Audio

Here are some highlights from some of my many radio appearances; if you’re interested in getting me on your own show, give me a shout. And if you’re looking for my actual podcast, Looks Unfamiliar, head for here.

Georgey Tonight – TV Tie-In Board Games
I have a chat with BBC Radio’s Georgey Spanswick about some of the more ridiculous, over-ambitious, and sometimes frankly offensive TV tie-in board games of the seventies, from Miss World to War Of The Daleks.

You can read more about War Of The Daleks and other ridiculous TV tie-in board games here.

Radio 1 Vintage – 90s Comedy Shows
A couple of extracts from a documentary about 90s Radio 1 Comedy Shows produced for the pop-up station Radio 1 Vintage, with me talking about The Mary Whitehouse Experience, Armando Iannucci and Blue Jam.

You can find out more about Fun At One, my book about comedy on BBC Radio 1, here. You can also read more about The Mary Whitehouse Experience here and Blue Jam here.

The Zeitgeist Tapes – Dr. Pod
I appeared on the show where Politics and Pop Culture collide to talk about Doctor Who in the wake of Jodie Whittaker’s debut. Amongst many topics we covered the rampant feminism in the early black and white stories, who Harold Saxon and Harriet Jones were really inspired by, whether The Kandyman was a fugitive Nazi Scientist holidaying at Sun City, and if the people moaning that the programme has gone ‘too PC’ are really just comparing it to something that they’ve made up in their own heads.

You can hear Emma as a guest on Looks Unfamiliar here and here.

Andy Lewis – Soho Radio
I drop in on Andy’s show to talk about obscure Roger Whittaker deep cuts, Sandie Shaw prog covers and other unlikely record hunting finds.

And here’s another appearance with more chat about charity shop discoveries, with an emphasis on Film and TV soundtracks:

You can hear Andy as a guest on Looks Unfamiliar here.

Let’s Go Round Again – The Story Of The Magic Roundabout
From a Radio 4 documentary about the celebrated animated series, I give a bit of background on the show’s origins in France, and how it was adapted for British audiences. As featured on Pick Of The Week!

The OST Show – BBC Records And Tapes
I joined Jonny Trunk from Trunk Records on his Resonance FM show to talk about Top Of The Box and play some of my favourite oddities from the BBC Records And Tapes catalogue. Includes some excellent laughing from a studio guest.

You can find out more about Top Of The Box, my book about BBC Records And Tapes, here.

BBC Radio Norfolk – Neil Innes
I have a chat to BBC Radio Norfolk’s Paul Hayes about the extraordinary career of Bonzo, Rutle, Python and much more besides, Neil Innes.

Music Mill FM – TV Remakes
I’m an occasional guest on Mark Thompson’s talk show, and this is one of my favourite contributions, talking about the good, the bad and the ugly of rebooted television programmes, from The Prisoner to The Magic Roundabout and beyond.

You can hear Mark as a guest on Looks Unfamiliar here and here.

House Of Comments – Is June The End Of May?
Following the snap General Election in 2017, I was invited onto this politics podcast to get an outsider’s view of the fairly crazy events. I was a bit nervous as I was up against some proper heavyweight political thinkers (Mark Thompson, Emma Burnell and Nick Denys), but did manage to get in some thoughts on how many times Jeremy Corbyn has said ‘Shabba!’.

Music Mill FM – ‘Going To ITV’
In response to a week of high profile political defections, Mark Thompson got me on to his show to talk about what happened when TV stars and even entire programmes switched channels and why it never seems to end well. Needless to say, a certain chat show host’s name did come up…

You can hear Mark as a guest on Looks Unfamiliar here and here.

Music Mill FM – Victoria Wood
I was invited on to Mark Thompson’s show at short notice to remember Victoria Wood. What happened was a little bit different to most of the other tributes, concentrating on how ‘dangerous’ Victoria Wood As Seen On TV had seemed to an Alternative Comedy-hungry youngster back in the mid-eighties.

You can hear Mark as a guest on Looks Unfamiliar here and here.

BBC News – ‘Clangers Expert’
The legendary interview about the return of the Clangers, thankfully without the visuals. If I’d known I was going to be on television and played in a loop for two days, I’d have worn a better shirt.