Gareth Thomas was 20 when he made his international rugby union debut for Wales in 1995. He went on to win 100 international caps for Wales, captaining them as well as the British and Irish Lions. Gareth announced publicly he was gay in 2009 and retired from rugby in 2011. In 2019, Gareth spoke openly about living with HIV and his new book Stronger documents the impact of his diagnosis and the ensuing publicity. He talks to Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi about challenging assumptions about HIV and masculinity.

Chris McCausland is a stand-up comedian who is now a regular fixture on TV after 18 years on the circuit. Chris had to quit his job in IT because of a hereditary eye condition which means he is now blind. He almost became an MI5 spy at one stage but instead decided to make people laugh with his observational comedy.

British Iranian musician and artist Roxana Vilk is collecting lullabies in diverse languages that are sung to children around Bristol and the UK. Singing Lullabies in Farsi to her own children allowed Roxana to connect with her culture and childhood experiences of conflict in the Middle East.

Sylvia Wiggins was the drummer of the Liverbirds, emerging out of 1960s Liverpool as one of the world’s first female rock bands. They aimed to rival the Beatles in popularity and they eventually went on to play with Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks and the Rolling Stones.

And we hear the Inheritance Tracks of singer Gabrielle.

Producer: Laura Northedge
Editor: Richard Hooper

Presenter: Nikki Bedi
Presenter: Richard Coles