Kirsty Gilmour: Badminton player picks dream dinner party

Kirsty Gilmour would like to have Katie Gavin, Andy Murray, Sara Pascoe, Wes Anderson round for a meal

A Grand Slam champion, a comedian, an auteur filmmaker and the lead singer of an American electro-pop band. It’s an eclectic mix round the table at badminton player Kirsty Gilmour’s dream dinner party.

BBC Scotland asked the European and Commonwealth medallist to pick the four celebrities who she would invite round for a meal and a natter...

Andy Murray - tennis player

I would like to pick his brain about sport and how he managed to get to the level he did. From such a small town in a non-tennis nation like Scotland, he managed to cultivate his own career when it wasn’t presented to him on a plate.

That’s definitely something I struggle with. Badminton in Scotland is viewed a bit recreationally, a bit of a back garden or church hall sport. So to try to cultivate a high-performance atmosphere every day is extremely difficult. So I would really like to know how he managed that. And also, he just seems like a bit of a lad.

I just always admire the balance he’s struck between professionalism, family life and the media attention. Because it’s difficult. He’s so relatable personally for me, being from a racquet sport from a small town in a small country and just the way he conducts himself all the time.

When I met him at the last Olympics, the lack of ego was astonishing. Just because at the Olympic Games you sense a bit of hierarchy within Team GB.

It’s nothing unfriendly, but there are the celebrity athletes like Tom Daley, Nicola Adams - who are lovely but have always got a little team around them and are maybe a little bit separate from the rest. But Andy Murray is approachable and doesn’t seem off limits to anybody.

Gilmour picked celebrities in sport, comedy, film and music

Sara Pascoe - comedian, author & actress

First of all, I really like her comedy. But I've picked her more for her books, the first one in particular. It’s all about the female body and why we are the way we are.

The way she wrote it and the language she uses is so inclusive. I think often people write a book and subconsciously tailor it towards an audience and most of the books in history have been written with male readers in mind.

So it was really important for me because of the language and the subject matter, which I found so interesting. I’ve read it multiple times and every time it blows my mind.

Wes Anderson - film director

I love his style. He is amazing visually and his storytelling is incredible.

But I’ve got a bone to pick with him. Circling back to feminism, he needs to create better female characters. Mind you, he’s got two new films coming out and it seems to have a lot more female characters, so I’m hoping for better things.

His stuff is visually incredible and if you’re watching a film you can spot it’s a Wes Anderson one a mile off, with its colour palettes and symmetrical shots.

Katie Gavin - lead singer of band Muna

Their music is like sad electro pop. You know the Spotify end-of-year review thing? That was my top genre - electro-pop.

I love the way her and the other two members of the band manage to take a feeling and then just make it a fully-formed song that is so relatable.

They love what they do, they never complain about the touring or how hectic it can get they just seem to love it and their music is really, really good.