Get to know Scala Radio's Angellica Bell

You’ll be hard pushed to find someone who doesn’t know of Angellica. Having started out wanting to be in the Spice Girls (well, who didn’t?), Angellica became the face of CBBC. With an impressive career under her belt, you can now enjoy Angellica on Scala Radio across the weekend as she eases us in from Saturdays, with a whole host of guests that are as entertaining as the music she plays!

After hosting a whole range of shows for CBBC, Angellica made her seamless transition to mainstream TV and most recently a guest presenter on The One Show. She has taken part in Comic Relief Does Fame Academy, sailed 1,000 miles from Belfast to London for Sport Relief, run the London marathon, learned tap-dancing for the TV show Born To Shine – and she won Celebrity Masterchef in 2017. And if that wasn’t enough, she’s learning to play the Cello and is about to take her Grade 4. Angellica, we’re in awe.

We spoke to Angellica to find out about the music that makes her tick!

Angellica Bell's favourite classical composer:

"I think I'm going to say Edward Elgar. He was such an interesting man and it could be said he was lucky to have one of the best moustaches going! One of the first music Cd's I ever had was his Cello Concerto Opus 85 - Enigma Variations played by Julian Lloyd Webber with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Yehudi Menuhin.

"Elgar was so interesting - he taught himself about music as his father owned a music shop, was an amateur chemist, a keen cyclist and was one of the first composers to buy into the idea of recorded classical music. There are so many pieces I love from his repertoire and I think many others feel the same."

Her desert island classical piece:

"A trick question but I'm going to commit and say Bach's Cello Suite No 1 - Prelude. It gives me goosebumps when I hear it played."

Angellica's essential film score:

"I had to decide between Cry Freedom, The Mission and Gladiator and I went for.....Gladiator written by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard. The imagery in the film goes from idyllic and calm to ferocious and deceptive and the music seamlessly moves you into those different emotions. I totally love the Middle Eastern music influences that run through the score and Lisa's voice is incredible."

Classical tune most likely to sing in the shower:

"My Grandad was a massive fan of Handel's Messiah and from a young age I heard it often. A great song for the shower would be For Unto Us a Child is Born. It certainly would get the vocal chords going and you just need to take a deep breath to make sure you get to the end of the runs."

Was she on The Apprentice?

She was! However, not as a contestant - of course. Angellica appeared on the 17th series of The Apprentice, taking part in a panel included in the market research element candidates undertook, while taking on the task of creating a pre-school cartoon aimed at two-to-four-year-olds.

Angellica shared some behind-the-scenes shots to her Instagram page, writing: 'Woke up this morning to lots of messages about being on @apprenticeuk last night. Thank you so much for your lovely comments! It was great to be part of the show and be on the panel. Here are a few behind the scenes shots!'

When is Angellica Bell on Scala Radio?

Listen to Angellica Bell on Saturdays from 10am on Scala Radio

Check out all of the presenters on Scala Radio:

Weekdays

Saturdays

Sunday

How to listen to Scala Radio:

Listen to Scala Radio on DAB nationwide, on our free app, online or via your smart speaker (“Play Scala Radio”).

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