Ruby Tandoh on Brian Jacques author of the Redwall series

Brian Jacques was a docker, sailor, boxer, trucker, milkman, poet and a folk singer too. Then he wrote his Redwall series of children's fantasy novels and became an overnight forty year success. His books were immensely successful, particularly in the United States where President Obama was photographed buying them for his daughters. Choosing this rich and extraordinary life is Ruby Tandoh, baker, columnist and author of Crumb! and All-Consuming: Why We Eat The Way We Eat Now. Her interest in Brian stems from a childhood love of reading his books, particularly the descriptions of the feasts.

In studio with Ruby is Trevor Hyett, formerly of Granada TV and a regular on the folk scene with Brian Jacques; plus there are revealing archive clips of Brian performing, and you'll hear the voice of Mick Ord who worked with Brian at BBC Radio Merseyside, where he had a regular Sunday show.

The presenter is Matthew Parris and the series is produced in Bristol by Miles Warde