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Bryan Cranston, Greg Davies, Len Goodman and Steps

Chris is joined by actor Bryan Cranston, comedian Greg Davies and Len Goodman. Plus Steps perform live in the studio.

Chris has another Friday guest-fest! Bryan Cranston spills the secrets on his new film Wakefield and reveals what he kept from the Breaking Bad set. Len Goodman fills us in on his new 麻豆官网首页入口 show Partners in Rhyme and tells Chris about his post-Strictly life. Giant comedian Greg Davies gets ribbed by Chris as our listeners buy tickets for his "sold out" tour. The sensational Steps perform some of their old hits, new tunes and a cover of Starship's Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now. Plus Vassos becomes the subject of Chris' Strictly Come Dancing campaign, listeners give us updates on the road to Carfest North and we Pause For Thought with comedian and writer Paul Kerensa.

2 hours, 59 minutes

Last on

Fri 28 Jul 2017 06:30

Music Played

  • Paul Weller

    Woo S茅 Mama

    • (CD Single).
    • Parlophone.
    • 001.
  • Haddaway

    What Is Love

    • (CD Single).
    • Logic Records.
  • Dolly Parton

    9 to 5

    • Dolly Parton: The Ultimate Collection.
    • BMG/RCA.
  • Destiny鈥檚 Child

    Survivor

    • Now 49 (Various Artists).
    • Now.
  • Kaiser Chiefs

    Oh My God

    • (CD Single).
    • B-Unique.
  • Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott

    I Gotta Praise

    • (CD Single).
    • EMI.
  • Kylie Minogue

    The Loco-Motion

    • Step Back In Time: The Definitive Collection.
    • BMG.
  • Eric Prydz

    Call On Me

    • (CD Single).
    • Data Records.
  • Rebel MC & Double Trouble

    Street Tuff

    • Fantastic Dance! (Various Artists).
    • Columbia.
  • Buddy Holly

    Peggy Sue

    • Rediscover The 50's-Rock With The Cav.
    • Old Gold.
  • Chubby Checker

    The Twist

    • Do You Remember Vol. 10 (Various).
    • Goldies.
  • Danny & the Juniors

    At The Hop

    • That's Rock'n'Roll (Various Artists).
    • EMI.
  • Carly Rae Jepsen

    Cut To The Feeling

    • (CD Single).
    • School Boy/Interscope.
  • Rick Astley

    Dance

    • (CD Single).
    • BMG.
    • 006.
  • Soft Cell

    Tainted Love

    • Hits & Pieces - The Best of Marc Almond & Soft Cell.
    • UMC.
  • The Weeknd

    Can't Feel My Face

    • Beauty Behind The Madness.
    • Republic.
    • 7.
  • Pratt & McClain

    Happy Days

    • Television's Greatest Hits Volume 3 70s & 80s.
    • Silva Screen Records Ltd.
  • Rudimental

    Sun Comes Up (feat. James Arthur)

    • (CD Single).
    • Atlantic.
  • Coldplay & Big Sean

    Miracles (Someone Special)

    • (CD Single).
    • Parlophone.
  • Arcade Fire

    Everything Now

    • (CD Single).
    • Columbia.

Pause For Thought

Pause For Thought

Comedian & writer Paul Kerensa

Greg Davies and I go way back 鈥 I think we first gigged together at Lampeter Uni 14 years ago. The moment I saw him get out of his car, I knew then he was going to be big.

聽Perspective is a marvellous thing, and I think it鈥檚 through that lens that life appears to us as a comedy, or 鈥 hello Steps 鈥 a tragedy.

聽Charlie Chaplin once said, 鈥淟ife is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long shot.鈥 鈥 and I think I know what he means.

聽Yesterday, new pictures were released of the glorious ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, in the highest-resolution finest detail that they鈥檝e ever been seen. No one鈥檚 ever seen it this close, apart from very tall people like鈥 well I鈥檓 not looking at Greg Davies. 270,000 digital images taken over 5 years 鈥 that鈥檚 longer than it took Michelangelo to paint AND he was off fighting crime with his ninja turtle buddies.

聽You can see up close every sinew, every muscle, from concerned divine glance to bruised mortal flesh. But there in person from below, from afar, the sheer splendour can be taken in. If we just zoom out.

聽A while ago I found myself in what I thought was a horror film 鈥 locked in a Gents toilet cubicle, several empty next to me, one lone man outside my door, growling at me: 鈥淗ello?鈥

聽鈥淗ello?鈥 I answered nervously. What does he want with me?聽

鈥淲hat are you doing?鈥 he continued menacingly.

鈥淚鈥 I鈥檒l just be a minute!鈥 I replied, wondering why he was haranguing me. When I left the cubicle and saw he was on the phone, and not talking to me at all鈥 Well life can be a comedy in hindsight.

The bigger picture may reveal all 鈥 but that doesn鈥檛 diminish life鈥檚 tragic moments, that we鈥檝e seen come all too regularly. Perhaps by not being defined by our tragedies, but by our responses to them, we can lean on St Paul鈥檚 words, that 鈥淪uffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope, and hope doesn鈥檛 disappoint.鈥

If we view life鈥檚 vast canvas as comedy, we can still dance and laugh and love and live, knowing that if, like the Sistine Chapel, we look up and zoom in, maybe we鈥檇 see a divine teardrop or two, and that hand reaching out.

Broadcast

  • Fri 28 Jul 2017 06:30

Farewell Chris Evans: The best bits from his last shows at Radio 2

After eight years of hosting the Breakfast Show, Chris Evans leaves Radio 2.

500 Words

麻豆官网首页入口 Radio 2's story-writing competition for kids.