BBC Sounds

“Focus on your audience and give them an elevated but inviting, stimulating, playful conversation,” said Lily Ames, Chalk & Blade’s head of production and culture.

Ames, a Canadian who has been based in London for the past six years, was talking at an RTS Futures NI event in late August to Conor Finn, creator and host of the Finnterviews podcast.

She described Chalk & Blade, whose clients include BBC Sounds and the Guardian, as well as brands such as Net-a-Porter, as a “boutique podcast production company”.

Start your engines! RuPaul’s Drag Race has finally made its way across the pond for a UK makeover – and a weekly podcast from BBC Sounds for even more content about the nation’s favourite drag queens.

After 11 series of the popular US drag competition, diehard fans rejoiced when it was announced that RuPaul’s Drag Race would be heading to BBC Three for the first UK series.

The programmes explore both classic and contemporary fiction, from celebrated authors and those less well-known.

BBC’s regular book programmes such as The Radio Two Book Club with Jo Whiley, The Verb on BBC Radio Three, World Book Club on the World Service and Open Book on Radio Four will feature specials throughout the year.

A festival has also been set up in partnership with libraries and reading groups around the UK.