Midweek on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday, July 8 at 9am and repeated at 9.30pm and i-player here.

Libby Purves meets children’s writer Julia Donaldson; author Iain Sinclair; QC Gary Bell (of Badby) and journalist and food writer Michael Booth.

“Gary Bell QC is a defence barrister who specialises in fraud cases and is known as BBC’s The Legalizer. He grew up in poverty on a Nottingham council estate and his career history includes stints as a lawnmower mechanic, fireman and forklift truck driver. He was also a self-confessed football hooligan who was convicted of fraud before turning his life around and becoming a Queen’s Council. His autobiography, Animal QC – My Preposterous Life, was published on July 7  by Monday Books.”