Ricky Gervais

Actor, writer, comedian, director, producer

I am so proud of The Ricky Gervais Show. Not just because of how well it turned out or how successful it was, or the awards, or even how much fun I had producing it. I'm proudest of the fact that it was just another experiment that got out of hand.

Bonnie Tyler

Singer, British entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013

So here we are: I'm going to be flying the flag for the United Kingdom at the 58th Eurovision Song Contest this year in Malmo, Sweden. And what's more - I am completely honoured to do it! I have to be honest, I wasn't sure at first - but then it suddenly dawned on me that this is an incredible thing. It's an amazing opportunity to represent your country for doing something you love.

Jeff Stelling

Sky Sports presenter of Soccer Saturday and UEFA Champions League

As the Soccer Saturday panel prepare for another final day fling, where will the traditional end of season drama occur? With Manchester United having won the title in a canter and second and third places are resolved, all eyes will be on White Hart Lane and St. James' Park where the battle for the final Champions League spot will be won and lost.

Peter G Tatchell

Human rights campaigner

The calls for banking reform are growing. About time. The big crash was more than five years ago. Since then we've had Libor rate-fixing, bonuses for failed financiers, massive fines for malpractices by leading banks, mis-sold PPI, interest rate swaps, fraud, money-laundering and tax dodging. Scandal after scandal. Are we mugs or masochists? Why do we put up with it? The rot has got to stop.

Theo Randall

Chef, restaurant owner

This risotto is great when the asparagus season has just started. However, even though it can be very expensive, a little asparagus can go along way as it has such a deep flavour. You can make this risotto with a vegetable stock but make sure it's fresh and not made from a stock cube - the result will be much tastier!

Rebecca Saxe

Associate Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, MIT

cooperating in large groups is a signature accomplishment of the human brain: among similar species, we are remarkably good at working together and negotiating our differences.

Dr Khandee Ahnaimugan

Medical doctor and weight loss expert

The underlying problem is that for women over 40, exercise ALONE is not enough to cause weight loss. This is not true for men. And it's less true for women under 40. But if you ask most women over 40, they will tell similar stories of exercise programmes that no longer delivered the goods when it came to weight loss.

Oana Romocea

Communications Specialist and Researcher in Migration and Media Studies

It is baffling how immigration has changed the game in British politics these days. There are more fundamentally important issues facing British society, most notably a stalled economy that has the country on the edge of a triple-dip recession. Yet, the immigration threat, and the supposed ills it has unleashed on Britain, has gripped the public imagination.

Liz Marie

Senior editor at We Love Dates. Does not enjoy long walks on the beach

Your relationship has ended. You suffer through all that comes along with a breakup--the tears, the eating your feelings. Then perhaps you've accepted a date invitation with that cute guy from the gym. And just like clockwork, as if they can smell the scent of you getting over them, your ex asks if you can meet for coffee.

Soila Sindiyo

Supporting Families Going Through Changes and Transitions

Ok, I'm sorry but even as you go through your divorce, as bitter and acrimonious as it is or can be at the time, there are some things that may happen, which you might indeed surprise you, hurt you or just plain "make you have kittens" as my friend June would say.

Mark Hodge

Film, Politics and Sports Writer

Brad Pitt could soon hold the ignominy of presiding over the biggest flop in film history. World War Z, which originally had a budget of $170million, but has now ballooned to a reported $400million. That is a huge $100million more than Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's End, which is currently the most expensive film ever made.

Patrick Reevell

Freelance journalist specialising in Russian affairs and coverage of the former Soviet Union

Topless Ukrainian feminists, Femen were taken off a roof by firemen hundreds of feet above a far right demonstration in central Paris this afternoon. Four women, including the groups leader, Inna Shevchenko occupied a balcony above a crowd of hundreds of members of extreme right wing groups to protest against neo-Nazism.

Brendan O'Neill

Editor of spiked, a columnist for the Big Issue, and a blogger for the Daily Telegraph

How daring, really, is Angelina Jolie's decision to write about her recent operation? Is she really rebelling against celebrity culture or conforming to it? I think it's the latter

Neil Boorman

Writer and journalist at howtobearealman.co.uk

This new and disturbing male trend is nothing if not a taste of our own medicine. Women have been required to maintain punishing deforestation routines since cosmetic companies began to manufacture more razor blades than they could sell to face-shaving men.

B.J. Epstein

Lecturer in literature and public engagement, University of East Anglia

Silly pop songs, over-the-top costumes and dance routines, and a (possibly) fake sense of intra-European bonhomie. Yes, it's easy to dismiss the annual Eurovision song contest. But wait. This year might be a little bit different.

Dr Raj Persaud and Helinä Häkkänen-Nyholm

Arguments and evidence suggest the stigma over open relationships could be changing, and in the future, this lifestyle might even become the norm. Researchers compare co-habitation before or instead of marriage, around which there was a similar strong taboo just a generation ago.

Jane Graham

Arts journalist and columnist

The Great Gatsby is stunning, but it's meaningfully, provocatively stunning. This isn't just awesome spectacle for spectacle's sake. Luhrmann uses sensory overload in a similar way to Harmony Korine in Springbreakers - to disorientate the audience and send them reeling into a hallucinogenic whirl.

Peter Kellner

President of YouGov, political commentator and journalist

If David Cameron expected voters to respect him for firming up his commitment to a referendum on the European Union, YouGov’s latest polling for The Times will disappoint him. Most Britons, including a majority of those who voted Conservative in 2010, think he is acting out of tactical calculation rather than because he feels deeply about the issue.

Neil Wallis

Media commentator, former tabloid editor - was under arrest as part of Operation Weeting but now cleared

This week a beautiful little blonde and blue-eyed English girl was horrifically sexually mutilated - by her parents. She will be scarred for life both physically and mentally. She could have died in the attack. This was not a lone assault, however. Such ritualistic violence against children happen on average EVERY week among a particular cult in Britain.

Alice Rigby

Politics and History student, spare time music journalist

Sexism's a big deal because boys like my twin brother don't hate women. It's a big deal because misogyny has become 'just a joke'. It's a big deal because while someone like Dom would never make a joke about lynching a black person, many wouldn't think twice about making a joke about rape.