Dig It with Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball - 107: Zoe's Big News & Buried Sausage Spells

Episode Date: July 1, 2026

Congratulations are in order as Zoe has some big job news to share; Jo tells us how she got on with her much-anticipated wedding reading, why the bride and groom buried a sausage before their Big Day and how she really felt walking on stage to 20,000 fans at the Isle of Wight Festival.  Plus, after Zoe had the time of her life at Harry Styles' concert, we're asking where you stand on this Digger dilemma: Should gigs have a 'no phone' policy? Watch or listen now.GET IN TOUCH📧 Email us: [e-mail]📱 Text or Voice Note: 07477 038795💬 Or tap here to send a voice note or message on WhatsApp:⁠ ⁠https://wa.me/447477038795SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORSThis episode is brought to you by: 🩲 Stripe & Stare - Stripe & Stare’s super-soft knickers, sleepwear and everyday essentials are made from breathable natural fibres sourced from responsibly grown trees, with beautiful colours and styles designed for all-day comfort. Use code DIG20 at Stripe & Stare for 20% off your order. https://stripeandstare.com/🛍️QVC — Summer gatherings always seem to end up in the garden, so why not make the space feel extra special? Explore My Garden Escape at www.qvcuk.com and use code QDIGIT for £10 off your first order. Minimum spend applies and full terms are on the QVC website.🍓 Belvoir Farm -  Made with real fruit juices, real flowers and natural ingredients, Belvoir Farm drinks contain no artificial sweeteners, flavourings or preservatives. Enjoy them chilled from the fridge for the freshest flavour. Available in major supermarkets nationwide.  https://belvoirfarm.co.uk/ 🍅 Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference — Summer dinners don’t need to be complicated when the ingredients are doing all the hard work. Whether it’s a quick midweek supper or friends in the garden, a few great ingredients can transform the whole meal. Available in selected stores and online.CREDITSExec Producer: Jonathan O’SullivanProducer: Harriet Thurley & Samantha PsykAssistant Producer: Eve JonesTechnical Producer: Oliver GeraghtyVideo Editors: Cameron Laird and Jack Whiteside 

Coming up on Diggett, Sophie had bought a spell, a witch's spell on Etsy, to guarantee that the weather was nice for the weekend. She had to bury a sausage in the grounds. I think that was part of the whole thing. This is crazy. The 14-year-old me, who, you know, was too shy or felt sick going into English lessons because I didn't want to be called out to read anything, to then see me on stage at 60, playing to 20,000 people.

You can't quite believe what are you capable of? I'm really excited to say, I've got a new. job, Joe. I'm so excited. Get nervous. Get nervous about being the new girl again. All of that right after this. Hello, Joe. Hi. My lovely friend, hello Diggers. Welcome, Gaggers. Joe, I've got to ask you this weekend. It was the wedding. So looking forward to hearing, how did it go? I was thinking about you the whole weekend, actually. Oh, thank you. Yeah, no, it was an amazing weekend. So it was an amazing wedding. It was Sophie and Siege who are, well, Sophie is the daughter of a very good friend of ours called Tim, who used to be our Glastonbury buddy.

He was our holiday buddies, two families. You know when you meet a family and you just become one family and you meld. So we were that family. We spent so much time in Cornwall. We were really good friends. Tim passed away with COVID. So we still are one big family. So we've had a big part in their lives, vice versa.

So we had this wedding. It was in Cornwall. and it was by a lake. It was Cornish, I have to mention them, Cornish TPs. If you look that up, they do a wedding service. And it was like going into the Enchanted Forest. It was unreal. Loads of TPs all around.

Then you go through like beautiful woods, ferns everywhere, dappled shade, dappled light. And then there is a quarry, a lake. And they got married on the jetty going into this like emerald green lake. And it was the most beautiful wedding I have ever been to, honestly. It's making all the hair stand. on end. I can sort of feel how amazing it was. It was so gorgeous and she was so magnificent. You know, she's only young. Her mum, Jules, was there and I know Jules loves Diggett, so hi to her. And it was just super emotional because Tim was not there. But he was very much there. So everybody,

he was mentioned so many times. There was, Tim loved Toffee Vodka. So Sophie had arranged this Tim Tree, lots of photographs of him, Glastonbury, fancy dress, all that kind of stuff. And then there was toffee vodka there. So after Sophie got married and Siege, we all went up and we all did shots for Tim, which was exactly the way he would have wanted us to be celebrating. But I was doing a reading. Cass and Disco Steve, they were playing, they were doing music.

They played, there she goes, the Lars. They came down the steps to there she goes. And then they played, here comes the sun. Hang on a minute, back this up. Back this up a minute. Disco Steve and Cass. played. Yeah.

What? Used to be in a band. Do they play? Disco Steve, I didn't know he played instruments. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He can sing, he's got a good voice. Yeah. Oh, that's amazing.

That's the thing. It was just everybody was involved. Sophie even had her dogs with flower crowns around their neck by the side of the river just to be part of the whole ceremony as well. So Cass and Disco played. They did, here comes the sun. They did, there she goes. India and Coco were both bridesmaid.

and flower girl and they looked gorgeous. And there were just all these kids that I've known since they were like six, seven years old, 10 years old, grown into woman and man child children now. And they were all there and celebrating Sophie and Siege. And it was just lovely. And I did my reading. And I got to the last two lines before I went. Yeah.

Well done. But, you know, I nearly got there, nearly smashed it, but not quite. I had a wobble at the end. But it was okay because everyone cried and that was okay. Everyone laughed. And it was great. And it was, yeah, it was an amazing wedding and it was real privileged to be part of it. And I thank you to everybody for all the tips about how to get through it.

I rehearsed the reading so many times and I really thought I could do it. But you know what? You can go on stage at the Isle of Wight to 20,000 people. You can be on national radio, but nothing is quite as terrifying as trying to get something right for someone you love. Yeah, absolutely. And that is often the way, isn't it? And I think we'd said that, even if you get almost towards. the end and then your voice clacks. I think it happens with most people who do readings and eulogies

and special messages for people that they love. You can sort of hold it together until that last moment. And I think the last couple of lines are often really poignant and that is sometimes when your body says you've done it and actually now it's okay to cry. Because everybody needs to let that emotion out because yeah. Oh, bravo you. Because Tim was such a a father figure to so many people who've lost their own parents. I think that's what it is. And they're all now adults, but when they were doing the speeches, and Sophie was amazing. Like, she has this the best smile in the world, like really good lipstick and this beaming smile. And she was loving every second for her wedding day. And then she did the speeches, she didn't cry when she did her

speech, which was very impressive. But literally, everybody in floods everywhere, just kind of, yeah, just feeling the loss, but feeling the love so much. And Sophie had bought a spell on Etta. A witch's spell on Etsy to guarantee that the weather was nice for the weekend. I think I had rumours that she had to bury a sausage in the ground. I think that was part of the whole thing. I don't know. Crazy. And then apparently the weather was going to be great.

And of course, the weather was amazing. It was incredibly hot the day before. And then there was this storm. We went into Poles-Eth, which is where it all was happening. And there was this really dramatic storm in the evening. We sat and we ate our meal. And there was lightning like I've never. seen before all over the bay. And then when it came to the morning for the wedding, it was cooler.

And it was like the witch had gone, it's okay, we're going to have a cool but sunny day. So I have never ever before this weekend heard about witches on Etsy. But a shout out to Jordan, who used to be my producer on the breakfast show, Jordan married, here's Sally. This weekend, quite a lot of the team were up at the wedding and I couldn't go. And I, Mike, lovely Mike, He used to do the sport on breakfast show, and Jamie who did the socials, was sending me clips of the wedding so that I could sort of feel part of it. And I got to see them walking down the aisle with all their friends and looking wonderful. And I heard Jordan's speech. And in Jordan's speech, he talks about the fact that Sally bought a spell off a witch on Etsy for the weather.

And I was in the supermarket car. Oh, my God. Watching this, I'm feeling really emotional that I wasn't there. But watching it and laughing. much. And I was thinking, Sally, you mad thing, but apparently this is a thing. Sophie did it too and it worked. You can buy a spell off a witch on Etsy. What else could, she sort it out for the weather. 10 pounds it cost. And then what else can you get? This is brilliant. I'd never heard of it before. I'm sure there was something about burying a sausage in the ground as well. I'm going to have to

find out now whether Jordan or Sally had to bury a sausage in the ground and if it's the same witch. But hey, 10 quid, well spent because Jordan and Sally had great weather. And you're guys had great weather. And Sophie and Siege said, yeah, they had amazing weather. That's hilarious. There was one hilarious moment on this finally, when we were driving and Cornwall has like the narrowest lanes, you know, and you're driving your car and you always meet someone head on. And so you have to pull into the hedger and you have to try and get past each other. And we were just going past this van. And the lady who was in the passenger seat, they wound down their window and they looked across and she just went, oh my God, disco Steve. Fame at last. Her husband,

who was driving, was like, oh God, I'm so sorry. Her name was Zoe Trout. So Zoe, hello. She loves a podcast. She loves a radio and all that kind of stuff. And she just said that we've got her through a lot, a lot. And she was a digger. And there was another lady I met at the Rumbass. Hi to You as well. Met so many diggers this weekend. And they're so cool and great, great people. All, everyone that comes and says, hi. We love our diggers. But I'm particularly pleased that Disco's Deva's getting his props. It was so fun. She was like, just because, and then she went, oh, and Joe.

And that was it. It was all about the silver fox, I think, driving the car. Yes, excellent. If you're loving Digit, hit follow or subscribe. That way you'll get brand new episodes as soon as they're out. I haven't spoken to you since a little festival called the Isle of White. Oh, yeah. Where we might have seen a clip, but not everyone has seen this.

a video of you before you go on stage. Now, you know, I always wonder how that is for you because I know it's nerve-wracking before I start a show or before I go on stage if there's any kind of live event. Because often, you know, it's terrifying. You want it to go well. And those nerves are a good thing. My dad always used to say that. It's like the nerves are a good thing, Zoe, because if you don't feel nervous,

maybe you don't care anymore. And so you need the nerves and they give you that power. I know a lot of actors say that. but talk me through the Isle of White. Before you went on stage, Joe, what were the feelings that were going through? Because I watched a bit of The Cure on the telly and I said to the lodger, I was like, Joe's playing at the same time because she'd have loved to watch The Cure. So she's playing now.

How was it before going on, girl? Like you said, it's all about trying to get it right that you care. Those people are in that crowd because they want to be entertained in that tent. So it was really important to get the set right. So we spent so long working out the songs. And you kind of play it by year as well and seeing what songs go down well. And then the tent was huge. I didn't know what to expect.

I walked up on stage and then the lights went up and there were so many people there. It took my breath away. I could not believe it. It was ridiculous. And then there were people who couldn't get into the tent and apparently they were all outside as well. They reckon 20,000 people turned up in the end. because I know, it's nuts, isn't it? And it was such an amazing mixture of young kids and then people our age.

And it was just brilliant. It was really, really excellent. I'd warmed up by watching Calvin Harris, who's on the night before. So I thought, right, I'm going to go and check out Calvin and see what moves he makes on stage. Because I never know what to do with myself when I'm on stage. I feel ludicrous. And I was watching Calvin. I was like, he puts his arms out like his wing span is enormous.

and he's like some kind of conductor. Yeah, he's so tall, isn't he? Yeah, he's like conducting the audience. And he has an incredible show, you know, and you could never hope to get anywhere near Calvin Harris. But it was a really fun show and lots of people who really enjoyed it. I managed to see two songs of The Cure beforehand. Oh, brilliant.

And that was my warm up. I was like, right, I'm definitely going to go and get a bit of Robert Smith in my heart, which I did. And it was, yeah, it was a really fun show. And thanks to everybody who was there and enjoyed themselves and send me messages. You just look fabulous before you even walk out there, but I'm watching you thinking,

I'm nervous watching you because I know how that feels. And you walk out, it's the moment that they, you can hear the crowd, but the moment they turn the lights on and you see how many people are there. I was like, go, girl, that is insane. God. And then you play, hey boy, hey girl,

superstar DJs, here we go. Chemical Brothers. And everyone starts singing. and I saw that when you put it, it was up on Instagram, Ed Chemical was like, yes, girl, great first record. Oh, I'm so proud of you. That made me laugh so much. The fact, Father Ed commented, I was like, hilarious. Thank you very much indeed, Ed, for making music.

I just literally, I just play over other people's songs. Ed's actually listened to some of the podcast, bless him. He listened back to a couple of episodes. Oh, he's a good man. And he sent a really lovely message. So, yeah, there you go. You got a big fan in Ed Chemical. Well, brilliant words. Honestly, I was so in awe of you. I'm in awe of you anyway, Joe, but I just thought, that crowd, I need to be in that crowd. I will find somewhere that you're playing and I will be in that crowd. And I might not even tell you. I don't think I'll ever play to a crowd that big again. But Glastonbury next year.

No, no, no, no. The 14-year-old me who, you know, was too shy or felt sick going into English lessons because I didn't want to be called out to read anything. to then see me on stage at 60 playing to 20,000 people. It's, I mean, it's a bit of a head fuck is what I was going to say. You can't quite believe what you're capable of. So I hope that, you know, other people will take something from that, that whatever is going on with you at the moment, you're capable of so much more than you think that you are. It's so true.

In terms of live shows, I mean, there are certain live spectacles at the moment that my Instagram feed is just full of. And I haven't got to go to see Harry Styles, but you have. What's it like? Well, do you know what? I think in the last week we've had food fighters playing, take that, have been on tour. Robin, I've seen live footage from Robin's tour.

There was Transmere, had amazing people playing Bad Bunny this weekend, watching everybody Salsa with Benito. And, you know, including Adele, Maya Jammer, Djokovic, who is playing at Wimbledon, sort of literally the next day. All the strictly dancers. I was like, yay, because I was just like, I want to go and I want a salsa. And some friends of mine went, who aren't Hispanic and said, you know, you don't understand many of the words, but it doesn't matter because you're in the space with him.

And I think Benito, I think Bad Bunny and Rosalia are two gigs that I should have been at and not I didn't go to and I'm quite cross with myself. But anyway, I did, however, get to Harry Stiles with my Nell and her. A best mate, Loza, Lauren, because they'd finished their GCSEs. And we took our Dell, Adele who's looked after Nell so that I could work. And Del's now got a new job. So the four of us went together. And we walked in.

We hadn't told the girls where we were going to be. And we walked in down the stairs straight into, I think it was called Circle, which was the pit right in front of the stage. As Shania Twain was singing, man, feel like a woman and she was literally two foot from us. And we were all like, oh my God, this is amazing. And to be with that crowd, I think we've seen the bad bunny footage. I think he does what Harry does. It's quite incredible to have an artist who can make everybody in a stadium the size of Tottenham Hotspur or Wembley, feel every single person in that stadium,

feel seen, feel heard, feel special is just such an incredible talent to have. And I think both artists have really thought about their staging, how they get out to the crowd. You know, you know, Babani has the Casita, and he's got the stage, and he moves around the crowd, and he chats to people and people get to go in the Casita. And how, you know, he has the casino. And how, Harry again with that staging and I know he had to alter it a bit because people were a bit cross but he does. He covers so much ground and he talks to everybody up in the gods and he's talking to people down below. There was a moment where he was reading the signs and you know someone had put up the question, what's your favourite bit of a roast dinner? And he thought about it and it

was like the whole crowd went oh and everyone standing around me was like Yorkshire pudding, Yorkshire pudding and then he says, Yorkshire pudding and everyone goes yeah. And then he just starts laughing going, the vegetables. Who says the vegetables at a roast? And just those moments are amazing. We were very lucky because we got to see him walk past us. And there was a moment where he clocked us. And I mean, to be honestly, I think everyone thinks he's clocked you.

And I think he could well, maybe not have clocked us. But he walked across right in front of us. And he just suddenly pointed and blue kisses. and I think there's an amazing clip where Nell just turn the camera around and I'm screaming and everyone around us is screaming. And then everyone was like, he just blew kisses at you guys. But I just have to say. Amazing. And that album, I think he'd done such an amazing mix with old and new songs.

There's always a surprise song. They drop in little bits of other songs in the mix. His band are so good in his dancers. I was standing next to a really lovely guy who had come to see his friend Laura, who's on trumpet. And so we were screaming every time Laura went past. But I just, oh, Harry, you are phenomenal. I don't think there's one person who left that stadium, not a little bit more in love with him. For all the reasons for making everybody feel seen, inclusive, for singing along, for jumping.

I haven't danced like that in a long time. And to do that with my girl and with Lauren and Adele, it was. so special and we just left, I was on a high for about four or five days afterwards. It was great. So Harry, we love you. I really, really love his styling. You know, when he first went out, the first couple of shows, I was like, okay, that's, that's an okay look. But it's involved. Like, he's just, he's just got this amazing wardrobe and new things keep coming out and it's all vibrant and bright and colorful and different to what anybody else is doing at the moment. It's super stylish. So respect to his stylus and his whole team who have put this look together and for him for wearing it so well.

Angelica's been in touch with the question. She was at the same concert as you. And she said, I've never seen so many mobile phones recording the show. And I had a fab time, but I was standing and I found myself getting quite irritated by arms flying up and obstructing my view. At times having to watch the show myself through other people's phone, with some people seem to watch the whole thing through a device. So I couldn't help thinking, why can't they just be in the moment? What do you think? Am I just an out of touch boomer?

Because my daughter was with me said, that's what I was. Is this a new way of doing things at the moment? Absolutely love the pod, such a tonic. Angelica, thank you. Well, Angelica, I think it is a funny thing. And we'd had a conversation between the four of us because I was like, look, I'm not going to film everything because I want to watch it and I want to enjoy it. But there were times where one of us had filmed.

And because I was saying it to the girls, it's like, be there. Watch him. Watch the band. sing with everybody. And we were quite lucky in those pits. We were all dancing together, the whole group, there was a conga. There was, you know, and so people did put their phones down. But I guess also we have to accept that the younger generation like filming stuff because they want to remember it. And of course, we share everything on Instagram these days. And so there are those memories. But I've had that when I was behind someone at Paul Simon who filmed the whole thing.

It was like, for God's sake. Firstly, you're not supposed to film because they'd ask you. not to in the rural Abbott Hall. And you're older and it's like, just enjoy it for God's sake. But younger guys, I kind of accept that they're going to film it. And also, you've got Harry Stiles running past you quite close. You're going to want to capture a bit of that, aren't you? To keep, as a keepsake. So I think, Angelica, I feel your pain and I do, I am with you of like, put them down,

put them down, maybe don't film the whole thing. But also. I think Phoebe Bridges has just announced, doesn't she? Yeah. It's a no-phone's policy when she's doing her show. There are going to be artists out there who just want to see people's faces and want them to appreciate the songs that they're singing and not do it through a screen. So if an artist says, leave the phones away. Don't take them, please. Then you respect that. Yeah. So I know Phoebe's tour is going to be a no phones policy.

But most artists seem to be okay with it. It will be interesting to see at Glastonbury because you remember, Glastonbury always used to be the flags, flags, flags, flags, and now I wonder if, you know, having not been on for two years next year when it's on, will it just be a sea of phones? But we want to capture everything, don't we? We'll take a quick break for some ads. But if you're keen to listen to these episodes early and ad-free, you can subscribe to the potting shed. Yearly subscriptions, get a free Digit tote bag and Father Gill's Sew and Tell Seeds. Just click the link to subscribe in the show notes.

Right, time for a break. Digit is brought to you by Beaver Farm. Question for you, Joe. Do you ever wonder how you can keep a bottle of squash in a cupboard for much? months without it going on. It has crossed my mind. Well, this is the thing. So much squash is packed full of preservatives so that it can last for ages once opened. But beaver farm are kind of the opposite to that. Hang on a minute. Beaver farm. Yeah. I always thought it's pronounced Belvoir, which is like the really posh squash that you see in supermarkets. So not Belvoir, but Beaver. Beaver

farm. Okay, right, this is news to me. Yeah, Joe, it surprises a lot of people. But at Beaver Farm, they're completely obsessed with taste, so they make their drinks properly using real fruit juices, real flowers and absolutely no artificial sweetness, flavourings or preservatives. Which does mean that once you open their cordials, they need to live in the fridge so they can be enjoyed fresh. Yes, slightly less convenient. But so much more delicious. That's why you'll recognise all of the ingredients on the label, rather than sounding like something engineered in a lamp. Try beaver farm drinks for yourself, enjoy them fresh from the fridge,

perfect for sunny afternoons and they're available in all major supermarkets. At Beaver Farm they never use anything artificial because the real thing just tastes better. Are you at the wedding this weekend? He'd probably not seen it yet. But Graham Norton did this great show

with Madonna. I watched all the clips. It's really worth watching. It was fantastic. It was really well put together and she really relaxed into it. I think he admits it's always scary into him Madonna because she is Madonna and she doesn't particularly like doing interviews

and she can be quite intimidating and she won't suffer fools and she'll only answer what she answered. But with Graham, I think she knows him well enough now to be quite playful. And Stuart was there, her producer, which was great. And she tells... Stuart Price.

Yeah, Stuart Price, he was just such a dude. He's amazing and she loves working with him. And they talk a lot about the process. There's a surprise bar made at one point, which is really great. Oh my God, I love that touch. It was Kylie, right? It's Kylie.

Kylie turned round. She did it so well. She did. I just love the person that Kylie's become. And Madonna confessed that she was jealous of her years ago because Guy Ritchie had a bit of a crush on Kylie and she's like I wasn't as pretty as her. So there's loads of gold in it. But one of the greatest moments for me was when Graham asked her, so will you be touring the new album? And she says, I'll do a couple of promo things.

But then I'll do something really big next summer. And then there's this great moment where Graham goes, and she goes, mm. And he says, oh. And he says, in this country, and she says, mm. And then he asks more and she says, I can't tell you everything. But basically, we are all like, oh, my God, is Madonna playing glass to me? Is that going to, how good would that be? You know, the legends.

I mean. Because you want the legends. You want the, you know, you really want the Stevie Wonders. Look at Paul McCartner and Elton John in the last couple of years. They have been phenomenal. Madonna at Glastonbury, what do you reckon, Joe, could it happen? I can imagine a conversation going on between Madonna and Elton and him just going, you've got to do it.

You're at this point of your career. This is your showcase. This is, you know, because his performance was such a love letter to the UK and to Glastonbury and all the UK music fans. Yeah. And maybe he said to her, this is your chance. sees it and do it. I mean, but the, you know, the staging, because Madonna is obviously very, very particular about the staging and the dancers and how it comes across and you don't have that

much control at Glastonbury, as much as you can doing other gigs. So whether she'd be willing to relinquish that. I mean, she will work really closely with the BBC. Well, think of Beyoncé, though. Beyonce had amazing staging at Glastonbury where she could come out and, you know, Stormsy did some pretty spectacular staging. So it might not be what you'd get to do in a stadium like Harry Stiles, but I reckon they could be pretty creative. As long as she has the trust, which she absolutely should do in the BBC and in the Glastonbury team, who are just the best of the best, they will make it look amazing and it will be such a Glastonbury to remember. If she was there, Harry Stiles was there. Harry Stiles. Yeah. Oasis. Then Oasis were a rumour, you know,

I mean, oh, who knows? But did Emily ever say that the artists were booked for next year? I don't know. I might be making that up. I think she did. When I saw her, bumped into her and she was like, yeah, no, we pretty much sorted for next year. Well, anyway. Oh, I love the speculation.

It's great, isn't it? We've only got 360, maybe 359 days to go till Glastonbury next year, and it's going to be incredible. So we've talked about many, many exciting things that have been going on over the past a couple of weeks. for us, Zoe. Anything, anything you want to talk to us about? Anything exciting you have to look forward to anything that's going to be taken up your time on a day-to-day basis. I'm really excited to say, I've got a new job, Joe. I'm so excited. Well, you know how it's been? You know, I lost mom and I really was like, I want to take some time and I want to go and be there for my girl because I've always worked. I've never been around. And I don't know. It just,

It was just that thing. After losing mum, I thought, hang on, no, stop, take some time, be there for your girl during her GCSEs. And I've sort of said on the pod, actually, I've been around and she's a bit like, Mum, what are you still doing? What are you still doing here? Are you still here? And she's finished her GCSEs now and she's loving her freedom. And I think also when the dancing thing didn't happen as well, I was a bit like, right, what am I going to do? I mean, that was a very, that was a long shot.

But having not words, suddenly you started thinking, yeah, okay, I don't. do need to go to work and I do need to go back to work. Anyway, this really amazing opportunity came up and I'm really excited to say that from September, September the 7th, I'm joining Greatest Hits Radio and I'm going to be doing Zoe Ball in the afternoon. It's a lovely shift Joe. It's one till four, which is great because it means I get to be mum in the morning and mum in the evening if I need to. I can be around if she needs me. So that's good. And I'm following wonderful friend, Ken Bruce, and then I'm going into my mate Simon Mayo because I used to do breakfast into Simon Mayo before, you know, before you took over from Simon Mayo.

So I've got friends either side and I will be playing great music from the 70s, 80s and 90s at greatest hits radio. They are a lovely team. They're such a brilliant team. They've, you know, since Rossi sort of dropped the first record a few years ago, is it 70s. years ago they've been on air. They have built. They are such a brilliant station. They're really good folk. And they have taken me here, taken me on. It's funny because I saw Ken and I was like, you thought he'd escape me, didn't you? He's like, oh, she's back. So I'm really excited. I start on September the 7th. And Kate Thornton's been doing that show. And I love Kate. And she's got a brand

new show on Saturdays. Richard Allenson's there, Jenny Powell. There's a really, Claire Sturge's. So there's such a lovely station. Yeah, so many lovely faces and names. I know. So some lovely old friends, Alex Lester's there. So there's a load of old mates there and they've been really welcoming. But it was just too good to turn down. I was like, actually, this is great.

So I'm going to be back behind the mic five days a week. We will still be podding. Do not fear diggers. Oh, yeah. Is this the end? I finished when? Oh, yeah. Just got to tell you that actually.

Six of September, I'm done. Katie Lee is going to be here next week. No, but I'm really excited about it. And there's lots of plotting going on backstage at the moment. But I just want to say thank you to Helen Thomas, our boss at Radio 2. She was such an amazing woman. She's had to deal with quite a lot in recent years of changes and stuff. But she has always been so brilliantly supportive.

And she really looked after me, both professionally and personally, with all sorts of stuff through my time at Radio 2. and I want to extend a huge big hug and love and respect and thank you to everyone at Radio 2 from the engineers and the press team and the socials team and all the producers and the assistants. Everyone I've worked with at Radio 2 because it's such a gorgeous, gorgeous place. I'm going to miss you all, but you know I love you and I've had so many amazing adventures there. So I'm so grateful to everybody there, particularly you, Helen. You're a special lady. and but now time for a new chapter.

So there we go. You've gone from one family to a new family and think of all the... I know, I've got to be the new girl. It's so scary. Think of all the yacht rock you're going to be able to play. You're going to be able to play Christopher Cross, all those things that you just love. My favourites, Joe. All my favourites.

Yes, I'm really looking forward to it. Oh, exciting times and you'll be amazing. You'll be brilliant and it'll be so good to have you back on the radio and have your voice heard. Oh, goodness me. Yeah, get nervous. Get nervous about being the new girl again. But it's all good. Oh, how was your photo shoots? You did a photo shoot.

We haven't even talked about that. Oh, do you know what? It was great. Honestly, you've turned me around, Joe. I did it with Darren Skeed again and he's just so brilliant and I've got my lovely team. And we did so much stuff in one day. It was quite amazing. Oh, good.

What we've done. So thank you because you know how I hate it. I'm like, no, I don't want to see. I don't want to see. But the photos have turned out really well. I'm really, really chuffed. You're happy. Good, good, good.

Well, I'm never happy about a photo shoot, but yeah, thank you, my darling. On another note, there's two people I'd really like to mention on the pod this week. One is Sarah Cox, who starts the Radio 2 Breakfast Show next week. And I just wanted to send her all the love and wish her so much luck with that. She's going to be brilliant. I keep having people running into me saying, oh, wow, you know, we're looking forward to Sarah. Yeah. She's going to be brilliant. So I want to say good luck, Sarah. And I know she hates people saying good luck to her, but I'm saying it anyway. Why does she hate people saying good luck to her? I just read an interview with her in the Sunday Times where she said, I'm going to turn my phone off for a couple days before because I hate it when people say good. I guess it's probably because it makes you nervous. Can I just say the photo shoot that she did for the time? She looks brilliant. She looks so good. Yeah. Amazing set of photographs, really, really lovely. And she's born to do it. So that'll be brilliant. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She's wanted it for a lot. long time so she's going to nail it. Also, can we just send love to Trevor Nelson? Because

Trevor's announced that he's taken a step back to deal with some health issues and he is one of the most gorgeous humans in the world. He is not only is he incredible at what he does. He has such an amazing long career but he's a really good man. He looks after everybody. He really cares about everybody and he's just, he's one of my favorites and yeah, we just really want to send him some love. Yeah, he's such a ray of sunshine. He is just being around the BBC at Radio 2. He's just the, he's such a charmer and he's so wicked and got a great sense of humour and is incredibly loving. I've had a lot of really deep conversations. I know you have over the years with him and he's been through, you know, stuff as we all have when you get to this age. And I spoke to him a few weeks

go and he was like, Joe, I'm just, I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life. I'm so happy. I'm doing the show that I'm doing. He's won so many awards. He's been celebrated this year more than ever before and he's now having to take time out and we love him very much indeed. Yeah, we just need to know how much we love. And I know there's so many people will be sending him huge amounts of love. So Trev, that's for you. Yeah. So entail time now and Caroline has been in touch and she said, Hi, I dig it team. Thank you for inspiring me to grow Cosmos. Tomatoes. and also to make an incredible birthday cake for my 24-year-old daughter, she loved it. Capital letters, many exclamation marks.

Let's have look at the cake. She's done your cake. This is the ice cream cake. Yes. I love it. Is that a fab lolly that you've stuck in? I think it is. This was the cake that I've made from my kids forever.

And it's like the chocolate, cornflake, rice crispy cake that you make at Easter time, but it's a massive one. And then you just pile every kind of ice cream on top and then every sweet that you love, and then lots of candles and sparklers, and then you present it straight away before the ice cream melts to your birthday person. And it looks spectacular. And you can tailor it to exactly what you love. And that's what Caroline's done for her daughter.

It's so good. There's loads of lollies in there, lollipops. It's really spectacular. Like whole lollies in there. Is that a rocket? Is that a rocket I can see? That is so good. I need to make.

Who's the next person who's got a birthday? I want to make that for somebody. And also we can see all the seeds growing. there. Well done, Caroline. The incredible heat has, most of the gardeners survived by my sweet peas came a cropper. My sweet peas and my nasturtiums, they just couldn't cope in the pots with the crazy heat wave. And of course, we've got a host pipe band now down south. Of course, I knew it was coming. I've got more water butts. So I'm doing some, you know, just a little bit of subtle watering can watering where we can. But thank goodness that hot, hot heat has gone for now.

because it is such a worry for the gardens. I think it's probably going to come back, isn't it? I think stuff in pots are really, really hard to get watered. There's always one that you'll forget about. There's always a pot. God, it's... I'm starting to realise that some of my pots just... I've done less this year and I'm going to do even less next year

because they're just not going to survive in this crazy, crazy hot heat. Anyone else almost check into a hotel the other night because it was so hot? I'd like fans, air conditioning units. There was one point where I was so mad with the heat and not being up to function that I got up and had a shower at two in the morning, got back into bed, realized it hadn't worked and thought, I'm going to check into a hotel. I was like, right, booking.com. I'm going to go check into a hotel with aircon. And I thought, get a grip woman, get a grip. Should we do some crate digging? Yeah. I mean, I've had no time to go to a shop at all. All I am aware of that I wanted people to be also aware of is that Brandon Flowers has got a solo. album coming out. So it's not physically here yet, but there's one song that's just come out. It's called Plans. And he's gone down that country route. So he loves Johnny Cash. And he said that his voice, he's never gone so low with his voice. And I've heard another track from the album, which is really

beautiful, really serious subject matter as well. But Brandon is so laser focused on everything he does. So whether it's his own solar project, whether it's his own solar project, he throws everything into it. So I don't know whether you've seen the photo shoots, but he looks mean and he looks fit. And he's he's just going for it for this solo project. So it's lovely to have random flowers back. I'm a huge fan of his. I like him personally and professionally. And can't wait to hear the rest of the album, which I think is called Thrasher,

which I think is a great title for an album. Amazing title. And Phoebe Bridges is coming back, who is great. She's one of those cool indie kids, when you go and girls, rather, when you go and see her live, her live shows are stupendous, like so much drama, so much going on on stage. And it's really exciting prospect to see what she's doing with her new music. music. So they're my two offerings. They're your two offerings. Yeah, two singles so far from each of those, but then albums to come. Great. I am absolutely loving the fact that Django Django are back,

one of my favorite bands. One of my favorite ever performances at Glastonbury was watching Django Jango as the sun went down over the rest of the site up at the park stage. And they've got a brand new single out called Cameo, which I'm loving. Also loving a single by a band called Chanel Beads, which I think is one guy who is from New York. so they're definitely a band I'm going to be following and also very excited about Jay Jerome 87's album The Canyon

now you probably know Joe Joe from AltJ you've probably interviewed him over the years Yeah no I've got them in session in a couple of weeks time they're on my showing in session yeah they're really good So this album is amazing I mean just from beginning to end

I think the first track is called Alligator is one called Kraludes is one called Green Velvet There's a beautiful song that broke my heart called Two Hearts, which is stunning. I have had this on a loop all the weekend in the heat. I freaking love it. I had the windows down on the car because it suddenly got cooler. I didn't have to have the air going on in the car. And I had two people stuck in traffic ask me, what are you listening to?

And I was like, this is J. Jerome 87, which is Joe from Alt-J. It is so, so good. I love it. And I think it's been massively influenced by. you know, Motown and gospel and that California vibe, obviously reference there to the Canyon, and also fatherhood. So this is an absolute gem and very much looking forward to Django Django's new album, I think is out in November.

So there you go. There's your choices from me. There's so much new good stuff around. There is, oh my God, it's ridiculous. My whole journey back from Cornwall was just listening to new different. Yeah, Beth Orton, I've got, again, her in session soon. There's someone who I think you'll love called Debbie Dawson. If you like, you know, we love Zanadu.

We love Olivia, you and John. It's got that kind of electro pop retro feel to it. And there's a song called Mars. Remind me a bit of Sheila B devotion as well. I don't know anything about her particularly, but I loved Debbie Dawson and the song Mars. And I'm sure I think Zoe, you'll absolutely love it. I'm writing that down now.

Oh, and whilst we're just on it, I've moved my cushion and I have remembered something I wanted to say, do you remember we had a conversation on the last, pod about how you put your cream on, how you put the cream on your back or your fake tan because I was fake tanning myself and I couldn't get it into the middle of my back. Well, I had a couple of people tell me about back bliss and Caroline who designed back bliss. Her friend Lorner actually got in touch with me because she listens to the pod and says, you need Caroline's back bliss. Apparently she was on the second series of Dragon's Den and they loved the product but they were

like, it's not going to make enough money. And Caroline wrote me a letter. She said they were absolutely right. but she's been selling them ever since. You can get them on Amazon and where you get things. And look, you get a removable pad here. And you bet, look, you can reach the middle of your back. And it really works.

And when we'd had that conversation, lovely Johnny, who gardening with Johnny, he'd put up a thing about because he'd done the same. Did you see? And he's got one. It's not this product, but it's a similar type of product. And a thing that really made me smile is my mum's best mate, Janice, who misses my mum as much as I do, told me this great story.

I think she put it on the comments. But my mum, apparently, used to put the cream on a tiled wall behind her and then rub her back on it. My mum was on her own for quite a lot of her life. And it made me laugh so much that my mum is still making me smile from the heavens above. So Janice, thank you for sharing that.

Because I was like, oh my God, genius. If you've got a tiled wall, stick the cream on quick before it runs. Oh, your mum. What an amazing story. I know. God, I'm so lonely for it. I miss us so bloomin much. But that really made me, really made me laugh. I was like, Mother, you were a genius and I love you.

So thank you Diggers for sharing on that subject. Yeah, Diggers, we love you so much, honestly. The more I meet you, the more we get, you know, both of us meet you and the more messages we get through. And we love your voice notes, when you leave as voice notes of the stupid, ridiculous things that happen and the funny, touching things and stuff that you're going through. because that's what everyone keeps saying to me is that it's so good to hear women talking about all the stuff that's going on at the moment, whether it's looking after kids, parents,

being the sandwich generation, health, ludicrous scenarios. We're all in it together and we'll know how each other feels. So please share, share and share alike. And Joe, I must say, we're going to see a load of our diggers in Sheffield at Crosswires. Podfest. Yeah, oh my God, our first live show. It's going to be scary and fun. I was like, you've got to tell me what you're going to be wearing.

What are you going to wear, Joe? It's the conversation to start with me. A wardrobe thing, don't we? A wardrobe thing. So we'll see some of you diggers in Sheffield looking forward to it and everybody else. DMs, I think. You're going to be in DMs. I've got some painting black DMs.

I've been thinking about this. That's the outfit so far. I've got nothing else. Just DMs. Right, okay. It's not an image you want to think about. I'll build on it. I don't know.

You look pretty good, just in DMs. And my own personal triumph for this podcast, can I just share with you, Goose has been in the room with us the whole time, and he has not disrupted anything at all. He hasn't bitten me, hasn't bitten me, hasn't bitten the wine. He's just been asleep at my feet. I'm going to try and call him up so he can say goodbye. Let's see what happens here.

Goose. Come on Goose, just say goodbye to us all. Hey, Gis, where are you? Yes, there is. Come, come, come, come. He's grown so much. Oh, he looks like a teenager. He's just got out of bed.

See, it was slightly that. Oh, goose. You've been so good. Good boy, Goose. There we go. See how big years. He's the most gorgeous dog. He is ever grown.

but he's learning to be a good pup, bless him. Still likes ears. And he still likes his. I think he always will. Oh God, I really need a cuddle. Wilbur. Is he gorgeous? Wilbur, I need a puddle.

I'm going to go and get a cuddle off my son. He's asleep in the house, Woody. And I did say to him, you got Woody. I said, Woody's here. If, uh, woo, if you fancy it, if you wake up before the pod finishes, come and say hi. But it is, you know, around lunchtime and, of course, he's not awake. He was DJing last night.

It's way too early. He's DJing for Rizzle kicks last. that. So, God, he's probably... Oh, he's doing so well. I think I got a call saying, Mum, can you leave a key? I've forgotten my key.

So I think he was out late, late. But anyway, love to you. Nice to see you, Goose. Bye. Bye, bye, Diggas. Digit is a Persephonicah production.