Nell Gwyn

Greg Jenner is joined in ancient Greece by historian Dr Emily Hauser and comedian and actor Kiell Smith-Bynoe to learn about the epic poems the Iliad and Odyssey. Traditionally attributed to the poet Homer, these works tell parts of a legend that has fascinated us for centuries: ...  Show more

Greg Jenner is joined by Dr Corin Throsby and Stuart Goldsmith to look at early cultural fandom in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although many consider Beatlemania to be the start of what is now considered fan culture, Greg and his guests consider some much earlier and often hilar ...  Show more

Nell Gwyn epitomised the wild spirit of the Restoration era. An orange-seller turned actress, turned royal mistress of King Charles II, she hustled her way to the very top with charm, wisecracks and withering putdowns. Sophie Shorland tells Ellie Cawthorne more about Gwyn's rags- ...  Show more

How did a working class illiterate woman become King Charles II's favourite mistress?Nell Gwyn was an incredibly talented comedy actor who came from a working class background, and was part of a group of pioneering women who were the first allowed to take to the stage to play wom ...  Show more

Join Natalie Haynes and guests for half an hour of comedy and the Classics from the BBC Radio Theatre in London. Natalie is a recovering comedian who is a little bit obsessive about Ancient Greece and Rome. Each week she takes a different figure from the Ancient World and tells t ...  Show more