Nicholas Parsons, Jacqueline Wilson, Ken Hom, Scott Gibson

Midweek

Broadcaster Nicholas Parsons; chef and writer Ken Hom; author Jacqueline Wilson and comic Scott Gibson join Libby Purves

Comedian Scott Gibson swapped his job in a call centre for the stand-up stage after surviving a brain aneurysm at the age of 24. Winner of the best newcomer award at the lastminute.com Comedy Awards in 2016, his show Life After Death explores his illness and recovery. Scott Gibson is appearing at the Fringe Comedy Awards Shows at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London.

Nicholas Parsons OBE is a broadcaster who has chaired BBC Radio 4's comedy panel game Just a Minute since its inception in 1967. He is also a keen horologist and presents The Incredible Story of Marie Antoinette's Watch on BBC Four which celebrates the work of a master of the timepiece, Abraham Louis Breguet. Nicholas goes in search of the most expensive and exquisite watch ever made - The Marie-Antoinette - also known as The Queen - a case watch designed by Breguet in the 18th century. The Incredible Story of Marie Antoinette's Watch is on BBC Four.

Dame Jacqueline Wilson is a writer of children's literature. Her new book Clover Moon tells the story of a young girl trying to survive in Victorian London. Publication also marks the launch of the Jacqueline Wilson Creative Writing Prize which encourages children to take up writing fiction. One of Jacqueline's most successful and enduring creations has been the famous Tracy Beaker who first appeared in 1991. A former Children's Laureate, Jacqueline's books have sold over 40m copies in the UK and have been translated into 34 languages. Clover Moon is published by Doubleday.

Ken Hom is a chef and food writer. A leading authority on Chinese cuisine, his first book on the subject was published in 1981 and his first programme for BBC television was broadcast in 1984. In his new autobiography, My Stir-Fried Life, he writes about his childhood in Chicago's Chinatown where he worked in his uncle's restaurant at the age of 11 and how he found social acceptance through food and cooking for others. My Stir-Fried Life is published by Biteback Publishing.

Producer: Paula McGinley.