Graham Coxon is a musician, singer-songwriter, painter and is a founding member and lead guitarist in the rock band Blur. We talked to Graham about his early musical influences whilst growing up in Colchester, Essex and eventually starting a band with long term collaborator Damon Albarn. He speaks openly to us about his experiences with alcoholism, his recovery and the enjoyment of writing his solo work. PLUS we have bonus content for our Patrons available at patreon.com/blankpodcast Massive tha...
May 17, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 117
Steve Pemberton is an actor, writer and comedian. Best known as a member of The League of Gentlemen alongside Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson. Steve and Reece have also co-written and starred in the sitcom Psychoville and the comedy-drama anthology series Inside No. 9. Steve has also starred in shows like Benidorm, Worzel Gummidge and Killing Eve. We talked to Steve about his time at Bretton Hall where he met the other members of The League of Gentleman, and how that collaboratio...
May 10, 2021•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 116
Rosie Jones is a comedian, writer and actor who has risen to stardom in the past 18 months in the UK. She has written for panel shows like Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule, Would I Lie to You?, The Last Leg and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and has appeared as a guest on most of them too.She has also written hit Netflix show Sex Education and hosts the podcast Daddy Look at Me with Helen Bauer. Rosie talks to Giles and Jim about living and performing with ataxic cerebral palsy, what it's like t...
May 03, 2021•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 115
Taj Atwal is an actor best known for playing the role of "Jasminder" in BAFTA Cymru award winning comedy "Stella" aired on Sky1. She has also played a number of guest roles in comedies such as "Miranda" and "In with the Flynn's" as well as featuring in BBC Line Of Duty and upcoming BBC show The Syndicate. She spoke to Giles and Jim about taking up singing during lockdown, how she got into acting, ripspeed, cold showers and giving yourself a break. @tatwal1 @blankpod Learn more about your ad choi...
Apr 29, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 114
Henry Winter is the most well known football journalist in the UK. He is currently the Chief Football Writer for The Times, having previously written for The Daily Telegraph and The Independent. He has been a regular on Sky Sports' long-running football review programme The Sunday Supplement, BBC 5Live and has ghost-written many footballer's autobiographies including Kenny Dalglish, John Barnes and Steven Gerrard. Henry chats to Jim and Giles about their team Crystal Palace, getting into journal...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 113
Paterson Joseph is an actor and writer. Best known for his appearances in films like The Beach and Aeon Flux and roles in iconic TV shows like Peep Show and most recently BBC Noughts and Crosses. We talked to Paterson about writing his new book 'The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho', how we all deal with taking notes and the balancing act of social media and creative work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 19, 2021•2 hr 3 min•Ep. 112
A special episode to announcement to let you guys know that we have written a book! It's called Blank: Why it's Fine to Falter and Fail, And How To Pick Yourself Up Again and it's OUT NOW!!! We are joined by Celine Hughes, our fantastic Senior Commissioning Editor from Quadrille Publishing, who has published the book to talk about why they acquired the book and the process of how a book goes from an idea to a fully-formed thing. Our book explores many of the themes that crop up on the podcast wi...
Apr 14, 2021•1 hr 15 min
Nick Offerman is an actor, comedian, writer and professional woodworker. Best known for his TV roles in Parks and Recreations, Devs and Fargo and films including We're the Mill, 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie. We talked to Nick from his house in the hills of LA about his love of writer Wendell Berry, his journey into acting from his rural home in Illinois to his theatre days in Chicago and his passion for learning and discovery through farming and nature Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...
Apr 12, 2021•2 hr 9 min•Ep. 111
Deborah Frances-White is a comedian, author and screenwriter who is founder of the Guilty Feminist comedy network, which help multiple charities, especially relating to refugees and/or human rights. She hosts the podcasts Global Pillage and The Guilty Feminist and is a prominent voice in the fight for equality. Deborah chats to Giles and Jim about her comedy journey, escaping the Jehovah's Witnesses and how the comedy industry still has a long way to go to make is an equal experience for all. @D...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 110
Tamzin Merchant is an actor and writer best known for her roles in 2005's Pride and Prejudice, The Tudors and most recently Amazon Prime's Carnival Row alongside Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne. Her first book for children 'The Hatmakers' came out in February 2021 with Puffin Books. We talked to Tamzin about the inspiration around her new book and her writing process. We discussed the ever-present feeling of imposter syndrome that stalks all creatives, and how Tamzin deals with her own moments...
Mar 29, 2021•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 109
Vicky McClure is a Bafta award-winning actress and presenter. Best known for her roles as DI Kate Fleming BBC's Line of Duty and Lol in Shane Meadows This Is England film and subsequent series on Channel 4. In 2019 she made a very personal documentary called Our Dementia Choir, which showed the powerful and positive impact music has on those with all different types of dementia. Vicky tells us about her early days of performing and moving from her original love of dancing into acting and the TV ...
Mar 23, 2021•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 108
Miranda Raison is an actor known for her many theatre, television and film roles, with an extensive back catalogue of performances, including appearances on Spooks, Doctor Who, Silk and Spotless on Canal+ amongst others. She spoke to Giles and Jim about getting into acting, expanding into voice over work, speaking French and by association Jim's terrible French skills. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theblankpodcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn m...
Mar 16, 2021•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 107
Mathew Horne is a British actor, comedian, and writer. Best known for his work with Catherine Tate and for playing Gavin in Gavin and Stacey, Mathew has been a prolific stage and screen actor, most recently playing Raymond in Rain Man. We talked to Mathew about his career where he initially started in comedy whilst studying at Manchester University, and how that eventually led to a now, 20-year collaboration with comedian Catherine Tate. Mathew tells us about ambition never being at the heart of...
Mar 09, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 106
Troy Townsend is Head of Development for Kick It Out, football's quality and inclusion organisation. A key part of Troy's work is addressing gaps in representation across all areas of the game and includes delivering equality and diversity workshops to English Football League (EFL) and scholars with the League Football Education (LFE). We talked to Troy about his early life and how the lack of encouragement and supportive role models in his life at that time lead him to stop pursuing a playing c...
Mar 02, 2021•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 105
Jill Halfpenny is one of the most recognisable faces on British TV. Her notable roles include Rebecca Hopkins in ITV soap opera Coronation Street; Kate Mitchell in BBC One soap opera EastEnders; Izzie Redpath in Waterloo Road; and Diane Manning in In The Club. She won the second series of the television dance contest Strictly Come Dancing in 2004. Jill talked to Giles and Jim about auditions, self doubt, following your gut feeling and getting a book of poetry from Ken Loach. Support this show ht...
Feb 23, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 104
Harry Lawtey is a British actor most recently seen in HBO/BBC series Industry We talked to Harry about his early life living in Cyprus and moving to London on his own to study acting and performance and how it was hard to be away from home. Harry tells us about working on Industry and learning more about the finance industry to prepare for the role. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theblankpodcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad ch...
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 103
Sophia Myles is an actor known for her roles inThunderbirds, Isolde in Tristan & Isolde, Darcy in Transformers: Age of Extinction, Erika in Underworld and Underworld: Evolution and Freya in Outlander. We spoke to Sophia about her early life growing up in Notting Hill and being the daughter of a vicar. Sophia spoke candidly about her life and work as an actor and opened up about her mental health and how she is trying to come terms with the effects it has had on her wellbeing. Support this sh...
Feb 09, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 102
Mike Fenton Stevens is an actor, comedian and podcaster. He is best known for being a founder member of The Hee Bee Gee Bees and the voice behind the Spitting Image 1986 number 1 hit "The Chicken Song". He was a prominent member in the birth of the alternative comedy scene in England in the 180s and also starred in KYTV, its Radio 4 predecessor, Radio Active and Benidorm as Sir Henry since Series 4 which was first broadcast in 2011, and as an anchor on 3rd & Bird on CBeebies. Mike chats to J...
Feb 02, 2021•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 101
Stephen Fry is a writer, comedian and actor. A prolific career spanning some over 35 years, Stephen Fry has become an icon of British TV, film and literature and a genuine national treasure. We caught up with Stephen while he was in LA and began our conversation by talking about America and how it has changed since the time Stephen spent there filming his documentary series 'In America'. Stephen shares his ideas and thoughts around the role of art and how realism has been somewhat sidelined by f...
Jan 26, 2021•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 100
Hayley Tamaddon is an multi-talented actor, who is best known for her TV roles as Del Dingle in Emmerdale, Andrea Beckett in Coronation Street and as Calista in Shameless but has performed on stage in many huge productions. She spoke to Giles and Jim about how she landed her first big roles in theatre and the graft it took to get there. She also described being thrust into the fame spotlight after landing that role on Emmerdale and the perils of social media, how in particular she strives to kee...
Jan 19, 2021•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 99
Fred Sirieix is a presenter, TV personality and maître d'hôtel, best known for his work on Channel 4's First Dates, BBC's Remarkable Places to Eat, Snackmasters and ITV's Gordon, Gino and Fred's Road Trip. We talked to Fred about his early experiences with food and making his way in the industry, going from training to be a chef to working front of house. Fred tells us about his difficult moments when his career wasn't quite going the way he wanted and the beauty of connecting and talking to all...
Jan 12, 2021•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 98
Sian Harries is a writer, comedian and actress. Sian has written for both television and radio. She co-wrote both Greg Davies's Man Down for Channel 4 and 2018 sitcom, The Tourist Trap, starring Sally Phillips, for the BBC. Known by her closest friends as The Giggler, we spent almost the entire podcast laughing at everything from school plays, live comedy performances and terrible names for super villains. We also discussed collaboration min comedy and putting your trust in others when it comes ...
Jan 05, 2021•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 97
Charlotte Hawkins is our special guests for this Christmas eve episode! Charlotte is a television and radio presenter, newsreader and journalist, currently getting up at stupid o'clock to brighten our mornings on Good Morning Britain on ITV. She also hosts a show on Classic FM and talks to Giles and Jim about her love of Classical Music. She also discusses how she got into news and she and Jim swap stories about the joys of working in local news and Fred Dinenage. She also talks about how she de...
Dec 24, 2020•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 96
Naomi Wilkinson is a television presenter, actress and producer, best known for her work in children's televsion on Cbeebies and Channels 5's milkshake. We started our chat by talking to Naomi about her time working at Butlins as a a Red Coats and how that was in someways a launchpad for her career in presenting. She admits that being a presenter on children's TV was always the dream job having watched shows like Choc A Block and Play Away as a child. We chatted about the challenges of working f...
Dec 21, 2020•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 95
Kevin Day is a national treasure and one of the Uk's most recognised and well known standup comedians and comedy writers. Kevin came to prominence in the British alternative comedy stand up scene of the late eighties and early nineties, and quickly was MCing The Comedy Store. He has gone on to tour extensively, play the Edinburgh Fringe almost every year since the early 90s and write for multiple shows including Have I Got News For You and League Of Their Own. Kevin talks to Giles and Jim about ...
Dec 15, 2020•2 hr 33 min•Ep. 94
Ian Rankin is a multi-award winning novelist and writer. Best known for his novels based in Edinburgh starring DI John Rebus and in more recent years DI Malcolm Fox, Ian Rankin has regularly contributed to BBC Arts Review and several documentaries for Channel 4 and BBC Four. We talked to Ian from his flat in Edinburgh and began by chatting about his first tools for writing, including the jotting pads from the school equipment cupboard. Ian tells us about feeling like a bit of an outsider growing...
Dec 08, 2020•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 93
Emma Kennedy is a writer, comedian, actress and Lego guru. Originally trained as a solicitor, Emma moved into acting and live performance and then onto writing. Her books include The Tent, The Bucket and Me, which went on to be adapted in a BBC Series called The Kennedys. In 2012 Emma won Celebrity Masterchef. We started our conversation with Emma and Giles comparing Lego sets, a passion for them both. Emma tells us about her accidental move into acting and how writing has always been her first ...
Dec 01, 2020•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 92
Janet Devlin is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter who competed in the eighth series of X-Factor in 2011 where she finished in fifth place. Devlin's debut album was released in 2012 and her second studio album Confessional was released this year. Jane is incredibly open about her career in the music industry and all the ups and downs that has brought her so far, including her struggles with alcoholism and addiction and getting screwed over by record labels. She talks honestly and candidly with G...
Nov 24, 2020•2 hr 44 min•Ep. 91
Laura Whitmore is a radio broadcaster, TV presenter, writer and podcaster. Laura's first big gig was presenting for MTV, which led to her then presenting on ITV's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! More recently Laura has presented her own show on Radio 5Live, as well as being the presenter for ITV's Love Island and team captain on Celebrity Juice. Laura also presents many podcasts including Cast Away, a podcast about podcasts. We spoke to Laura from her home in London and started by chatting a...
Nov 17, 2020•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 90
Legendary radio and television presenter Nicky Campbell has been a mainstay of British broadcasting for decades. He has presented the BBC Radio 5 Live breakfast programme since 2003, BBC One's Sunday morning show The Big Questions since 2007, and Long Lost Family on ITV since 2011. He presented the game show Wheel of Fortune from 1988 until 1996, and the consumer affairs programme Watchdog from 2001 to 2009. He joins Giles and Jim to chat about his established career, the ups and downs of live b...
Nov 10, 2020•2 hr 7 min•Ep. 89
