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The Third Act

What if we all saw age, not as a barrier, but as a new beginning? Featuring sparkling conversation from vintage minds, The Third Act is a podcast that celebrates later life – by putting it centre-stage. Each episode, writer and journalist Catherine Fairweather chats to some of the world’s most experienced artists, adventurers, actors and entrepreneurs – hearing tales of triumphs and setbacks, exploring the intimate secrets of a life well lived and unpacking tricks for ageing gracefully (or otherwise). Over lunch at the sumptuous Culfords restaurant in Auriens Chelsea, each guest reflects openly and honestly about how they are redefining later living and embracing life’s next act. Warm, witty and invariably wise, this series will leave you with the strong belief that the best is yet to come. The Third Act is brought to you by Auriens – a luxury residence in Chelsea that redefines later living.

en26 Episodes

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Episodes (26)

Tina Brown

Tina Brown

Tina Brown is the trailblazing dynamo and former editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker and famous for bringing the heady mix of the high low to magazine content. Her latest book on the Royals, the Palace Papers was revelatory and brilliantly researched but even she couldn't predict the seismic changes in the past year, the death of the Queen, the coronation and fresh mudslinging from some familiar members of the family. On the eve of her launch of the Truth Tellers Summit in Investigative Journalism, Tina joins host Catherine Fairweather to muse over the trajectory of a stellar career that isn’t over yet.

enMay 05, 2023

James Fox

James Fox

With an ear for idiosyncrasies and a nose for narrative, James Fox is an acclaimed journalist, author and one of Britain's most successful ghostwriters. Whereas most ghostwriters are invisible, Fox has shared bylines with the likes of Keith Richards on his award-winning, bestselling 2010 memoir, Life. Cutting his teeth in the glorious days of long-form journalism for the likes of the Sunday Times and Vanity Fair, Fox is known for his compelling and elegant turn of phrase. With host Catherine Fairweather in our eleventh episode, Fox discusses the glory days at the Sunday Times under Harold Evans, his propensity for anarchic characters and nearly losing his life.

enApril 27, 2023

Simon Callow

Simon Callow

This week we welcome actor, writer and all-round cultural powerhouse, Simon Callow to the Third Act podcast. It was his part as Mozart in Amadeus that made him a star in the world of theatre, while Four Weddings and a Funeral made him a household name. As well as penning biographies on a variety of geniuses from Vagner to Dickens, Callow has proved that he can also turn his talents to song and dance as a director and opera producer. With host Catherine Fairweather, this prolific storyteller muses over the unexpected joys of growing older and also recalls the many performers, writers, performances and events that have left an indelible mark on his life.

enApril 20, 2023

Paulene Stone

Paulene Stone

We are thrilled to welcome Paulene Stone, the face of the sixties and Auriens' latest advertising campaign, to the ninth episode of the podcast. David Bailey's iconic photograph of Paulene kneeling down to kiss a squirrel in the park, which helped launch both their careers hangs in her new bathroom at Auriens Chelsea. Married four times, widowed twice, a single mother at 23 years old and the tragic loss of two of her three adult children, her life is the stuff of novels. With host Catherine Fairweather, Paulene muses over the perils of leaving school without a vocation, finding her feet as a supermodel and the joys of finding new friends at Auriens.

enApril 12, 2023

Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry

The renowned photographer Steve McCurry's most famous image, Afghan Girl with the green eyes, is just a snapshot of a searing portfolio of work conjuring vanishing cultures and ancient traditions. Throughout his 40-year career which has taken him through some of the world’s most dangerous war zones, McCurry has demonstrated a unique ability to transcend boundaries of culture and language to discover and document the human experience. In our eighth episode, he takes time out of his global wanderings to discuss settling down, the intersection of art and reportage, as well as the challenges of this magnum photographer's life in the next act with host Catherine Fairweather.

enApril 05, 2023

photojournalist

Rosie Boycott

Rosie Boycott

Rosie Boycott, now Baroness Boycott, reaches the parts that other peers can't reach. She is guaranteed to hold strong views on a variety of subjects from food waste to feminism, from obesity to domesticity, to motherhood and marriage, to the environment and the legalisation of drugs. A true opinion former, she cut her editorial teeth as co-founder and editor of Spare Rib magazine before moving on to becoming editor of Esquire, The Independent and The Daily Express. A self-confessed recovering alcoholic, a smallholder, a literary guru and a committed traveller, Rosie discusses her passions and reinventions with host Catherine Fairweather in our seventh episode of The Third Act.

enMarch 29, 2023

Theo Fennell

Theo Fennell

Theo Fennell is best known as a leading British jeweller and silverware designer who has specialised in original, handmade jewellery for over 40 years. He has also recently penned a self-deprecating yet heart-warming memoir “I Fear For This Boy” at the age of 70, which depicts his journey from financial despair to the glittering celebrity world of the rich and famous. With host Catherine Fairweather in our sixth episode of The Third Act podcast, he muses over sobriety, the consequences of his ill-judged outfit on the first day of art school and the perils of taking one's self too seriously.

enMarch 22, 2023

british jeweller

Richard Young

Richard Young

English society and celebrity photographer Richard Young is self-taught and started experimenting with a gifted Nikon camera on the streets of London in the seventies. Now with a career spanning almost 5 decades, Young has photographed the likes of Kate Moss, Tracey Emin and Sir Elton John as well as publishing four books. With Catherine Fairweather, he discusses his first big break photographing a recently released Paul Getty III and reflects on the immense scope of his career.

enMarch 15, 2023

John Kasmin

John Kasmin

John Kasmin, or 'Kas' as he's better known, is one of the most well-known art dealers and collectors. He is perhaps best known for representing David Hockney who was one of Kas's first artists when he set up his own gallery in 1963. Whereas most galleries at the time were domestic in scale, Kas was the first to open his gallery in a large white space to better focus on the work itself. With Catherine Fairweather, he talks about hitchhiking around the world in his teenage years, saving Hockney from poverty, giving up alcohol, his "good eye" for art and his trademark glasses.

enMarch 08, 2023

Julia Samuel

Julia Samuel

Julia Samuel MBE is one of the UK's foremost pyschotherapists and grief counsellors. Author of three books and a regular columnist for The Times, she has been described as the person the nation turns to in times of tragedy and despair. Over a cup of tea at Auriens with Catherine Fairweather, Julia talks about her childhood and the loss and grief suffered by own family. She shares her thoughts on the archetypal British stiff upper lip as a way of coping and love being the strongest medication.

enMarch 01, 2023

Tom Stoppard

Tom Stoppard

Sir Tom Stoppard is one of the most widely acclaimed playwrights and screenwriters of his generation. His award-winning body of work includes the screenplay for Shakespeare In Love and the plays Arcadia and The Real Thing. His latest work, Leopoldstadt (which has been described as perhaps his most personal play) is set in the Jewish community of early 20th-century Vienna. It won the Olivier Award for Best New Play after its successful run in the West End and is currently playing on Broadway. Tom Stoppard talks with Catherine Fairweather about his childhood, his writing process, the benefits of getting older and the tick tock of the universe.

enFebruary 22, 2023

Michael Heseltine

Michael Heseltine

Michael Heseltine is perhaps best known as a politician and former Secretary of State for the Environment. But he is also a successful entrepreneur, publisher and property developer. In addition, he also has a keen interest in nature and, with his wife, has created one of the UK's most beautiful arboretums. Presenter Catherine Fairweather talks to Lord Heseltine about his time in politics but also about Brexit, dyslexia, risk and his long-standing love of trees.

enFebruary 15, 2023

margaret thatcher

Series 2 Trailer

Series 2 Trailer

The Third Act is back by popular demand for a second season of sparkling conversations with vintage minds. Brought to you by Auriens, new episodes will drop weekly from 15th February. Across the series, journalist Catherine Fairweather will be breaking bread with twelve national treasures, and asking them to share their secrets of a life well lived. Guests include playwright Tom Stoppard, journalist Rosie Boycott, politician Michael Heseltine, actor Simon Callow, photographer Steve McCurry and psychotherapist Julia Samuel.

enFebruary 03, 2023

Don McCullin

Don McCullin

For the final episode of this series, Catherine Fairweather talks to renowned photographer, Sir Don McCullin CBE. For the past 50 years he has proved himself a photojournalist without equal, whether documenting the poverty of London’s East End, or the horrors of wars in Africa, Asia or the Middle East. Simultaneously he has proved an adroit artist capable of beautifully arranged still lifes, soulful portraits and moving landscapes. He also happens to be Catherine's husband which allows her to ask questions she has never yet asked him - about his reputation as a hard-bitten war photographer, his thirst to learn about new cultures and their very first meeting.

enJune 09, 2022

photojournalist

war photographer

Stefanie Powers

Stefanie Powers

While she may be best known for the popular TV series Hart to Hart, Stefanie Powers has made over 30 films as well as 25 mini-series and numerous plays. Alongside her acting career, she is a passionate conservationist having established the William Holden Wildlife Foundation to further her long time partner's work in East Africa. In this penultimate episode of the first series of The Third Act she talks with Catherine Fairweather about her career, her charity work and the challenges of show business.

enJune 02, 2022

stefanie powers

John Blashford-Snell

John Blashford-Snell

Colonel John Blashford-Snell CBE is one of the world's most respected and renowned explorers. The founder of the Scientific Exploration Society and Operation Raleigh, his many expeditions include a complete navigation of the Congo River and the first vehicular journey from Alaska to Cape Horn. He also 'invented' white-water rafting during a particularly perilous descent of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia. At the age of 85 he is already planning his next trip to Bolivia. But he takes time out of his preparations to talk with Catherine Fairweather about how he first discovered his love of exploring, the importance of continually challenging yourself and his brush with the Loch Ness monster.

enMay 26, 2022

john blashford-snell

Brigid Keenan

Brigid Keenan

Brigid Keenan was the youngest ever fashion editor at The Sunday Times when she joined the paper in the 1960's. However she gave up her career when she married a diplomat and, in her own words, became 'a trailing spouse'. During her time living in seven different countries, she has written seven books. Her most successful, 'Diplomatic Baggage', was written while in her 60's and is about to republished this summer. Over lunch with Catherine Fairweather, she talks about choosing between marriage and career, her amazing recovery from a stroke 5 years ago and her thoughts on getting older.

enMay 19, 2022

Johnny Roxburgh

Johnny Roxburgh

Johnny Roxburgh is a party architect who has worked in the events industry for over 40 years. He has dreamt up parties around the globe for everyone from HM The Queen to Sting and played a key role in many landmark events such as Prince William's 21st birthday. With Catherine Fairweather, he discusses bringing his clients ideas to life including floating a tent on the Mediterranean for a dinner for 400 people, organising his own wedding and his secrets to living well.

enMay 12, 2022

ageing gracefully

party architect

Tim Spicer

Tim Spicer

The colourful and sometime controversial Lt Cl Tim Spicer is a 20 year veteran of the British Army who has found new success as an author. A former Commanding Office of the Scots Guards, Tim saw active service in the Falklands, the Gulf War and the Balkans. Along with An Unorthodox Soldier, an account of his military life, Tim's most recent book is A Dangerous Enterprise which tells the tale of a secret mission by the Navy during World War II to rescue agents from occupied France. With Catherine Fairweather, he talks about the balance between discipline and indulgence, his love of adventure and living life "on the sharp end of things".

enMay 06, 2022

personal journey

military service

Harriet Walter

Harriet Walter

One of the UK's most respected actresses, Dame Harriet Walter is currently enjoying great success with recent appearances in hit TV shows such as Succession, Killing Eve, The Crown and Downton Abbey as well as Ridley Scott's latest film The Duel. She talks with Catherine Fairweather about playing 'nasty characters', the secrets to ageing well, the perks of getting married in your 60's and why British stage actors do so well in Hollywood.

enApril 28, 2022

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