BBC Arts has announced the subjects of major new strand In My Own Words for BBC One and iPlayer – ranging from comedian, actor, writer and musician Billy Connolly and author Jilly Cooper, to poet and novelist Jackie Kay; playwright, screenwriter and author Hanif Kureishi and artist Alison Lapper. Together, they will take BBC audiences closer than they’ve ever been into the life and work of some of the UK’s leading cultural figures.

Suzy Klein, Head of Arts and Classical Music TV says: “This country boasts some of the most super-charged creative minds anywhere in the world - our artists, writers, actors, comedians and poets are second to none. But we rarely get the chance to get up close to them and discover what fires their imaginations, and the forces that have shaped their extraordinary lives. In this fresh, contemporary series of unmediated interviews, we will get inside the creative minds of some of Britain’s leading lights - prepare for a thought-provoking and often emotional ride.”