Between the Covers is heading back to BBC Two for a fifth season to help viewers pick their next great read.
The new six-part run, hosted by Sara Cox, welcomes four more famous faces each week to discuss a range of recently released books and look back on classics that have won or been nominated for the prestigious Booker Prize.
“It's one of the loveliest shows I've been involved with,” Sara tells What to Watch. “The guests love it, they're relaxed and just there to talk about their passion for books. They’ll talk about the voices they do when they read to their kids, or the relationship they were in when they read a book, and how it gave them strength, it’s very open.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the return of Between the Covers…
Between The Covers — when is the release date?
The six-part season will begin on Tuesday, November 8 on BBC Two at 7 pm. It will air weekly and will also be available on BBC iPlayer.
There is no news on whether the show will be available in the US.
Which guests are appearing?
The opening episode features Sherlock actor Amanda Abbington and presenters JJ Chalmers, Alex Jones and broadcaster and author Graham Norton.
“They were the perfect book group because they were funny and well-read,” says Sara. “Graham chats to Hollywood royalty and, as a guest himself, he’s witty and charming. He says he doesn't love being interviewed, but he’s comfortable chatting about books. And Alex is warm and sweet — I like alluding to the fact that she might be a tyrant in real life!"
Episode Two — Harry Potter’s Jessie Cave, Gavin & Stacey’s Ruth Jones, All Creatures Great and Small star Samuel West and comic Kae Kurd.
Episode Three — Vigil’s Paterson Joseph, comic Al Murray, newsreader Sophie Raworth and comedian Jenny Eclair.
Episode Four — comic Tom Allen, The Split’s Stephen Mangan, Call the Midwife’s Pam Ferris and Sex Education’s Rakhee Thakrar.
Episode Five — broadcasters Gabby Logan and Ade Adepitan, Afterlife's Kerry Godliman and Celebs Go Dating’s Tom Read Wilson.
Episode Six — rugby star Ugo Monye, DJ Clara Amfo, comic Sarah Keyworth and DJ Rick Edwards.
“It feels like a genuine book club,’ says Sara. “I loved Jenny Eclair. She’s a big fan of audiobooks, which I love too. Samuel West was very studious and turned up with about 32 post-it notes in his books! We could have done an hour and a half of him reading bits of books he liked. That should be a spin-off!”
Which books will be featured?
Each episode will see the celebrities discuss a newly released book from a wide range of genres:
Episode One: The Perfect Golden Circle, by Benjamin Myers
Episode Two: The Second Sight Of Zachary Cloudesley, by Sean Lusk
Episode Three: Sometimes People Die, by Simon Stephenson
Episode Four: The Night Ship, by Jess Kidd
Episode Five: Take My Hand, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Episode Six: The Dance Tree, by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
The famous faces will also talk about classic books that have been nominated for or have won the prestigious Booker Prize:
Episode One: Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell
Episode Two: Snap, by Belinda Bauer
Episode Three: The Long Song, by Andrea Levy
Episode Four: The Remains Of The Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro
Episode Five: Moon Tiger, by Penelope Lively
Episode Six: Us, by David Nicholls
What books do the guests bring in?
Every guest will also talk about their own favourite tome in the Bring Your Own Book AKA BYOB section. In the opening episode, Amanda Abbington brings Deep by James Nestor, JJ Chalmers shares Forrest Gump by Winston Groom, Alex Jones bigs up Educated by Tara Westover and Graham Norton raves about Kindred by Octavia E Butler.
“I love fiction, so I'm always surprised when they bring non-fiction,” reveals Sara. “Rick Edwards brought some astonishing non-fiction that he tried to explain but it made my brain hurt — in a good way! Stephen Mangan brought The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole [by Sue Townsend]. That meant a lot because he read it as a teenager and then he played an older Adrian [in 2001’s The Cappuccino Years on BBC One]. I pilfered his copy and gave it to my 14-year-old.”
