Bishop Nick has been a contributor to Radio 2’s Pause for Thought for nearly 20 years, and now a new volume of Pause for Thought scripts has just been published.
At the book’s launch this month, the Controller of Radio 2, Bob Shennan, said, “Our contributors know how to speak to the audience of 10 million people and touch them with all sorts of stories that they can resonate with”.
Bishop Nick currently presents Pause for Thought on Fridays on the Chris Evans Show. It’s the day when there are a lot of guests, so to write and present a script that that fits seamlessly in to the high energy, lively atmosphere demands a particular skill.
He says, “You need to grab the attention, awaken curiosity, tease the imagination, actually say something, and then give a pay back into the medium of the programme (so that the presenter doesn’t have to make an awkward gear change).
“It’s challenging but good fun, and a great privilege to be able to say something about faith to an audience of 10 million people”.
PAUSE FOR THOUGHT
The blurb on the book says, "This inspiring collection of reflections on modern life is taken from Pause for Thought, broadcast daily on BBC Radio 2 on the Chris Evans and Vanessa Feltz shows. These pieces offer fresh ways of perceiving the world, of connecting with each other and of negotiating modern life."
Contributors include Gogglebox vicar Kate Bottley, Revd Richard Coles, Bishop Nick Baines, the Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Cardinal Vincent Nichols.