Not Now, Bernard and Other Stories

Alexander Armstrong is narrator on the forthcoming album Not Now, Bernard and Other Stories, an irresistible collection of world premiere recordings of music revelling in the magic of childhood memories.

Not Now, Bernard is an all-time classic story by David McKee, set to music by Bernard Hughes with melodic charm and a subversive sense of fun. Alexander Armstrong recounts it along with companion piece Isabel's Noisy Tummy as well as Hughes's The Knight Who Took All Day, which challenges chivalric convention with its subversive story of female empowerment.

The Orchestra of the Swan raise a riot of sound in Malcolm Arnold's Toy Symphony, complete with quail cuckoo, guard's whistle and gloriously irritating toy trumpets. The album's mood darkens in John Ireland's haunting melodrama Annabel Lee, a spine-tingling setting of Edgar Allan Poe's final poem presented here in Bernard Hughes' specially arranged chamber version, before Armstrong breezes through Judith Weirs brilliant Thread!, an early work inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry's cartoonish images.

Not Now Bernard and Other Stories is released on 7th February. It is available from Amazon and all usual sources.

Sports Pointless Celebrities, 25th January

Pointless Celebrities on Saturday 25th January, at 7.45pm, is a Sports special.

Tanni Grey-Thompson and David Wilkie, Matthew Hoggard and Graeme Swann, Jo Pavey and Ade Adepitan, and Helen Glover and Heather Stanning are the contestants.

Comedians Pointless Celebrities, 18th January

Pointless Celebrities on Saturday 18th January, at 7.40pm, is a Comedians special.

Competing are Sofie Hagen and Jenny Eclair, Cariad Lloyd and Darren Harriott, Nish Kumar and Ed Gamble, and Simon Evans and Geoff Norcott.

Soaps Pointless Celebrities, 11th January

Saturday 11th January brings a Soaps special of Pointless Celebrities, at 6.15pm.

Competing are Davood Ghadami and James Bye from EastEnders, Sharon Maughan and Tina Hobley of Holby City, Coronation Street's Steven Arnold and Julia Haworth, and Julie Peasgood and Louis Emerick from Brookside.

Children's TV Pointless Celebrities, 4th January

The first Pointless Celebrities of 2020 is a Children's TV special, on Saturday 4th January at 6.15pm.

Competing are Paul Chuckle and Dani Harmer, Gwyneth Powell and George Christopher, Hacker and Dodge T Dog, and Andy Day and Cerrie Burnell.

Pointless Celebrities Christmas Special

The Pointless Celebrities Christmas Special is on Saturday 28th December at 8.30pm.

Taking part are Christopher Biggins, Paul Zerdin, Gary Wilmot, Michelle Collins, Debbie McGee, Richard Cadell with Sooty, Faye Tozer and Duncan James, and there will be a special performance from Aled Jones and Russell Watson.

Sports Personality of the Year Pointless Celebrities, 14th December

Sports Personality of the Year Pointless Celebrities is on Saturday 14th December at 5.30pm, on BBC1.

Ama Agbeze, Greg Rusedski, Eddie Izzard, Hannah Cockcroft, Rebecca Adlington, Michael O'Neill, Jayne Torvill and Robin Cousins take part.

My Music

Alexander Armstrong will take part in the popular lunchtime series My Music with the Orchestra of St John's, at the Wigmore Hall, London W1  on Friday 7th February 2020 at 1pm.

Xander will talk about his life, share opinions, and discuss music that has meant the most to him with journalist Paul Blezard. The pieces are excerpts from:

Bach: Erbarme Dich
Beethoven: 7th Symphony 3rd movt
Dvorak: Serenade for Strings
Mozart: Clarinet Quintet
Britten: The Ash Grove

Tickets are available on this link or from 020 7935 2141.

Have I Got News For You

Alexander Armstrong will host post-election Have I Got News For You on Friday, 13th December.

Have I Got News For You is normally recorded on a Thursday evening for broadcast the following day, but this special will be recorded on the Friday morning, in order to have the most up-to-date news about the elecftion. The guest panelists are Jon Richardson and Nicky Morgan.

TV Experts Pointless Celebrities, 7th December

There's a repeated TV Experts Pointless Celebrities on Saturday 7th December at 5.30pm.

It features Michael Fish, Carrie Grant, David Grant, Adam Hart-Davis, Mary-Ann Ochota, Martin Roberts, Charlie Ross, and Catherine Southon.