Front Row Daily

Three internationally renowned tenors and one countertenor discuss the highs and lows of world class singing, and the challenges of maintaining their famous voices. Mark Lawson talks to Mark Padmore, Ian Bostridge, Joseph Calleja and Iestyn Davies.

Question-master Mark Lawson poses cultural brain-teasers to test the knowledge of two teams. Historian Antonia Fraser, actor Dan Stevens and crime-writer Mark Billingham compete against playwright Roy Williams, comedy performer and writer Natalie Haynes and actor Michael Simkins.

Second of two programmes unwrapping a selection of new interviews with the people who made the cultural headlines in 2011. Includes stage and screen actor Dominic West, artist Tracy Emin, The King's Speech director Tom Hooper, writers of The Inbetweeners Iain Morris and Damon Beesley, and The Great British Bake Off judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.

First of two programmes unwrapping a selection of new interviews with the people who made the cultural headlines in 2011. Includes Booker Prize winner Julian Barnes, director of Wuthering Heights Andrea Arnold, poet Jo Shapcott, architect Sir David Chipperfield and playwright and director Richard Bean and Nicholas Hytner.

Paul Merton on the silent film The Artist; Adele's producer Paul Epworth; and the graphic designer Peter Saville switches on the first Front Row neon artwork.

John Wilson talks to actress Michelle Yeoh about her role in The Lady; three music reviewers nominate their album of the year; the art of book cover design in the digital age.

Jennifer Saunders reflects on the return of Ab Fab; the latest Mission: Impossible film reviewed; a tribute to playwright and former Czech President Vaclav Havel and a round-up of this year's Christmas TV.

Former Python Terry Jones on his new book; Christmas carols which deserve to be better known; and two new TV dramas about the young James Herriot and Inspector Morse

David Fincher on his film of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Jeff Park chooses crime books for Christmas. Vikram Seth discusses his collection of libretti, The Rivered Earth.

Historian Simon Schama on his pick of works from the Government Art Collection. Dame Edna Everage, Ann Widdecombe and Vanilla Ice are all making their pantomime debuts this year. Danny Robins has seen all three. The famous La Peregrina pearl given to Elizabeth Taylor by Richard Burton has sold for a record $11million. Dr Tarnya Cooper of the National Portrait Gallery traces the pearl's appearances in portraits of the past. John Wilson reports on an art project in the shape of boat on the roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank.

Sir David Jason discusses his new role as an incompetent bodyguard and his close relationship with Ronnie Barker; Front Row's festive Jukebox Jury with David Hepworth and Rosie Swash; and a review of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

Kirsty Lang talks to Meryl Streep about playing Margaret Thatcher in the film The Iron Lady. There is a review of Shane Meadows' This is England 88, a second TV series to follow his film, This is England, of 2006, and there is a selection of Christmas books for children.

A round-up of comedy DVDs with critic Stephen Armstrong, a review of Joe Penhall's new play, Haunted Child, artist Graham Sutherland reassessed and an interview with Joshua Cody.

The verdict on The Ladykillers, a new staging of the Ealing comedy film; Nick Park on his first live-action music video; Annie Lennox on her Christmas album.

Carole King looks back on a career that spans five decades, Adam Mars-Jones reviews Eddie Redmayne in Richard II, novelist Don DeLillo discusses his new book of short stories and critic Mark Eccleston reflects on the art of inter-film referencing.