Dig It with Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball - Will Young: Anxiety, Gardens and Finding Purpose

Episode Date: September 24, 2025

Jo and Zoe welcome their very first guest, the wonderful Will Young. Will opens up about anxiety, shares the joy of his two gardens, and explains how his new dog food brand is supporting rescue animals across the UK.   SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE SUBSTACK Stay up to date with Dig It — new updates every Friday straight to your inbox. 👉 https://digitpod.substack.com/subscribe 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 GET EARLY AND AD-FREE EPISODES Become a member of The Potting Shed for early and ad-free episodes and bonus content 👉⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://digit.supportingcast.fm/⁠⁠ SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS This episode is brought to you by Ancient + Brave and Airbnb. 💪 Ancient + Brave — Discover the power of creatine, supporting energy, focus, strength, and even brain health. Perfect for midlife wellness as well as fitness, this tasteless powder blends effortlessly into your daily routine. Get 20% off your first order with code DIGIT at ancientandbrave.earth 🌍 Airbnb — Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at https://www.airbnb.co.uk/host/  CREDITS Exec Producer: Jonathan O’Sullivan Assistant Producer: Eve Jones Technical Producers: Oliver Geraghty Video Editors: Connor Berry and Jack Whiteside Dig It is a Persephonica production

Coming up on Digit. So you had an MRI with a hangover. Yeah. Oh no. It was awful, awful. Again, big action on the teeth and a massive great big smile, which is what I associate with you. I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but I've got garden as well coming tomorrow.

All of that right after this. It's that time again. Good morning, Zoe Ball. How you doing? I'm okay, Joe Wiley. How are you gorgeous? Obviously, I was listening to Elaine Page's musical show on Sunday and I decided to sing everything to date. I love that you love musicals as much as I love musicals. We've got our first guest

this week, haven't we? So exciting. We've not had a guest before. I know talking to Will Young a little bit later on. He's a friend of both of ours, I think, and he's so interesting. He's got so much to say. So we're going to talk about a variety of different things with him, whether it comes to dogs and what we feed them, mental health, gardening as well, because he's a fellow massive, massive gardener. He's so impressive in what he's doing. Yeah, so we'll later on. But tell me about your weekend. How was it? What'd you do? Oh, my weekend, Nell DJed on Friday. Honestly, you can't move for DJs around here. They played a night for under 18s at Revenge Club. Nell and her friend, V, overseen by V's DJ teacher, Emma. So thank you very much to Emma

and to Verity's dad for helping them get all set up. Yeah, both my children are now DJing. I never see them. That's amazing. Oh my God. So she mixing and everything? She'll be getting there, won't she? She'll be so good. I wasn't allowed to go. because I'm embarrassing mum, but they might be doing one again later in October, and it's around Halloween. I was thinking I could just go in fancy dress. No one or no, it's me. Of course. I might go as Cousin It. There is a fancy dress costume of Cousin It, just like a huge long hair. I might invest in that and go down. She'll never know what was there. But I was really proud of her. But anyway, this morning we've had a bit of a disaster because she's got a really bad back.

So she's waiting to see a chiropractor right now. She's off school. And then I fell down the stairs, holding a big basket of washing and was sat at the bottom of the stairs just with like dirty pants all around me. And whilst Nell was sort of laughing, but in pain, because every time she laughs, it really hurts. But she was like, Mum, I hope you're okay, but it sounded really funny because I just heard thud, thud, thud, expletive, expletive, expletive. So it's all been going on. I tell you. As a grown-up, when you do something like a childish fall, like you fall, like you fall down the stairs, you just feel like six years old again, don't you? I bet you wanted to cry as well because I bet it hurt.

I did have a little cry. I had a little cry. And I'm going to come up, that this is going to be a great bruise. Also, it's so, those kind of falls are quite frightening because when you're falling, you don't know how far you're going to go. And people really hurt themselves, don't they? Falling downstairs, falling upstairs. You know, and it's often those kind of really simple little things that you do that really

hurt the most. So I think as you're falling, you're thinking, oh, no, I'm falling. I don't know how far I'm going to fall. It was halfway down the staircase. And I don't know how bad this is going to be. As it was, it wasn't that bad. And we're all okay. But anyway, Nelson and the chiropractor,

and I might just put myself in straight after I would if I were you. Because I think I'm going to need it. But I tell you what, Joe, I have mainly spent this last week in morning for Robert Redford. I was so devastated by this one. And I've found a lot of friends. and family and a lot of people to talk to about this one. I think there was just something so magical about this man.

You know, from first watching him probably in Barefoot in the Park with Jane Fonda all those years ago. And then he sort of had a 60-year career, which, so I guess all the eras of films that he made, I actually decided I would every evening watch all his films. So I've spent the last week, I thought I'm going to watch the sad ones because then I can have a little. cry. And I watched Out of Africa. Oh, and the music, in my head, since he died, I get all the soundtracks to all his movies, because there's always been great soundtracks. John Barry did the Out of Africa soundtrack, and Butch Castile's Sundance Kid was but Baccarac. So I've had that playing. And then, of course, Barbara Streisand the way we were. Robert Redford, for me was,

he was my heartthrob. I remember watching Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid with my dad. And from then on, it was always, he was our touchstone. He was the person that we would have as a reference point. And if ever I went out on a date with a boy, he'd be like, I bet he was no Robert Redford, was he? And I'd be like, no, Dad, he was no Robert Redford. And he was always just my guy. And I remember about two years ago, the film came on. And I was like, instantly transported back to being 13 years old. And my dad and I watching the film together.

And I phone my dad. And I'm like, Dad, our film's on. It's Butch Custody and Sundance Kid. And, you know, they're doing raindrops, keep falling on my head. And Robert Redford and he was like, uh, which film? No, Dad, our film. Butch, you know, Bush custody. Who's in it?

Robert Redford, Dad, and I was so flawed by his. Boy, he didn't even remember watching it with me. It's so funny how when you're a child, these things are so huge in your mind, and yet to your parents, they're just, well, nothing. Anyway, that was a very sobering moment in my relationship with dad, who'll be watching this now, and he'll be like, no, I still can't remember it. I still can't remember it.

My dad was really upset about Robert Redford, and I think, you know, they're a similar age. And as all these wonders leave our world, and there are so few of them left. You know, I think for my dad, he's looking at his own mortality in his own life. And I was like, Dad, don't worry because there was an amazing lady in a care home who just turned 116. So, Dad, you're 86. He's 85 or he was 86.

I was like, Dad, you could live to your 116. So, you know. Talking of inspiring elder people. First of all, we need to have a section on the podcast where Joe makes apologies to the people that she's offended in the podcast. because you're upset now, Joe. I got a message from Cass, Cassius, who said, it just simply said, Gordon. And I was like, yeah, Gordon who? And then Gordon, I'm like, yeah, Gordon the gecko.

And he went, the gecko was never called Gordon. It was called Eliza. She was Eliza. So I got the name of the gecko wrong. And then I found a picture of her and she was beautiful. And she was called Eliza and she was very dainty. She definitely wasn't Gordon, the gecko. I was obviously thinking of Gordon the gopher.

Gordon the gopher. So apologies to Eliza, who I think is still alive and kicking. And then also I went to see my neighbour, lovely Roy, who lives next door, and it was his 91st birthday. And he's just so inspiring. He goes on his daily jaunt and he's just a great person. And he said to one point, he went, you've been doing something with Zoe Ball, haven't you lately? And I went, yeah, yeah, doing the podcast. He went, yeah, apparently you have a lot of parties. And I went, yeah, and inside I'm thinking, where's this going?

And you're apparently you have a lot of parties and they're very noisy. But you've got a neighbour and he's really deaf. so he never gets to hear them. He's really old and he's really deaf. So, yeah, he never gets to hear the parties. So it's okay. And I was like, oh, God, Roy, I'm so sorry. So, yeah, Roy is a little bit deaf.

And then he laughed so much. He was just taking the Mickey in. Apparently his daughter's friend or someone had got in touch with him and said, did you know that Joe was talking about you on the podcast? And she said that you were really old and you were really deaf. So I'd like to apologize to Roy. And he said, it's all right.

So when you have those parties, I just take my hearing aids out. I can't hear a thing. anyway. So fantastic. You know what you want to do? You need to get Roy in the minuscule of sound. He'd absolutely love it.

Next party, get Roy round. Oh, how wonderful. I think the thing is, I hadn't realised people actually listen to the podcast, and when we say stuff, they get to hear it as well. And there's another really inspiring person who is Mary Berry, who is the age of, what, 90. And she did a photo shoot the other day, and I don't know whether you saw this. But she was wearing the clothes of, I think it's Holland Cooper, Jade, Holland Cooper.

and it was like quintessential British fashion wear. And she looks unreal. Like the boss lady of the mall. She looks so cool, so super cool. She looks so dapper, doesn't she? Oh my God, I was so blown away. Yeah, blown away by this fashion shoot. It was amazing.

And then I went and did a gig on Saturday night. And it was at Dunkerton's, which is in Cheltenham. And it's owned by a guy called Julian Dunkerton and Jade Holland Cooper, who dressed Mary for this shoot. So it was like this full circle moment. I couldn't quite get my head around it. So I met Jade. And yeah, she was the woman who dressed Mary for this phenomenal fashion shoot.

If you haven't seen it yet, we'll put the photographs on our substack because she just looked. Yeah, because I think Claire Baldings in them as well. And Mary's in front of a big fancy house and they look amazing. But I just thought Mary, you know, at the age of 90, still going out there, still doing fashion shoes. She's got a new book out, which is her very best recipes at 90. There is no stopping her. And she's as sharp as a button.

Dad, you don't. need to worry. You're only 86. Look at Mary Berry. If you're loving Digit, make sure you hit the follow on Apple or Spotify. It means you'll never miss an episode. They'll download to your phone directly as soon as they're out. I don't know if you have seen this amazing guy, cakes by Keith. This fantastic guy called Keith makes these hilarious cakes. And over the last couple of months, he's made one of our mate, Claudia. Claudia. dear Winkleman. Then there's your dear friend, the

LG, Liam Gallagher. This is one of Keith's cakes. Well, he got in touch, Joe, and he said, can I make you a Joe some cakes? And I said, absolutely you can. We love a bit of cake. Are you ready for it, Joe?

I don't know if I am. Do we look the same? Is there any distinguish which one's which? They're really funny. Are you ready to see your cake? Here we go. There's a picture for you. the reveal. Again, the teeth. Oh, that's good because I love that because when I smile, I cannot keep my eyes open.

And it's a family joke. And whenever I have a do a photo shoot, I'm like, I can smile, but you won't have my eyes at the same time. And that is captured very beautifully and the shape of my nose and everything perfectly in this cake. Keith, amazing. Isn't it brilliant? And I'm now going to do the reveal of my cake, which, hang on a minute. I've got a hold of a mic and hold the cake.

You've got the actual cake there. I've got it here. and I deliberately didn't look at it so we could get a live reaction. Okay, let's have a look, the big reveal of Zoe's cake made by Keith. Oh! Again, big action on the teeth

and a massive, great big smile, which is what I associate with you. They're the right colour of my teeth as well. Keith, I think you've done brilliantly. He's even done the four earrings. Keith, thank you so much. I absolutely love it. Oh, look at you.

If you listen to this podcast and you're like, oh, I'd love to see what's going on. Spotify, you can watch it there. And I think on YouTube as well. And also we'll put the photographs on the substack, so there's lots of ways of seeing it. Cake with a K by Keith with a K. Kate's by Keith. You can find him on Instagram.

He's an absolute superstar. So Keith, thank you so much indeed. While you were mourning Robert Redford. And I obviously was morning Robert Redford as well. I just had a manic weekend, really busy weekend. I did the gig on Saturday night, which I mentioned earlier on, which was so much fun. I had these amazing security guards who were down the front, keeping everyone safe. But they were like the ones at Glastonbury where they do dances to the all.

audience. They were just so good. A lovely woman and lovely man and I know they listened to the podcast, so thank you to them. But it was brilliant. It was like I had Bez by side by side. They were doing all the moves and I was just playing the tunes. Can they come to all of your gigs? I would love them too. They were so special. They were great. And then I did on Friday night, we had our quiz night. So Disco Steve did have big quiz night. And that was an awful lot of fun. But I really suffered on Saturday. I had a couple of vodkas and they were double measures of vodka's. I normally only have a single shot. And oh my God, the pain of having a hangover or having any vodka on a Friday night, it's awful. How much more it hurts now. It's so bad. Well, it's a thing,

isn't it? I don't know whether it's the same with men as it is with women that when you reach a certain age, definitely during and after menopause, that the hangovers, you just can't, I just can't handle it. So I can have two drinks and that's, that's it. Any more than that, the pain afterwards. Also, Sometimes I think there is something in your biology isn't there, where there are days when it's just worse. You might have eaten the right amount of stuff. I don't know. Maybe your hormones are a little more balanced on other days. But there are times when you can have one glass of wine and feel so rotten that you think, why did I even bother having the one? And then other times you can have three cocktails and be like, woohoo! And wake up the next day in a really good mood. You've had a great night and not feel anything. So yeah, what is that? Why does it happen?

It's declining estrogen and it's fluctuating hormones. and also liver function. But all I know is that I was absolutely flawed when it came to Saturday. And I'd got a gig to do that night as well, which was incredibly harsh. And I'd got to go in an MRI scanner. So you had an MRI with a hangover. Yeah. It was awful, awful.

Yeah. So I don't know. I was so excited about it being Friday night and so giddy that all our friends were coming around. And I was like, I just, I wasn't even thinking there was any alcohol in my vodka, but there was. It was savage. But we did this quiz night. And I've got some quiz questions, which I want to throw and give to you, because Disco, worked really hard of putting the quiz together. But we also now have our first guest on Digit.

And it's the very wonderful Will Young who joins us now. Hello you. Do you like how I've put my jumper? I've got my jumper. Same with you guys. Yeah, we're all wearing strong knitwear and good backgrounds. Great background. Will, for anyone listening to this, is wearing a lovely check top. Now, what do you call it? I would call that a Pringle jumper. Yeah, it's kind of like a Pringle, yeah, sort of golfy print. How are you working? I'm all right actually. You know, Joe, that I've been having a difficult time with my emotions. So, but I always think it's really good to be transparent about it. So yeah, I have been struggling, but I'm feeling a bit, I can sort of come up for air now. I found this really good person that sort of helps deal with like stored trauma in the body. So that's really helping.

Yeah, I wasn't sure whether you'd be able to talk to us today or not or whether it would be too much for you. And you've also been out and about working really hard. Was that an extra? human effort to meet yourself go out there? I don't know how you do it. Yeah, I don't know how I do it, but I don't know how any of us do it sometimes when we're struggling, because what's really difficult for me is it presents as anxiety, so I mean, I can get anxious around the postperson, you know, and literally like, well, am I having a panic attack around the post person? But it does help, because last week I was doing something with dogs and I love helping animals. And so at least having a sort of purpose does help get past that kind of anxiety, yeah. Can you share with

That's what's been going on. I feel it very physically. I don't really feel it in my head as much. I'm not a warrior. I sort of got on top of that quite a few years ago. I'm more of the model that stuff that's stuck in the body drives the mind because, you know, something comes up in the body because the mind is a problem fixing tool. Very good at it.

wants to go, well, what's going on? But if it's something from our past, so let's say, like, I'm opening the door to the postwoman, and yet I'm having a shame attack in front of my postwoman, it doesn't make sense. So my brain goes, well, what's going on? You know, wants to work it out. So that's why we can get to sort of difficulties, because if it doesn't marry up with what's going on in our present day, we get in a bit of a tiz, you know.

So that's what's been going on for me, though. It's just very strong feelings in my body and kind of like, almost like freezing. And I've had it for quite a few years. But I think the positive side of this is that I used to be a lot more dissociated, and I'm not now. So I'm just sort of confronting stuff. What have you found that helps you will? Because I don't, you know, when I've had times like this as well,

and sometimes I do a bit of work on certain things that have happened in my life. And then I've done some work on something else that's happened. And the thing is you sort of think you deal with certain things, but they can still come up in different ways throughout your life. And sometimes they can really flaw you. And you think, well, hold on a minute, I've done this work and I've done that. Why am I still having, you know, this? Why do I still feel like?

this. And it's sort of the more you learn about yourself, the more you can kind of understand it. What sort of things do you do that help you? I think that's really interesting because you're right. You think you've dealt with something and then it's like, oh, that's come up again. Like, why am I feeling like uncontrollable grief suddenly or, you know, whatever it is? And I think there's two crucial things. There's been a big game changer for me. It's how you come into a relation with whatever's going on for you. And that could be very difficult in itself. But how we relate to what we're experiencing is key because let's say we're having huge amounts, waves of grief or something. And then what? We want to pile on a load of shame on top of that and go, why are you feeling like this?

You know, I always say, God, that makes it even more difficult. So how we come into relation with it? And I really try my hardest now to not get stuck in my head. And how do you do that? Is that by physically keeping busy? You talked about gardening to me. I mean, that's probably why I, you know, when I message you were so upset. because I love gardening and I just was still finding it difficult, but I forced myself to go out.

And I think I just had been really struggling for a few months. And I just hadn't told anyone, apart from my boyfriend, who's like amazing. And I just hadn't told anyone. I just thought, well, this isn't good. Because I always say to people, don't hide it, you know. So I just started sharing with people. And I think that's really helped. Yeah.

I was so pleased you did. Because I always know when you're not on social media quite so much. And I just suddenly thought, I was aware that there was this absence of you in my life. and you're really present in my life in lots of different ways. And I suddenly thought, God, I'm really missing Will, what's going on? And so to have you open up and to just have that communication. And instantly, I was really worried, A, you hadn't got your boyfriend anymore. And also that you hadn't got friends around you.

So I was reassured when you said that you did have those people. So you have got a support network. But you can't just rely on those, can you? It's just got to be, you've got to be transparent, like you say. No, but you were really great because you did check in with those things. And it is important. And, you know, when you, when we have, you know, when we're flooded with difficult emotions, it's really isolating, you know. And I think that's what's been the hardest thing is that because I really love people and I love life, it's just been very isolating.

Do you take to your bed when you're having these episodes? Well, I was trying to understand what exactly happens, really. Completely. Take to my bed. It's like, because I feel it's so physically and I go into a sort of fog, I just take to my bed. And sometimes I don't, I mean, recently I haven't. sometimes left the house for like days. I mean like five days.

You know, I just can't seem to, you know, handle it. And so I just sort of take to my bed. But it hasn't been that bad for quite a long time. What is the best way for people to help you? When you are in the lowest of the low, when you can't get out of your bed, how can people be useful? That's such a good question. What I found over the years for myself, and I also think this is actually a bit of an elixia for healing, is validating people's feelings.

And we're not taught how to hear people. So it's like, what's going on for you? I really hear that. Because quite often what people say is, so that sounds like, Joe, you know, how are you doing? I'm a bit sad. Quite often the first thing people say is, oh, don't feel sad.

And you think like, my God, let's break down that sentence. You're basically invalidating my feelings. People don't mean it. I used to do it, you know, and I can still do it. But actually to go, oh, I hear, it feels a bit weird because we're not taught the language. But I hear you feel for me really actually. just at the moment, that must be really difficult.

To feel heard is just such a kind of like leveler. And then often it can be, is there any way that I can support you? You're so often the first person that I tell bad news to. I know now, like when my dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's, I think you were the first person I messaged. I don't know if we were just chatting about something. And you just said, I'm really sorry, or I'm sad that you feel that way, or I hear, you did exactly, you validated my sadness.

That's what you did. And it was a really unusual response. I remember sitting on the train and just thinking, oh, that's, I feel. heard, yeah, he knows that I'm really sad about this and I find that really comforting. And you were so short in your answer and it was really comforting and so thank you for that. Tell us about the work you've been doing with your dogs. Explain it all to us. I have a dog food brand called miraculous meals. We haven't been around that long, but we give 50% of our profit to dog rescue centres. We do wet food and we're moving into dry food now. But it's just

exploded. I mean, I think we've doubled in the last five, six months. And I think what people are slowly realizing is that, well, maybe quickly realize, we're maybe quickly realising. is that they can get this food, which is brilliant for your dogs. And every time you get a tin, you're giving another dog a chance at a second home. And we just saw a gap because Domino, one of my dog, well, Domino and Diamond were going to be put down. They were an hour away from being put down. And there are the numbers a bit iffy, but between 50,000 to 80,000 dogs a year put down in the UK. And we just saw a gap and thought, well, what have we created a business and a dog food that if it grows, it's helping these rescue centres.

and they are kind of in a crisis at the moment. So we went around the UK doing our first big donation of 50,000 pounds worth of dog food to six of our partners. Yeah, so we went to Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester, Edinburgh. We're going to Wales and Wiltshire. And it's just brilliant. Well done, you've put in such a great company together. What an amazing idea, you and your friends.

Yeah, it's just been. I think people are really reacting to it. Because I think the other thing is often I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel helpless when I say, see things going on. Doesn't matter what it is. We don't need to talk about. We all know what's going from the world, you know, but really difficult things. And you feel helpless. I feel helpless and overwhelmed. And this is just a really simple way if people switch to this dog food, they know they're helping. And the homes love it as well because we've got such a good

relationship with them. We're not just coming in and out. You know, we've got our partners. And so I think that's probably why it's been reacting so well. This episode of Digit is sponsored by Eight Sleep. Lately, I've really come to a appreciate the wonder of a good night's sleep. And God, I wish I was like you. I am such an incredibly light sleeper. One dog barking and I'm wide awake for the rest of the night. Honestly, I'll do anything for an extra hour of good sleep. And that's exactly what I got with eight sleep's new pod five. So this is the clever mattress cover that keeps your bed at the perfect temperature all night. Yeah, it cools you down if you're too hot, warms you up if you're too cold.

It learns how you sleep. And it even tracks your heart rate and breathing. No respansans. no watches, just smart, comfy tech. Eight Sleep is designed to help you fall asleep quicker, stay asleep longer and wake up refreshed. Which means I can finally get back into the garden, getting things done full of energy. And if you share a bed with someone who runs hotter or colder, it adjusts each side independently. Amazing. Head to eightsleep.com slash dig it. Use code digit and get up to £350 off the Pod 5 Ultra.

That's code Digit for up to £350 off the pod. 5 Ultra. If you're tired of being tired, sleep better with 8 sleep. This episode is brought to you by Airbnb. You've been running around a lot lately, haven't you? Because it's that time of year. Oh, it sure is. Collecting, dropping off the kids, work deadlines, barely enough time to do the laundry. Honestly, it feels like that for a lot of people I know at the moment. I was chatting to a mate last week. She's got a lovely flat, travels all the time for work, so the place just sits empty. She wants to host it on Airbnb.

but hasn't got the headspace to manage it all. I totally get that. My friend said the same. She loves the idea of making a bit of extra money, but couldn't see how she'd fit it into her schedule, which is really busy. And that's where the Airbnb co-host network comes in. You can team up with somebody local

who helps take care of everything. Okay, so if you're busy, or maybe you just don't know where to start, you can essentially pair up with someone who will do it all for you. Exactly. So from writing your listing to messaging guests and managing bookings, a co-host can do it all.

So basically you can make hosting work even when life gets a bit full on. Yes. And if that sounds like a win to you, find a co-host at Airbnb.com.com.ukes slash host. We had a quiz night on Friday night. Disco Steve obviously is a bit of a performer. He likes to have an audience. And so he invited loads of our really special friends around. And he did this quiz. It was a little bit. He bought loads of pub quiz books. And then he did chat GPT as well. And there were three questions, my three favourite questions. So I'm going to ask you those questions, you two, and see, you've got the answers. Okay. How tall was Henry the 8th? I bet Will's going to know this. Do you know

Will? I think he was short and wide. Yeah. He's definitely wide, wasn't he? I feel like I've seen his bed and it was very small. But I don't know where I've seen his bed. Is it in Hampton Court? I don't know. Where did he live? Not in Dunhelm. Go on. Give me a guess is.

Dunelm. A new range. I wanted to go 5'4. 5.4. Okay. Okay. Do you want to know? Yeah. Six foot two.

What? I know. I said exactly the same as you. Giant of a man. No, six foot two. So tall and wide. Where has he got this fact from? Didn't his coffin?

Didn't he burst in his coffin? Oh, gross. Why did he burst? I think gas built up and I've always remembered that fact. Got another question for you. Which animal has fingerprints that are virtually indistinguishable to humans' fingertips? Well, the thing is, I want to say, chimpanzees, but I think it is something like a lemur that's actually closer. So you're thinking chimpanzees.

Shall I tell you the answer? Put you out of your misery? I think it's a lemur. You think it's a lemur? Zoe. I'm going to go with chimpanzees. It's a koala. So to see, I get, I kind of, a koala, apparently, their fingerprints are almost indistinguishable from a human's fingerprints. This is fascinating. I've got one more. Final one, final one, final one. After the giraffe, which is the second, and the third tallest land animal, not when rearing. So not when they're rearing up, but after the giraffe, the next biggest land animals in the world. One must be, surely one's an elephant. What do you want to go for next?

The third one. Rhinos are really strong, but they're not necessarily tall. Horses? Yeah, could it be horses? Girard, elephant. It's not a shy horse. It's not a moose. It's an ostrich.

An ostrich is an animal. I have looked this up. And the biggest ostrich. Nine foot. They scare me. Nine foot. That's how tall ostriches can get to. And that's the end of our quiz for today. Well, well done disco, Steve. I feel like a failure.

I cannot get over the fact that Henry the 8th is six foot two. That's madness. It's obviously not his bed I've seen, is it? In Dunnell. Will, I'm quite jealous because you have not one, but two walled gardens. ever since reading the secret garden as a child, I've been obsessed with Walder Gardens. And you have two. Tell us about them.

And an island. And an island. Do you know what? You've worked very hard for it. I have. Exactly. You've worked bloody hard for it. Well, it is like a secret garden, actually, and it did make me think of that book.

So I've got the house and I wanted this garden. Originally I wanted it for the dogs because then I've got a reactive dog so I thought, well, brilliant. You can't get out and it's safe. But yeah, I found this house near where I grew up and then it has this little bridge onto an island and it's just enchanting. And then I found a little stable that was covered in ivy that I didn't see when I bought it because they used to have a little horse.

And this old greenhouse, I mean, it's just been amazing really. So I've been slowly uncovering old like Victorian brick paths, all completely. covered over. Yeah, so it's been incredible, a bit of a tonic actually. A secret garden revealing itself to you as well. Isn't that magical? You didn't even know half of it was there. I have been working hard, but it's been keeping me really fit. And then I started sort of sharing it on Instagram

because I thought, well, that might as well, might motivate me. And I got like 50,000 new followers. And it's just sort of bonkers. Also, I don't really know much about gardening. I love gardening, but I'm not, you know, your knowledge of Joe's way better than mine. And I'm sure yours is as well, Zoe. No, I'm rubbish. My family are gardeners. You know, my sister is a gardener as a profession.

My mum's garden design. You know, so it is in there. But I'm really enjoying the design element of it. It's like watching Grand Designs. It's like one of those programs. I'm obsessed with it. And you are constantly going to reclamation yards and coming back with sewn troughs. I know.

I need to calm down on the stone troughs because I haven't actually like, I haven't actually like got the garden in order yet. So I bought these like really, well, I discovered this auction website, and that's being the death of me. But then you have to go and collect them or pay the postage. So you think it's really cheap. And then you think, stone troughs, quite expensive to ship. Yeah. What struck me with yours is how physically hard you are working. I mean, you're doing loads of the work yourself.

Your body must be. I've lost a stone. Yeah. I know. I've lost a stone since I started. But I, you know, when I'm, obviously, it's been more hard recently. but actually it's really good for your well-being. It's really good for my head.

It's really good for my physical health. I always say to people, if you're having a difficult time, if you can get back into your body, you know, remind yourself, I've got arms, I've got legs, you know. I can own my space and gardening actually, particularly crossing over that little bridge onto the island, I feel like my shoulders just drop. And obviously being near water as well.

It's very special. I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but I've got garden, I'm going to say it, I've got garden as well coming to my island. You know, Jo. How scary is it? When Gardner's World are coming round, I mean, are you sort of, you know, do you panic and Gardner's World are coming round? Or you don't have to sort of tidy up certain corners and quickly get things in the ground.

Or do they come and see it as it is, Will? Yeah. Well, this is the other thing. And I like this with gardening is that it's a ongoing project. So I have deliberately left, you know, it's not done. And I've got piles of junk everywhere. So I don't mind that. I did tell them that that's the case.

But then, of course, yesterday I was like, I need to mow the lawn. What about the dog poo? There's dog poo everywhere. I haven't picked up the apples. I need to wake up the leaves. And so I went on a sort of mad. I need to wake up the leaves from the stream.

You know, it was like, I went a bit mad. I would do the same thing exactly. It was really funny. It's horrible. I'm so excited that we will get to see your gardeners world, though, because that is such a lovely moment on a Friday night. And of course you can watch it any time on I play, but on a Friday night just to sit on the sofa and put on Adam and Joe and Monty and the gang and Rachel and Arrett.

I love seeing in other people's gardens. I just love seeing people's passion. And it doesn't matter the size or how much people know, it's just everybody giving it a go. And is such great inspiration on that. show. Zoe, can you imagine being exposed on garden as well and say they come around and they just see piles of leaves everywhere and all this junk that you just left lying around and they'd be like,

oh, who lives in a hovel like this, Will Young? They're not going to come around to see my little garden. There's so much junk from like the stable and, you know, there's junk all over the garden. It's quite far away from the house, so I have to bring it up. Whatever, whatever, Will. So each week, Will, we do crate digging where we both have, a record that we've been loving. And Will's going to join in with this, which is very exciting.

Joe, do you want to go first? Because I've been very busy. I wanted to get the Biffy Cliro album, which is called Futeek. So I want to give that a big shout-out. I haven't actually physically managed to go to a shop or to get it here. So Biffy Clareau Futecic is really good. It's their latest album. And then also just behind me, if people are watching,

I've got the CEMAT album, which is called Euro Country, which lots of people are saying might well win the Mercury Prize this year. So I wouldn't be at all surprised. But it's a glorious cover, and she's a glorious woman. as a performer, she's just astounding to watch and really full of joy, and she's got an amazing voice. So, yeah, Eurocountry by CMAT would be my vinyl offering for today

with Biffy Cliro coming in, Futeek is the album as a close second. Brilliant. I have somewhat cheated this week, because normally I just pull one out, but because I've been in mourning for Robert Redford, this week I have dug out from my collection, the way we were. Oh, I mean my mum and dad have

got that at home. Because I love, look, there is Hubble, Hubble and Katie. I mean, I've just watching it this week, I've realized Hubble was not the best of gentlemen. You know, he really let her down. He left her alone with a kid. He did, you know, he went

off to, he just couldn't live up to her expectations, but it's still an amazing film and the music by Marvin Hamlish. And I saw Marvin Hamlish an interview with him. They'd put out this week because I guess Robert Redford had died. And he told this great story about how the film was ending. And there

is Katie talking to Hubble at the end in New York. They've run into each other in New York City and it's many moons afterwards. And Katie is talking to him and he was saying he went home and he watched the last scene and he's like, it's just a bit flat. It's just a bit flat. And there was this great moment where Barbara Streisand decided she would just brush his fringe. And at that moment, he brings in the way we were, that theme and it comes in and it breaks your heart. And you're like, that's what made that moment. And that's how clever, you know, how wonderful music is. and you hear that music and you are in that, you know, that place with Hubble and Katie,

and it was just never meant to be, bless them. I saw a clip of Barbara talking about how she wasn't supposed to be. That wasn't planned without brushing the hair. But she was just looking at him and she was like, I've just got to touch his hair. And she just stroked his hair and brushed it aside. I've got to touch Robert. I just need to touch Robert Redford. Bless her, that's my offering this week.

And Will. I was going to do two, but no. Cort and Spark. Joan Mitchell. Court and Spark, Joni. And actually this was quite a seminal. It was a really seminal album for her because she moved into working with this engineer, Henry Louis.

Now I know all this because I remember listening to a documentary on it, and who employed a lot more jazz musicians, sort of LA collectives. But also, I think, Cills, Crosby, Stills and Nash. I think two of them played on it. But it was just a really interesting departure for her. And she'd been churning out all these albums, but then took a year off to make this, maybe even two years.

And it was one of those records that just kind of changed my life. You know, when you hear a record and you're like, what was I doing before I heard this record? Like, how was I existing before? And then I used to do a cover of Help Me, which is one of the most complicated musical songs to do, particularly as a drummer. But luckily I had a great drummer, Ashstone.

Yeah, I love it. And keep on sort of coming back to it. You know, it's like a great book. You just can't help but return and sort of learn more and see the genius of it. So that's my record. Oh, Will, it's been so nice having you on. Can Steve come on and do a quiz with us one week? A Christmas time. I feel like we should get the family on. We'll get Will on and we'll get Disco Steve to do a podcast Christmas quiz. I think it'll be. I'm thrilled to be your first guest. Oh, thank you so much.

What a great first guest. Follow that, Will. You may be our only ever guest. Maybe. Will, thank you for sharing so openly with us today and good luck with the garden. No, and thank you for listening. Lots of love, darling. Love you, bye. Thanks so much to Will. That's all we've got time for today. Back again on Monday to dig in and hear what you've been saying.

If you have any questions, tips or general thoughts, do contact us. We love hearing from you. Our WhatsApp and our email address are in the show notes. And if you're loving the podcast, which we hope you are, please leave us five stars on Apple or Spotify with a little review as well because it really helps other people to find the show. Digit is a Persefonica, section.