Celebrity line up and six newly published books announced for Between The Covers

BBC Arts today announced the full line-up for series two of Between The Covers; a six-part series on BBC Two designed to bring the nation together through sharing the enjoyment of reading. The series continues BBC Arts’ Culture In Quarantine initiative, bringing arts and culture to the nation under lockdown.

With many book clubs across the country either not going ahead or happening entirely online, Between The Covers gives BBC audiences everywhere the opportunity to take part in a nationwide TV book club. All the books featured in the series will be labelled with Between The Covers stickers in stores, libraries and online so that audiences can read them too and tweet along with each episode using #BetweenTheCovers

Sara Cox returns as host, with a brand new panel of four different famous faces for each episode who will each bring with them their favourite book of all time to discuss with their fellow guests. There are also two review sections: in each show the panel discusses a big hitter book from last year as well as a newly published book, which deserves to be put in the spotlight. The six new book picks provide an interesting mix of genres and authors and the aspiration is to get people reading and trying books that they might not otherwise have picked up.

There is a phenomenal line-up of celebrity panellists keen to share their love of books and reading, including Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh, Catastrophe’s Rob Delaney, Death In Paradise’s Don Warrington and food hero Rick Stein. They will all be sharing their BYOBs – the book they want to share with the world, because it really means something to them: some are surprising, some are classics and some will be new to the audience but the hope is that viewers will come away from every episode with an exciting new reading list.

The complete reading list includes a big hitter and a newly-published book per episode (listed in broadcast order):

- Newly-published book: The Fine Art Of Invisible Detection by Robert Goddard (published 18 March)

Big hitter: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Celebrity book club panel: Mel Giedroyc, Rick Edwards, Oti Mabuse and Griff Rhys-Jones.

- Newly-published book: Should We Fall Behind by Sharon Duggal (published October 2020)

Big hitter: The Lying Life Of Adults by Elena Ferrante

Celebrity book club panel: Rachel Parris, Rick Stein, Vick Hope and Rob Delaney.

- Newly-published book: Sixteen Horses by Greg Buchanan (published 29 April)

Big hitter: The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré 

Celebrity book club panel: David Baddiel, Katherine Ryan, Adjoa Andoh and Phil Davis.

-Newly-published book: Another Life by Jodie Chapman (published 1 April)

Big hitter: Agent Running In The Field by John le Carré

Celebrity book club panel: Don Warrington, Zoe Lyons, Hugh Dennis and Giovanna Fletcher.

- Newly-published book: The Last House On Needless Street by Catriona Ward (published 18 March)

 Big hitter: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell 

Celebrity book club panel: Nish Kumar, Stacey Dooley, Robert Webb and Caitlin Moran.

- Newly-published book: The Frequency Of Us by Keith Stuart (published 25 March)

Big hitter: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

Celebrity book club panel: Ranvir Singh, Micky Flanagan, Sophie Willan and Reginald D Hunter.

Emma Cahusac, Commissioner for BBC Arts, says: “The first series of Between The Covers sparked a national conversation about books, so I’m delighted it’s returning with another fantastic line up. Continuing BBC Arts’ commitment to books programmes, the series features a broad selection of genres and styles, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy. I look forward to working my way through the reading list, and joining in the conversation on social media during each episode.”

Amanda Ross, Cofounder and CEO of Cactus TV, says: “Between the Covers is the ultimate fantasy book group. We’ve assembled a dream cast and chosen six great new books that really are something for everyone’s taste. The guests’ passionate, engaging banter makes us all want to try books we wouldn’t otherwise have picked up.”