Dig It with Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball - ‘Girls’ Reboot, Voice Note Etiquette & Becoming A Mum At 52

Episode Date: October 22, 2026

Jo and Zoe tackle all the big questions this week: would you become a mum again at 52? Are you glad to see the return of the seminal television show, Girls? And are long voice notes ever acceptable? Plus, hear Zoe’s incredible impression as they discuss the government’s £100 fines for ‘loudcasting’ and find out which Dig It gardeners have been raving with Jo. 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/447477038795📱 Message us on Instagram @DigItPodSPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORSThis episode is brought to you by: White Stuff, Charlie Bigham’s, La Roche-Posay, Arla B.O.B, Bupa, Bloom + Wild, Woodland Trust, Zenidog and Panda London: 🍂 White Stuff – Discover White Stuff's new autumn collection, inspired by getting outdoors, embracing your independent spirit and reconnecting with the world beyond our phones. Enjoy 15% off your order with code DIGIT15 off full price items online and in store until 31st Dec 2026. Head to www.whitestuff.com​​ to explore the collection and find out more about the Looking Up campaign.🍽️ Charlie Bigham’s — Look out for all the Charlie Bigham's dishes on your next shop. Charlie Bigham's, Slowly Does It.✨ La Roche-Posay – Discover the new Hyalu B5 routine today. Head to LOOKFANTASTIC to shop the new Hyalu B5 Serum and Refillable Cream. https://tinyurl.com/ptyfs6cc 🥛 Arla B.O.B – Looking for an easy swap without compromising on taste? Arla B.O.B tastes just like semi-skimmed milk but with all the benefits of skimmed. It's perfect in your morning tea or coffee, and easy to spot in the supermarket with its distinctive yellow top. Give Arla B.O.B a try and see if you can taste the difference.💙 Bupa – Search Bupa Family Health Insurance to get your quote. Pre-existing conditions not covered. Terms and conditions apply www.bupa.co.uk/health/health-insurance/family-health-insurance💐 Bloom & Wild — Looking for a thoughtful gift? Bloom & Wild has so much more than beautiful flowers, with carefully curated hampers, candles, brownies and books for every occasion. Enjoy 15% off your order at bloomandwild.com with the code DIGIT15 at checkout. Care wildly with Bloom & Wild.🌳 The Woodland Trust - Join the Woodland Trust from just £4 a month and support the protection of the UK's woods and trees. Visit woodlandtrust.org.uk/join and find out more.🐕 Zenidog - Help your dog feel safe and secure this Bonfire Night with Zenidog Calming Gel Diffusers, which are available from veterinary practices or Amazon.🐼 Panda London — Make hot flushes and night sweats more manageable with Panda London’s beautifully soft, breathable and thermoregulating bamboo bedding. Head to pandalondon.com/digit to discover menopause-friendly bedding and get 15% off your next order.CREDITSExec Producer: Sam MichellProducer: Harriet ThurleyAssistant Producer: Eve JonesTechnical Producer: Dan MossVideo Editors: Dan Moss and Jack Whiteside Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coming up on Digit, the return of the Seminole series Girls, becoming a mum at 52. And where do you stand on voice notes? I don't have the time to listen to your four minute voice note. You can speed them up. Oh my God, I feel so broody as my ovaries like riding off into the sunset. With menopause, there is that part of my body going, I want a baby. We asked, who would you be recruiting as a traitor, Joe or Zoe?

I think I know the answer here. Yeah, I think I do as well. Drum roll. That did not go the way I thought it might. All of that, right after this. Hello, my friend. Hello, Joe. Hi, Zoe.

How you doing? I'm okay. I can't believe that October is hurtling by us. Diggers, hold tight. I know. I think it's nine weeks till Christmas. I don't know if that's a scary thing to say. Sorry if I'm freaking people out.

So the clocks go back, which means it gets, it's dark early. which I absolutely hate. And I wish Andy Burnham would step in and say, do you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to make sure that the clocks don't change. And then we can have lighter evenings. It drives me crazy. I guess because I work at night and I really, really notice it.

I guess that gets to the point where you are going to work in the dark. Yeah, yeah. I leave my house at 4 o'clock. It's horrid. It's really horrid. Oh, no. That's a long old night. I do feel for shift workers, actually.

Yeah. Coco was born on the 26th of October. and she was born, that is when the clock's changed and she was born in the early hours of the morning and the midwife just went, I'm not sure whether it was three or four o'clock that she was born. So we've never actually known. She's always saying, so when did I, when was actually born? I'm like, well, the midwife never said. It was like either three or it was four.

So she's going to be 18? Yes, I know. Your baby girl. How has this happened so fast? God, I don't know. I don't know. I was up until like stupid a clock putting together one of those photo books just for her 80. birthday so I've been going back over all the photographs of her when she's just been born and all the adventures and the lovely times that we've had together in those 18 years. I mean, we've had so much fun. That was my impression.

I didn't feel emotional. I just felt like, God, we're so lucky to have her. Those photo books are a nightmare. Have you done them? Oh, I've done them. They seem like such a good idea, don't they? And then you're trying to put a photo in and it's telling you it won't fit this way or it'll go that way. No, this photograph is too fuzzy.

I know. Or then it's a group shot. and it'll cut out three people. You're like, no, it's a family group shot. Yeah, they drive me mad. I'm so impatient when it comes to things like that. So what tends to happen is I just sort of throw it one up in the air and walk away and a half and then come back to it a little bit later.

But they're so worth doing. I did one for Woody's 18th as a book of his life. It's amazing to look at. Yeah. You know, and that feels like just yesterday. And he's going to be 26 in December. So where is the time? going.

Yeah. I can't, oh, are you going to celebrate? Is she having to do? We're having a bonfire party, so that's a little bit further down the line. But no, we're just taken away and we're having dinner and an overnight stay somewhere. But I did the photo book because she was my last child and because she was born so long after India was born, so like 17 years, she's always had this bug bear that she wasn't part of our lives for a really long time.

So when we're looking at photo album, she's like, yep, I wasn't there. Nope, I wasn't born. So that was my motivation for doing the photo book and just going, no, you were. Look, we really, really loved you. you and we really involved you and you've had a lot of our time and it's um yeah just just a reminder of all the things that she shared with her siblings and with us as a family i love that with siblings though yeah because they do always compare notes that they're oh well you were you're having that oh yeah and that was an amazing time which is just natural behavior yeah and i kind of love it always makes

me laugh can i just recommend actually i did use papier um for my photo book that india recommended it and it's changed so much so when i was doing these books about 20 years ago, it was really, really frustrating. But now they actually, you put your photographs in and it saves it straight away. So no matter, you know, whether you come back to it, three days down the line, it saved all your bits. So it's just, if anyone's thinking of doing a photo book, Papier was really good. Do you write stuff in or you're just putting the photos in? Oh, my friend Heather has done the most amazing photo books. She did me a, This Is Your Life. Like with a red cover, it that came in a red box. And she does. She writes funny things and she put

little memories in and stuff like that. If there was one program that I would love to see coming back, it's This Is Your Life. Oh, my da, da, da, da, da, da. Yes. It was always so brilliant, wasn't it? Here's Your Teacher from 1972. I used to love that show. Yeah, me too.

The thing is they had such a good calibre of guests back in the day, didn't they? Because they had all the actors, incredible. you know, scientists, all sorts of people would go on it and do it. I don't know. Would it be the same today if we did it now? I think it would. I don't know why it hasn't come back because they've tried bringing everything back. And I just, I've often thought, why has that not happened? And I always kind of trying to imagine who the hosts would be. I think Vernon would be good. Vernon would be great at doing that. You can see him looking all dashing with holding the big book. Yes. The stick mic. Surprising people. Right. Vern, we're going to write you a

a proposal. Yeah, this is your life, Vernon Kay. Well, Telly's got no money anymore. Everything's being cancelled like DIYSOS. They're going to rest. It's the most amazing program. Just seeing that show in action and how those incredible teams come together and all those trades offer their services completely for free. People travel all over the countryside to help on those projects. And once they've done one, they often come back and do a couple a year. And it can really changed people's lives. It is such an amazing program. So I hope it's only being rested, but it's budget cuts, isn't it? It's budget cuts a go-go. If you're loving Dig It so far, hit follow or subscribe and that way you'll get brand new episodes as soon as they're out.

Something is making a return, Joe, which I'm very excited about. Although is it a good idea this is up for discussion is girls. Did you watch Lena Dunham's girls? It came at the wrong time of my life, I think. India. my daughter was obsessed with it. And so I'd dip in and out, I'd walk into the room, I'd sit down and watch a bit of an episode, but I never followed it from the beginning to the very end. And I really wish that I had

because there were some amazing characters in it. So can you give me a brief recap? It was Lena Dunham's program, and it was produced by Judd Apato, who apparently is returning. They're bringing it back for a few episodes, and it was basically about the lives. I keep trying to make my Nell watches.

It's like, Nell, you'll love this. about four young women living in New York in their sort of early 20s. And it was Hannah, Marnie, Jesser and Shosh. They were the four girls. They were very, very different in every single way. And it was all about them trying to find their way in the world, finding out who they were as young women. It was very funny.

It was often really heartbreaking. And it sort of featured all the men in their lives. And I think it's picking up with the girls' lives in their 40s, because the last time we saw them, it was in their 20s. I think it makes sense to bring it back, because if they're now in their 40s, I mean, I actually feel, as you're talking about this, I can see this with India and with her friends

because they probably were late teens when girls came out, but they are now all mid-30s and they're looking at their lives and where they are now. And I feel like I've been watching an episode of girls, just watching their lives and what's happening to them, where they are in their relationships and with their family and with their work. I'm so involved in all their lives, like all of India's friends, and you'll be exactly the same with Woody and with Nell. You just watch them grow up and you watch them develop. And so, yeah, it's all kind of, it's quite voyeuristic. You're right. And it's like seeing all their relationships. And I have to say that sometimes when I'm feeling a bit low, you know, there's things that if I'm feeling ill or something or other, I can get into bed and watch and know that I could just binge watch it all again. And there's certain films like, if pretty woman's on, I will watch that again and again and again. I will watch.

and prejudiced, the TV series and the movies again and again and again and again. And like always get something from it. In fact, Nell and I will always watch little women again and again and again. And Girls is one of those series that sometimes I'm just like, oh my God, girls is on. And I'm back in it and I'm binging. Because also the music, there was always really amazing music. And it just talked to you about, you know, women and relationships. And, you know, even though they're a hell of a lot younger than I ever was.

it just, it kind of reminded me so much of my own youth and the mistakes you make and the way you learn and falling out with friends and when friends, you know, when there's a overlap with boyfriends and all sorts of stuff, it does bring it all back to you. So I'm fascinated to see where we'll find these girls further down the line. Yeah, 40 something is going to be interesting. It's going to be a good watcher thing. Maybe they should watch Digit for inspiration because all our diggers will be going, oh my God, yeah, I'm thinking about the 40s and what they were going through. you're in your 40s as you're watching and there are key issues that you would like to see addressed in girls. It could be fascinating. When's it coming about? Do we know? They're shooting,

I think, the episodes in the summer. Would you want to see a friend's reunion? I mean, obviously we don't have the wonderful Chandler anymore, but would, how would everybody feel if we were to get a glimpse at their lives and what's happened to them where the children have come along, what jobs have worked, what their friendship is like now? I don't know. I just think it's so heartbreaking to have lost a member of the team. And I think they were all so devastated at the loss of Matthew Perry that I don't know if they'd be able to do it. I think, you know, I mean, I think Jennifer Anderson, they still all struggled to talk about it. But would you want to see what's happened to Phoebe and Rachel? It's a real reflection of life, isn't it? You know, you'd lose people. So the fact that

Chandler wouldn't be part of their lives now. and how they would feel about that would be interesting, I think, and relatable. I don't think it'll ever happen. I'm just thinking I would quite like to see it. I just think because it was just comedy, I don't know whether you don't want to see the sadness. No. Where it was. I mean, the good thing with girls, it was a drama.

So you got comedy and you got drama, but it wasn't a sitcom. I just love watching all the hair and the fashion of like, oh my God, when those kind of jeans and those strappy tops were really in. In fact, a lot of the fashion in friends our girls are now wearing now because we wore the first time around. Yeah, I don't know. Maybe all these reboots, maybe life just gets sad as you get older.

And so maybe we should never revisit any of those because we don't want to know. We just want to see the bubble of when it was all really fun and exciting and there was optimism. And then, yeah, let's focus on that. Is there anything that would work? Yeah, let us know, Diggers. What would you like to see a reboot of?

Yeah. Would you like to see a reboot with friends? will you be watching the reboot of girls or are there other shows that you would love to know what happened to all those characters because you really missed them like some of the guys from six feet under

or the OC I was really obsessed with for quite a while Oh I'd love that too I'd love another series of the OC What was the thing that John cold cold feet? I mean they did go back didn't they and that was quite depressing I think so yeah They killed off Rachel didn't they

They killed her off and then she cropped up in friends That never worked for me that never worked for me. I don't think I've ever cried as much an episode of television as I cried when Rachel died and poor Adam being so devastated in cold feet. That was so harrowing. Yeah. Yeah.

That's another good subject. When have you cried the most at a television program? What has made you cry the most? It's a sin that made me cry horror. Oh my God. Yeah. Awful. Awful.

That's the saddest thing. And also, yeah, it's also very real, isn't it? So the sadness that you feel is real because it's happened to people. But God, that was really, really sad. Because I keep saying to Coco to watch it, I mentioned last week. And then I keep thinking, I don't know that I want her to experience the sadness. I know. I remember thanking Russell T. Davis for writing that.

We lost a friend, our friend, Chesh, watching that. It was so good to remember how horrendous, you know, people were treated. Yeah. during, you know, the AIDS and HIV crisis and how, you know, it really wasn't that long ago. And there's so many lives lost, so many lives lost. And thank goodness, medicine is much better now. And our understanding is so much better now. And there's help available and stuff. But yeah, it really was incredible. Russell is just so brilliant, isn't he? Thank you so much for listening to Digit.

If you want the full visual experience, you can watch us on YouTube. So you'll get to see our outfits, you'll get to see various children, pets. We never know quite who's going to join us on Digit. You can also find us on Apple TV too. Did you see about Hilary Swank that she's having another baby? She's got twins, I think her and her husband have got twins who are three years old. She's 52. 52?

Yeah. Wow. I mean, I was quite tired when I was 42. She looks amazing. Oh my God. She looks incredible. Look at a little. She looks so happy.

She really does. Beautiful girl. having a baby at 52. Oh my gosh. I don't think I could do it again. I don't think I could do the sleepless nights again at some at my age. Oh my God. It's been bad enough having goose as a puppy. Yeah, exactly. What kind of pet, what sort of parent would you be now? I mean, the thing is, I do, I swear it's, you know, I see any babies in parks or cafes or anything and I'm always like, oh my God, I feel so broody. And I, of. think it's that as my ovaries like sort of fading off, riding off into the sunset with menopause,

that there is that part of my body going, I want a baby, I want, you know, that. But I think I just hankering after the early days of my kids being really, really young, I think the reality of trying to look after a baby now, I'd be exhausted. I've had friends who've had babies sort of later, later in life. And I don't think it's necessarily the baby bit that's tough. I think it's the 10 years down the line bit. Probably. That's tough. When you've got, you know, kids suddenly who are 7, 8, 9 running around and you're in your early 60s and you're then suffering, you know, your body's starting to pack up a little bit and your joints are going and you're, you know, you've got all of that sort of menopause stuff.

I think that's when the problems occur because you're like, oh, you're not at your fittest anymore. Yeah. But if it doesn't work out for you and you can't have your children as young as you thought you were going to, then you will grab that opportunity whenever it comes along and you will keep on going until you get your child. So I'm sure that's probably what's happened with Hillary Swank. Yeah, it's just a celebration of having a child, I think. Exactly. And we've probably got some diggers who have become parents in their 50s and are so happy and so grateful.

And for all kinds of reasons, it might not have happened until then. But I do keep saying to the kids, I was like, you know, obviously Nell's 16. I'm like, now you hang tight and Woody's 26 and it's definitely not ready to have kids. But I do sort of say to him, don't leave it too long if you want childcare. If you want free childcare from me, which I will totally give you, don't leave it too long until I can't freaking walk. I know. Hopeless to them. I can't wait to become a grandparent.

Honestly, I really can't. Oh. Hey, do you remember we were talking? in the summer, I think it was, about loudcasting, which is where people just, they start to watch TV on the trains, they have really loud music going on when you're on the bus or they have very, very loud phone calls without headphones, just talking to the speaker. And lots of people had very strong opinions about this because it just really, really is very, very irritating. Did you see that Andy Burnham is just as irritated about this as we are

and the government and now cracking down on it? They are. They're reminding people that you've got to use headphones. And if you don't, If you play loud television or music or have phone calls on public transport, you could be fined £100, apparently. This is music to our ears, I would say. I think it's good. It's just that thing. It's just when it's anti-social, isn't it? It's just, you know, no on everybody wants to hear your computer game or your TV program that you're watching on the train.

It's like people have had a hard day. People are, you know, struggling. It's like, just be thoughtful. and turn it down or just listen on headphones or just read a book. One thing I'm really guilty of is I've now become the person who speaks to people on speaker phone because I think... What? I know.

I know. And I used to see my kids doing it and I'd be like, what are you doing? But now I get quite paranoid about brain tumours and phones. And I think, oh, God, I don't really want my phone to my head all the time. I mean, I might have invented this and I don't know if there's any scientific evidence whatsoever. But in my head, I'm just like, well, no, it's actually probably much healthier for my head to just have my phone out here and speak to them on speakerphone. So I've started doing that. And I don't like it about myself, but I do.

Well, in a public place? Possibly. I think I do. I think I notice myself doing it more and more. If the phone goes and I'm doing something else, I'll just put it on speakerphone. And I'll carry on doing, putting the groceries away or doing whatever I'm doing, getting a cup of coffee and I'll speak to people. And then I keep thinking, this is actually really antisocial. You're not doing that.

Hello. I'm on the phone. No, I am. I'm doing exactly that. That's dumb jolly. Yeah. I'm embarrassed to speak to someone in a public place. Anyway, if I'm ever on a train and someone calls me up, I just text them and go,

I'm on the train. I'll call you later. Because it's like nothing. You can text someone. I think that's that thing. Yeah. I mean, I've been on trains where people have had a conversation for two hours. When you can't move, usually, if there's someone, if I sit down and there's someone doing

that, like watching something or talking really loudly on the phone, I just move. I'm like, you're going to drive me mad. Do you, do you leave voice notes? Are you a voice note person? My lovely friend Lisa would leave four minute voice notes and that we'd all take the mickey out of her. And then I realised that sometimes it's actually quite handy to leave a voice note. Sometimes it's really lovely to hear someone's voice. But yeah, I'd rather text.

First and foremost, I would text. I'm quite shy about talking to people on the phone. So I would always much prefer not speak to people on the phone. And voice notes, I'm just like, I don't have the time to listen to your four minute voice note. I just want to see the bare bones of what you want to say to me in a short text. And then I can reply. I'm so horrible.

It's too much though, isn't it? When you look at your seven minute voice note, this is a podcast. What do you want? A lot of the things you want to say could just be had in a three points note. Yes. Please call. Send help. But I think it's that different people have different brains, don't they?

The way they communicate. That's what I've come to realize. Some people do not and cannot send text and they don't. like messaging. So they will absolutely leave a voice note because that is their way of communicating. So now I'm having to tell myself to accept that as them and this is me and we just have different ways of communicating. But you can speed them up as well. You can make them go at three. Is it two times of speed? I think they should do at least three, four times of speed. That's good. So last week we spoke to Minister for Women and Equality's Bridgett Phillipson

and Mariella Frostrup about how to better support menopoles or women in the workplace and what can be done to improve women's health. And it was a very important episode and it got so many of you talking, which we were really grateful for. It was lovely to hear from you. We had this from Tanya. This really resonates. I'm a psychologist, so I'm used to advocating for other people.

Yet navigating my own health problems this year has been a wake-up call. I've learned how exhausting it can be to keep asking questions, seeking answers, and making sure your concerns are properly heard, especially when you're already unwell. If someone with my professional background finds it difficult, I do wonder how many women simply give up and they go home, believing they're making too much fuss. It's not good, is it? No, it's really heartbreaking. Thank you so much for having this conversation, says Zoe. Having a staff, Menopause Network is making a real difference in my workplace. Yet I know how lucky I am to have this at work when so many women are not supported. A menopause policy is great, but not if that's all it is, a typed document

with no action. I'm working with HR as they redesign our menopause policy, which includes focus groups with staff volunteering to share their experiences and what they want done to improve things for them in the workplace. What a great idea in your workplace to set up those meetings and talk to women and find out what would help them in the workplace and then to try and action that. Even before there's any policy done by the government, so good. We really were inundated with people, weren't we, responding to all the conversations that we had with Bridget and with Mariella, lots of people saying that they've had struggles in their own workplace and at home as well. So thank you very much to all the diggers who've been so open, candid, honest with us and for

sharing what they're going through and how they're feeling. And we'll just carry on talking about it. We'll just keep on keeping on. We also asked the minister if she'd been watching celebrity traitors. She's not as big a fan as us, though. On the subject, you have been voting in our exclusive traitors poll. We asked, who would you be recruiting as a traitor? Joe or Zoe? I think I know the answer here. Yeah, I think I do as well.

Drum roll. And the results are in. What? 35% said me. A whopping 65% said Joe would make the threat. best traitor. Really? It's because you're so ruthless, Joe.

You're so ruthless and you're really good at lying. That did not go the way I thought it might. I'm so shocked. I would be a terrible traitor, really bad traitor. I need to show you this really lovely lady has sent us socks that they're 100% faithful on them. Oh. There we go, Joe. Next season of traitors, you're going in the castle.

I'm appalled that you think, all of you think that I would be a good tracful. traitor. I'm honestly, my family will vouch for the fact that I would be the worst traitor in the world. I cannot lie. And I just thought, oh my God, I'll be out straight away. I'd be the first one guest. I'm a hundred percent faithful. I always want the faithful to win. I always vote for the underdog. I'm always like in a football match, even if I love one of the teams, I'm always like, come on, come on the underdog. So yeah, I'm always 100% faithful. And I'm really sad because for me, feels like the traitors just have the upper hand and they're going to win every time. And I just kind of want the faithful to win. Yeah. Although when Alan Carr won last year, I was absolutely

thrilled. But right up to the last minute, I was shouting at the telly, Joe was done because I was really hoping Joe Marla would do it. I can't see anyone beating Maya. Can you? She is just so, I just don't think she's so good. Yeah, she's just so good. I don't think anyone will guess. I don't know. I'm still holding out for Michael Sheen. Come on, Michael. And Sharon Rooney. The problem is with traitors and this is always what happens is all the big characters get voted out because they have opinions and they get

so it's the quiet people who tend to stay but I you know Michael's holding his own and you know I feel like James Blunt is like probably going to get voted out at some point because he keeps having heat on him which will make me really sad because

like James Blunt and Ross Kemp have been so entertaining Amaranda doing her galloping and yeah. Yeah. We'll see. Time now for another instalment of Dunkin. So this is where we shout out

the cafes where you go to Dunkie Biscuits. You go for comfort and chat and conversation and coffee. The places in your neighbourhood that everybody should know about. This week we have one from Anna. She said, I'd love you to come and have a brew. In Martha's Cafe at Heritage Lifestyle in Sheffield. Apparently, we bake the best raspberry scones. Scones?

Scones. We talk menopause at the counter daily, sort people's bills, phone issues, you name it. Oh, and save lives. Literally, oh my gosh. We performed CPR earlier this year and the gentleman has recently been back to thank us for saving his life. Not so much the broken ribs. Oh my goodness me. We've built a community and are known locally as a hidden gem. Once you found us as a customer, you leave as a friend. How wonderful. You both would love Anatta here from Anna. Well, I tell you what, if we ever get invited back to Crosswires Festival,

and all our Digit team, a lot of them are based up in Sheffield. So we will come and see you, Anna, and Bravo. I can't believe you've actually had to save someone's life. That's incredible. If you're watching this on YouTube, you'll be able to see the lovely Anna, what gorgeous face, what a lovely welcoming smile she has. The thing that I really, really, that caught my attention just then, when she said they talk about phonish,

or sort out people's phone issues. And just thinking of like my mom who's struggling with technology to go and have a cup of coffee and meet some people and chat and then be able to sort of go, I can't, I just don't know what's going on with my phone. For someone to help out, that is a great, great thing to be doing, a great service to be providing. I need help by Vaswell on a regular basis. I have to ask all my young team at work, what am I doing here? What am I doing?

They're right. Come on, Nana. Come on. We'll sort that out for you. After the break, create digging and find out which Diggett gardeners have been raving with Joe. Don't you just love it when two worlds collide? Two of our favourite gardening experts who we regularly feature on Digit went raving with Joe. Ish and Michael Griffiths.

Oh, there they are. Oh, the three of you out. Where was this? What happens? This was lovely. This was Bristol O2 Academy. And I was DJing there on the other Friday night. And I got a message from Ish in the day.

And he said, oh, if only I'd known, I would have come along. And I was like, well, you can. I can put you on my guest list because you're my friend and I got space. And he turned up and I was DJing and I looked down in the crowd. And there was Ish. And then there was Michael with him as well. And I had no idea that Michael was coming. And they came and said hello afterwards.

And it was really, really nice for actually meet them in the flesh and have a conversation and to socialize. It was brilliant. And I loved to say. their faces in the crowd. It was so, just so lovely and friendly, and they were having a wild time. They were properly raving. Isloss's voice. I'd lost my voice as well. It was just singing so loudly. Hardcore. I did at one point say, oh, if there's any diggers out here, hi to you. And there was this little roar from all over the place in the audience. And there were loads of diggers that had come along to my 90s anthem show. And then I got some beautiful messages

from people afterwards saying how, you know, they've got so much rubbish going on in their lives at the moment and it's quite tough. And then just to put all that in a box, park it for an evening, come out and rave with their mates or on their own how much it meant to them and it was a real release and just away from all the things that they were having to deal with. So if that was you, if you're listening or watching Digit right now, then hi, lots of love to you. Thank you for coming along. And there are more along the way. So if you are in that situation where you just want a bit of time out and want to have a bit of fun. Come to one of my shows because that's what we do.

We have a lot of fun. We forget about everything and just dance and sing until we can't talk. We definitely need a Dig It team night out actually coming to one of your dates. I'm going to talk to the team and see if there's one that we can all head to actually. Oh, do. Because we love our Digit team. They're amazing. And I'd love to go raving with them and you.

It could be perfect. So listen, after a long, hot and dry summer, I don't know about what your grass is looking like. but mine is looking horrible. Every time I look out of the window, I'm like, oh, God. And I know it's going to come back, but it looks disgusting at the moment because lawns just took a beating because of the heat and the lack of water. However, the rain has now come. And Nick from the RHS Gardening Charity is here to talk us through

revitalising even the brownest of lawns. Over to Nick. Lorns. I mean, they've had a tough old summer, haven't they? Too high temperatures, not enough rain. Two of the things they absolutely hate. So if your lawn is still. sulking and looking a bit like this, where it's still brown. Look at this. Look, this hasn't recovered

at all yet. It still needs loads of water, so just leave it. Don't do anything to it. But if your lawn has recovered a little bit, looking a bit green, then there are a few things you can do now. Grab yourself one of these rakes, they call it a springtime rake. And what you're doing is giving the lawn a good old hairbrush, like this. Yeah, just give it a good old rake. Because what happens, when you cut your lawn, the lawn mower doesn't always collect. all of those bits of grass. And so some of them settle on that lawn itself and it builds up a layer. We call it thatch. And it's a bit like a sponge. So when it rains, that sponge holds on to that moisture right at the top of where the lawn is. And so it encourages those roots to root into the sponge,

which is no good because then when it gets really hot, the roots haven't got right down deep and can't get access to the water so it all just dries up. But if your kids have been playing on the lawn all summer, then I suspect it will look a bit like that. And that's because the soil has been squashed and all the air has been squashed out of that soil. So get itself a nice fork, put some air back where the roots are. Oh, look at that.

Get in there, give it a good old wiggle because what you want to do is get some holes in the root zone. So the air can get down to where the roots are. And then once you've been, obviously this is just a small area. If you've got a great big lawn, you're going to need to hire an an scarifier or an aerator to do this job for you. But once you've got these holes in the areas that it's really compacted, then you know all your pots where you've had your like your busy lizzie's

and your petunias and you never know what to do with all that compost. Tip that old compost into those holes and just rub it through those holes. It adds a bit of organic matter. I mean ideally use lawn top dressing. But if you can't get any of that, old compost is. great. Or if you're more of an armchair gardener, then you can leave the grass to just grow. Because before you know it, there'll be butterflies, there'll be bees, there'll be birds, and all you do is just cut it once a year, and you don't have the problem of it going brown. And I'll tell you what, nature and wildlife loves an armchair gardener. Oh, he's great, Nick, isn't he? I love him. Thank you, Nick. He's wonderful.

Top tips there on how to look after your lawn. I'd really love to thank Claire at a little bird company. She does the most amazing bird food mixes for the winter months because obviously, you know, it's ideal not to sort of feed the birds during the summer months because obviously they can get all the berries and the little insects and stuff. But if it gets a bit tougher in the wintertime and you want to feed your birds, she sent me some bird feed. I've put it out. I've got little pictures to show you. And it's such a lovely company that she runs. So if you are buying your bird food, do check her out. She's on Instagram. a little bird company.

She does the most lovely little books as well. There's a lovely bird watching journal that she sent me so they can tick off all the little birds as they come into my garden. So thank you so much, Claire. And I will share the details of her company, of course, in our substack as well. And I wanted to mention Chris Young. He's the most incredible garden photographer. And he just sent me his new book.

And you know how you love a little bit of garden porn? Joe, this book is so insanely good. It's called Gardens Annotated and it is just photographs of there's over 200 gardens in here. And he sort of focuses in on a little focal point of each garden and it'll teach you all about just, you know, structure, colour, water features. So there's little ideas that you can take from many of these gardens to use in your. own garden or you could, I mean, just look at, look at these grasses for, you know, for winter, kind of autumn interest. Yeah, yeah, lovely. It's such great inspiration. And we often have diggers saying, you know, starting the gardens for the first time. So Chris, thank you so much for your beautiful book. Make a very good Christmas present for somebody. So thank you for

sending that. Nice. I'm waiting for a digger to arrive to dig out our stream. We haven't done it for ages. An actual digger. Yeah, an actual digger. God. Wouldn't it be funny. you had it if it turned out to be a digger on a digger. If it was an army of diggers that all turned out to help me with my stream, that would be amazing. No, we've just got so many reeds that have just grown year after year after year. When I look back at old photographs like 10 years ago, the stream looked beautiful and the grass was lovely and there was some really nice reads and now it's just like this, this massive mess. So yeah, we've got a digger coming in. We're going to be obviously moving all the reeds, leaving them on the side so anything that's

living in them can then exit and find their own homes again. But it's quite exciting. But it's one of those jobs that it just has to be done. God, send photographs. We want to see some photos, by the way. Yeah, I will. Craig Dickin, you've just shown us the book. And in terms of music, I think the album of the moment,

the album of the month, maybe of the year, is going to be from Fontaine's DC. It is amazing, isn't it? It's such an incredible album. Yeah, it's got Rosalia on one track. Oh, God, that Rosalia track is just so. It's sort of like a really haunting. theme for a drama or something. It's amazing. I really love Japan. I think there's one called

Memesis, which I really, really love as well. The first time you listen to it, you don't distinguish any particular tracks, but you're just really aware of the quality of the album. So just to any diggers out there who like discovering new music and enjoy the sounds that we suggest, I think this is one of the albums that you will absolutely love. Also, can I thank you for playing Dermott Henry on your show, who I'm now obsessed with? And Nellie's a little bit obsessed with. And Nellie's a little bit obsessed with. He's doing a gig in Brighton soon. And he's just the most amazing songwriter and singer. Yeah. With really unusual voice and his lyrics are fantastic. I wish I was Ennio Morricone is one of his songs, which I love. Yeah, a little bit Billy Joel, I think, a little bit Benfold's five.

It's just a gorgeous, gorgeous sounds and he is super young. Really love him. That's when I get to listen to your radio show and you bring me amazing music. And also on Sunday I went to a gig. I went to a gig at half-past four in the afternoon. I went to see Jim, the band Jim, playing at Patterns, which was really great. It was like loads of adults watching a gig, a very lovely hourly afternoon. We went for a roast and then went to the gig. Nice. And Jim is the amazing brainchild of Jim Barron, who's from Crazy P.

And this album, I cannot stop listening to it. It sort of encapsulates a lot of, you know, influences like sort of Crosby Stills and Nash, you know, Laurel Canyon kind of music, a little bit sort of yacht rocky at times. It's really funky at other times. There's a really lovely track on it. It's quite trippy, but it's just the most beautiful soundtrack to have on. Jason Williamson from Sleaf at Maud's features on a track as well. And I absolutely love it. It's called The Curious Case of Existence, and it was the most amazing gig, a huge big fan of Jim himself and Jim the band. So absolutely loving that and also really loving the new avalanches album, which has just come out as well.

So much great music around. It really is time for treats at the moment. And the Michael Kewanuka album, I'm not actually sure whether it's out yet. I think it's still, I think it's out next week. Michael Kewanuka and it's called Fudge. You can just see it behind me down here. Really lovely artwork, but his voice is so beautiful. And if you're feeling a little bit frazzled, it's one of those put on in the background, and you'll feel a lot better. So Michael Kewanuka, in Michael, we trust. He's great. Now with Halloween just around the corner, we would love to hear diggers. I don't know where you stand with this about spooky stories. So anything that you have encountered, whether it's spooky or ghostly or otherwise, any funny Halloween tales, maybe people have become trick or treating and it's all gone a bit weird, bit pear shaped, a bit funny. We'd love to know any of your tales. All you need to do is send your story to us. As a voice note, you can do that, or you can video it to our WhatsApp, which is 0747-038-195. Yeah, and also having said we don't like long voice notes, if you want to send us a voice note,

scrap, scrap that, because if you want to send us a voice note, we'd actually really love that. Yeah. And just to let you know, next Thursday is an episode, we'll drop a little later in the day than usual. So catch us in the evening instead. And we'll see you this Monday with Dr. and presenter, Zand Van Tullochan. Oh, talking about his new book. Same time, same place. See you then.

Digit is a Persephonic. production.