Hal & Ronni In Pieces

Well, well, well, what do we have here? Are Hal and Ronni's Taskmaster aspirations actually about to be realised? Ronni has 'booked' Alex Horne for the final episode of S1 of Hal and Ronni in Pieces (or HARIP as the kids say), but he seems to be taking a rather long time to arrive, much to the added irritation of the already exasperated producer. As our hosts anticipate the arrival of our guest, it gives them some time to reflect on the series and all the people they've welcomed on the show - some of whom seem to have changed their phone numbers - very odd indeed. They also lament the lack of a sponsor, despite their best** efforts, which makes them realise that perhaps the adverts featured in the show weren't all they seemed, could sabotage be a foot? All that we DO know is that there needs to be a series two if there's any hope of getting that bloody puzzle done, so see you then! **embarrassing

This week we're doing things a little bit differently as we take you back to the summer of 2025 when Hal and Ronni took 'In Pieces' to the stage at The Edinburgh Festival - yes, they actually did this IN PUBLIC! Whose idea was it to take a podcast that hadn't yet launched to the stage? That's not important right now, but the audience laughter wasn't entirely directed at the IRL angst of our hosts, as special guest Lucy Porter was on hand to tell us why Arnie Schwarzenegger is a third wheel in her marriage and how she keeps her puzzles out of harm's way. Don't worry though, Ronni and Hal don't let the live audience stop them from inappropriate attempts at show sponsorship and still fail to keep their producer for the duration of the recording.

Hello again! Thanks for joining us for today's episode, as our wonderful guest is the brilliant Shaparak Khorsandi! Even though Shappi loves a cheeky jigsaw, she only had the opportunity for the briefest of fiddles, as our hosts relentlessly distracted her with questions about her master’s degree in Psychotherapy... I wonder why that would appeal to them… But we also find out lots more about our guest, including why a stint as a life model helped her make the leap into stand up comedy, and why appearing on 'I'm a Celebrity' gave her a whole new perspective on her life and career. Plus, she shares some harrowing encounters she's had with Hal over the years, it's a miracle she agreed to come back for more. And it goes without saying that there's yet another new producer in the chair this week - perhaps they're all in a therapy support group lead by Shappi?

In today's episode, no attempt whatsoever is made at doing the jigsaw, it doesn't help that our guest, Geoff Norcott isn't a fan of the pursuit, but there's no excuse for Ronni and Hal's blatant neglect of their own activity. At least the conversation flowed, as Geoff and Ronni were able to compare notes on their past lives as teachers! We know! We can't get our heads around that one either, Ronni Ancona shaping young minds ... is it just a coincidence that the crime rate in that area had a surge a few years later? Geoff also told us how he manages preshow nerves and how he deals with any preconceived ideas people may have about him because of his politics, as well as managing to navigate our hosts' quickfire questions. Oh, and as per usual, last week's producer is nowhere in sight, we thought it was weird that she never took her coat off.

It's episode four, and any real progress with completing the jigsaw is yet to materialise. Today, we get some insight as to why that may be. Not only did today's wonderful guest, Charlie Higson, have to endure our hosts whining about not being asked to do Taskmaster, he also witnessed Ronni trying to jam pieces together that clearly don't fit, and was powerless to stop Hal's blatant puzzle-based sabotage. On the bright side, we found out how Charlie manages to keep his stress levels down when he's up against deadlines – though by his own admission, this recording did little to alleviate his stress, and may well have had the opposite effect. Oh, and of course, last week's producer is nowhere to be seen. Where do they all keep running off to? We have high hopes for her replacement Lydia, though. After all, it's not a prerequisite for a podcast producer to have heard of the presenters, is it?

Look who's back! Yes, Hal and Ronni have once again tipped out the jigsaw, and invited a showbiz chum to help them sift through the pieces of the puzzle. What a metaphor! This week's guest is someone even the Gen Z producer recognised: Kiell Smith Bynoe. By the way, speaking of the producer, our thanks to Annabel for stepping into the breach after the one we had last week didn't come back. Let's hope we can persuade this one to stay - though as Hal and Ronni's dubious attempts to attract show sponsors continue, that may be easier said than done. Kiell is of course charming company, providing some sage advice on avoiding stress and making Ronni and Hal green with envy with his stories of appearing on Taskmaster. At least neither of our hosts embarrassed themselves by flirting outrageously with him. Oh wait. That absolutely did happen.

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