Your imaginary dinner party.

gullygranny good choices!

Hopefully should be plenty to round then

There an awful lot of dead people being invited to these dinner parties!

Although I love entertaining I would have this dinner at Mary Berry's house, which is only about 10 mins away from where I live. I'd be gracious enough to let her cook the meal and also join us to eat it. "Us" would be (in no particular order)

Stephen King
Oscar Wilde
Hugh Jackman
Michael Flanders & Donald Swann
Johann Strauss II
Joyce Grenfell
Margaret Mountford
My friend Deirdre from Campbeltown

Nat King Cole would provide the after-dinner entertainment - bliss!

I would def have James Martin making the puds.

Day 3 have the Tudors round?

Why stick at just the Plantagenates Whitewave?

Day 2

All the Plantagenate Sovereign.

Have to get a bigger table!

JFK Kennedy

Stephen Fry

Ny Bevan

Maggie Smith

Mo Molam

Rob Brydon

If a dinner for two then

Alan Rickman and me please

That was day 1!

Different people on different days

Chinua Achebe
Nelson Mandela
Aung San Sui You
Bob Marley
Obama
Benjamin Zacharia

Can i have a couple of standbys in case anyone drops out? Betty Boothroyd and King Henry the Second (although, famously, he never sat still long enough to eat anything!).

I would like to invite Rufus Sewell, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins - oh dear no ladies just me.

I too would prefer to go out to a restaurant, not because I can't cook but because I would just like to sit and listen to my guests.

They would be Brian Cox and Robin Ince (I love the Infinite Monkey Cage!) and then maybe Billy Connolly and Eddie Izzard. I can't think of any women I would love to meet except possibly Judy Dench.

In reality, I'm like janeainsworth and would run a mile rather than invite a lot of people I don't know to dinner - and would prefer to see all my women friends with whom I could relax and have a laugh.

However, if I could be transformed into an entertaining and confident person I would, along with my friends, invite:

Desmond Tutu
Brenda Blethyn
Sandi Toksvig
Stewart Lee
Benjamin Zephania
Julia Bradbury

James Martin will be doing my catering BTW

I would love Alan Rickman, Gene Kelly,my Dad and Ella,a dear resident who passed away last year in the care home I work at. She never minced he words.

I'm not having it here - we'll go to a restaurant - and I'll have Jeremy Corbyn, Janet Street-Porter, Mick Jagger, Darcy Bussell and Michael Portillo. I'll make sure Jeremy and Michael sit at opposite ends of the table.Mick might feel a bit out of it so I'll sit next to him. I wonder how Janet and Darcy would get on?

Dave Allen, Phil Tuffnell, Prince Harry, Greg Wallace, Julie Walters, Victoria Wood, Janet Street-Porter and Lynda Bellingham.

Jamie Oliver to do the catering. Alfie Boe as the entertainment.

I must be a shrinking violet. I wouldn't like to have anyone I didn't know round for dinner.
My friends four at a time will do me fine, though it would be nice to have the chef from the Feathers Inn at Hedley on the Hill to do the cooking, and someone to do the clearing up!

The following week, it would be just me, Richard Armitage and Alan Rickman.

Glenda Jackson, Maggie Thatcher, Ann Widdecombe, Glenys Kinnock, Hilary Clinton, and all the Loose Women who have ever been in the series.

Oh I must add 93 year old Baroness Jean Trumpington who I saw give a one hour talk at a Literary Festival - no notes, just a brilliant raconteur. She was so funny and not frightened to say what she thought.

I thought about Jean Trumpington Greyduster when I saw you were going to have the Duchess of Devonshire - are we having a seance too

Rosesarered

Billy Connolly. Haggred (Robbie Coltrane). Hairy Bikers to do the cooking. Paulo Nutini for after dinner Singing. Ian Rankin to tell a tale or two. Pam Ayres for a little Ditty . Kim and Aggy to clear up afterwards!