Stephen Fry (Reader) Stephen Fry was born in Hampstead in 1957 and, following a troubled adolescence, went on to study English Literature at Queen's College, Cambridge. As well as being the bestselling author of four novels, The Stars' Tennis Balls, Making History, The Hippopotamus, and The Liar, and two volumes of his autobiography, Fry played Peter in Peter's Friends, Wilde in the film Wilde, Jeeves in the television series Jeeves & Wooster and (a closely guarded show-business secret, this) Laurie in the television series Fry & Laurie. More recently, he presented Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, his groundbreaking documentary on bipolar disorder, to huge critical acclaim. Before it was announced that Fry would retire as moderator, his legions of fans tuned in to watch him host the popular quiz show QI each week. Simon Callow (Reader) Simon Callow is an actor, director and writer. He has appeared on the stage and in many films, including the hugely popular Four Weddings and a Funeral. His books include Being an Actor, Shooting the Actor, Love is Where it Falls, the first two volumes of his four-volume life of Orson Welles, his theatrical memoir My Life in Pieces, and, most recently, the highly acclaimed Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World. Sandi Toksvig (Reader) Following a first-class degree from Cambridge, Sandi Toksvig went into the theatre, where she both wrote and performed before becoming one of the founder members of the Comedy Store Players. She is well known for her television and radio work, as a presenter, writer and actor. Susan Calman (Reader) Susan Calman is an award-winning stand-up comedian, actress and writer. She won a Scottish BAFTA as one of the cast of the Channel 4 sketch show Blowout, and went on to appear in numerous TV and radio comedy shows including Fresh Meat, Dead Boss, Don't Drop the Baton, The News Quiz and The Now Show. She has also presented BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour and Pick of the Week. In 2013, her solo radio show Susan Calman is Convicted won 'Best Radio Comedy' at the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards. Shahidha Bari (Reader) Shahidha Bari is a writer, academic and broadcaster working in the fields of literature, philosophy and art. Born in 1980, she studied at Cambridge and Cornell. She was one of the first ever BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinkers (2011) and a winner of the Observer/Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism (2015). She teaches cultural theory at the University of London and is a Fellow of the Forum for Philosophy at the LSE. She writes for the Financial Times, Guardian and Frieze among other newspapers and journals. She features frequently on BBC Radio 4, and presents BBC Radio 3’s Arts and Ideas programme Free Thinking. She lives in London.
