Blank Podcast with Giles Paley-Phillips & Jim Daly

Mark Gatiss is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock. Together with Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Jeremy Dyson, he is a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen. His most recent work includes roles in The Favourite, and the forthcoming Good Omens and Dracula. We met with Mark at Acast HQ on a crisp spring morning for a nice chat and a cuppa in one of the recording rooms which we all agreed could double for the lair of a Bond Villain. Mark and Giles began by acknowledging their love of County Durham, where Mark grew up and Giles spent many childhood summers. Mark tells us about his time at drama school where he originally met the other members of The League of Gentlemen, and his love of the macabre and in particular Hammer Horror. We talked Brexit and social media, as often happens on BLANK and the idea that some people appear to want to go back to a time when things were actually pretty grim. 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

Caroline Lucas is MP for Brighton Pavilion. She was elected as the UK's first Green Member of Parliament in 2010. Born in Worcestershire, Lucas graduated from the University of Exeter and received a PhD from the University of Exeter in 1989. Caroline is a campaigner and writer on green economics, localisation, alternatives to globalisation, trade justice, animal welfare and food and most recently has been a vocal supporter of the 'People's Vote' a campaign group calling for a public vote on the final Brexit deal between the UK and the European Union. Giles and Jim headed down to sunny Brighton to meet with Caroline at her constituency offices to talk all things BLANK. Caroline talked to us about her early life and how she became interested in Politics and particularly Green Politics through the writing of Jonathan Porritt's and his book 'Seeing Green' We discussed the state of British politics and the toxicity aimed at MPs on social media. Jim asks about the current turmoil surrounding Brexit, while Giles poses the question as to whether politics is now broken. 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

Julia Bradbury is an English television presenter, specialising in documentaries. She is best known for co-presenting the BBC's Countryfile from 2004 until 2014. She also presented Watchdog (2005–2009) and Planet Earth Live (2012) for the BBC and Take on the Twisters (2013), The Wonder of Britain (2015) and Britain's Best Walks (2017) for ITV. Julia's most recent project has seen her travelling around Australia in an eight-part series for ITV We met up with Julia in central London for a catch up and a cuppa, she told us all about her early career on pioneering news shows with Janet Street-Porter and her early desires to work in marketing as a copywriter. Julia explains how she avoids BLANK moments by continuing to hustle and that by staying busy she can sometimes buy herself more time. Jim and Giles trade stories about small town nightclubs and Julia tells us why she tried to design her own nightclub as a teenager called Cocaine! 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

Warren Dudley is a screenwriter, producer and director, who work includes the feature film The Bromley Boys starring Alan Davis, Brenock O'Connor and Martine McCutcheon, horror film Cage and most recently Amazon Prime comedy series, Seaside Town a mock documentary about a local football team Warren spoke to Giles and Jim at length about his writing process, what inspires his work and how cruel reviewers can be on social media for some of his films.We discuss those moments we are distracted by our work and we couldn't not bring up our own football rivalries  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

Louis Theroux is an American-British documentary filmmaker, journalist and broadcaster. Theroux is best known for his documentary series, including Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends, When Louis Met..., and many BBC specials, including most recently his series Altered States. His career started in journalism and it bears the influences of notable writers in his family, such as his father Paul and his brother Marcel. The BBC has produced all of his documentaries and television series. He has received two British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award for his work. 2017 saw the release of Louis' first feature film 'My Scientology Movie'  Giles and Jim met up with Louis down at Nordic Bar just after Christmas while Louis was taking a break from writing his new autobiography. We discussed many aspects of Louis' early career and how a mundane job in a glass blowing workshop led to him focussing his attention to other creative endeavours. Jim tells Louis about the time he nearly got sued for libel and we find out why Blankness is ever present in Louis' 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

Daniel Tuite was born in Somerset, England and trained at The Rose Bruford College of Speech And Drama in London. He has performed extensively on stage, notably in The 39 Steps at London's Criterion Theatre, as well as productions at the National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Donmar Warehouse, Chichester Festival Theatre and The Open Air Theatre in Regents Park, where he played Boo Radley in the award-winning production of To Kill A Mockingbird. He plays several musical instruments and has toured much of the world playing in the band Aqualung, as well as contributing to the albums Still Life and Words And Music. More recently Daniel has had roles in Game of Thrones, The Death of Stalin and BBC's Les Miserables. We caught up with Daniel last Autumn not long after he'd finished filming on Les Miserables, we talk about the ups and downs in the life of a jobbing actor, and the feelings that come with of being ignored by casting directors and how the compulsion to pursue the art often outweighs the more negative aspects of the industry. 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

David Morrissey is an English actor, director, producer and screenwriter. At the age of 18, he was cast in the television series One Summer (1983). After making One Summer, Morrissey attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, then acted with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre for four years. He is most well-known to fans of The Walking Dead and Dr Who, but his body of work is huge and diverse. David met up with Jim and Giles down at the Nordic Bar just before Christmas. We examined David's early life, and the brave decision he made to leave home and pursue acting at the age of 16. We discuss what it means to be involved in a theatre company and the bonds you make with your 'Theatre Family'. David takes us through his love of the craft and those dreaded blank moments on stage. We also manage to chat a little football and David reveals one of his proudest achievements is the gig he got with Liverpool FC   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

Lindsay Galvin is an author from East Sussex, whose debut novel from Middle Grade, The Secret Deep was released in late 2018 to much critical acclaim. Her second novel is due out in 2019. Lindsay joined us on a sunny day back at the end of September to chat about her debut book and her experiences of being a first-time author. Lindsey opens up about her anxiety as a child and how that has resurfaced in later life. We discuss those blank moments that are common for writers and how we can overcome them. 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

Gary Neville is a retired football player and co-owner of Salford City. Since retiring from football in 2011, Neville went into punditry and was a commentator for Sky Sports until he took over the head coach position at Valencia in 2015.  After being sacked by the club in 2016, he returned to his position as a pundit for Sky Sports later that year. He was also assistant manager for the England national team from 2012 to 2016   We met with Gary just before Christmas to talk about his early life, his career at Manchester Utd and his subsequent move into punditry at Sky Sports. Gary talked openly about a 6 month period in his career which led him to talk to a psychologist and how the things that he learnt from that have continued to be effective in his daily life.  We discussed difficult moments in our lives and Gary spoke honestly about one of his hardest challenges being when he lost his Dad.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rachel Shenton is a British actress who has appeared in a number of British television series and films. She is most well known for her role as Mitzeee Minniver on the Channel 4 teen drama Hollyoaks. Shenton made her American TV debut on ABC Family drama Switched at Birth in Season 3 as Lily Summers and stayed until the show's finale in Season 5. Shenton also appears in BBC2 comedy White Gold. In 2018, she won an Academy Award for her short film The Silent Child Giles and Jim met Rachel at Nordic Bar to have a cuppa and catch up on what has been a whirlwind year for Rachel after her and her husband Chris Overton wrote and Directed the Oscar winning short film, The Silent Child. We talked at length about the genesis of the film and Rachel's longtime campaigning for the deaf community. 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