With Samira Ahmed.

With the appointment of John Whittingdale as the new Culture Secretary, critic and writer Quentin Letts assesses what lies ahead for him in the arts.

Film maker and director Mike Leigh has made his operatic debut directing the English National Opera's production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance. Peter Kemp reviews the production for Front Row.

French director François Ozon's films often focus on the beauty of the body, and in his latest film The New Girlfriend, the body once more takes centre stage. Following the death of his young wife, a husband and new father responds to his grief by dressing up in her clothes. Ozon reflects on the controversial subject matter of cross-dressing.

With the Brighton Festival approaching its half-way point, Samira heads to the coast to hear from this year's Guest Director - the novelist Ali Smith - and some of the artists celebrating the themes of flight and migration.

Presenter : Samira Ahmed
Producer : Dymphna Flynn. Show less