Jeremy's Contributors

Martin Lewis is a financial journalist who specializes in showing people how to cut bills without cutting back.

He's also often called 'the big gob in chief' behind the campaign to reclaim bank charges, with over 5 million of his template letters sent to banks and nearly a billion pounds paid out; he's run successful financial justice campaigns to reclaim council tax, mortgage fees and loan insurance.

Since the age of four, when his dad first took him to his allotment, Terry has had a ‘growing’ desire to garden. He took his first allotment at the age of eleven and has been on the same allotment site for over fifty years.

Terry combined a busy life in industry, a happy family life with wife Anthea and two sons Anthony and Andrew with (at one stage) keeping ten allotment plots on the go. He is a born again organic gardener having seen the error of his ways in the late 1960’s and dispensed with using chemicals, now growing all his produce using all-natural means of nourishing them.

Terry retired in 2001 and by some very fortunate means started broadcasting from his allotments on the, then new, Jeremy Vine show. He takes great pleasure in sharing his plot and growing experiences with all the listeners.

Sarah Jarvis is a three quarters time GP in West London, in the practice where she has been a partner since 1990. She trains other GPs and is the Women's Health Spokesperson for the Royal College of GPs.

She also works with several medical charities, and chairs the Health Care Committee of HEART UK, the cholesterol charity. She has two children, aged 12 and 14.

Sarah got involved in medical media completely by accident, but loves the fact that it gives her the opportunity to let the facts get in the way of a good headline. She believes passionately in helping people to take control of their own health, and has authored five books for patients.

The latest, Women's Health For Life (Dorling Kindersley) was published in January 2009. Her sixth book, The Welcome Visitor (Hodder and Staughton), a book about ethical dilemmas at the end of life, co-authored with the broadcaster John Humphrys, is due out in late 2009.

Philip Stott, a Lancastrian (he still supports Oldham Athletic), is an environmental scientist with a passion for everything from atoms to zebras, but above all for UK energy policy and weather.

His official title - a bit of a mouthful - is Emeritus Professor of Biogeography in the University of London, which simply means that he is a kind of global ecologist and naturalist.

Philip broadcasts widely, being a regular panel member on BBC Radio 4's 'Home Planet'. He was also featured recently on Radio 3's 'Private Passions'. Philip is married to the historian, Anne Stott, has two grown-up children (both scientists), and loves art.

He has also published a series of music books for children, and has written a Clarinet Concerto. Philip says: "I love coming on Vine because Jeremy encourages so much valuable input from interested listeners. We all learn something new every time."

Barbara Want first appeared on the Jeremy Vine Show in 2005 to talk about her book – a guide to looking after babies. Since then her own babies – twin boys – have grown into a complete handful, who test Barbara’s energy, strength and patience to the full.

She’s now a very tired and frazzled single parent who only just manages to balance family life with part-time work. Barbara was married to the Radio 4 broadcaster Nick Clarke who died of cancer in 2006. Since his death she has been commenting on a range of social and family matters such as bereavement and mental health.

Her book about Nick’s illness, his death and her – and her sons’ – grief will be published early next year. She loves being on the programme because she gets to see – and comment on - Jeremy’s array of brightly-coloured shirts! (The comments are strictly off-air.)