BBC Radio 4 has commissioned Bafta award-winning filmmaker Louis Theroux to host his first radio and podcast series.

Grounded With Louis Theroux launches on BBC Sounds today with the first full episode available on Monday 27 April.

Like a lot of listeners, Louis is at home but he’s using his time in lockdown to track down some high-profile people he’s been longing to talk to and interviews them for his first podcast.

In each episode, around an hour long, Louis will have a conversation with one guest, digging into the psyches of some of the biggest names in the UK and the US. The first episode will be a conversation with writer and documentary-maker Jon Ronson, who is grounded in Upstate New York. They discuss their professional rivalry, inhabiting similar worlds and how Jon is handling the lockdown. In other episodes Louis will speak with Lenny Henry, Boy George and Miriam Margolyes with more to be announced.

Twenty years since his acclaimed BBC Two series, When Louis Met... began, this will be his long-awaited return to the world of celebrity. The podcast will bring listeners up close to these well-known individuals and their different life experiences.

Louis Theroux says: "I've really loved doing these interviews. It's been a chance to speak to people I admire and have in depth conversations with them, about their lives, their careers, and their most intimate feelings. Making a podcast and radio series is very different to my usual way of working. And for that reason, I've found it very fun and refreshing."

Rhian Roberts, Radio 4 Commissioning Editor for Digital and Podcasts, says: "Surprisingly, given his famous voice and interview style, Louis’ never had a podcast or radio series so we couldn’t be happier to welcome him to Radio 4. It feels like such a treat in these times to settle down with a podcast full of warmth and mischief - and a lot of insight. Louis is such great company, as always."

Listeners can subscribe to Grounded With Louis Theroux on BBC Sounds from Monday 20 April when an introduction to the series is available. The first full episode will be available on BBC Sounds on Monday 27 April and will be broadcast on Radio 4 on Wednesday 6 May at 8pm. A new episode will be available on BBC Sounds every Monday and each will broadcast on Radio 4 the following week.

Grounded With Louis Theroux is produced by Mindhouse Productions, an independent production company founded by Louis Theroux, Arron Fellows and Nancy Strang, for Radio 4.