BETWEEN THE COVERS
BBC2, 7.30pm
Sara Cox hosts this charming little book club that sees celebrity guests delve between the covers of their favourite reads.
It’s like a Richard and Judy-type discussion, with extra-funny, bookrelated banter from the comedian guests.
Sara does a good job of keeping the conversation zipping along, throwing out questions about everything from the book you’d gift someone on a first date to the biggest question of all – what is your favourite book of all time?
In this first episode, the celebrity book club features singer Sophie EllisBextor, along with comedians Sara Pascoe, Tom Allen and Phil Wang.
They all share their thoughts on the book of the week, which is The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
In a short film, author Matt reveals more about his book, which tells of a library between life and death where each book is a different version of a woman’s life.
Tom explains why he loves Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course, while Phil retells Homer’s ancient Greek epic poem Iliad as “basically the Avengers”. Atmospheric music plays as blurbs are read, there’s a discussion of the funniest books ever, and the guests reveal the fictional characters they’d love to meet.
Later, Sara Pascoe chats about her new book, Sex Power Money, and you’ll find out more than you ever wanted to know about voles.
It all feels slightly awkward at first as everyone settles in, but by the end you’ll be ordering new reads. You can join the conversation online at #BetweentheCovers.