood, and the huge impact the memories of our earliest years have on us. A childhood lasts a lifetime. And that's why Gyles is talking to Dame Rachel today - to ask her about the state of childhood in the country today, and to find out about her own story. Rachel tells Gyles about growing up in a working class family in Scunthorpe, about studying theology, and about becoming one of the most successful headteachers in the country.

Thank you to Dame Rachel De Souza for this frank and fascinating conversation.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.