Blank Podcast with Giles Paley-Phillips & Jim Daly

Isy Suttie is an actress, musician, comedian and writer. Best known for role as Dobby in the multi-award winning Peep Show, Isy is also a hugely successful stand-up and is the author of the brilliant The Actual One. We met up with Isy a few weeks back, but Coronavirus was very much on all of our minds and was the basis of our conversation. The chat soon shifted to Isy's childhood in Derbyshire and her teen years experimenting with Quija boards and how she was the go to person at parties. We discussed creativity and when it isn't quite working, Isy reveals to us her favourite pastime of looking around derelict buildings and we talk about the destructive nature of social media. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theblankpodcast.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Watson is a British comedian and novelist, originally from Bristol, Mark has been a mainstay of the UK stand-up scene and has had several fiction titles published including Eleven and Hotel Alpha. We met with Mark down at Nordic Bar on what was an incredibly soggy day in London. We started our chat by talking about Seasonal affective disorder and how much the weather changes our moods. Mark told us about his early days doing stand-up and having adopted a Welsh accent, he explained the process of moving away from that and doing his own voice. We soon moved onto our online lives and negotiating social media and what are the best ways to stay being creative. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theblankpodcast.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Layla Anna-Lee is a television presenter best known for fronting live MMA action and interviewing the best footballers on the planet. She sat down with Giles and Jim at Nordic Bar in central London to talk about moments on live TV when things went wrong, dealing with social media trolls and the pressures of being a presenter. She also brought donuts to the pod, the first guest to do so, and the three of us rated an reviewed the treats she brought because why not? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theblankpodcast.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephen Mangan is an actor and writer. Born in London in 1968, Mangan began his acting career in theatre before moving in TV working with the likes of Armando Iannucci, Steve Coogan and in the Multi-Award winning Green Wing. In more recent years Stephen has moved away from more comedy roles to concentrate on drama, and has recently been in BBC One's The Split alongside Nicola Walker. We met with Stephen down in South London on a very brisk February morning. We began by talking about Stephen's early life as a young lad from a large catholic family, something that really resonated with Jim, who also came from similar beginnings. Stephen told us how he got into acting the loss of his mother at a young age was a pivotal moment in him pursuing his career. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theblankpodcast.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alastair Humphrey is an adventurer, author and public speaker, who has been National Geographic's Adventurer of the Year. Alastair has cycled the globe, busked through Spain and created a new movement of micro adventures. We started our chat with Alastair about his epic journey around the world, where he cycled some 46,000 miles over four years, we find out the darker times along the way, when Alastair thought he might give up, and also the experiences of kindness and seeing the best sides of humanity. Alastair brought along his violin for a short recital at the end of the pod and tells us how he achieved a journey across Spain by busking with it every day. Alastair is an adventurer through and through and it was a truly memorable interview for us. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theblankpodcast.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simon Brodkin is a comedian, performer and renowned prankster. Best known for his character Lee Nelson, which had several series broadcast on BBC 2, and more recently his high profile stunts which has seen Simon give Theresa May a P45 and gatecrash a Fifa press conference to throw money at Sepp Blatter. We met with Simon in Old Street a day or two ahead of his new stand-up tour, his first as himself. We discussed the process and differences this has been to doing character comedy shows and how it has been a freeing experience. Simon tells us about those times in the early days when playing tricks didn't always go to plan and his years working as a junior doctor before launching a career in comedy. Simon was on top form and sharply dissected Giles and Jim's patter throughout, leaving us, quite rightly, flustered and in fits of laughter. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theblankpodcast.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Dean is a writer and presenter, well known for her role alongside Frank Skinner on Absolute radio, she also presents the amazing Times podcast Walking the Dog and is the author of the incredible memoir 'Everybody died, so I got a dog' We met up with Emily on a dreary winter's day in London, and started our conversation by talking about how we cope in a crowd, and are we performing and analysing what we say afterwards, and the perceptions we create about ourselves from the others point of view. Emily tells us about her Bohemian upbringing and the desire to have the life of the various 'Dog families' she encountered, who had more settled and less chaotic lives. We discuss Emily's brilliant book and the many aspects of grief she has experienced, and continues to experience and what led her to get a dog and how Raymond has changed her life. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theblankpodcast.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jake Humphrey is a sports broadcaster and presenter. Originally from Norfolk, Jake started in Local TV before joining CBBC as a presenter. He's best known for presenting Formula One coverage and more recently BT Sports coverage of the Premier League. We headed down to Frequency Cafe near King's Cross to sit down for a natter with Jake over a very nice cup of coffee. Jake spoke to us about his upbringing and the encouragement and empathy he received from his parents, particularly during some challenging times at school due to be bullied. Jake explained his move into TV after failing his A-Levels and his subsequent rise to where he is now as a leading sports presenter. We discuss the many pitfalls of working in the football industry, with it's divisions of opinion and how Jake is trying to be a more positive and kind presence on social media, especially in light of Jake's own experiences with mental health in his early 20's Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theblankpodcast.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kerry Godliman is a comedian and actress, best known for her roles alongside Ricky Gervais in Derek and After Life. She is a regular on BBC Two's Mock the Week and has toured extensively doing stand up for around 20 years. Giles and Jim travelled down to West London to meet up with Kerry just before Christmas. We started by chatting about politics and Kerry having to do extensive research for her role on Mock the Week, before diving into growing up and getting into drama at school. Kerry talks about why she doesn't believe in luck, how her love of acting has helped her craft her stand up and it's difficult to make people laugh when you're feeling sad. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theblankpodcast.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dame Kelly Holmes is a one of Britain's best loved and most high decorated athletes and what better person to help celebrate our 50th Episode. We met up with Dame Kelly at Acast Studios to chat about all things Blank, she talked about her time in the army and how the levels of discipline helped her when competing as an athlete. We discussed the difficult moments that come when form dips and how one such period became incredible challenging. Kelly also opens up on how she has been affected by grief in recent years, about being her own person and the power of 'Come ON!" Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theblankpodcast.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices