Howdy to all out there.

There have been a lot of sniffles and coughs emanating from the rooms of A1 VOX this week. It is a bit of a hazard when most of the people coming through our doors use the voice as their bread and butter. Whilst dishing out medical advice Charles has been uttering his famous slur - 'I'm a doctor you know'- believe what you will but amazingly the man does know more than thing or two about medical matters!

However, we have had more than one brush with a doctor as you will find out later in this weeks A1 VOX practice.

So after stocking up on honey and Lemsip for anyone that needed it, we were ready for action.

First up was Phil Tufnell or ‘Tuffers’ as he is affectionately known.

He has been featured in our blog before as he is a regular to A1 but on this occasion it looked like somebody may have had one of those legendary nights out on the tiles, as he turned up to A1 sporting some very dark glasses.

Phil has entertained many crowds over the years earning his nickname of “The Cat”. He is able to mix work on the field with his laddish behaviour and regularly enjoys banter with friends and colleagues.

After winning TV`s I`m a Celebrity – Get me out of here Phil has become even more popular.

Rarely seen without a beer and a ciggie, Tufnell has always been something of a folk hero, and has milked that to the full to carve out a successful career on TV and radio.

Well we didn’t get too much sense out of him last week but as soon as he was behind the mic the persona was there in a flash. I’m sure on leaving our studio it was straight back to bed for a quick ‘Cat’ Nap.

The comedy element of this week’s A1 sandwich came from Mr Phil Kay. Even though it was raining outside he was wearing his trademark birkies and carrying his guitar. Woodstock anyone?

He sat in the Green Room and was chit chatting away merrily until his turn in the booth.

Phil burst on to the comedy circuit in 1989, when he won the new act contest So You Think You're Funny in only its second year.

His unpredictable, freestyle approach won him a Perrier nomination in 1993 and the award for best stand-up at the 1994 British Comedy Awards. He was given his own Channel 4 show, Phil Kay Feels..., in 1997, which was recorded in front of a live audience to try to capture his manic energy.

Whilst remaining largely behind-the-scenes since, he has been writing successfully for television, with credits including Jonathan Ross's Saturday Show, Channel 4's Viva Cabaret, The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, Sean's Show, Harry Hill's Pilot Show, and many more. Go on Phil, strum us a tune.

The big musical cheese to hop, skip and jump his way into A1 VOX was none other than muso genius Mr Michael Nyman.

Chris had to get all his faculties together as we were doing a live link up to BBC Radio Scotland for weekly show The Music Cafe.

Of course Chris handled the talent, and link up, with impeccable professionalism and all went according to plan – we heart you Chris!

The Music Cafe is hosted by Bruce MacGregor who hears about the music being made, played and talked about in Scotland with live sessions, new releases and interviews with musicians of the moment.

Well they don’t get more talented and current as this chap let me tell you!

As one of Britain's most innovative and celebrated composers, Michael Nyman's work encompasses operas and string quartets, film soundtracks and orchestral concertos. Far more than merely a composer, he's also a performer, conductor, bandleader, pianist, author, musicologist and now a photographer and film-maker.

For more than 30 years, he had also enjoyed a highly successful career as a film composer, the role in which - sometimes to his slight regret - he is probably best known by the general public.

His most notable scores number a dozen Peter Greenaway films, including such classics as The Draughtsman's Contract and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover; Neil Jordan's The End of the Affair; several Michael Winterbottom features including Wonderland and A Cock And Bull Story; the Hollywood blockbuster Gattaca - and, of course, his unforgettable music for Jane Campion's 1993 film, The Piano, the soundtrack album of which has sold more than three million copies. He also co-wrote the score for the 1999 film Ravenous with his friend and sometime protégé, Damon Albarn (Blur / Gorillaz). Most recently his music was used in the 2009 BAFTA award winning and Oscar nominated film, Man on Wire.

His reputation among highbrow critics is built upon an enviable body of work written for a wide variety of ensembles, including not only his own band, but also symphony orchestra, choir and string quartet.

He has also written widely for the stage. His operas include The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1986) and Facing Goya (2000) and he has provided ballet music for a number of the world's most distinguished choreographers.

In October 2009, Nyman released The Glare, a collaborative collection of songs with David McAlmont, which cast his work in a new light.

Nyman says "I was surprised and delighted by what we've came up with, so much so, that when I now play these pieces solo, it sounds like somethings missing and the music needs David's voice and approach. That's a remarkable thing, because I've been playing these pieces for years. Of all the many collaborations I've been involved in, none has ever given me more pleasure and I'm desperate to take it on the road and play these."

He might forgivably have been content to rest on his considerable laurels. However, instead of looking back on a lifetime of achievement, via a string of high-profile collaborations with everyone from Sir Harrison Birtwistle to the aforementioned Damon Albarn, he's still looking forward - pushing the boundaries of his art with a diverse and prolific burst of creativity as energetic and challenging as any new kid on the block. WOW! That is some life and some credentials - now I really feel inadequate.

(If you would like to hear the live recording as engineered by our own 'technically sound’ Chris O’Connor, then you have one day left. Just log onto the BBC Radio Scotland website or search on BBC iPlayer for The Music Cafe).

So sport personality – tick, comedian – tick, musical genius – tick and now to a somewhat iconic TV star.......Sophie Aldred.

If I say the word EXTERMINATE – I think we would all, pretty much, be on the same page.

Sophie was cast back in 1987 as Doctor Who’s sidekick 'Ace' and her tenure on the show spanned the last nine stories of the programme’s original run, which ended in 1989. Can you believe it was that long ago – makes even me feel old!

Both before and since Doctor Who, Sophie has had a varied and busy television career, particularly in children's programming, where she has presented educational programmes such as Corners, Melvin and Maureen's Music-a-grams, long-running BBC series Words and Pictures and also CITV paranormal show It's a Mystery in 1996. She has also performed on radio and in the theatre.

On being asked about smacking seven shades out of the infamous Daleks Sophie says “Yeah, well that was great. Because nobody’s done that before or since. I think that’s going to go on my gravestone, actually. I beat up a Dalek with a baseball bat! My absolute claim to fame, and I was very proud of that moment!

And the funny thing was that I was always the smallest in my class! I was always being called ‘shrimp’. I was much, much smaller than anyone else. So having that glorious line, “who are you calling small?”, and then smacking a Dalek was a great thing for me to have!”

In the last few years Sophie has wanted to be near home, so has really concentrated on her voice over work. She says “It means I don’t have to get all made up, or wash my hair before I get to work! I may feel like going back in front of the camera at some stage, maybe somebody needs to tempt me to do it!”

Well she looked great when she came in for her voice session with us and was full of beans.

But hold your horses... for there is even more linkage between Sophie and A1 VOX than meets the Cybermen eye!

Sophie also takes on her much loved role as Ace alongside our one and only voice-O Supreme artist, Miss Beth Chalmers.

Beth plays 'Raine' and both ladies work with Big Finish Productions to create audio CD’s for the Doctor Who Series. Due to fresh casting former “EastEnder” Ricky Groves joined the voicing team to guest star as 'Creevy', the father of new companion Raine.

Here is a piccie of the lovely Miss Chalmers flanked by Sylvester McCoy and Ricky Groves. A rose amongst .......well....her doctor and her dad!

London News

Some might say they are bananas - but hundreds of people dressed in gorilla suits have been running wild in London.

This Sunday they were taking part in a race along the Thames to raise money for The Great Gorilla Organisation - a charity dedicated to the primate's conservation.

Around 1000 people took part jogging and knuckle-walking their way across a 7km central London course. The route involved some of London’s most famous landmarks including Tower Bridge and The Tate Modern and caused more than a stir across the city.

Conservationist and television presenter Bill Oddie fired the starting pistol for the 4.3 mile Great Gorilla Run and has labeled it “the most fun event for conservation going on anywhere in the world”, the Great Gorilla Run is an annual costumed charity fun-run that raises hundreds of thousands of pounds for the conservation charity (The Gorilla Organization) for their vital conservation projects in Africa.

So there you have it people. Furry friends and all. I hope you have enjoyed your pit stop to all things A1 and will join us next week when we can tell you all about our visit from Gail Porte. Ta-Ra!