Dig It with Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball - 58: Brooklyn Beckham’s Statement: Why It Feels So Heartbreaking

Episode Date: January 21, 2026

Jo and Zoe discuss the Beckham drama (honestly, heartbreaking). There’s 2016 nostalgia, a running mishap featuring “first aiders”, and celeb sightings in very mundane places. Plus Sow & Tell: hellebores, greenhouses, pottery and parsnips. Watch or listen now.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTERStay up to date with Dig It — new updates every Friday straight to your inbox.👉 https://digitpod.substack.com/subscribeGET 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 QVC &  Ancient + Brave✨QVC – Click below to discover QVC’s range of wellbeing products and support. And don't forget to use the code QDIG10 for £10 off your first purchase (minimum spends apply, see QVC website for full terms and conditions) https://www.qvcuk.com/content/health-and-fitness.html?cid=PR-IF-Digit&e22=janwellbeing ✨Ancient + Brave – This January isn’t about being “good”, it’s about having energy that actually lasts. Ancient + Brave’s True Creatine+ supports strength, cognition and steady energy without the jitters or crash. It’s neutral tasting, dissolves easily and fits effortlessly into real life. They’re also a certified B Corp and members of 1% for the Planet, so it’s good for you and good for the planet too. Subscribe and save 20% on your monthly wellness rituals, plus get a free ritual scoop. Head to ancientandbrave.earth to get started.CREDITSExec Producer: Jonathan O’SullivanAssistant Producer: Eve JonesTechnical Producer: Oliver GeraghtyVideo Editors: Danny PapeDig It is a Persephonica production 

Coming up on Digit. It's sort of been sort of fair game to bully Brooklyn Beckham. For years, everyone's done it. He's just a child. He's obviously very fragile, really fragile, understandably for all the reasons that you've just said. Do you know what? I think I'd bumped into Jude Law maybe three times in various kind of shops or supermarkets.

And every single time I walk up to him and go, I name my son after you. And every time he's like, did you? Oh, wow. One of the ladies shouted out, she went, there's some first aiders in here. Would you like me to go and get the first aid? for him. Oh, God.

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When debts got you, you've got us. Give credit counseling society a call today. Visit no more debts.org. Hi, good morning. How you doing? I'm okay. I'm okay. I was having a sort of normal week mind of my own business and suddenly last night my phone went crazy and I was like what the hell has happened now. And it's at the moment with the news being so horrendous. When the phone goes like that, it really scares me sometimes. I think, oh God, something horrendous happened because the world around is I'm looking thinking, What's going to happen to us all? And it was Brooklyn Beckham had dropped that Instagram story, which is like, kaboom. My goodness, me. I know.

What did you make of it? What do you think? Oh, do you know what? I feel such sadness for the whole family because, you know, it's just turmoil in a family, isn't it? And it makes you think about your own family. You know, I think about my kids. I think about, you know, when there's been drama in my family in the past,

where people are fallen out. It can be so upsetting. And then they're doing that in front of the entire world. And, you know, I don't know David and Victoria, but I've interviewed them both a couple of times over the years. They've always been lovely. You know, I used to look at the family and think, oh, God, can you protect those kids?

Those poor kids, they're growing up so in the public eye. But I know that they've always been very tight-knit and they've really tried to look after the kids. But this just feels so heartbreaking on both sides. You can see, you know, his boy, young man stuck between his family and his wife and his wife's family. And a bit like Harry in a way, Prince Harry, he's obviously trying to do the right thing of protect his wife, you know, his love. And oh my goodness me, it just, it feels really, really sad. There's that saying, isn't there, that you're only as happy as you're,

your unhappiest child, and this is devastating. Can you imagine? And this will have been going on for years and years and years for David and Victoria and watching Brooklyn and having a difficult relationship with him, seeing how unhappy he has been. Because he makes that very, very clear, doesn't he, in the statement that he's been struggling for a very long time. And within a family, kids have different personalities and they deal with things in a different way. I've always felt this kind of kinship towards that family because they've got four children. They're similar ages to my children. So as they've grown up, I've seen them, and it's been like so many parallels. And out of my thought, you know, there are certain kids in the family who really love showbiz,

and they're really happy, and they're very flamboyant. And then there are others who absolutely hate it and don't want anything to do with it and are kind of more anxious. And that is obviously, I think, where Brooklyn falls into it. So maybe he's been putting situations in the past where he's not felt particularly comfortable, but to keep everybody happy, he will do the family thing, the showbiz thing, and have his photograph taken. He'll do social media. But at the heart of it may be he's inside really, really unhappy in that scenario. And oh my gosh, it's, I just, it's heartbreaking. The whole thing is absolutely heartbreaking.

I would not want to be on either side of the family at the moment, would you? No, not at all. The conversations that must be going on, knowing how to deal with that situation now for Victoria and David. And your kids will always criticise your behaviour. They will always have an issue, but they will also love you fiercely as well. Yeah. I can't quite believe that they've not been able to work this out. a family between them. But like you say, there is another family involved now. There is a wife

and there is her family and there is obviously deep, deep conflict and seemingly no resolution. I think also with Brooklyn, I've always felt a bit for Brooklyn because as the eldest kid, and you could see him trying to cut his own way in life and people have sort of bullied him on mass on social media and in the papers about his photography, about him. being a chef. And it's like that poor kid, he's just trying to, you know, he's in this huge family. The glare is on them. And it's sort of been sort of fair game to bully Brooklyn Beckham for years.

Everyone's done it. People have done it. And if you're sort of criticizing here, you just think, oh, yeah, yeah, I've looked at pictures of him and thought, you know, what is he doing? So that put, so there, you know, that's been a lot for him to take. He's just a child. He's obviously very fragile, really fragile, understandably, for all the reasons that you. you've just said. And when you read that statement, you know, brand Beckham is obviously, you know, a big business. There's been all sorts of rumours about various behaviours within

the family anyway and they fiercely try to protect that brand. And I cannot imagine how difficult that is, you know, for the kids to see. And, you know, there's all the footage as well, isn't there, of them doing the line up for the documentary. And you can see there's the footage of Brooklyn and Nicola being ushered into this family photo and they are clearly uncomfortable. And you look at that thinking, oh, God, it's so, it's so clear what's happening here that there is discomfort. And you're right. How sad to not be able to figure this out away from the glare of the public. And where he's, and we don't know how there's obviously two sides of the story, but there's stuff within his statement that, you know,

you think, oh my goodness me, the whole reference to his name and whatever the hell that was about. Yeah. Yeah, it's clearly two big families trying to protect their brand, protect their names, you know. It's like Dallas or dynasty. It's like succession. It's a soap opera that we are all buying into, you know, without a shadow of a doubt, of course we've been looking at memes and we've been following the story. But then as mums as well, there's a whole other side to this, which is just so much more. more tragic. And he obviously knew what he was doing with that statement. Some of the words,

some of the things that he said, he knew how hurtful and the impact that these would have on Victoria, like the whole thing about her dancing at the wedding. His terminology is like it's so vitriolic, it's so painful. He knew the impact that would have. And that is coming from a place of either deep pain, deep anger. And again, it's going to cause immense anger amongst the siblings, you know, I bet his brothers and his sister are furious with him because they will want to protect their mum and their dad as well. Well, it brings a mess. It brings complications into their relationships, doesn't it?

Doesn't it just? Yeah, I must be really, I was thinking of his little sister, you know, to see that happening to your parents and to your brothers and on such a public stage, that's really upsetting for all of them to have to deal with. Yeah. And those, they are really personal stories, aren't they? They really, I mean, there's everyone saying, we need to see the dance. And the memes about the dance are pretty quite.

And I was thinking as a mum, it's like, God, we do. As parents, we do things that embarrass our kids. You know, my kids are mortified sometimes out and about in public if I do certain things or even just in the privacy of our own home. But you're right. He's obviously so hurt on a huge level. And that is, so to write, that's quite a personal thing to write in this statement. And whether he's doing that to say, look, I'm.

I'm trying to demonstrate here an example of when I've been humiliated. You know, I talked to Nell actually on the school run this morning, and I was saying, you know, it's a different situation. But our kids, you know, we're not like the Beckham's, your family and my family. Our kids have grown up in the public eye and they see us in a public situation. And when you're out and about, people say hello. And if you're at Clastonbury, people take photographs. So they've sort of seen, they've had an element of that in their lives. And Nell said, yeah, there are positives. You get to do great fun things, have great opportunities. We've been very privileged. But with that does come the pressure slightly of seeing the emotional side to relationships and stuff, you know, printed in the press. Everybody knows your business. She sometimes wonders if people are friends with her because of who she is or whether it's because of, you know, the connections. And obviously that growing up,

situation of will you be allowed to make a name for yourself without the Nepo baby title and the pressure that that will then bring. Yeah, my kids have gone out of their way to deny that they're my child quite often. And they're also, I mean, genuinely when it comes to getting work, they'll use a different name. Yeah. And they will, you know, they've all, they've all got story where somebody says something which makes it blatantly clear that they are only being spoken to or they've only got attention because of who their mum is. And that is so painful and makes them so angry and makes me really angry as well. And it just gives them, you know, they don't know who they can trust.

So actually their circle of friends are very tight and they're very close and they tend to people that we've known for years and years and years and they've now become like family. But it does add a layer of complication when it comes to making your way in the world, getting a job, having friends, having a relationship. It definitely complicates things. And, you know, the Beckham's our next level. I just keep thinking Victoria being so devastated because also that other thing, and our diggers will have had this, where perhaps your kids or your parents have dated people where you have found those relationships difficult and it's not a natural fit. Because it isn't always, is it? You know, as a parent, sometimes you look and go, okay, I'm just going to be supportive and I'm just going to be here for you. I'm not sure if this is going to be good for you.

Let's see how it pans out. See how it pans out. I will be here for you or ever. And you sort of determine not to say anything if you think your child's with someone who might not be good for them. Yeah. That is so difficult, that sort of stuff. And in the same the other way around, you know, lots of friends of mine have had parents in relationships that have been tricky. It's not always been easy for my kids, you know, seeing problems in my relationships. So you've got all of that, but you've got to do that in front of the world's press.

And the press are having a field. day, social media is having a field day. So this is only going to intensify for both sides, isn't it? It's going to be quite horrendous. And there's also the danger of who is villainised in this whole scenario as well. At the moment, you know, Nicola is getting it in the neck, but then also Victoria's getting it in the neck. And I don't feel comfortable with the fact that it's the women who are getting all the back. Yeah. And that is not ideal in any way, shape or form. So we must be very, very careful to look at everybody and to understand the complexities of this relationship and this whole family breakdown, which is a lot of

which is what it is. It's complete enough to break down. Also, I feel, you know, for those kids, they can't step out of their house ever, really, any of them without, you know, I mean, can either of it, can any of them just pop down to Greg's? Can any of the Beckham kids just pop, you know, do they have to have body guards with massive hoods on? With hoods on, with disguises. But also, is there a way to remove yourself from public life? Because if you look at Harry and Megan, Harry was very much, I just want to protect my wife, I just want to step away from this. And actually, they just. that didn't really happen for either of them. But you look and it does, if we believe the press, it does seem like there's signs there might be a reconciliation, even if it was for Harry and his dad.

Again, this is just the press. We don't know if this is true or not. And that kind of gives me hope for them. I don't know these people. But as a family, you think, I hope they work this out. I hope, you know, for their kids, for their grandkids.

But this at the moment, yeah, it just looks so painful on both sides that I don't really see where it'll go. The fact that they have, not been able to pick up a phone and just sort it out or meet in a room, have a conversation. Yeah. Yeah. Thrasch it all out, scream and shout at each other, cry. And then ultimately just go, oh, God, you know what? We just really, really love each other. Let's try and get on together.

Let's try and make this work. That is the tragedy. That is the saddest thing. But maybe, hopefully, they'll get to that point. I'm not entirely sure they will after this bombshell. I don't know. Oh, I know. Watch this space, I guess. I bet Pierce Morgan is going crazy trying to get that interview, don't you think? Oh gosh, yes, everybody. Well, Oprah. And that's the thing, loads of the memes. I know, I'm really hoping it's Oprah, not Pierce Morgan.

Oprah. Oh, and then everybody's dissecting every single interview, Victoria's ever done, every interview David's ever done. Everybody's begging for the footage of the dance. The thing that is kind of making me smile, which, you know, we shouldn't really because it is a sad story, but some of the, you know, the ideas, was the inappropriate dance a bit too racy,

or was it because she did the macarena? of something like, because my kids would be like, mom, stop dancing. Mom, please. But this is the thing. Yeah, surely, if in that, this is what I don't understand. Because in that scenario, I would be taken down. If I tried to intervene when my son and daughter or daughter and son-in-law were going to have their first dance, somebody would literally take me out before I got onto the dance floor. And they'd be like, mum, do not embarrass yourself.

Do not do this. What are you doing? So it's a bit weird. Yeah, it's a bit weird that it actually unfolded and it actually happened. Because we would never get to a point where that could possibly happen. Yeah, I know you'd be wrestled to. the ground. Yeah. Mom, no, stop. Oh, goodness me. It's just been Blue Monday, supposedly the bluest Monday, the day that people feel the lowest. And can I just say, Joe, I for the first time,

have really had bad January blues. I think it's a slight mixture of stuff. Nell's been at her dads for a couple of weeks. I'm not working loads at the moment, so I'm sort of getting used to. a new regime and it's been really sort of gray and rainy and cold and, you know, we're only halfway through January. And I was like, this is it, this is it. I was getting into, I mean, the other day I got into bed at six o'clock. I was so cold. I couldn't warm up. I got into bed. I've been watching a lot of dramas and I've had to have a word with myself of right. You have to tackle this. So I've been making myself go for walks, even if my hair. hip is killing me. It's like, get outside, go for a walk. On Saturday, I made myself do the garden

and I was just tidying up the leaves and pruning the roses. Thanks to Pollyanna for a brilliant how to prune your roses video that she's put up on her socials. Polyana Wilkins said we love her. And I've just been trying to sort of counteract it, this sort of low feeling of, oh gosh, I don't know if anyone else is going through it. And I did think, you know, I've often thought, Monday, Blue Monday. But this year I really thought, yeah, I totally get it. It is a time, isn't it? Because then it's still, it's so dark in the morning. And most people are going to work in the dark.

They're coming home and it's dark. And you're just sort of thinking, please, spring, can you start showing signs? I think it's been extraordinarily grey this January. The sky just feels like it's been, there's been a blanket of grey above us all. And I think that really affects your mood. It certainly has me. I was struggling so hard last Monday. I was watching about the podcast and I thought, God, I can see in my eyes that already was not having the best of times. I've really, really found it extremely hard. Last Monday, when I was feeling really bad, I just, I did that thing that you've just said. I really thought, I've got to get my act together. I really have. And I, the way I did it, I went for a run last Tuesday. I made myself a Monday promise that I would go for a run on Tuesday. And then Tuesday, it was pouring the whole day. And I just thought, I've just got to do it because I can't stand the way I'm feeling. I can't carry on like this. I need to do some exercise and that is the thing that stops me feeling sad.

So I put on a waterproof and I got out there and I ran around the lake. I was the only person that was running. I was the only person out. But I felt better afterwards and then I made myself go for another run and endorphins. It has been a matter of really having a word with myself and making myself do something. Yes. Yes. Yes. This is as shit as I want to feel. I've got to try it and stop feeling this way. I've got to do something to lift the mood. I think that's when the garden really helps.

I'm like, oh, there's signs of life. of spring bulbs are starting to come up. Yeah. Prune the roses, starting to plot where the greenhouse is going to go, all those things. So they are helping. So I'm interested to know from our diggers, what are the things you do when you're

feeling blue? And are you feeling it particularly this January? Because, you know, a lot of people might look at that Blue Monday as some kind of, you know, everything gets named, doesn't it? And title. It was a marketing tool, wasn't it? Yeah. It was about getting people to go on holiday. Yeah, it was just a holiday. It was like, okay, Blue Monday,

book a holiday, make us some money, yeah, but now it is a thing. But I do like the fact that, you know, charities like Samaritans, a sort of counteract that with Brew Monday. Yeah, I think that idea was lovely. Brew Monday, you know, pop around to have a cup of tea with someone who, you know, you might not see. I think that's the other thing, isn't it? It's make the effort to see friends. My friends came around. They'd been on a big walk and they'd pop around for a cup of tea and they bought some biscuits. And we just sat and caught up for an hour. And we actually, she talked a lot about grief because my lovely friend had lost her dad recently. And we were talking about her grief and my other friend had lost her mum. And we just sat and had this lovely chat

about our kids and our lives and about the grieving process and all the different places that we were in with that. And that was just wonderful. So it's like get your face out. You've got to get outside, haven't you? And like you say, you do your running. For me, it's walking at the moment. I met up with one of our friends the other day with the Don, Monty Don. You saw Monty. I saw Monty, which is always half an hour well spent. But I spoke to him about mental health. I'm being attacked by Nemo so badly. Is he round the back? I just keep seeing you going, he's such a rascal. Oh, he's round the back and he's tangled up in fairy lights at the moment. Oh, fantastic. Anyway, back to Monty. Monti. Monty Don has talked a lot in the past about how he hates November, December and then going into January. So I saw him in this week and I said, oh, how has it been for you? And he said, actually, Do you know what? January is okay because there is hope and there is work to be done. He said in November, December, you're putting things to bed and everything's a bit down. Whereas in January, he said, just think to yourself, I'm going to get my house in order. I'm going to get my garden in order. And I thought that was such an amazing piece of advice. So if you are sitting there and you're feeling like you don't know what to do yourself, look around your house, look around your garden, think about your friends, think about people in your life and just think, what do I need to do? Give yourself some bullet points of work that you need to do. to set yourself up for the months ahead and the year ahead. I felt really inspired by that.

I felt very hopeful. And I did come home and I looked in the garden and I've, you know, things have been going on. I went and bought some plants to put in the garden. But I thought, get your house in order is a very good phrase. Monty Don, get that on a tea towel. There we go. There's our merch sorted. Brilliant.

Oh, you're so right there. Any time with Monty is time well spent. Funny story when it comes to running. So I did my run in the rain on my own. And I really enjoyed it. I listened to a podcast. I'm actually getting myself into podcast now and realizing the benefit.

They can make a run so much more bearable. Which one do you listen to? I listened to the rest of entertainment. Yay. Which was great because they were looking at films and TV and stuff that's coming up for the year ahead. And I'm trying to catch up with you because you know so much.

And I'm like, I've got to get myself educated. So I listened to that. But then I went for a run with Cass and Steve and we're all hoping to do the London landmarks half marathon in April. And we went and it was really sunny. It was a lovely. run. We went round. And I thought Steve and I'd be catching up because we haven't seen each other

very much. And after about 10 paces, it was very apparent he wasn't going to talk to me for the whole way round. Head down. Because he was struggling a little bit. So I was talking in the end. I just gave up. And I was like, okay, fine, it's one of those runs. Cass just ran on ahead because he's so much faster. And then we got to the end, and I waited for Steve to catch me up. I'll just add that in. And we got to the end. And he just crouched down on the ground. And he was coughing and he had his head in his hands and I went up to him and I was like going, well done. That's your first one of the year.

That's really great. And then these two women who were, you know, a decade or so older than us, I noticed them looking at us and then they walked towards us. And one of the ladies shouted out, she went, there's some first aiders in here. Would you like me to go and get the first aiders for him? Oh, God. And I thought she was joking. Honestly, we thought she was joking.

And then I looked at her and I was like, no, you're serious. you actually think that he's like he's having a bit of a moment. He's about to collapse. Oh God, poor guy. I was hoping at that point she was going to say, is that disco Steve of the Christmas quiz? And she'd recognised him. He was a bit grumpy.

Was he? But then afterwards he was, as always, you know, you never regret a run. So he was very happy and pleased with himself that he'd done it. I'm really impressed. But yeah, that made my January. Poor guy. He's going to love you for telling that story.

Don't forget to hit follow or subscribe wherever you. watch or listen. That way you get new episodes directly. Well, if you have been feeling a little bit blue in January, something that has definitely cheered me up and made us all smile is the 2016 nostalgia. Everybody looking back, it's only 10 years. I mean, I find that mind-blowing as well. 2016 feels like yesterday, but it's 10 years ago. What? So everyone's been looking back at all their videos and their photographs. Joe, have you had a little delve into what the dickens you were up to in 2016.

Yeah, no, I did. I was a really, really busy year for me. It's all the great things I did. Like, some friends of mine were fashion designers, and they asked me to go on the catwalk. So I did it. Jude did it with me as well. And we are wearing,

if people are watching this, you'll be able to see, like, the biggest wigs you can ever see in your life. So I have this massive, I mean, it looks like a huge, like 10 candy flosses on top of my head, this white wig. It's so funny.

You look amazing. It was fun to do. Was it heavy? And was it scary? It was scary seeing myself in the mirror like that. But it was scary doing the catwalk year. I could never, ever, ever be a model at all. But it was really, really fun to do.

Like the insanity of getting dressed and then like the nerves, the anxiety before you walk out in front of all those people. And people are literally pinning dress bits to you as you go. So it was an insight into the modelling world. And also I was really, I did so many sporting activities that year. So I did the ride London, the science. Michael London, that thing. So that was one the hardest sporting things I've ever done. How far is it? Oh, God. I don't know. I think it was like 26 miles. I found it incredibly difficult. But the most fun thing I did was a mud run. And I did it with all my mates and all the

kids. And it was just brilliant. It was really like exerting, really hard. But you literally had to dive under the mud. There was a big beam of wood. And the only way to get past it was to go under submergence and completely under the log. And then you come up the other side, just completely caked in mud. And we had to jump off really great heights into quarries and run miles and jump from log to log to log, falling in the mud and the water. But it was my favourite thing I've ever done

of any sporting activity. Can I just say it looks to me like hell. I do not like being damp if I've come in for a walk. I mean, the idea of having damp, muddy pants, chafing thighs, you know, itchy armpits, submerging yourself in mud, jumping into a quarry, being cold, doing exercise.

I mean, that is my idea of absolute hell. No, but it's my idea of heaven. I know, look at your face, you're so excited remembering it. And your face in the picture, you look like you're having the time of your life. That would be, if anyone needed to torture me, they'd just say, oh, you're going to go and do a tough mudder. I'd be like, no, I'm not. I'd probably cry. The best thing to do, though, is to do it with people like yourself.

Like, you know, I did it with a whole bunch of friends and none of us were massively fit. But we were all different abilities. But just that team spirit of encouraging each other and total strangers just going, come on, you can do this and helping you along and going up really high heights, things that you're absolutely terrified of. And then when you get down the other side, you're like so proud of yourself what you've done. There's hikes. Oh, my God. There was also, I found when I was looking through 2016, a whole bunch of boomerangs. Do you remember the whole God?

A whole craze of doing boomerangs. I still don't have to do them, but yeah. No, I don't either. I had a variety of guests that came in on the radio show from REM to Sting. And then Robbie Williams, we did in concert with him. And it's just that repeated movement. You're pulling a face and you're doing it over and over and over again. So, yeah, there were loads of boomerangs if people remember those on my camera reel.

2016, again, for me, I look back through the photos. I was like, oh, my God, I did so much. I did the red carpets at Bafter and got to talk to Spielberg and Leo DiCaprio. and Kate Winslet and some amazing people. I always used to really love doing that gig. We took our kids on a road trip to California. And it was such an amazing time with the kids. We started in San Francisco.

We went to Yellowstone. We went to Big Sur. We loved Santa Barbara. And we ended up in Los Angeles and we did all the theme parts for the kids. The kids absolutely loved it. So that was really, it was. kind of the last big holiday we had together as a family because later on in 2016 we actually got divorced so it was kind of a year of God it was a year of two halves and um you know the writing

was on the wall for us a little bit yeah but you know I think for the kids that it was such a lovely holiday and we all really enjoyed it so that was quite special so you have great memories of that time together and because you still get on now it's yeah that is lovely it's lovely that yeah it is I don't have great great memories of that time together and it is I don't have great great times of the last part of the year. It was really hard. Getting divorced is so tough on everybody, you know, the kids especially. And so I think looking back, I was a bit like, oh God, yes, that was quite a year. In the autumn I did, it takes two, strictly it takes two. And that was like therapy for me, because it was going to the happy place every day when things were really tough, you know,

between us. It was so sort of heartbreaking. But going to it, it takes to, you know, the glitter dome, as we called it. And that was the year, the gift of Ed Balls and Cacci-Jones and Gangnam style. I mean, it was a strong year. It was when Orey won with Joanne Clifton. We had Danny Mack in that series. So that was, yeah.

So it was kind of like a sort of a year of two halves in a way. Highs and lows, yeah. The highs and lows, yeah. I think it's so funny that I feel like there's a massive, if not one, but maybe a herd of elephants of us not talking about strictly, but I'm not going to go there, but I think it's very funny.

Oh gosh. We're not talking about that. The number of people, but no, number of people who stopped me in supermarkets and go, so we're so we doing strictly. And I just go, I have no idea, but I really, really hope so. Anyway, moving on. Yes, moving on. Do you know, we went to, we did the America Road trip.

We did the exact same thing. All the places you've just listed, we did that. And we nearly got divorced at the end of the holiday. I found it really unbelievably stressful. The organization of those kind of things. Because you see all the happy photos, and obviously you're going to some extraordinary places and you're together. And so it's incredible. But at the same time, I had a migraine, I think, for two weeks for the whole time, just like working out which hotel you were going to go to and then where you were going next and which way you should go and eat.

And I just got so overwhelmingly stressed by the whole thing. It kind of overshadowed the whole holiday. Oh, bless you. Which is a very, very sad thing. But I bet other diggers might have had similar situations. There is just so much pressure to have the drawing. like the ultimate holiday and then it's just too much. See, I quite like doing all that stuff.

You know, one of us would drive and the other one would sit going, right, we could stay here. The other thing I quite like about a road trip is if you get to somewhere and you think, okay, this is all right, but we've kind of seen everything here. Shall we just drive on? One of Nellie's favorite stories about that holiday is when we were staying in Yellowstone and this lovely cabin in the woods. Oh, my God, it was incredible. But she's like, yes, do you remember when they were all signs everywhere,

saying do not have any food because the bears come. And so you told us this. You were like, yeah, because there's a huge bears and you've got to be really safe. And I said, and then you put me on a tiny camp bed right in front of the door. And she said, and all night I couldn't sleep because I was thinking, oh, great, leave me out for the bears. I felt really bad. That's so funny. Coco was paranoid about bears on that trip.

It was like this mortal fear that she had everywhere we went. She'd be like, other bears, other birds. She was like hyper-vigilant the whole time. We don't have giant six-foot, eight-foot bears, do we? And they don't really want to be humans, but they do want food. So, yeah, poor Nell. Do your kids tease you? You know, we talk about our children a lot, a lot.

And obviously, I know that they tease you. But what are they, what are the things? This is quite funny because we saw Matt Damon being teased by his kids on a red carpet when he was promoting Netflix, the movie he's done the rip with his mate Ben, Ben Affleck, which I was going to watch this weekend. I ran out of time, but I will watch it. And he's being ribbed by his gorgeous daughters. And I was thinking about my kids, the things my kids ribbed me about,

Nell says I've got no bans, which I get really upset about. Because I might, what do you mean I've got no bans? It's bants, mum. And I'm like, no, you're just being nasty and ribbing me. That's not bantz. So then we have a row about it. Woody will often take the Mickey out of me when I get. particularly ADHD.

And he's like, mum, get the diagnosis, get on the meds. When he came to stay recently and I was, I think by the time he left, I was at the door going, and I was like,

and I go from idea to idea to think, to think. And he's like, mom, maybe you should get a time. I was like, so he's always ribbing me about that, which really makes me laugh.

Yeah, there's some of the things. What about your kids? I asked them this last night because I was like, I could really, can't remember. And they said, but mum, what about the mumments?

And I was like, oh yeah, the moments. So this is a phrase that's in the family. The moments are. For example, whenever we go on holiday or whenever we go away, there'll be a moment when we've had a really lovely day and I'll just kind of wander off into the distance and I'll maybe look at the sea and the horizon or wherever a field.

And I'll just reflect on what a magical adventure we've had and how lovely it's been. And I just take it all in and I kind of visualize everything and I take a mental picture. And as I'm doing that, I can hear all the kids in the background singing Coldplay. La la la la la la. And I turn around and they are just bent double, taking the piss out of me.

Because they're like, oh God, she's having a moment now. A moment. It's literally me just savoring everything and they just won't have it at all. And that phrase, magical adventure. I'm always going, should we do this? And I'll say the word, either magical or an adventure in there somewhere. And that is it. I'm done.

I'm savage for the rest of the day. I love your kids. It's so brilliant. There's too many of them. There's four of them and they just, yeah, merciless. I know. You've got a whole gang up against you. Right. We're going to take a quick break at this point.

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Something I really love this week was Andrew Scott, a fantastic actor. We love and adore him, just recently loved him in The New Knives Out. Obviously, he will always be sexy priest. Fantastic on stage. Fantastic in person. Sexy Priest. Well, he was talking to the American host of a chat show, the brilliant Seth Myers. This is such a good story.

How did you respond when people, I mean, I would imagine in London, especially, people would start noticing you. Yeah, it was really weird. It's such a weird thing because I'd worked as an actor in the theater and, you know, lots of films that nobody had ever seen for years and years and years. And, you know, about 15 years. So that experience was very unusual for me. So what I used to do was I'm really big into drawing and art and stuff. So on the subway, on the tube, I just used to start drawing people just as a way of just not noticing. looking at people to avoid, you know... Be looked at it. Yeah, me looked at.

And so, yeah, I used to draw these little sort of caricatures of people. And then when I got off at my stop, I'd give them the... Give them the thing and then scuttle off before they thought, what's this? What a fantastic thing to do? It's like, I don't know. It was a good thing to sort of focus, because it did sort of freak me out a little bit. Not anybody sort of near me, just like right down the courageway. Do you think people were aware that you were just,

drawing them? I don't think so. Yeah, until the end when you were like this whole time. Exactly. Maybe it's a bit creepy, actually. No. Is that creepy? I think it's nice. I will say there are people right now who like maybe have it still on their fridge and they're like, that was Andrew Scott. Exactly. Exactly. Isn't that wonderful? Oh my God, yeah. And our brilliant team have found one of Andrew Scott's sketches that he did. This was shared by a chat called Chris. He drew me and my one. wife, we have it framed on the wall. Look, and he's even put thank you underneath it.

Isn't that fantastic? That's amazing. Yeah, that is so, so cool. Oh, I love that. And if we couldn't love him anymore. Yeah. And what a brilliant way to sort of deal with people who are going to look at you. Because people can't help it.

I've done it before where I've seen people. And then you're like, oh, my God. Oh, my God. It's so insane. And then you look down and then you think, no, it can't be. you can't be in it's look even better in the flesh um you know and and sometimes i mean you must have it as well apart from the fact that i'm constantly mistaken for you is that joe wiley joe joe love your show love me to see you joe but um sometimes people do the double take don't they do they do that

oh god yeah they say your name you walk along and you hear your name you can't help so andrew scott what a great idea just sketch people yeah and then give them as a gift so so good but there are those they've been over over time quite often when it's glastonbury or anyone that's playing at O2 and pop stars travelling by Tube to go there. So the likes of Noel Gallagher on the Tube or Jay-Z. And I wonder if any of our diggers have actually seen anybody in a pub. You know, this is awful. I mean, it's just now exploiting the thing that Andrew Scott said he didn't like.

But if anybody has seen somebody in an extraordinary place, then let us know. Like, have you sat next to Snoop Dog on a Tube? There must be somebody out there. One of my favourite ones is that I always run into people at car hire places. Billy Piper, Tom O'Dell, Matt Hague, all I've met at Car Hower place is when I've gone on holiday. One of my favourite ever holiday spots, Jason Donovan, in the car park on holiday going to the beach, and then Laura Coonsberg in the pastoral, in a supermarket, in a holiday resort. And I deliberately, I love Laura Coonsberg.

I love all the gang who do newscast, Adam Fleming, the whole crew, lovely Chris Mason. And, I mean, they're like rock stars to me. And I deliberately was going down the aisle with my trolley. I was like, I've got to go back. I've got to go back and speak to Laura Coonsberg. And I was really chuffed. Did you? I did.

I just went up and superfanned and then probably went bright red and then had to leg it. And I was really chuffed. I was at the BBC the other day. And she was just getting out of cab. She's like, Zoe. Hello. And I was like, Laura Coonsberg saying hi to me. By the way.

So chuffed. So where's the strangest spot you've spotted a celeb? Do you know what? I think I'd bumped into Jude Law maybe three times in various kind of shops or supermarkets. And every single, I cannot believe myself and I hate myself for it. Every single time I walk up to him and I name my son after you. And every time, I didn't actually name him after him. It was him and Jude the obscure and I just thought it was a really cool name. But obviously Jude was the Jude at the time when I was pregnant with my Jude. He was the Jude. But every time, you tell him every time. Bless him. He's always like, oh, I'm. Oh, really? Yeah. And I'm like, God, I've already told him that four times. Why do I do this? I think the celeb I've run into the most was when I was staying in a particular part of London, I would always see the gorgeous Harry Styles. Oh. And I saw him in the party shop. I saw him in the flower shop. And he has always been so adorable, Harry. He always says hello. Because I always think he's probably trying to be conspicuous because everybody would mob him. He's so adorable. But, you know, a couple of times he's been in a hoodie and he'll be like, hello.

And we've had these lovely chats. We had a discussion about pies once in this brilliant pie shop. He's like, which pie did he'd get? And he's always so lovely and adorable. And Nelly is furious and put out that she's like, how come I never run into him when you're with me? But he's wonderful. I bet she is.

Oh, my God, of course. And he's bringing out new music. Yes, I know. Kiss all the time, disco occasionally. I can't wait for the story. I think I might be the other way around. Disco all the time. Kiss occasionally, if I brush my teeth.

No, looking forward to that. It was a very cute thing on his socials. So he's put up the visuals, I think, of the album cover, which looks amazing. But underneath, because he's been stepping out with the equally divine Zoe Kravitz. Amazing couple. Dream couple. And Lenny Kravitz underneath had put a little, you know, yay emoji under. So all the papers are like, it's had to see a lot.

approval of Lenny. Now I went on a real nostalgia trip with Coco. We went on a very long drive and we just played lots of Harry Styles and it's just, I was so impressed with the production and the songwriting and the delivery and the variety of the songs. He works with Kid Harpoon. Kid Harpoon. Brilliant. Yeah. A real talent. And then he's worked on the new album as well. Yeah. So what's it going to be like? Well, disco, hopefully. Also, will he play Glastonbury? Because he's never played Glastonbury, Harry Styles. So it'll be next year because there's no Glastonbury this year. So that would be perfect, wouldn't it? He'd be amazing. Because again, he's so cross-generational, I think. And, oh, can you imagine as the lights going down? Oh, it'd be

magic. Harry, please. Emily, please. Imagine all the special guests as well. Lenny Kravitz will come out with him. Oh, God, there'll be so many people. Has Emily said that they've already booked the headlines for Glastonbury next year? I mean, we're really getting far ahead here. I think she has. Yeah, she said that she had a really good idea of who was going to be forming in 2027 already when it comes to the main act. Right, okay. Listen, tell me about Phil Collins. Tell me about Phil Collins because you got to speak to him.

And we both said how much we love Genesis. I remember Phil Collins when he brought out his album and he did his iconic top of the pop's performance with the drums in the air tonight. How is he now? Because he's had ill health in the past. He has. And we have just worked on this great podcast called ERAs. Phil Collins is a series on BBC Sounds. I think they've done Queen.

Kylie and it's about the whole career of an artist and all the music they've made. So this one is Phil Collins and it's available wherever you get your podcast now. There's four episodes. And then the fifth episode is actually visualised. So I've got to sit down with Phil. We talked about it a bit on the podcast. It was so wonderful to sit down with him. I've been lucky enough to meet him a couple of times throughout my career.

I am such a huge fan. And he's really struggled with the ill health. He actually talked about it in the interview. He said, you know, you name it. I've had it. He's had issues with all sorts. He's had some real problems with his knee, but he's in pretty good health at the moment, and he was in great spirit. And we talked a lot about his career, looking back, his parents, we talked about his kids, we talked about the future, told some great stories about, you know, when he first went to have his audition for Genesis and

are the stories. He has so many incredible stories. So if you want to have a listen to ERAs, Phil Collins, All episodes are out now, wherever you get your podcast. And it's on IPlayer next Monday. That's the 26. And you can watch on BBC 2 next Saturday. That's the 31st. So we have a genius production team, and they've just come up with something that they thought we should do. And it's amazing title.

It's called Sointel. Eve, thank you, Vanity of Dee, for coming up with that. And we just basically, we're going to show off, as the year goes on, all our things that we're sewing in our garden. And we want to show it to everybody. I'm not saying just me and Zoe, but all of you. So whenever you're doing anything amazing in your garden, maybe there's a little flower that's come out that you're particularly proud of.

We want to see them. If you planted a tree, we want to see it. We want to see your garden design. Anything is called sew and tell and we'll do it every single week. And we're going to kick it off ourselves. So I went to the garden centre yesterday. Absolutely freezing.

I was pretty much the only person there. But I bought some Hellebores. And they are such a gift when it comes to winter and January, or December even, for amazing pops of colour. And they come in such a beautiful range as well. so they can be deep, almost black plum, then they can be dusky pink and white and cream. And they have really huge impressive leaves,

which you can cut back to expose the flower. And I bought a bunch of those. I've got a big galvanised steel trough, and I put them in there alongside lots of erigaron, which are growing around the outside. And I'm very happy with the way it looks this morning, really, really chuffed. I just cut the leaves back on my hellebores in the garden.

There's a few that didn't take. I was really sad, but there's a few that they're doing really well. I've discovered, I think they're cool from, they're from easy plants. I've got lots of house plants and I have that whole thing of underwatering and overwatering house plants. And, you know, some need more, some need less. Sometimes you can't remember what you've watered. I found these really great pots that are self-watering. And I've put up a little picture here.

So you basically have your plant. It comes and you can buy them in a little pot here like this. And then you have this little corner that you take out and then you fill with water. and you pour in a hell of a lot more water than I ever could have imagined. And then what you do is you just every now and again, you just check the level inside in this little thing. And it basically, I don't know how it works, but it's sucking up in the water into the plant.

And hopefully we'll keep them sort of nicely watered for a certain amount of time without you having to, you know, panic or letting them go completely dry. Yeah. So I'm slightly obsessed with these. I've got them from, I think it's called Easy Plant, the company. got them from. So I'll let you know how I'll get on with those. And I've tried to choose plants that are good in bathrooms and in low light. They're good. They tell you about, you know, where these house plants, where they are suited to be in your house. So I'll let you know how I get on

with those. Maybe this will be the year I'll embrace the house plant. I just, I don't like them at all. And we've got, Seva's got like loads of money plants all over the house. But maybe they should, maybe I'll go to easy plant and get some plants. Ruth has been in touch and Ruth has shown us her sew and tell. Let's hear from Ruth. Hi, Zoe, hi, Jay. I just wanted to share with you my pottery and gardening skills. At the beginning of last year,

I brought myself a greenhouse in memory of my dad who passed away in August 2024. I love pottering around on a summer's evening at weekends and I've had great success growing tomatoes, cucumbers, cucumbers, beans and corsets. If I can grow it, I'll give it a go with the help of my two, three-year-old grandchildren. Just before Christmas, I went to the bottom of the garden

to have a look at the Christmas fed situation. Sprouts were a complete non-starter, but I think you can safely say that the parsnips were a great success. I literally threw those seeds in the ground and hoped the best. I think that approach has worked very well. I also love to grow flowers too. Every Thursday I turned a pottery class in Northampton, and I recently made myself a vase to display my flowers in.

We have nicknamed ourselves the Thursday Pottery Murder Club. What if you give a special mention to Karen, our very patient teacher, Andy Mick and Helen too who I've met through going to pottery. Anyway, looking forward to listening to more tickets when they become available. Bye. Ruth, how wonderful. Look at her harvest of delights.

Gorgeous tomatoes. I love those ribbed tomatoes. I can't remember what they're called. And the, oh, she's done a great job. Do you know what, Ruth, this is inspiration for me because I am about to buy myself a little greenhouse. I haven't got a huge amount of space and my granddad Fred loved his greenhouse. And I think that's where the gardening bug in our family came from and used to grow tomatoes and used to smell amazing into greenhouse. So yes, I'm going to get on to doing mine.

And I was reading someone else this weekend just saying, throw some seeds into a bed, see what takes. And I was wondering if maybe that is quite a nice way to tackle veg of just giving it a go and seeing if it works. Ruth, what lovely thing to do in memory of your dad and your gorgeous grandchildren there helping you in the garden? That's very exciting. So if you want to send us what you're doing at the moment, any pots you're making, I was watching the Great Pottery Throwdown last night, which is one of my favourite shows. They're so talented. And I love that idea that you go to a pottery class and meet a gang of friends.

So take inspiration from Ruth there. If you've got anything you would like to sew and tell, get in touch with us. Send us some pictures, some videos, send us a voice note. And you can find out by checking out the show notes. We actually ate some beetroot on the weekends that had been. in the vegetable garden, India just walked past and she was like, well, you've still got some stuff in the ground. So she dug it up, we've got potatoes as well. But we had beetroot with goat's cheese and walnuts and it was just delicious. Really nice. Hey, we talked

about Harry Styles already. So obviously, he is back and that's just so tantalizing and so exciting. But do you have any offerings? This is another, an alternative kind of so entail when it comes to stuff you've been listening to or reading. I've got a couple of bits for crate digging. First, I've got a book from Caroline, who I completely adore Caroline Idyenta, who is Caroline Circus. She's known as, you can follow her on Instagram. She started doing workouts during, I think during COVID. And she is so brilliant. And she's put a book together, which has exercises that you can follow. It's got like a weekly plan. So if you've got some weights and a mat and a chair, some bits at home, you can do workouts. And I started.

the daily workout from the book last week. And I'm really enjoying it. And Caroline's also put some recipes in here as well that I haven't tried any of those yet, but it will be. And it's called Fit at 50. Definitely one to share with our diggers because Caroline's fabulous. She's a real inspiration.

I was so pleased that you did that because I've been following her on Instagram for forever. But I just never got round as we've discussed before doing those classes. I just don't know how to fit it into my day. And maybe I'm just not the right person for that kind of thing. But a book, I'm definitely going to go and buy that book. Just have it in front of me to flick a page. I can do that.

For some reason, my brain works really well with books and writing and pages. Also, part of my cheering myself up feeling a bit blue in January was to pop to my favorite record shop in Brighton Resident Records. And I found this reissue from 1987, David Sylvie. And do you remember this? Secrets the Beehive. and I loved this album so much. It is beautiful. If I said Orpheus to you, would you remember that?

And I haven't got my reading glasses on sarcasmusia. Just try to remember some of my favourite tracks. Let the happiness in. Do you remember that track? Oh, anyway, I love this album. It's been reissued on vinyl. So that was a lovely find. He made that with the fabulous Steve Nye.

So that's one of mine. And then I wanted something new. And I'm really loving these guys. West Side Cowboy. for fab musicians who met at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and they've sort of come up with a name for their music which I think they're calling Britannicana so it's that kind of cross of American and sort of Americana

and then sort of British rock and punk and IFA her voice kind of reminds me of slightly of Adrian Lanker and they are brilliant there's just a little EP so much country till we get there it's called and some great tracks on that. They caught my eye with the track Strange Taxidermy because my brother Nick's obsessed with taxidermy. But this is such a great EP.

That's a really good track. I love that song. It's fantastic, isn't it? Can't see? It's really buzzy and then don't throw rocks. Another favourite. So West Side Cowboy, brilliant group. So there you go.

They're my offerings on crate digging this week. And I love going down the record shop. Well, that always cheers me up. And I'm sorting out my stereo system at the moment. What have you got for us on Crate Crayt Dgging-Joe? I just wanted to reiterate Siena Spiro and about how amazing she is. That session she did. Yeah, last year I was playing her and then she's got the song, Diane This Hill.

And she did a session for me last week and just to see her in the flesh and to hear this amazing raspy voice. She kept apologising all the time because her voice was so raspy. And I was like, listen, if this is you not perfect, I will take this and I'm just excited for you when you are perfect. And absolutely reminded me of Adele. When Adele sings those, like when we were young, those really beautiful torch songs, Sienna has that quality to her voice, just so unbelievably moving, mesmerising, very soulful as well. She's got a dusty Springfield kind of look to her. And if you're talking future stars that will be around for a long time, I would put money on Siena Sparrow.

I was so impressed with her. So, yes, the session is there. It's on BBC Sounds if you want listen to it. She was on my show last Wednesday. But really, really great. I loved her a lot. And one thing I'm excited about, which is coming out, I know, and that is a War Child album. So there have been lots of, there was lots of speculation, rumors about who's going to be on this album. I think it was 30 years ago, there was a War Child album, and it was called Help. And artists like the Manx Street preachers, I think, Swade were on there, and it's all charity going towards Warchard. Well, they're doing it again now. James Ford, I think, has been involved in the production of this. And Fontaine's DC, a rumour to be very much involved, and Arctic Monkers. which is obviously extraordinarily exciting.

Any new music from Arctic Monkeys just gets me really, really excited. So I think it's going to be a proper quality album, obviously the best, best charity in the world to be supporting. But I think it's going to be great, amazing artists involved in that. Was there any truth in the rumour that I think Nell said to me

that the Arctic Monkeys were going to do this track for the album and then they were going to split? Oh, God, I really hope not. Is that nonsense? That would be terrible. I know, well, Nell told me that. She said, then they're not going to do anything else. I was like, really?

I think that's it for today. What a lovely chat. We've covered a lot today. I've thoroughly enjoyed that. You've helped my January blues. No end, Joe. Thank you. Like Monty said, get your house in order.

There is brightness coming. There is. There is light at the end of the tunnel. I'm going to get out for a walk and do a bit more on my course. Have a great week, darling. Love you. All right. Take care.

Lots of Love. Bye. Digit is a Persefonica production.