Dive into the depths of youthful infatuation with this week's episode featuring the incomparable Nikita Lalwani! Nikita is a Booker nominated novelist and screenwriter, but we talk about all sorts of nonsense despite that. From trying to win the heart of the chess geeks with brain power, to psychically revisiting crushes years later to mine stories for her books, we dive deep into the murky waters of teenage longing. It's a fab episode. Hope you enjoy it. For exclusive access to ad-free episodes...
May 10, 2024•1 hr
I really feel like I met my twin in today's episode. Lucia Keskin (aka, @ChiwithaC wherever you find your social medias) of the brilliant sitcom Things You Should Have Done, chats with me about her formative crushes, including Roni Mitchell and Kristin Chenowith. And who doesn't love a Broadway chanteuse-y. As always, if you want to find the show online, it is crushedbymcs.substack.com - you can sign up there for an ad free version of the show if that's your thing, or just come and hang out, and...
Apr 26, 2024•57 min
I get to interview someone I have been a fan of for years and years today - the brilliant and iconic Helen Lederer (Ledgenderer more like. It's going to catch on). I found the clip of her on Wogan that I mention in the intro. To make it even more enthralling, it's a real pleasure to see how confused Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan are by the whole thing. Forgot they were on the sofa too! Watch that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIvbOA8XLgw We talk about trying to phone Mickey Dolenz from...
Apr 12, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 56
A brilliant episode this week with the hilarious BAFTA-winning actress Kimberley Nixon (Fresh Meat, Cranford, Agatha Christie's Marple) The automatically AI-generated show notes for this ep included the phrase '(Kim) discusses her rich fantasy life and how she can play out multiple scenarios in her head', but let's be honest: that barely scratches the surface here. From her suave encounter with J Smith Cameron, to sliding in to Megan Ganz's DMs, to her lifelong crush on her husband (d'aww..), yo...
Mar 29, 2024•1 hr 8 min
This week's guest is the amazing Elizabeth Day (How To Fail podcast and author of Friendaholic) who joins me in poring over her many and varied crushes - from a teenage Peter Phillips to Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables - as well as the time she brought a dead bat into school. It was such a funny chat - I loved spending an hour in her company and know that you will too! As always, if you want to find out more, we are crushedbymcs.substack.com – you can join as a member for an ad free ver...
Mar 15, 2024•1 hr 7 min
It's a glorious one this week from Cuddle Club's own Lou Sanders! Pin back your ears for tales of chasing boys down in parks, hosting parties to impress boys, and why she'd give it all up for the romantic allure of a cosy retirement with Keanu Reeves. One. Not. To. Miss. As always, if you want to find us, we are crushedbymcs.substack.com - you can sign up there for an ad free version of the show if that's your thing, or just come and hang out. And if you're going to be in Machynlleth for the Com...
Mar 01, 2024•52 min
Now, I'm not a fan of the most romantic day of the year TM. In fact I like it so little that I banned celebrating it when I got together with my now husband and 21 years later, we have yet to eat an overpriced meal in mid-February. So, for a treat this week Isy Suttie and I sat down to discuss V-Day - the highs, the lows, and why it might have been most enjoyable in our primary school years. Hope you like it, whether you listen today with a rose and a glass of fizz, or at your leisure (have the ...
Feb 14, 2024•1 hr 3 min
I think you are going to enjoy this episode. My guest is the wonderful Sarah Hadland (who you'll probably know from Miranda, and The Job Lot and Quantum of Solace). She is wonderfully indiscreet about her early crushes/kidnapping attempts (depending on what side of the curtain you were on); and about briefly meeting some of her more famous crushes through work. Her Brandon Flowers story really tickled me. Hope you like it! As always, if you want to find us, we are crushedbymcs.substack.com - you...
Feb 02, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 51
Just squeezing in to January, it's our Best Bits 2023. It was such a blast listening back to the interviews we've had over the last year. It honestly made me want to go back and revisit all of these conversations again in full. So, I hope you enjoy this short dip back into the past. From Alison Spittle, explaining the huge part Morrissey played in her early Crush-life (before he let us all down), to Juliet Cowan sharing my passion for Union Leader Mick Lynch, via Rosie Jones talking about using ...
Jan 26, 2024•38 min•Ep. 50
My guest this week is the easily embarrassed Athena Kugblenu, talking about her teen crushes. We dredge our memories for long forgotten 90s boy bands, ponder when an older man is too old and decide whether our allegiance was to George Clooney or Goran Višnjić in the great E.R. Crush Wars of 1999. It's a fantastic episode - not least because Athena seems genuinely embarrassed, and that's always very funny. You can hear more of her in BBC Sounds' DMs are Open which is out now. And more of us next ...
Jan 19, 2024•55 min•Ep. 49
Happy New Year Crushos! This episode is a great one to kick us off - in fact it might be my favourite ever episode. Is that disloyal to all the other episodes? I don't know. It's how I feel now. It features the glorious Kerry Howard on starting slow, and ending up a female incel - taking in scenic stops at how best an 8 year old can compliment a girl in his class, and when Jimmy Carr lost his virginity. It's a hoot. By the way, if you hear what sounds like a lot of heavy breathing, it's not, the...
Jan 05, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 48
Hi all, this week's show features someone I have known for more than 20 years - writer and performer Barunka O'Shaughnessy, as I think you'll be able to tell from the level of giggling. Barunka has a list of credits as long as your arm, including Motherland, Up the Women and Hunderby. But by the end of this episode you'll know her best as a woman with a fine set of childhood crushes - including indie goth legend Robert Smith. Hope you enjoy it. We'll be back the other side of Christmas with a ch...
Dec 22, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 47
My guest this week is actor and Penny Dreadful - David Reed. I love his attitude to crushes - and indeed, his attitude to this conversation. He said afterwards "sorry if I didn't answer all your questions, I had a lot of things I wanted to get off my chest", and I think this is one of those episodes that really digs in to the the loneliness and longing of early unrequited crushes. It's still a funny episode - don't panic. He's very funny and very charming, otherwise, this would just be therapy. ...
Dec 08, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 46
Holly Burn is my wonderful guest this week, and it's one of my giggliest episodes. You may not know Holly - but she's one of my favourite people. Really open and honest, and this conversation is honestly incredible. We mainly talk about one of her earliest crushes on her friend's brother, and it all gets a bit deep and therapeutic. And very, very funny. Thank you Holly for sharing your inner turmoil so generously. If this wets your appetite for more madness, Holly is appearing in Harry Hill's ne...
Nov 24, 2023•54 min•Ep. 45
Megan Ganz, the amazing writer whose work includes Community and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (and co-host of The Always Sunny Podcast) is my guest this week, as we swap stories about crushes real and fictional, and politely mark our territory with regards to Hugh Laurie. He's mine, back off buster. Expect teenage angst aplenty, alongside 90s nostalgia for the now-traditional animated crush of the week - in this case Trent, from Daria. We'll also have a little insight into one of our former...
Nov 10, 2023•59 min•Ep. 44
I'm so excited to share this episode. I've been looking forward to putting it out since we recorded it with lovely, lovely Sarah Millican at the Leicester Square Theatre in July. In a cupboard, in case you thought podcasting was always glamorous. Sarah was in town recording RHLSTP with Richard Herring, so I managed to catch up with her backstage to chat about her crushes - pure and not so pure. It's a brilliant episode, full of stuff that made me HARD RELATE - and also has some excellent advice ...
Oct 27, 2023•57 min•Ep. 43
This week, Margaret Cabourn-Smith steps into the world of unrequited infatuation with the delightfully frank Anna Richardson, host of Channel 4's "Naked Attraction." Anna reveals her formative crushes and the candid tales behind them, from memorable encounters with Tom Cruise to playful - if unsuccessful - flirtations with Mick Hucknall and the alluring mystique of a certain hot priest. It'll have you reminiscing about your own past crushes, and maybe even blushing a little. Or a lot, when they ...
Oct 13, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 42
It's a bumper episode today - true tales of lust and heartbreak from the fabulous Caitlin Moran and Sali Hughes, sharing anecdotes as only best mates can. This episode is a romp through their lives in crush form, from Hip Hop Dads, to toilet graffiti. Thanks for listening! love you! Margaret xx Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 29, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 41
Hello! In this episode, I talk to Ghosts' Kiell Smith-Bynoe about his crushes and unrequited loves. From a primary school wedding, to dating his parents' best friend's daughter, and falling in love with the prettiest girl on the bus - it's a funny, silly, set of stories. Do come over and say hello on Substack if you haven't - we post there infrequently, so won't bombard you, but it's a good way to get details of gigs when we're doing them. Talking of gigs - we're at The London Podcast Festival o...
Sep 15, 2023•53 min•Ep. 40
Hot off the editing desk, here is a very special episode recorded at the Soho Theatre in last month. A glorious mash up of Crushed and The Guilty Feminist, with one of my favourite stand ups, Sindhu Vee, and one of my first ever guests, the glorious Deborah Frances White. Expect indiscretion galore, plenty of embarrassment and more than a little smut. And if you've got a taste for the live episodes, don't wait a moment longer! Hop over to the London Podcast Festival and book a ticket for our liv...
Sep 01, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 39
Tatty MacLeod joins Margaret to talk about crushes and unrequited love. We talk about the procrastination crush; how a cute guy in a library can improve your mood; and why French and English women approach crushes very differently. We've just announced our guests for the London Podcast Festival - Caitlin Moran and Sali Hughes. Do not miss it, it's going to be a riot. Not literally, hopefully. Though with those two... Tickets available here: https://shop.kingsplace.co.uk/29529/29532 I think we've...
Aug 18, 2023•53 min•Ep. 38
It's an Edinburgh special with Non-Censored's Rosie Holt making time to talk to me before she heads to the festival. It's the most wonderful time of the year - I met some of my favourite crushes, and one of my favourite husbands in Edinburgh, after all. Rosie's Crush journey is full of lovely moments - from the Guardian reading, sarcastic boy in the sixth form common room, to the pressure of living up to a will-they won't-they build up. I definitely felt we have a lot in common. Or at least, we'...
Aug 04, 2023•49 min•Ep. 37
Hello Crushos, here is a joyous chat with the lovely Allusionist, Helen Zaltzman. We had such a wide ranging chat - from youthful crushes that lasted years, to Judy Blume's bluest YA novel Forever, and the love of - well I would say a man in uniform, but I think Detective Inspector Morse is in plain clothes so that doesn't quite work. Let's just say, a man with a badge... And if you like badges (segue!) look out for tickets for the two live events we have coming up. On 12th August we're doing a ...
Jul 21, 2023•50 min•Ep. 36
Hello my fabulous Crushing friends! New logo, new platform (hello Auddy!) and new episode.... This week is awesome Nish Kumar who talks me through a whole lot of romantic failure and nerdy fantasy. There’s also some good gossip about comic Ed Gamble, which is especially good as Ed refuses to do the show. He joins a list of people who find the sheer EMBARRASSMENT of the topic too much. It’s interesting - comics tend to lean one way or the other (the other being a desperation to unburden themselve...
Jul 07, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 35
Stand up and host of the brilliant Succession podcast Firecrotch and Normcore, Sara Barron, is Margaret's guest this week. It's a very giggly show that lurches from the pitfalls of writing tween erotica, falling in love with Elliot after Elliot, the improbably named Baskin twins (no relation to Carol, I assume) and the allure of a bad boy. Or even, a boy who knows a bad boy. Margaret is still locked out of her Twitter (Elon, if you're listening, could you step up?) so do follow her (and the show...
Jun 23, 2023•54 min•Ep. 34
Actress Juliet Cowan is our guest this week, and Hoo Boy, this week's episode has it all, from gaslighting French pen pals (aged 12), to sisterly love rivalry, via far too long spent lusting over discussing Top Trade Union Totty Mick Lynch. It's lovely and mad, and very relatable content. Especially if you fancy Mick Lynch, but honestly - even if you don't. But why wouldn't you? He's a fine man. Oh dear. I seem to have come over a bit unnecessary. In admin news, we're putting together a live sho...
Jun 09, 2023•58 min•Ep. 33
The lovely Sue Perkins joins Margaret Cabourn-Smith this week to talk about her crushes - from high-kicking, back-flipping martial artists to wise-cracking Marion Ravenwood - Indiana Jones's brilliant love interest in Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's a brilliant, funny and occasionally moving conversation - hope you love it as much as we do. As always, do feel free to get in touch on Twitter and don't forget to follow us on Substack - @crushedbymcs or crushedbymcs.substack.com We love to hear from ...
May 26, 2023•56 min•Ep. 32
Eleanor Morton talks cartoon crushes, actors who weren't problematic in the 80s but sure are now, and the Yeo Valley Yoghurt Boys with fellow crush addict Margaret Cabourn-Smith. We had an absolute blast in The Swallow Theatre at Machynlleth Comedy Festival. We gained a beautiful embroidered logo from the lovely @purplestrawbs1 (follow her on Twitter for some gorgeous embroidered love of Taskmaster and Three Bean Salad); found a jar of pickle that went out of date three years ago; and gave a dog...
May 12, 2023•59 min•Ep. 31
Otegha Uwagba - writer, speaker and total crushaholic - is Margaret's guest this week. They've got a lot in common. Otegha tells Margaret about her first crush - who went on to be a famous actor; and the impact Peter Andre had on her in his Mysterious Girl video. From uni crushes, work dalliances, to flying across the world to stalk meet the object of her affections... Twice. Frankly, it's too much to fit in an episode! Followers of Margaret on Twitter will know already that she's currently lock...
Apr 28, 2023•56 min•Ep. 30
It's a very special throwback Friday episode today - Margaret's guest is her former Do The Right Thing collaborator Danielle Ward. There's plenty of discussion of why stand ups make terrible boyfriends, which two qualities you'd have to have to date Danielle, and some frankly filthy discussion of the hottest star of Red Dwarf - Chris Barrie. Yes, you read that right. Chris Barrie. I.... can't quite explain it. Mind soap at the ready. When you've finished listening, why not hop over to see us at ...
Apr 14, 2023•51 min•Ep. 29
