It's been a long journey, but finally Joanne is ready to close the book on Furby. She's learned about their rise to fame, and the rumours of espionage. And she's done her best to de-bunk them, by intrusively opening one up for examination, speaking to experts, and tracking down the man behind the marketing. But as the sun sets on her quest, she still needs to find out why the rumour began in the first place. And she needs to speak to David Hampton - the inventor. That journey takes her via TikTo...
Oct 09, 2024•27 min•Season 2Ep. 7
So far in the series, Joanne has been getting more and more concerned about the amount of listening and surveillance which is all around her. And to make matters WORSE, her producers then take her to visit the worlds biggest listening station - on a hillside in North Yorkshire. Intrigued and terrified in equal measure - Joanne starts to wonder why it even exists, and why America was so worried about Furbys when they have an entire fleet of listening devices in the UK! Joanne then speaks to her p...
Oct 02, 2024•32 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Determined to get to the bottom of the rumours once and for all, Joanne lines up a meeting with one of the marketing brains behind the toy. She learns that the scandals which rocked Furby in 1998 did wonders for it's sales... and she wonders if it's still popular today because of the mystery around it. Joanne also journeys to a toy shop, to do some hands-on research. And she finds out that the Furby is so coveted that it's kept inside a sealed glass container. We also hear from an expert who exp...
Sep 25, 2024•34 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Rocked by Gearoid’s suggestion that the Furby could have been adapted by secret organisations to be a real actual spy, Joanne travels to the north of England, and visits a shop which specialises in selling covert gadgets. She discovers that for a modest sum of money she can be the proud owner of multiple listening bugs...and while using them is a legal minefield – please do your own research to make sure you don’t fall foul of the law – she hears that that there are no shortage of customers. Joa...
Sep 18, 2024•33 min•Season 2Ep. 4
After falling in love with a Furby in episode 1, Joanne begins looking for evidence on its spying capabilities. So – with the help of Gearoid, she decides to open up a Furby for a closer look. The operation is complex, and a little gruesome, but once inside, the pair discover that the Furby is fitted with an abundance of electronics. To understand how it all worked, Joanne consults the operating manual. And she discovers that the Furby really was advanced for its time, and she tests its comedy p...
Sep 11, 2024•35 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Joanne McNally is back on the investigative trail…. and with the Avril / Melissa theory no longer giving her sleepless nights, she’s keen to find a new story to get her teeth into. Helped by her loyal gaggle of fans, she draws up a list of options, and then sets down with friend and ‘original sleuth’ Joe Lycett to go through them. Top of her list, after some deliberation is a story from the late 90’s… about a soft toy, the Furby, which took over the world and became the no.1 gift for Christmas. ...
Sep 11, 2024•34 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Joanne McNally is back on the investigative trail…. and with the Avril / Melissa theory no longer giving her sleepless nights, she’s keen to find a new story to get her teeth into. Top of her list, after some deliberation is a story from the late 90’s… about a soft toy, the Furby, which took over the world and became the no.1 gift for Christmas. But Joanne has found headlines that claim the toy was banned, suspected of being a spy, linked to international espionage… there couldn’t be any truth t...
Sep 03, 2024•4 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Joanne is back Canada… she has something she really needs to tell Avril. After months of digging – Joanne has finally tracked down the source of this rumour. SO Avril DEFINITELY didn’t get replaced. That just wasn’t true. Which is great… but it does beg the question, who WAS Melissa? Who Replaced Avril Lavigne? Joanne McNally Investigates is a 6-part series produced by What’s The Story Sounds – for BBC Sounds and CBC.
Apr 10, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Joanne was beginning to come to terms with the fact that this might all be nonsense. She turns her sights on who started this conspiracy. Where did it come from? Joanne speaks to experts in online rumour spreading. She hears some extraordinary stories about how lies have gotten completely out of hand and become widely believed (to devastating effect.) Perhaps whoever started this had no idea it would go viral. We really should think more carefully about what we write on the internet… Who Replace...
Apr 03, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Joanne and her producer Sophie set up a war room with all of the evidence about Avril being replaced layed out. Her clothing, height, make up, song lyrics, voice.. it’s all there – being held up to the light. Joanne lines up some experts to prove once and for all if the Avril story is true. Who Replaced Avril Lavigne? Joanne McNally Investigates is a 6-part series produced by What’s The Story Sounds – for BBC Sounds and CBC.
Mar 27, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Avril’s career hit something of a bump in the road. At one point she appeared to fall off the radar completely, all while the rumours about her being replaced were swirling. Can a fake death story literally kill your career? One man who knows is Dave Benson Phillips. He was a children’s TV presenter, on a path to great things. Until… he died. The TV offers dried up. His theatre tour got canceled. The impact on his life was immense. And Dave’s not the only one. Joanne hears about death rumours fo...
Mar 20, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Joanne arrives in Napanee, Ontario – Avril’s hometown. She plunges into Avril’s early career. The young superstar-Avril was under a lot of scrutiny and pressure. Was she itching to step out of the spotlight? Plus, Joanne learns body-doubles ARE a thing, and not just in the movies. Joanne chats with celebrity pal Joe Lycett – and he agrees having a body double would get them out of all sorts of engagements they don’t really want to do. Who Replaced Avril Lavigne? Joanne McNally Investigates is a ...
Mar 13, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Joanne LOVES conspiracy theories… and there’s one she can’t get out of her head. Is it true that Avril Lavigne died, and was replaced by a body double? Joanne digs deep into the rumour mill, and the more she reads, the more she finds herself believing it. Who Replaced Avril Lavigne? Joanne McNally Investigates is a 6-part series produced by What’s The Story Sounds – for BBC Sounds and CBC.
Mar 06, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 2
There’s a story going around, that punk-pop sensation Avril Lavigne ISN’T who you think she is. That she was replaced at the start of her career by a look a-like. It’s an internet conspiracy theory which has been eating comedian Joanne McNally ALIVE, and she’s going to do something about it. In this 6-part series, Joanne immerses herself in a mind-bending world of fake celebrity deaths, doppelgangers, conspiracies in an effort to understand how this rumour started, and if there’s any truth to it...
Feb 26, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1
