Mum's The Word! The Parenting Podcast - BRIONY MAY WILLIAMS: Growing Up I Never Saw Myself As Disabled

Episode Date: December 15, 2025

This week on Mum’s The Word, Kelsey Parker is joined in the studio by Briony May Williams: The Great British Bake Off finalist, TV presenter, and mum to daughter Nora.Briony opens up about what it was really like stepping into the Bake Off tent and how that experience changed her life forever.She shares why cooking alongside her daughter is so important to her, not just for creating memories but for building confidence and connection in the kitchen.The conversation also takes a powerful turn as Briony talks candidly about disability, explaining why she never saw herself as disabled before Bake Off and how her perspective has evolved since being in the public eye.Plus, Briony chats all about her debut cookbook, The Retro Recipe Society, celebrating nostalgic comfort food with a modern twist.This is an episode you won’t want to miss.A Create Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Mums the Word. I'm your host, Kelsey Parker. Today I'm joined by the amazing Brynie Mae Williams, the great British bake-off star who now presents Channel 4's Food Underwrapped and BBC's Escape to the Country. She's joining us for a chat about mum life with her daughter Nora and her debut cookbook, The Retro Recipe Society. Absolutely love it.

So grab a cupper, get comfy, and let's jump into a brand new episode of Nines the World. Welcome! Oh, thank you, hi. That's like a big bio. Well, it's great, lovely. I feel so special. Normally we go, right, tell me about you.

Tell me about you. Don't need to. You've done it, done it. Yeah, no, it's very, yeah, it's been a fun seven years. Yeah. Yeah. You feel like you're busy and... Yeah, really busy.

It sounds busy. Yeah, I am. And it's that kind of, like, you sort of think, well, how do I have the time to fit it all in? But you do. But I do. I feel like moms do, though. Oh, my God.

Don't we do, though? We're like, fine. We're like, yeah, just say yes. That's what I do. And I feel like if I don't say yes, am I going to miss an opportunity? And I don't want to do that. And I feel like, since Bake Off,

I've basically just said yes to everything. And it's turned out really well so far. Yeah, exactly. I just think, I'm just going to keep going. So how many years ago did you do Ju-Jew Bakeoff for people with? Seven years, yeah. seven years for the main series and then I went back and did the Christmas one the following year

which was really good fun so yeah and then so I was a teacher before I taught French and Spanish at secondary school yeah and now I work on Escapes the Country and like morning live and stuff it's just very weird but really great and I love it but I sort of feel like being a teacher

and actually getting up and having to teach children is sort of like this world as well do you know what I mean by that? 100% I've said that before So many transferable skills. Kids are just savage, aren't they as well? It's like if you can do that, you can do anything. If you can set up and teach secondary school kids, then...

I'm telling you, nothing is scarier than a group of teenage children. Well, they all upset, though, when you left. No, no. They were. No, I said, no. No, because I was not, no. They were really upset. Technically, I'm still on maternity leave.

Because, like, I left when I, after I had Nora. I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom with her until she went to school. But then Bake-off happened whilst I was doing. the stay-at-home mum. Yeah. So I haven't gone back to back to teaching yet. So I'm technically still on maternity leave.

That's it. Lovely. And she's 10, just turned 10. So yeah, but it's lovely because I see my old pupils now. They're like, all right, miss. And they're like these big, grown-up men with beards and families.

And I'm like, whoa. What's happened to you? What's happened to you? But they still can't call me briny. They're like, all do it. They can't do it. It's too weird. But they're so proud.

I bet you everyone where you lived was just so proud. So, yeah. I mean, Bristol, like, the support I got was unreal. And a lot of surprising support as well. Like, I was walking through near where I lived and there was a builder up on some scaffolded. And he went, oh, God, what was he going to say something inappropriate?

And he went, I blooming loved you on Bake Off. Oh, that's so nice. So don't judge But Bites cover. Yeah, that's it. That's it. Moral of today. Yeah, exactly. So what was your favourite part of doing Bake Off?

Oh, gosh. How hard was it? It was so hard. It was so incredibly stressful. And people's like, oh, it's just a cake or it's just a, you know. No, when I watch it, I. do not think you know when they go oh about doing celebrity ones yeah i just don't think i'd be able to cope with doing anything like that the pressure if they ever ask you you give me a call

i'll come round you will do baking we'll do a baking master class right i actually helped carol vaudeman when she went on really yeah yeah she went on a one so i'm just saying that's it you call me you right give me yeah i mean i've not even got the baking down that's fine that's funnier though isn't it yeah it's no because i want to go in and be good i don't like me about anything that's why i wouldn't sign up well i was quite bad it caught a lot of stuff like I was a lot, cried in the freezer quite a few times. Really? Yeah. Well, we were just talking about how hot it was, no wonder, crying in the freezer.

This is that. Coolest place here. Trying to cool down. Yeah, it was great. It was the most stressful thing I've ever done, but also the best thing ever. The whole time, I was just like, I'm in the bake-off tent. Like, even when it was awful and things were falling apart. And how long do you actually film over?

So when we filmed our series, it was every weekend for up to 10 weeks. But is it changed now? It's changed now. So I think they do like two days filming, two days off, two days off. Two days off. So I think it's more intense now than it. Oh yeah, that's a lot of pressure to get your... Because you had a week to be like, right?

Yeah. What is next? Do you know what you're doing the next week? Yeah, so you get like a couple of weeks warning of what you're going to do. Not the technical, you never know what that is, but like the show stopper and the signature. And I'd get home on a Sunday, Concat would be so tired, get Nora, who was two at the time, go over to my mum's house on Monday morning, hand Nora to my mum and then she'd have an app. Yeah. Because she's naked.

Sometimes you need to, yeah, absolutely. I mean, I was lucky in that I had the support of my family. who would help me out with Nora so I could practice. But like some people working, you know, crazy jobs at banks and stuff in central London. And then coming out and then at night, my Tom did Master Chef. And it was the most stressful time of my life. It was the best time because he kept cooking me all this incredible food. But the pressure and like every night and I'd be like, just chill out.

It's so stressful. My husband put on a stone when I did bake off because I'd be literally like feeding him pie after pie. He's like, no, it's not quite right. I've got to make another one. have another one. I'd be there for the pies. I'd be like, yes, please. There was one week, the pastry week, my husband had venison pie for dinner, like five nights in a row. Yeah, I'd be there for it. I can't, I can't eat any. The dog was having a great time. And I said, cost a lot of money, though. Yeah. Yeah. Because they give you an allowance. Do they? But not very much. It's enough, basically, to

probably do one practice bake. 50 pounds per bake. That's not getting you nowhere now. No, no, nowadays. That's getting you some eggs. That's getting you some eggs now. 50 pounds for eggs. That's literally it So yeah That kind of ran out quite quickly But yeah I mean yeah If anyone is ever thinking about doing it

Or they come to you And they want you to do the celebrity It's so much fun Yeah but I can't bake I can cook I can't help you I can't bake I think it's just putting my mind to it

I feel like I have got Because Tom passed away He was the chef of the house Yeah So he took control of that And I have now taken and my power. Yeah.

And I'm getting like really good. I'm blowing my own trumpet. You blow that trumpet. But I am actually getting really good. People see it on my Instagram. I'm always showing recipes and I like to share like mom. Like this is what I'm cooking at home. That's quick, easy.

A tomato soup, a Greek salad. Amazing. Burgers. If you could do that, you can 100% bake. Do you know what all baking is is follow the recipe? Yeah. But for your showstopper. Oh, I mean, yeah, that.

I mean, that's a little bit trickier. And if you've got the technical. Like I'd have no clue That's quite funny though, in it? That's why people watch the celebrity one I reckon I'd need one for my nan as well Nan, let's go through all your... My nan's got the old school recipe books

with low pictures, just literally. And she's amazing, my nun's so lovely. Nana's the best. My nana was a massive help for me. She was a home economist. Really? So when I was on bake-off, I'd be like, call her up and like, Nan.

What the hell do I do with this? Do you feel like they're missing that in schools now? Yeah, 100%. I think kids are so detached. from food and where it comes from. And eating the right food. And eating the right food. Because we're so surrounded by processed foods,

I don't think it's anyone's fault who's eating it. It's all, this food is all being shoved at us from all angles. Do you know what I mean? Like, I watched Joe Wicks program the other day. Which is so interesting. Yeah. And when you watch Joe Wicks's Instagram,

he'll do like going to the airport. Like, I think he was fasting. But he literally was like every point, even when you're waiting to get on the plane, you've got the vending machine everywhere there's just like eat it's constant

yeah it's constant and I love Dr Chris Van Tulligan his book ultra-processed people it's so interesting like so interesting but yeah it's constant all the time just being told like eat all this shit

because it's just it's there so it's lovely like just to when you see these old cookbook I mean I'm obsessed with vintage cookbooks but that's where the retro recipe society comes from like the insper I've got like 80 at home thanks oh you model it so well

that's for you I think you'll like the recipes Because they're straightforward, like, they're wholesome, they're, you know. No, and there's not loads of words. No, I can't stand it. I can't bear loads of words. It's like a novel, some of these cookbooks. I'm like, why have I got to read six pages to find out what to do?

I do a lot on looking at TikTok. I'm a visual learner. Yeah. So if I can see how someone's done it, like some of them, like, well, haven't you actually showed us how you've actually done it? Like, I need to visually see. I need a step by step. Yeah, a visual and then I can do it.

Yeah. I'm a visual learner. I'm a visual learner. I don't like those words. It puts you off cookbooks. Not interested. Yeah, I can't. I can't do it.

Yeah. Or like the ingredients, you've got to go to six different health food shops and it costs like £10 for one ingredient. No, not interested. So do you all try and eat healthy at home? Do you try and keep the... We try to. Yeah.

I mean, you know, realistically, yes, we do. And I think you have to have that balance. It's a balance. That's it. I think we, you know, I'm always on it, Nora. So Nora's my daughter. She's 10. Let's talk about Nora.

I love her so much. Love her so much. I like, do I love her. So she, you know, we're always like, right, you need to eat more fruit and veg. Like, you've just got to get more in you. So, you know, we're always pushing for that. But like, if she, you know, she wants to have pasta for tea. Then she can have pasta for tea.

But I'm always like, but if you have pasta for tea, you have to have peas with the pasta. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? It's a bit like, I want you to have a vegetable or a fruit with every meal. Yeah. That's kind of how I tend to push it. Yeah. Because, but I don't talk about, like, because I've struggled with my weight, my whole life,

like yo-yo dieting. And constantly, you know, we've had it at us for, you know, don't even want to think how long. So I don't talk about foods like being bad or good or naughty or, you know, because I just don't think that's a healthy way to talk about it with a little one. So I'm just trying to talk to her like, you know, this is healthy, this is nutritious. That's what we do. We do. I say you've got to feed your body. And mine do a lot of fitness.

So when they come back, like gymnastics, dancing, Bodie started boxing last night. It's only five years old and it's probably the size of a two. year old and well kick your ass yeah no he's like I want to do boxing I'm like okay you can do boxing let's just let it go you can do boxing so he went last night he loved it's like can I get mum you signing me up I need boxing gloves I'm like

oh god here we go anyway when they get back like I had a steak ready for them like I'm that parent I'm like let's just feed and obviously I've learned so much about the health industry and food from going through from I went through

with Tom so I know that and we we need to make a change yeah oh my gosh 100% and I just say to the kids well if you think that's a good choice then you have it and then they'll be like it's not a good choice I'm like no grapes might be a bit of choice or the berries might be a bit of choice and they're like oh okay well I I gave up drinking two years ago wow I know again why for health reasons I ended up with the stomach ulcer so I stopped for a few weeks and then a few weeks turned into two years and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. And again, I kind of, when I talk to Nora about it,

or if she mentions it, I sort of talk to her about it, well, it's healthy. This is a healthy choice that Mummy's made because I want to, you know, I want to feed my body good things and look after it. Did you drink a lot before? I mean, I was a social drinker, like, you know, binge drink. I'm the generation of the binge drinker.

So if I went out, a couple of bottles of wine, vodka's shots, I mean, easy. Yeah, so now nothing. And now I just don't do anything. just because... And how are your friends taken for that? Do you know what? A couple of them are also now alcohol free. My best friend stopped drinking the year before me

because her anxiety got so bad. And now it's just like... And a knock-on effect, like my husband doesn't drink as much. Not because I've asked him to, but he just has cut down loads because I'm not there. Should we have another glass of wine?

Yeah. Should we have a gin? You know, it's just naturally happened. Oh, that's really nice. Yeah, it's not. It's really, honestly, it's one of my best decisions I've ever made. Do you think you'd ever go back to it?

Maybe like when I'm in my... 70s and I'm a bit like, don't give a shit anymore. Let's have a glass of Malbeck. Yeah. Or like when I'm not having to deal with the menopause as well as a hangover. And I think the anxiety, like after you drink, it's just awful. And especially, I feel like women, we do hit a stage that it just gets, like, it just goes, oh, yeah. Yeah, 100%. I've I've never really been a particularly anxious person. I've always had depression since like my late teens. Yeah. You know, and I've managed to deal with that. But anxiety, the last couple of years, poor but that really and so to cut out the alcohols really helped because otherwise it just

makes it so much worse yeah because you're like what did i say what did i do was did i embarrass myself who did i offend why would i why did i even say that like are they thinking that i said that and that was really weird and you're like no one probably even has given me a second thought and they're probably suffering and thinking what did they say and what did they do that's what i can't cope with i don't drink loads anymore i don't i went i think the last i went to a wedding like summer and I think that's probably the most I've drunk for a very very long time but other than that I don't I'll have like if we go out for dinner I'll have a glass of wine that's about it like I don't but my mum loves to drink she's like you can't be my daughter like but not even like a binge drinking

way she can just actually just drink wow we always talk about dying on here she's like oh here I am being mentioned again that I'm an alcoholic no she's not she's not an alcoholic lover see my mum barely drinks has barely drunk. So when she, like me and my brothers, we would like, you know, be properly on it on a night out. She's like, where did you get this from? You are not my children. She would be like, I have one gin and tonic and she'd be absolutely pissed as a far. Yeah, literally. She'd be like, woo-hoo. Whereas me and my brothers were just, you know, of a night out could drink, you know, a fair amount. So yeah, we're like the other way right. But I do think as well, like this whole world we sort of live in now and we are like what we're saying about the process food and we're all moving to a different place that even with the alcohol with the binge drinking, like when you drink, you're actually, it's your spirit. It's taking the spirit out of you. You're not actually in your body and whatever else. But now you've decided to be sober. It's your with, all your thoughts are your own all the time. Yeah, it is. And it can be a little bit overwhelming sometimes. And sometimes you kind of what, you do want to check out a little bit and just be like, oh, I just would really like to not be in my head right now. But I just

have to find other ways of doing it. Like I go swimming quite a lot now. Do you? Because I find when I'm in the pool, I can't think about anything else. but swimming. Yeah. But focusing on not drowning. That's the key for me. Are you good? Yeah.

I have now. I only learnt like last year, but it's... Really? Yeah, yeah. I did like adult swimming lessons at my local leisure centre. Stop.

Yeah, yeah. Being taught by like a 16 year old. You're doing a great job. Yeah, you're doing a key. Keep kicking those legs. Yeah. Kicking those legs. But like that for me now is how I kind of switch off a little bit.

But yeah, you are very... I hate the word, but like you're very present. Yeah. And I found. that my relationships feel a lot more real and are not more engaged than they were before, which is sometimes a bad thing when you start realizing that maybe

certain relationships aren't healthy for you. Yeah. But you know, it's one of the things it comes with it. But then we all learn and we all grow and we go through changes and we won't delve into that one. Who don't you like anymore? Who do you like? Come on.

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Will you dare to join me? Listen to Paranormal Activity with me, Yvette Fielding, wherever you get your podcast from. So let's talk about the book. Tell me all about it. Oh, so, yeah, the retro-rexed on it. It's basically sort of classic recipes, things like, I might just gone black then, things like... If things like, jam roly-poly, Pavlover, bread and butter pudding, toad in the hole,

you know, all of these sort of classic recipes from days gone by that, you know, we don't necessarily cook a lot anymore or aren't sort of very present. But there's so much joy to be found. And they're so delicious. Like, they're so, so good. And they're so simple. And I just think home-cooked just tastes so much better. And I think I couldn't agree more.

And I think we're losing that. You were talking about your nans lovely. recipe book like we're losing that passing down of recipes from generation to generation and it's just makes me really sad so there's a recipe in there that's from my great grandmother so it's over a hundred years old like apple pie recipe that my nan passed down to me there's a recipe in there that i make with nora she can actually make it on her own i'm not even involved which is chocolate chip cookies and you know those will become retro to her in the future but it's it's that kind of celebration but she'll pass that down i hope so yeah i really hope so and you know and there's another one in there

my mum's bread and butter pudding that I found in her recipe book, like handwritten one. So yeah, it's that kind of, but there's also twists on the mod, on the, there's twists on the, there's twists on the classic. So there's the jam roly polly, and then there's also a filo pastry jam, jam, jam, rolly poli with, with like a cream cheese filling and black currant jam and fresh black breeze. So it's a little bit more 2025, but you can kind of pick and choose. What you want to do? Exactly, but there's nothing, yeah, there's no wild ingredients in there. The method is very straightforward. are not too wordy you know there's some there's some celebration cakes in the back there's

school cake in there which I mean everybody loves the school cake there's sticky toffee pudding brownies brownies yeah so you know there's stuff in there that is like right isn't that like that is what your nan would make you exactly and it's just kind of taking it back to a bit of a simple time what did you want for your birthday what do you want for your birthday what do you want for your birthday cake yeah let me should make it for me always literally and now we're obviously we're so busy. People are busy and it's convenience. You can just go down Tesco and buy... I think it is all coming back though. I hope so.

I think it is. I've just got this feeling that. It's all coming back. It's going to do a 360 and it's all going to be back to everyone cooking. I'd love that because it's so lovely and there's so much joy in cooking and feeding people, food that you've made from scratch. You know, there's a lot of recipes in there with pastry and I say

if you need to buy shop-bought pastry, just go and buy it. Just go and buy. Don't beat yourself up about it. I buy shop pastry all the time right yeah just don't worry about it yes okay there's recipes for the pastry and should you have time and want to do that but like if you don't if you don't it's okay yeah like don't like don't stress i do think like cooking and eating does bring the family together and i definitely think for me that when i lost tom that i the kids used to eat on their own and then i'd eat at my own and i'd literally make up the most random like chicken nuggets just crap yeah because again i was just obviously sad, depressed, whatever, like heartbroken.

So I just ate on my own. The kids would eat, but now actually I've got where we eat as a family and I've now got back to cooking. Like, I think food has just such a, it brings everyone together. It absolutely does. You've really got to look at like a Christmas lunch, Christmas day. Yeah. Like having the family around and we don't like eat as families as much as we used to.

Again, it's nobody's fault. I used to eat at my hands every Sunday without foul. We'd all go and have a family dinner at my aunt's house. Or even like in the week like parents are working full time it's busy you know they might not want to eat the same things

as their kids it's tricky it is so you know life is so hard it's very busy but you've got your daughter cooking now so that's a yeah

she's a really good she loves it she loves it yeah she's really good she likes to challenge me though she'll sort of have a weekend be like can we make a cake I'm like yeah sure and she'll go and find

one of the cookbooks that I've got of like there's another baker who was on my year called Kim Joy, who's such a talented baker, but she does these really intricate, like, cutesy animal bakes. So she went and found one of Kim Joy's books and got it down and then opened it up to this tiger unicorn cake. And I was like, oh my God, how am we going to do it?

Anyway, and I was like, yeah, sure, we can try and make that. So we're there for hours doing this cake. And it came out brilliantly and she loved it. But, you know, she just likes being creative. And I love the fact that she sort of associates that with me. So she thinks, that's your thing. That's our thing, you know, like what kind of create, like every year for a birthday.

She's like, right, this year I want Stitch on one side and I want Angel on the other And then I want up the top I want this. Are you creative with actually decorating too? Yeah, so you can see it. I just think it's, that's why I watch on TikTok as well. Yeah.

I feel, I think that's therapy. You know when they're icing cakes? Oh, yeah, I love that. Just going around, just on the wheel. I'm like, oh. Yeah, yeah, love it. Now I've got more creative over the years and I've definitely got better.

No, you've got Nora. She's like, right. This year is K-pop Demon Hunters, of course. Yes, of course. So, yeah, she was like, I want half fit to be, Rumi and half of it to be, his face, the other guy, Sajaboy, what's his face? Gino.

You're good. I only know Rumi. And I was like, okay, sure. And she's always so grateful, but yeah, she does every, and also, I've always done it for my nieces and nephews as well. They'll get an Auntie Bee cake for their birthdays. So I've done, like, eagle, piggle, I've done, gosh, bluey, you know, I've done it.

And I love it. It's like my gift. It's like when I make people's weddings cakes. Weddings, wedding cakes. Yeah, that is a gift, though. that is my gift i will i only do it for friends and family and i sort of say look this is my gift to you and then you know and i love that and you're not getting anything and you're not getting anything else no i will not be getting you a johnner as much or or this took me two days to make yeah i won't be

contributing to your honeymoon no absolutely not you got the cake that's it we're done the cakes are expensive they are look it out i'd be well happy if you're like right here you go yeah most people are actually when i'm like do you want me to make the cake and they're like yes please That's like 700 quids saved. Tick. Yeah. So let's talk about Bakeoff and embracing a disability. Yeah.

Yeah, so I was born without any fingers on my left hand. It's called Simbrachydactally for the technical types out there. You told what? I know, right? I was like, pherodactylie. No, simbracidactyl, apparently. I didn't even know that. So when I was born, the doctors just said, oh, it's just one of those things that happens.

There just wasn't enough room in the womb. And my mom was like, oh, great. So it's my fault then. Perfect. you know, classic kind of throw the guilt at the mum. Well, yeah. Throw the blame at the mum. But who else is there to blame?

We get blamed for everything. Literally everything. You're right. I don't just sit back and go, yeah. Yeah, sure, my fault. Another thing I did wrong. My bad. Yeah.

So yes, I didn't really, you know, we didn't know much about it. And then, so growing up in the 80s and 90s, disability, being disabled was very negative, you know, so much negativity around it, a lot of shame and stigma. So my mum would never use that word with me. She would never call me disabled. It was just my little hand. That's what he was called it. So when she was very much of the mindset

If you can't do something the traditional way Just find a way around it So like times shoelaces riding a bike All that kind of stuff It never stopped me doing anything And then when I went on Bake Off They were like Oh the first visibly disabled baker

And me and my mum were like, ooh Not sure about that Yeah because you don't We've never You've not addressed it as that And it's not It's not that I didn't want to be part of the disabled community

It's just I physically had quite like an adverse reaction to the word disabled because society made me feel that disabled was bad it wasn't a good thing it was something to be embarrassed about and ashamed of you know growing up on i never saw anyone who looked like me on telly no like there was no mr tumble with his lovely inclusive shows that he's got these days yeah it just wasn't any of that so so what happened but again it was almost like they were scared yeah not that i don't think that there was anything else to it i just think they were scared because then people might go,

well, you're doing this and feeling that. Kerry Bernal, right? She was the first disabled CBBC presenter. Yeah. CBBs, one of the two. They put her on, I think this is early nauties, right? They had thousands of complaints from parents saying that she was scaring the children. She's got like one arm, her arms missing from below her elbow.

Like, what the chuff? Yeah. So that's what, you know, so then me being, I mean, bearing in mind I was on Baker in 2018 and I was the first disabled baker, like, come on. Yeah. So the press had a field day. They were like, oh, yeah, blah, blah, blah.

And so because I started being labelled as disabled, that rhymes, I started getting used to the idea. And then kind of the disabled community opened up its arms and kind of welcomed me in. And it was just so people were amazing. And then I started getting messages from parents of children with limb differences like mine. They were like, thank you.

Yeah, we can't tell you how much it means to us to see someone who looks like our child on the telly or for our child to watch Bake Off and be like, Mum, look, she's got a hand like mine. You know, like, that's why that representation is so important and it can't be underestimated how important that is to get people, disabled people, you know, visibly on screen. And again, it doesn't have to be talking about disability.

It can just be baking a five-tier biscuit chandelier. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's... That's it just casually just do that in. Just let me build a chandelier. So, yeah, so... And I guess you've never really struggled, either. No. You've adapted, you've...

Yeah, and I mean, I am very lucky in terms of, you know, my disability. I don't have many, if any, accessibility needs. So on a day-to-day basis, I would consider myself incredibly lucky, you know, someone who uses a wheelchair. They're constantly battling against, you know, the world around them because it's just not designed for them. I was literally talking about this the other day with Amy Hart. we were on the underground and even just like even taking your baby through the underground that if you can't get it out the buggy that there's like hardly any lifts like the disabled access is actually so bad

it's so it's so bad so you actually can't get around really and like and even things like people parking on the on the pavements like imagine you're walking along with a buggy how annoying that is being in a wheelchair do you know what I mean it's just it's it drives me up the wall so I you know I'm really lucky I think to be in the position that I am so I can shout about it and make some noise, hopefully just to, if it can at least make a little bit of difference, hopefully, yeah. That'd be nice. You are making a difference, aren't you?

And also, like you're saying that people are visually seeing you on the TV and saying, you know, oh look, it's the same person, let's move on with our day. But I do think now that the world has, the world is just different, isn't it? It is, yeah, it is different. It's still not, we're not quite there yet. No. But we've made leaps, you know, we've got come a long way. and these shows that are...

Yeah. But then, like, I'm a celebrity, right? They've just released the line-up. There's no one visibly disabled in the lineup. And you're like, come on. But do you think because they actually have to do physical tasks? I feel like... Do you not think that some of their guidelines?

No, I honestly think it's... Because I think even with, like, mental health and that... I mean, mental health, yeah, I agree. I just think, I think... But also, if there are activities that they're getting people to do, they should make it so that everyone can do them. I'm not saying, you know, you have to get, you know, five people living with various disabilities, just getting anybody, and I'm not saying it has to be me, by any means.

You wanted a trip to the jungle. That is the problem. But like, get somebody on there, do you know what I mean? Who can just show again, like, look, this is what happens when you make it accessible for everyone. It is really true, because I haven't actually thought of that. And I guess they've never had anyone on, have they ever. I can't think of anyone, but I'm not saying that there hasn't been. But if there hasn't been, it's 20-25.

Yeah, get it out. Yeah, sort of out. with it like if strictly can have someone who is blind well yeah win the bloody competition then yeah come on we can get someone who's living with a disability in the jungle actually now you like i've never actually thought of i'm a celebrity yeah so true yeah it's just you know it's i just think it's time someone's gonna like message in and go no there has been oh yeah i'm sure yeah and i'm i'm genuinely yeah guys uh i don't think i'm sure there has been at some point but if there's only if i feel Even with the celeb line up, there's always like the one that's going to be under the shower.

Yeah. The tits out. It's like the soap star. Like it's just box ticking the whole time, isn't it? And if you don't fit into the box, then you're not going to get it anyway. But that's, you know, again, we live in 2025, sort it out. I think it's one in five people in the UK live with a disability. Really?

Yeah. So like, and also, and I find this so interesting, disability is the only minority group where anyone can join at any time. and everyone will join if they are lucky enough to live to a certain age. Yeah. So it's kind of like, we're all going to be there. We're all going to be there.

When we say accessibility benefits everyone. Genuinely it does. Like there's not, you know, it's just fun because people are still going, oh no, we know, we can't get that person on because they've got a wheelchair. Oh, bugger off. Make it so they can come on.

Yeah, exactly. Even with Tom, he had, we actually got a letter home and it was like he had, of his limbs he had like spastication of the limbs and obviously was he he never wanted to have any disabled bad or anything like that because he was like I can't I can't I keep but same mentality because you've constantly been told that it's a bad thing yeah you know it's so he was like I can't but I was like well we sort of could do with it because I could do with parking closer to places

like instead of having to help you but it's that like changing of it and you actually get that baby and go oh my god like he could not believe that yeah he'd been even diagnosed with that's it and people and people still now like you know they just think oh yeah disabled oh and actually like if you embrace it a little bit more yeah i know it's quite it sort of when you kind of get that mentality in your head it's a bit like oh okay yeah well my nans even just had a hip stun there you go she's had her hip stun she's actually doing loads better but she she was like new lisa life but she was like like bone on bone she was in so much pain had the hip done had the hip done hip down and now she's like a new woman.

There you go. Was she using like walking aids or anything? Yep. She actually couldn't walk. She got so bad she was like, I think it just had gone. Yeah. But that generation, you can't tell them, can you? Bloody out.

My nan, she was in her 90s when she passed away five years ago. One point she fell over. She'd broken, I think both her arms. Wasn't even complaining. They don't. They don't. They're covered in breezes all over. I'm fine.

I don't need to go to hospital. They are that generation where they're like, nope, we're fine. Yeah. My best friend, her nan, is 102. Wow. A hundred and two. Shout out to Nanny Wynne. Queen.

102. 102. She's a new year, she's New Year's Eve, her birthday. I bet she's like, incredible. How crazy, but she is just, the mindset is, I'm surviving. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. My nan would touch her toes every morning up until probably the week before she died.

She literally constantly just moving and. So that's it. We've really, this what happens on. This is what happens on this pod. We go from. So basically, the moral of the story is, don't drink alcohol, use the recipe book and get cooking at home, and touch your toes. Yeah. And ITV.

ITV, if you're listening, get someone living with a disability in the jungle, please. Thank you. So that's a wrap on another episode of Mums the Word. Thank you so much for joining us today as we were joined by the amazing Briny May Williams. Don't forget to leave us a review. follow us on our socials at at mums the word underscore pod and subscribe to our YouTube channel because you can now watch this in full wow just search mums the word until next time i've been kelsie parker and we'll be back with another episode same time same place next week