'We were so happy to have him join the adventure'

As The Piano returns TV presenter Claudia Winkleman and singer-songwriter Mika talk about working with Jon Batiste and what makes a great musician

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Over the past few years, the sound of someone playing the piano at railway stations across the UK has become familiar, like it’s always been that way.

Though it offers a special and engaging experience for travellers, it has also helped attract a growing number of amateur and professional musicians, who have built a community.

And it’s one of the reasons why English broadcaster Claudia Winkleman, 53, and Lebanon-born singer-songwriter Mika, 41, wanted to work on Channel 4’s The Piano.

“I wanted to do it because there’s a man called Richard [McKerrrow] who’s a genius, and he came up with Bake Off, and he came up with this,” says Winkleman, who co-presents BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing and won her first BAFTA for presenting BBC One’s reality show The Traitors.

“We went for a coffee, and he said, do you like the idea of people showing their talent, but not on a big, shiny stage, not knowing they're being watched.