Between the Covers (TV programme)
Between the Covers is a BBC talk show hosted by Sara Cox in which guest stars talk about their favourite books, alongside other book picks as well.
In March 2024, a Between The Covers Live! Tour was announced. The initial run of shows would have show dates in London, Oxford, Nottingham, Birmingham, Reading and Brighton and would feature Jo Brand, Kacey Ainsworth, Stephen Mangan, Joseph O’Connor. The tour would be hosted by the TV series executive producer, Amanda Ross.
Episodes
Series One (2020)
Sara Cox talks to guest stars about their favourite books as well as a book of the week pick from 2020, and a book written by one of the guests. These books are:Book of the Week Pick The Midnight Library by Matt HaigLove After Love by Ingrid Persaud
- Fifty-Fifty by Steve Cavanagh
- This Lovely City by Louise Hare
- Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
- Love in Colour: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalola
- The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
- Love and Other Thought Experiments by Sophie Ward
- To Be a Gay Man by Will Young
- Just Ignore Him by Alan Davies
- The Corner Shop by Babita Sharma
- Home Stretch by Graham Norton
Series Two (2021)
Sara Cox talks to guest stars about their favourite books as well as a book recently published in 2021, and a popular book from 2020. These books are:2021The Fine Art of Invisible Detection by Robert GoddardShould We Fall Behind by Sharon Duggal
- Sixteen Horses by Greg Buchanan
- Another Life by Jodie Chapman
- The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
- The Frequency of Us by Keith Stuart
- The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
- Agent Running in the Field by John le Carré
- Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
- Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
Series Three (2021)
Sara Cox talks to guest stars about their favourite books as well as a new book from 2021 and a Booker Prize backlist gem. These books are:2021
- Sorrow And Bliss by Meg Mason
- The Coward by Jarred McGinnis
- Still Life by Sarah Winman
- Ascension by Oliver Harris
- Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
- Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo
- Good Behaviour by Molly Keane
- The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
- Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
- The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
- Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
- The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
Series Four (2022)
Sara Cox talks to guest stars about their favourite books as well as a new book from 2022 and a book from the Big Jubilee Read. These books are:2022
- People Person by Candice Carty-Williams
- Two Storm Wood by Philip Gray
- Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
- Love Marriage by Monica Ali
- Metronome by Tom Watson
- Exactly What You Mean by Ben Hinshaw
- The Dictator's Wife by Freya Berry
- The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
- The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon
- Arrow Of God by Chinua Achebe
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
- The Secret River by Kate Grenville
- The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
- The Crow Eaters by Bapsi Sidhwa
Series Five (2022)
Sara Cox talks to guest stars about their favourite books as well as a new book from 2022 and one from the Booker Prize back catalogue. These books are:2022
- The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers
- The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley by Sean Lusk
- Sometimes People Die by Simon Stephenson
- The Night Ship by Jess Kidd
- Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
- The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
- Snap by Belinda Bauer
- The Long Song by Andrea Levy
- The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
- Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
- Us by David Nicholls
Series Six (2023)
Sara Cox talks to guest stars about their favourite books as well as a new book from 2023 and a book set in Europe to celebrate Eurovision.2023
- In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan
- The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone
- Weyward by Emilia Hart
- Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent
- Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein
- Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry
- Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
- Lullaby by Leïla Slimani
- Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov
- The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
- I'm Not Scared by Niccolò Ammaniti
- My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Series Seven (2023)
Sara Cox talks to guest stars about their favourite books as well as a new book from 2023 and a classic from the Booker back catalogue.2023
- The Seventh Son by Sebastian Faulks
- The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
- Remember, Mr Sharma by A. P. Firdaus
- Falling Animals by Sheila Armstrong
- Devil’s Breath by Jill Johnson
- The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou by Eleni Kyriacou
- The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
- Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle
- The Light of Day by Graham Swift
- My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
- Any Human Heart by William Boyd
- Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler
Series Eight (2024)
Sara Cox talks to guest stars about their favourite books as well as a book of the week pick from 2024.2024
- All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
- Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
- There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
- Butter by Asako Yuzuki
- Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor
- The Kellerby Code by Jonny Sweet