Bandwidth Conversations – Details, episodes & analysis

Guy Chambers is a rock star in every sense of the title. He is one of the most successful and prolific musicians, songwriters and producers in the UK. He has more than 50 gold and platinum albums to his credit. He has worked with a variety of top artists, ranging from Mark Ronson and The Wanted to Katie Melua and Beverley Knight. He has also composed the music for films, musicals and even an opera.

His best known and long-standing collaboration is with Robbie Williams, with whom he wrote some of the biggest hits of the 1990s and 2000s including ‘Angels’, ‘Rock DJ’, ‘Feel’, ‘Millenium’ and ‘Let Me Entertain You’. In this conversation Guy talks about some of his present and past collaborations, how he wrote the song that changed everything for him and Robbie and what life was like under the spotlight of fame’s adulation and scrutiny. Full of wisdom, reflection, humility and candour, my conversation with Guy will fascinate and entertain!

Related Links

Guy’s Website

Andy Coulson was editor of The News of the World and was Downing Street Director of Communications for David Cameron after he became Prime Minister in 2010. He founded and now runs Coulson Partners giving strategic advice to global CEOs, entrepreneurs and philanthropists on crisis avoidance and management, on seizing opportunities and on how to drive smart, long-term decision making.

He also founded and hosts the brilliant “Crisis What Crisis?” podcast, talking to guests who have endured the worst of life’s experiences and who share their wisdom on how to survive and thrive. In partnership with the Ministry of Justice, his podcast has just been made available to thousands of inmates across UK prisons. These podcasts will inform, inspire and provide hope in what are often empty, wasted, despair-filled days. Andy understands crisis well when, 10 years ago, he himself was convicted of conspiracy to intercept voicemails and spent time in prison at HMP Belmarsh and Hollesley Bay.

In this conversation, Andy describes the highs and lows of his journey and how he has dealt with both successes and crises. Andy is very open, honest and has much wisdom to share. 

Related links 

Coulson Partners

Listen to Andy's podcast: Crisis What Crisis?

Prasanna has appeared in multiple TV series, films and theatre productions; ‘The Crown’, ‘Patrick Melrose’, ‘Line Of Duty’, ‘Defending the Guilty’, ‘Ten Percent’ to name but a few.

Onstage he has further acting credits with the RSC, the Donmar Warehouse and the Young Vic. He writes for the stage, for the screen and is a published author. He started off life as a junior medical doctor.

In this conversation Prasanna talks about the challenges he faced being a junior doctor, the multiple and varied projects he has either performed or masterminded in the entertainment industry and why he feels he is ‘skin queer’.

Packed full of insights, anecdotes and honesty, this is a great episode!

‘Lessons in Chemistry’ is a multi-million copy bestselling novel, it’s in over 40 countries and has won far too many awards to list here. Such is its success it has been made into a series on Apple Plus, starring Brie Larson.

My aunt sent it to me to cheer me up after I had open heart surgery this Summer. It was one of the best presents I have ever been given and it transformed my recovery. I was devastated when I finished it. I contacted author Bonnie Garmus to tell her how wonderful her book was and she very kindly agreed to let me interview her.

In the episode, Bonnie discusses her journey, inspirations, how she came up with her characters, the struggles of being a writer, tackling sexism & how to use anger constructively. Funny, smart, self-deprecating, full of wisdom, insight and humour, talking to Bonnie was as joyous and compelling as reading her brilliant novel.

Bonnie’s Website

Buy ‘Lessons in Chemistry’

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What do Cindy Crawford, Bill Nighy and a polar bear have in common? They have all been photographed by David Yarrow, one of the most celebrated photographers in the world.

David Yarrow’s photographs are on the walls of celebrities, art collectors and no less than 3 ex-US presidents. He makes and takes photographs of the natural world and captures scenes that tell iconic stories.

In this conversation we talk about how David began, left and returned to photography, the current marketplace for photographers, the pitfalls of conservation and how he took some of his legendary shots. He, like his photographs, is a great story teller and he talks with great humility and humour. I loved talking to David!

Related Links

David Yarrow’s Website

Follow David on Instagram

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Santa Montefiore is a no 1 bestselling author on the Sunday Times Best Sellers list and each and every book she publishes immediately shoots into the top ten. She writes sweeping sagas of love, tragedy, trauma, heartbreak and hope. She has written 30 books and has sold over 6 million copies worldwide. 

A friend of hers recently said of her, “She is a candidate for sainthood as a mother, sister, godmother and wife, but somehow also one of the funniest people in London.”  

Santa talks about her childhood, her love affair with Argentina, her incredible success, how she has honed her craft and her ability to see spirits all with great humility, humour and insight. 

Santa has also just released her new book 'Wait for Me'. Based on a true story, this is a tale of enduring love and devastating secrets, sweeping across England during WWII to Australia five decades later.

Related Links:

Santa Montefiore Website

Oogway Ascends - Bing video

Related Books:

Wait for Me

Here and Now

Flappy Entertains

The Deverill Chronicles Collection

Meet Me Under the Ombu Tree

Sir Ivor Roberts KCMG FCIL served in the British Diplomatic Service for nearly forty years. He served his country in Lebanon, France, Luxembourg, Australia, Vanuatu, Spain and served as British Ambassador to Yugoslavia during the Balkans war. He was posted as Ambassador to Ireland immediately following the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and also served as Ambassador to Italy. During that time and, among many roles, he was sent to deal with a rebellion, was involved in the complex and delicate negotiation of releasing hostages and served as the Foreign Office’s Head of Counter Terrorism.

His memoir of his years in the Balkans, Conversations with Milosevic, was published in 2016. After a glittering career as a diplomat, he became President of Trinity College, Oxford.

In this conversation Ivor shares his experiences and perspectives; from Terry Waite to Milosevic to Silvio Berlusconi to who poses the biggest threat today plus some funny anecdotes and what to expect from a career in the Diplomatic Service. 

Related Links

Conversations With Milosevic

Parting Shots

Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and managing director of Hat Trick Productions, one of the country’s leading producers of comedy, drama and entertainment. He’s also a comedian, comedy writer, actor and television presenter.

He has written, produced and acted in countless shows; Alas Smith and Jones, Chelmsford 123, Whose line is it anyway, Have I got News for You, Outnumbered, Drop the Dead Donkey to name but a few.

In 1999 he won the BAFTA Alan Clarke Award for his creative contribution to television. In 2003 he and his then wife Denise O’Donoghue were listed in the Observer as two of the 50 funniest people in Britain.

In this conversation Jimmy talks about many things; among them his journey from comprehensive school to reading Classics and French at Cambridge University to being one of the funniest men in the UK and one of its leading producers. He is an absolute legend and I loved talking to him!

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Jason Watkins is one of the leading actors of our generation. He won the BAFTA for best lead actor in The Lost Honour of Christopher Jeffries, he played Prime Minister Harold Wilson in The Crown. He played the biographer of a serial killer in Des. He’s in McDonald and Dodds, Line of Duty, Trollied, W1A, Are you being served, Taboo, The Golden Compass, A Very English Scandal, Bridget Jones, Nativity – the list is endless.

In this episode, Jason talks about his struggles at school, his time at RADA, how he builds his characters and the tragic loss of his daughter Maudie aged two and a half. He shares advice on the grieving process and information on the often undiagnosed disease that is sepsis.

Related links

Watch Jason & Clara: In Memory of Maudie

Child Bereavement UK

UK Sepsis Trust

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I had the most fascinating conversation with film director Lucy Walker. Lucy talks about how she became a multi-award-winning documentarian, about the craft of making documentaries, what it was like to climb a peak in the Himalayas with a group of blind Tibetan children, what it was like to create art out of waste in one of the largest landfill sites in the world, how the Amish youth are set free in the hope they return to the community for life and many other extraordinary stories. Her documentaries are outstanding; they shine a spotlight on injustice and ignorance, they celebrate bravery against the odds, they uncover latent dangers, they are thought provoking, they inform and they challenge. She is a genius!

Related Links:

Devil’s Playground

Blindsight

Waste Land

Bring Your Own Brigade

How to Change Your Mind