Stomping out of our screens with an unrivalled passion for music and film, broadcaster Edith Bowman is still raring to find out what makes people tick

Interview: Cheryl Caira. Image: Holly McGlynn

Edith Bowman – Anstruther resident until she was 18, mad fan of music and film – needs very little introduction. Her vivacious presence has made up the fibre of UK screens and radio stations for years, whether she’s teasing soundbites out of A-listers on the red carpet, fronting festival coverage or presenting every major music show of the past two decades – including iconic chart fixture, Top of the Pops. Bowman’s first on-screen job was as a news presenter for MTV UK, following a stint of hard graft at Radio Forth in Edinburgh.

In 2016, when Edith last spoke to Scottish Woman, Soundtracking – the podcast she created to deftly combine her love of music and film – was in its infancy. Now it’s marching towards its 10th year, featuring an incredible who’s who of directors, producers, actors, writers and composers, eager to open up to Bowman about their relationship with music. 

“Timothée Chamalet, Florence Pugh, Jessie Buckley, Josh O’Connor…” The celebrity names slide off Bowman’s tongue as we talk about past Soundtracking collaborations with BAFTA and their Rising Star Award nominees. 

“I never really think beyond booking the guests, recording the interview, and trying to make sure they’re having a nice time. Saying no is hard, because we’re privileged to be offered so many great guests: some of them are big names, but a lot of them are newer or slightly more independent names we really want to support. I’m just so interested in people’s journeys – what worked, what didn’t, how it happened – and I approach every conversation exactly the same.

“I’m not really one for blowing my own trumpet, but I do want to mark the 10th anniversary and celebrate what we’ve achieved with Soundtracking. Ideally, I’d love to do a series of live shows around the country, and a compilation album with bits of chat and some of the score music. It’s looking at where we can take it, but trying not to tart it up into anything that takes away the simplicity and beauty of what it is.”

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