View From My Sofa

For this very special, bonus episode of the Radio Times Podcast, I, Kelly-Anne Taylor am joined by Oscar-winning Hollywood A listers, Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. They both grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts and have been friends since childhood. Their teenage years were spent travelling to New York to auditions – and both eventually dropped out of university (Matt from Harvard, and Casey from Columbia) to pursue acting full-time. And – it paid off. Matt rose to fame, writing and starring in Good Will Hunting – and went on to carve out a rich and brilliant career, with movies like The Martian, The Talented Mr Ripley, and Jason Bourne. Similarly, Casey Affleck, the younger brother of Ben Affleck, has also made his mark – winning an Oscar for his turn in Manchester by the Sea. Now, the pair have teamed up for Apple TV’s action-packed heist drama, The Instigators. They play two strangers from different walks of life, thrown together to rob a corrupt politician. In this episode, we talk about how they met, handling fame and press intrusion – and, how being behind the screens has given them greater autonomy over their careers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week I, Kelly-Anne Taylor, am joined by the best-selling author, Emma Gannon. She began her career working in magazines – she’s written columns for The Telegraph and The Sunday Times and was the Social Media Editor at Glamour. She created the hit podcast, Ctrl, Alt, Delete which racked up over 13 million downloads and saw her sit down with the likes of Elizabeth Gilbert, Lena Dunham and Gillian Anderson to talk about their work, wellbeing and creativity. She is also the writer behind The Hyphen on Substack, a six-figure business – which is described as ‘a cosy, online space for curious readers’. On top of that – she has written six best-selling books to date including The Success Myth, and, her debut novel Olive. Now, she is releasing A Year of Nothingness – a memoir, focusing on her time spent doing nothing following a period of burn-out. In this episode, we talk about the joys of slowing down, the beauty of cold water swimming, the power of slow news – and learning to say ‘no’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joining me, Kelly-Anne Taylor, for this very special bonus episode of the Radio Times Podcast is the phenomenal actress, Emma Myers. Born and raised in Orlando in America, Emma had an eclectic childhood – she was one of four and was homeschooled, often spending her days roaming the Disney theme park local to her house. Dance was her initial passion – but, after her family moved to Atlanta, she began to pursue acting. Her life changed forever, when she was cast as Enid Sinclair in Tim Burton’s Wednesday – Netflix’s second most watched show of all time. In this episode, we talk about starring in Wednesday – and how she went from having 900 followers on Instagram to just under 12 million in a matter of weeks – and how she dealt with that explosion in popularity. Plus, we talk about A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder – in which she stars as Pip, a precocious teenager who decides to investigate the unsolved murder of a young schoolgirl. It’s a delightful bonus episode – I really hope you enjoy it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest is the actress, Sophie Rundle. Her career began with a bang – when she landed the role of Ada Shelby in the hit-drama Peaky Blinders, straight out of drama school. Since then, she’s gone on to star in Sally Wainwright’s Gentleman Jack, Alibi’s The Diplomat and most recently ITV’s, After the Flood. In this episode, she talks to Kelly-Anne Taylor about how revolutionary Gentleman Jack was in depicting LGBTQ+ love stories and how it has been heralded for its portrayal of sex scenes. Rundle discusses her own experience filming intimate scenes – and how they have changed over the course of her career. Plus, she reveals how Peaky Blinders changed her life – and, the pressure she faces to look a certain way on screen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For our Radio Times Podcast Christmas special, host Kelly-Anne Taylor is joined by the comedian, actor and screenwriter, Mae Martin. Their first foray into stand-up came aged 13 – and by 15 Mae had dropped out of school to pursue comedy full-time. They relocated to London in their early 20s and made a name for themselves on the British comedy circuit. With two Netflix comedy specials under their belt, they’ve also conquered the world of television with the Netflix series Feel Good – which Mae stars in alongside Charlotte Richie. In this festive episode, Mae talks about how they spend the big day, what the best part of a Christmas dinner is, what part to avoid – and the worst Christmas present they have ever received. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joining Kelly-Anne Taylor in the studio this week, is the author and journalist, Caroline O’Donoghue. In 2018, Caroline launched the podcast Sentimental Garbage – with the tagline, Justice for dumb women. What started out as a chick-lit podcast – grew into a podcast that celebrated guilty pleasures – deep-diving, unpicking, examining everything from Gilmore Girls to Little Women to Taylor Swift. In this episode, Caroline discusses how she’s got a lot of mileage out of her comfort TV Sex in the City and how she reacted when she had the rug pulled out from under her feet. Plus, we talk about her latest novel, The Rachel Incident. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week joining Kelly-Anne Taylor, in the studio, is the British actress, presenter and author, Joanna Lumley. Born in India, in Kashmir, Srinagar – she was brought up in the Far East, coming to the UK, aged 8, to attend boarding school. She went on to work as a model and actress, living in London in the Swinging Sixties – and made her name starring as Purdy in The New Avengers. She boasts a successful career – spanning over 6 decades – she had audiences in hysterics as Patsy in hit sit-com Absolutely Fabulous, has presented wonderful travel programmes – and, of course, captured the nation in Jan Etherington’s radio show, Conversations From A Long Marriage – in which she stars alongside Roger Allum. In this episode, she talks about why she doesn’t have a mobile phone and how difficult she found it to shed the ‘pretty girl’ stereotype when she moved from modelling to acting. Plus, she talks about raising a child as a single mother, how playing Purdy in The New Avengers changed things financially for her and why she wishes sex scenes would be cut from TV and film. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For this special episode of the Radio Times Podcast, Kelly-Anne Taylor is joined by the conservationists Chris Packham and Megan Mccubbin. Packham was born in Southampton in 1961 and spent much of his childhood exploring the nature he found at his doorstep. As a teenager with autism, he was picked on at school – his solace was the outside world. After studying Zoology at the University of Southampton, Packham found himself in the world of television and film, taking still photographs – but it was his audition for The Really Wild Show which kickstarted his career. Today, he is recognised as one of Britain’s most prominent wildlife TV presenters. He joins the podcast, alongside his step-daughter the conservationist and TV presenter, Megan McCubbin. In this episode, we discuss the perils of activism, the everyday changes everyone can make to fight climate change – and, the beauty of watching telly together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s episode, host Kelly-Anne Taylor is joined by TV chefs, Si King and Dave Myers – aka The Hairy Bikers. Dave was born and raised in Barrow-in-Furness, and Si in Kibblesworth County Durham and both brought up in working-class families. They met on the TV set on Catherine Cookson’s The Gambling Man – Si was the second assistant director and Dave, head of make-up. It was their united love of motorbikes and good grub that helped launch The Hairy Bikers – but it’s not always been an easy ride. In this episode, they discuss low-ratings and the Christmas special that was supposed to be their swan-song, Dave’s on-going battle with cancer and why Christmas means so much to them this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest is the actress, Tamsin Greig. She grew up in London with her parents, two sisters – 5 lodgers and a handful of cats. Her mother had been in amateur dramatics – and Tamsin, absorbed by osmosis, the yearning to perform at a young age. She graduated from the University of Birmingham with a first-class BA in Drama and Theatre – and then, worked at the Family Planning Association – before getting her foot in the door with her role as Debbie Aldridge in The Archers. Since then – she has had a glittering career on both the stage and on television. She has starred in some of Britain’s most loved sitcoms – from Black Books to Green Wing – and most recently, Friday Night Dinner. In this episode, she discusses what it’s like to juggle parenthood with working life, her love of trampolining and playing a baddie in Paramount’s new drama, Sexy Beast, based on the cult-classic gangster film of the 00s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this week’s episode of the Radio Times Podcast is the comedian, Jo Brand. Raised in Kent, she was a student at Tunbridge Wells Girls Grammar School and on a sure-fire path to Oxbridge. However, when her parents attempted to uproot her and move to Hastings, she revolted and left home as a teenager. She got her life back on track after accidentally setting the bed-sit she was living in on fire and trained as a psychiatric nurse – a career she pursued until she made a name for herself in the alternative comedy scene of the 1980s. The rest is history – she’s a BAFTA award-winning actress and a national treasure. In this episode she sits down with Kelly-Anne Taylor to discuss how her nursing days primed her for a career in comedy, how she never had a life-plan and why she never watches herself on panel shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, joining me, Kelly-Anne Taylor, on the Radio Times sofa, is the comedian who has been a staple on our televisions for almost two decades – Jack Whitehall. He broke into telly, aged 19, while presenting E4’s Big Brother’s Big Mouth – but he soon became a household name as a panellist on the likes of Would I Lie To You, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Mock the Week. His stand-up career has been glistening – with multiple sell-out shows, and he’s also made his mark in the world of TV and film – starring in Fresh Meat, Bad Education and most recently, Apple TV’s The Afterparty. In this episode, we talk about the highs and lows of his career, what it’s really like making a TV show with a parent and working on his American accent… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices