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The Radio 2 Book Club with Helly Acton

Helly Acton joins Jo for the latest edition of the Radio 2 Book Club, discussing The Shelf.

Helly Acton joins Jo for the latest edition of the Radio 2 Book Club, discussing The Shelf.

Six women. Four weeks. One TV show. Who will be left on The Shelf?

Everyone in Amy's life seems to be getting married (or so Instagram tells her), and she feels like she's falling behind. So, when her boyfriend surprises her with a dream holiday to a mystery destination, she thinks this is it - he's going to pop the Big Question.

But the dream turns into a nightmare when she finds herself on the set of a Big Brother-style reality television show, The Shelf.

Along with five other women, Amy is dumped live on TV and must compete in a series of humiliating and obnoxious tasks in the hope of being crowned 'The Keeper'. Will Amy's time on the show make her realise there are worse things in life than being left on the shelf?

Helly Acton is a copywriter from London with past lives in the Middle East, Africa and Australia. Born in Zimbabwe, Helly and her family emigrated to the East Sussex coast when she was 15 years old. Here, she finished school and spent her holidays in Saudi Arabia, where her father had been placed with work. She studied Law at King's College London before following a more creative path into advertising. In her mid-twenties, Helly escaped the rat race and took a three-month career break to travel in Africa, India and Asia before landing in Australia. What was supposed to last one year ended up lasting six, and after a life-affirming break-up in Sydney she returned home to find herself the last of her single friends. Helly threw herself into the deep end of online dating in the city and uses her experience as a single woman in her early thirties, torn between settling down and savouring her independence, as a source of inspiration for her stories.

1 hour, 57 minutes

Last on

Mon 13 Jul 2020 20:00
大象传媒 Radio 2

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Music Played

  • Madonna

    Like A Prayer

    • (CD Single).
    • Sire.
    • 9.

  • Doves

    Prisoners

    • CD Single.
    • Virgin / EMI.

  • The Dandy Warhols

    Bohemian Like You

  • Gizmo Varillas

    Born Again

    • Muisca Records.

  • The Specials

    A Message To You, Rudy (feat. Rico Rodriguez)

    • Greatest Hits Of The 70's (Various).
    • EMI.

  • Katie Melua

    A Love Like That

    • Album No. 8.
    • BMG Rights Management (UK).

  • James Blake

    Are You Even Real

    • Republic Records/Universal Music Group.

  • James

    Laid

    • Now That's What I Call Music! 26 (Various Artists).
    • Now.

  • Lizzo

    Good As Hell

    • Coconut Oil.
    • Nice Life.
    • 5.

  • James Bay

    Chew On My Heart

    • (CD Single).
    • Universal Records.

  • Jamie Scott

    New York Nights

    • How Still the River.
    • Catherine Records.
    • 3.

  • All Saints

    Pure Shores

    • (CD Single).
    • London.
    • 8.

  • Waiting for Smith

    Lines Of Love

    • Lines Of Love.
    • 1.

  • Naughty by Nature

    O.P.P.

    • Greatest Hits: Naughty's Nicest.
    • Tommy Boy.

  • Emmy the Great

    Dandelions/Liminal

  • DNA

    Tom's Diner (feat. Suzanne Vega)

    • Best Of Suzanne Vega - Tried & True.
    • A&M.

  • Stormzy

    Blinded By Your Grace, Pt. 2 (feat. MNEK)

    • Gang Sings & Prayer.
    • Merky Records.

  • Japan

    Ghosts

    • (CD Single).
    • Virgin.
    • 1.

  • Travis

    A Ghost

    • 10 Songs.
    • BMG Rights Management (UK).

  • Wheatus

    Teenage Dirtbag

    • Now 49 (Various Artists).
    • Now.

  • Jeff Buckley

    Hallelujah

Broadcast

  • Mon 13 Jul 2020 20:00
    大象传媒 Radio 2