Doctor Who Team Joined By New Guest Names At First Ever Radio Times Festival



Russell T. Davies, Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi will be among the star speakers at the inaugural Radio Times Festival, a new arts and culture event taking place between the 24th – 27th September at Hampton Court Palace.

Now a host of further sessions have been announced as tickets go on general sale, including Simon Guerrier and Dr Marek Kukula on The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who.



The new events added to the festival line-up are: Call the Midwife’s Jenny Agutter, who plays matriarchal Sister Julienne, will lift the lid on the forthcoming fifth series, alongside the show’s executive producer, Pippa Harris, and writer Heidi Thomas; bestselling author and screenwriter, David Nicholls; Pete Bowker, writer of BAFTA-winning Marvellous, alongside the real-life star of the drama, Neil Baldwin, and producer Patrick Spence; star of Silent Witness Emilia Fox alongside the show’s writer and forensics expert; “national trinket” and entertainer Julian Clary, with his debut children’s book The Bolds; former MP and wordsmith Gyles Brandreth; award-winning British-Iranian actor and comedian Omid Djalili; and number one best-selling author and creator of hit TV series The White Queen, Philippa Gregory, discussing her latest novel, The Taming Of The Queen. There will also be a Man Booker Prize panel, with writer and broadcaster Natalie Haynes and James Naughtie; historian Tracy Borman on her book on Thomas Cromwell; Sue Elliot and Steve Humphries, authors of Britain’s Greatest Generation, which accompanied the recent BBC 2 series; Kellie Maloney, the legendary boxing manager and promoter formerly known as Frank Maloney, will be appearing on a ‘Transgender Trailblazers’ panel, alongside Rebecca Root, star of upcoming BBC Two comedy Boy Meets Girl, Britain’s first transgender sitcom; voice of The Shipping Forecast, Peter Jefferson; journalist and bestselling author Tony Parsons discussing his latest crime novel, The Slaughter Man; and Dr Marek Kukula and Simon Guerrier on their book, The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who.

Other names already announced include Sir David Attenborough, Sir Bruce Forsyth, Paul Hollywood, David Walliams, Shaun The Sheep, Googlebox, Poldark, Dom Joly and Lynda La Plante. Full details of all panels, demos and talks are available on the Festival website

The first festival of its kind, Radio Times Festival celebrates the best of TV, radio and books over one weekend, 24th – 27th September 2015, in the historic grounds of Hampton Court Palace. There will be actors, directors, presenters, screenwriters and novelists on hand with stories to tell and insights to give, alongside exclusive screenings and sneak previews of upcoming programmes, plus a chance to meet the award-winning Radio Times website and magazine teams. Festival-goers will also get the chance to enjoy delicious food and drink from pop-up gourmet street stalls and bars, or relax with a spot of shopping at the boutique shopping village. Waterstones will also be on hand with an on-site bookshop, stocked with books by all the writers attending the Festival, with book signings taking place after writers’ sessions.

Tickets go on general release today (Tuesday 23rd June): call 0871 2305 539 or visit www.radiotimesfestival.com to book.




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