Off Air... with Jane and Fi - Another day, another buttock (with Stephen Mangan)

Episode Date: May 22, 2023

Jane and Fi have swapped chairs for today's episode and it's causing chaos. They attempt some serious questions about flatulence when they're joined by actor Stephen Mangan, to talk about his new children's book 'The Unlikely Rise of Harry Sponge'.They also discuss losing parents at a young age, playing Postman Pat and whether Stephen would ever do a superhero movie.If you want to contact the show to ask a question and get involved in the conversation then please email us: [e-mail] Assistant Producer: Kate Lee Times Radio Producer: Rosie Cutler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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We are maverick women. We can change. It doesn't always have to be the same. We don't have to keep you on your toes. Yeah, absolutely. Different chairs. Fifi and Jane, Garvey and Glover. Glovey and Garvey. They can't say that.

Never mind all of that. I couldn't say anything at all today that made any sense. I think part of it was just because I was distracted by this. I haven't been able to get this out of my head all day. Can I just read it to you? Of course you can. It's a review of a film I definitely want to see. I've always had a little bit of time for Jude Law

and he is playing... Have you made time for Jude Law? If he were, I would make time for him and I don't make time for everybody. But if he were to come calling I'd probably answer the door. Not necessarily in tracksuit bottoms. I'd be wearing something

obviously. Anyway, obviously. Anyway, enough. A nice tabard. My housecoat. An inviting but sensible housecoat that's really good. Actually, housecoats, where have they gone? Housecoats, well, we used to, years and years and years ago, on the late night show on Five Live. It was our merchandising choice.

Our dream merchandising choice. We were going to do a late night live tabard and it was going to have proper pockets that you could put your things in. And it was just going to enable us to move seamlessly around the house. Were you suggesting that the tabard was the house coat of the 1990s?

Well a tabard is a house coat. That's what a tabard is. A good tabard. I thought a tabard was a house coat. That's what a tabard is, a good tabard. Oh, I thought a tabard was like one of those... It's not a high-vis vest. No, it's not. No, a domestic tabard is basically a house coat but without sleeves. Oh, like a gilet but with pockets.

Yeah, get back to Jude Law. Oh, yeah, sorry. Okay, so Jude Law is playing Henry VIII. You're blimey. I know, which is quite a leap, isn't it? So many televisual and cinematic depictions of Henry. Anyway, this is a review of Firebrand from the Cannes Film Festival by Kevin Maher,

who says, After some early courtly scene setting, mostly with Catherine and Anne, Henry joins the action in 1546. That's about a course to four, isn't it? Physically exhausted from the second invasion of France and boasting his ulcerated leg. I know.

He seems a fiery beast initially, but one who is easily mollified by Catherine's attentiveness and her acquiescence in and here's where it gets unpleasant in the brutal marital bedroom oh dear here a gasp inducing shot of Henry's enormous rolling buttocks suggests that law has partaken in some alarmingly detrimental weight gain or it's clever editing and a substitute posterior a substitute posterior gosh imagine being a bottom double well i was just going to ask you which you were hoping for well apparently he hasn't put on weight because he's jude law um

it must be some incredible prosthetic bottom. And do you want to go and see some pumping buttocks of yore? No, I don't. But I've never not enjoyed a film with Jude Law in it, I have to say. There's always a first time. There is always a first time. And actually, because he's such a sort of constant in our lives, absurdly, Henry VIII, I think we sometimes forget what an

absolute gitty was I mean talk about misogyny I mean it's just appalling yeah I think our attention towards him you're right I think it's just overloaded as well you know if there's a greater nuance in his story I'm really going to be completely able to live the rest of my life without knowing it Jane yeah I really? Yeah, I really am. Just had a belly full of Henry VIII, haven't you? I think so. Well, I sort of thought I had, but now I know that Jude's doing his version of him.

Maybe I'll give it another go. Well, I tell you what, it's a good opportunity to put in a hefty bid to get Jude Law on the programme. Oh, but that would involve one of us having to go to, I don't know, Claridge's, and sit there with a lady running a stopwatch and ask four questions in the

prescribed nine and a half minutes. It's agonising and I don't want to put myself through it, but you can do it if you like. No, you like Jude Law, you do it. You could squeeze in a cheeky one. I probably would do it for Jude. I could ask him about, I mean, what a life that must be, making prosthetic bottoms for films.

I suppose somebody has to do it. I guess so, yeah. Your alarm goes off when you're thinking, another day at the prosthetic bottom factory. Yes, another day. Can't wait. Another day, another buttock. Right.

Set of buttocks. Set of buttocks. What do you think, what's the collective noun for buttocks? What do you think? What's the collective noun for buttocks? It's a tricky one, isn't it? I'll leave it with you. She wheezed. Right.

We've had so many fantastic emails and we are probably going to read a couple more from The World of estrangement aren't we? Yes, and then perhaps we'll let it go not because we don't think it's important but just because we're trying to mention every possibility and I think

we've more or less covered most of them but carry on. No, I was going to say exactly that and it's always a difficult one isn't it to say right, enough, enough of your story we're going to move on to a different topic and we don't mean it like that at all and but i hope that we have given enough air time to all of the many different stories that you've told us and i'll just say what i said last time sorry to be so boring i'm amazed by how common a story it is and i hope that there is something at least uh that gives people who are suffering

in you know either end of the estrangement line, some kind of hope that you're not alone. So shall we do a couple that have come in? Yes. This says, thank you for opening up the topic of estrangement. My son is now 46 and has estranged himself from the whole family for 25 years. But this doesn't stop me looking for him in every supermarket queue, every time I go to the library, go to a cafe, a car park, a beach,

or just walking along the road. I don't know why he walked away from us. However, I can see him on Facebook, and I've tracked him down on the voter list, and he only lives 10 minutes from me. I do contact him occasionally by email, but I rarely get a reply unless it's abusive. I've got no idea if he has a family,

although I do see on LinkedIn that he's holding down a job. I have two other adult children and three beautiful grandchildren and we're a tight family unit, but you never get over this. And I tell people I've newly met that I have two children. I just don't talk about him, but he does live in my heart. That's very sad, isn't it? And this one, which will remain anonymous, although I think you're quite happy with the self-titled

disgruntled of the antipodes, is a very thoughtful email about your own personal family situation and then a thought or two about what we were talking about with attempts to get back in contact with people and whether there's a i don't know a pertinent time or you should just give a gentle nod and a like and a prod and leave it at that and so disgruntled says over 10 years ago all my children made a decision to cut ties with their father when after persuading me and us to move overseas to save our marriage always a mistake his behavior deteriorated and became

abusive after he left us my children really struggled with their dad's constant attempts to get in touch and his efforts often brought with them quite severe mental distress i eventually supported their decision to keep their distance so when I stopped hearing from my eldest I suppose I felt that this was my comeuppance for not having tried harder on their father's behalf and with this in mind after months of rejection of my calls and texts I struggled with the question of how much contact was too much and decided that texts on special occasions would be the least irritating and upsetting for my child. Now, of course, I have no way of contacting them at all, and like your Australian contributor,

I can only hope that they are safe, well, and have a strong, supportive, chosen family around them. The physical distance and the fact that I can no longer try to get in touch has made the situation seem more permanent, a sort of bereavement. I've had a wee bit of counselling, and although this will never make the sadness go away, I have grieved and accepted that there is now a strong possibility that I will never hear from them again. All right, and this, I think we could make this the final word

because there have been a number of emails along these lines, and please don't think that we haven't read other similar emails. We absolutely have and we can't do justice to all of them that have come in on this subject. But this is also anonymous and it's from somebody who says, I am estranged from most of my family by choice because of an abusive upbringing. I'll be celebrating the 20th anniversary this year

and I'm still working through PTSD therapy to rebuild myself and come to terms with my childhood. I'm confident I won't feel any regret when it finally becomes too late to get in touch. The decision to estrange has been simple because the circumstances were bad enough. This does not mean it's painless. The grief I have is never for the people themselves though. It's for the idea of a family that I could have had and the healthy relationships I will never experience and the loneliness created by that space in my life. And I just think that's it is true, isn't it, that other people have made very similar points, that there is often, unfortunately, a very good reason why someone wants nothing to do with their family. Yeah. And fair enough. And absolutely fair enough. unfortunately a very good reason why someone wants nothing to do with their family yeah and fair

enough and absolutely fair enough yeah uh right so like we say um we do read every single email that comes in and we're really grateful to you for all of your honesty i'm going to make a massive gear change now and i hope that's okay with everybody just to say thank you for people who are concerned about nancy uh so clear has sent a lovely lovely message and thank you very much and I will try giving Hawthorne, which has been suggested by a few people. I had not heard of that. What is the thing there? As a natural remedy. So I think

it's just one of those very old-fashioned things that seems to have been proved to work and it just calms the heart down. And Claire says for two years now she's been giving her pet Hawthorn twice a day with his food and i'm happy to say that he's doing just fine he's got more energy than any other old dog i see here and we can still go on very long walks and thank you as well to

leanne who's a lady listener in stem running a business no it's very impressive ever lady i'd like to know more about the business Leanne, who's a lady listener in STEM running a business. No, it's very impressive. I have a lady. I'd like to know more about the business. Oh, OK. Well, this is mainly about Nancy's heart murmur. And thank you for all of your very, very kind advice.

And I do take your point that actually, you know, if I can afford to do this heart scan for Nancy and medication is then available that would make her life better and therefore mine, then I should probably have a real think about doing it. and medication is then available that would make her life better and therefore mine, then I should probably have a real think about doing it. So, you know, I will definitely think about it. It's at the end of Nancy Corner. It is.

I've got nothing to say about Dora, although she has discovered the wonderful world of cheese dreamies. Cheese dreamies? Are you tempted to try one yourself well i was because i'm a massive cheese fan i know uh and actually it is it remains the case that whenever i go back into the house as i will tonight god willing um i go straight to the fridge and just eat some cheese it's just like i'm back hello cheese. Yes, so cheese dreamies. They smell disgusting and they come in a sort of very vibrant banana yellow bag.

But she's tried all the dreamies now, but I think cheese might be her favourite one. Isn't that interesting, everybody? Very nice to know. Brian seems to be having quite a riotous love affair with a twig. They've been together all weekend. Have they? Yes, they have. Well, now he's had his work done.

He's absolutely happy. He can consort with anything and nothing, there'll be no consequences. He is very, very, it's a consenting twig. And thank God for that. But they're very, very close. Oh, well, that's good. Well, a couple of years ago,

didn't somebody marry a rock? I think they did. And a couple of women have married themselves. So listen, all bets are off. I say good luck to you. Right. Anonymous writes, I've been tearing my hair out listening to you, wittering on about sex. All of your correspondence

sound like they have excellent perspectives and you're doing a wonderful job of opening out of opening out an often taboo topic. But to me, there is a glaring omission to your discussion. Are you ready? I'm sorry, I was just opening my bottle of water there. Right. And what is the glaring omission?

Er, what? Well, it's ethical non-monogamy. Oh, glaring what? My partner and I, says Anonymous, have been ethically non-monogamous for a couple of years now, and it's probably the strongest we've been in our 11 years together. For us, it's partly about appetite, partly about variety. We trust each other deeply, took lots of time to explore how we felt about this,

and slowly built our own rules about how this could work for both of us in terms of our relationship dynamic. Neither of us feel we're losing out on our time with each other and I certainly feel less, quotes, obliged to have sex when I'm not in the mood. Now this isn't for everyone but it can work. I think for some the presence or even the possibility of an other can feel hugely threatening. I did certainly feel this way at one time but with support I took a really good look at these feelings and found they were largely based on what I'd been taught to expect a relationship to be. I hope that adds something useful to your discussion.

And that's from Anonymous. And thank you, Anonymous, because I haven't really thought this one through. I'd not heard of ethical non-monogamy. And I guess that means basically doing what you like as long as the other one's well aware that you might be doing what you like. So no hearts are broken, no trust is broken. So consenting polygamy?

Well, poly implies all sorts of antics, doesn't it? I'm just thinking of my neighbour, Polly, and I should say at that point that I'm not thinking of her in this context. Oh, thank goodness. What do you think? Would you ever be able to do that no you know damn well of course I wouldn't be able to do that just ridiculous but why not I feel angry enough if you do a podcast with somebody else the idea that I'd be in a relationship with someone who could then go no you must be bloody joking I don't do a podcast anyone else you do you do a podcast for somebody else and i don't mind maybe i am

ethically what is it non-monogamous in my working life no i um i think it might work for couples who are you know sort of sexually experimental or just alive to the possibility of other partners but you've both got to be on the level haven't you you've both got to have the same don't you sexually experimental or just alive to the possibility of other partners. But you've both got to be on the level, haven't you? You've both got to have the same... Doesn't it all come back to the problem if you've both got to feel exactly the same way about what it is you want to do? Because if one half of the ethically non-monogamous couple

is getting loads of sex elsewhere and the other one not so much or none... Or bad sex. Or bad sex. then i can't see that it works yeah you'd have to be very very you're right non-competitive because you couldn't come back you know from an exploratory evening break open the cheese and then and say oh my god i've just had the best sex of my life if your partner was sitting there maybe with just a cracker or just watching it

wasn't good for me watching celebrity bargain hunt because they didn't get any offers that night so i do i admire all of these people who can really um uh manage to think outside of the box oh god yeah completely yeah and if it's keeping you happy and all of that if no hearts are broken i offer no judgment at all good Good luck to you. I don't think I will ever in my lifetime be able to separate sex from emotion. So I just have to keep my ambitions

within exactly the same framework that they were when I started reading Jilly Cooper's at the age of 12. I like loving people who I'm having sex with. And I don't think that's a bad thing, can I say? I've enjoyed that connection, actually, Jane.

It's made me feel quite kind of, that's what, you know, I like that security. No, I like that security. Well, yeah, I mean, I suppose I'm completely with you. I don't really get why, but loads of people do. Oh, I know. But I just don't, I just don't want to go for a romp. It's just not of any interest to me at all.

Which Julie Cooper most inspired you? Oh, gosh. See, I've only read her equestrian riders. Ewan Rishi Sunak's his favourite book, isn't it? Oh, dear. I don't think I want to think about that. That's quite an odd choice. Rishi and Jodhpur's. I don't think I have read think about that. That's quite an odd choice. Rishi and Jodhpur's.

I don't think I have read very many. He's very little, so he could be a jockey. Jilly Cooper's, maybe that's what he identified with. But I do remember that the ones, you know, that had individual names, they were called kind of Bella and stuff like that. Oh, I've not read any of those. Those circulated probably around year,

what would it have been? Maybe year eight, nine in school, everybody read them. I think, to me, they wouldn't have stood the test of time because I do remember in one of them, the heroine of the hour was kidnapped and held hostage and then she was rescued by the man of her dreams. And the first thing that she felt on, you know, coming out of the hostage situation

was that she looked much more attractive because she'd lost so much weight. Because she'd been held hostage. Yes. So, you know, horses for courses. They were different times. They clearly were. And actually, that brings us quite neatly on.

Does it? To Stephen Mango. Oh, we've done a link. Who is our guest today. And you're about to hear the interview with him now what a lovely man what a lovely chap uh and he was talking about amongst other things he talks in this interview about doing private lives which is a noel cowplay which is uh viewed from our perspective somewhat challenging anyway he talks about that but he was also in not mainly he was also in to talk about his series

of children's books. So he's on the third, which is, just reach into your pile, The Unlikely Rise of Harry Sponge, which is a great name for the protagonist of the book. And the incredible thing actually is that he writes the books and his sister, Anita Mangan, is the illustrator. So what an amazing family, although there are three siblings, so we were going to have to ask about what the third one did. Well, you did, and the good news is she's got a proper job. Yes, yeah, and we did make sure before asking him that on air because that would have been terrible, wouldn't it?

Anyway, you might know Stephen's acting work more than his writing work, especially if you don't have kids. His breakthrough came with his portrayal of Adrian Mole got well over 20 years ago then he appeared in Green Wing and he did episodes which I absolutely loved set in Los Angeles interesting details sorry about that and most recently he's been in the split and as Jane said he's on stage at the moment in private lives so he started though by telling us about writing his third And most recently, he's been in The Split. And as Jane said, he's on stage at the moment in Private Lives. So he started, though, by telling us about writing his third kids' book. The Unlikely Rise of Harry Sponge is a funny adventure story

about an ageing king who realises he doesn't have an heir, so sets out to find one. The five most suitable children in the kingdom are brought forward and they have a very daft, ridiculous competition to find out who should be his next heir. The villain of the piece is a shambolic, egocentric, bumbling prime minister who can't answer anything difficult,

any difficult questions about politics, so carries with him a fart machine. And every time he's asked a difficult question question he presses that button and everyone laughs and thinks he's hilarious imagination where does it all come from i don't know so yeah it was fun i'm i i i it's probably you know one of the most um enjoyable things i do writing for children because i sit down and try and make myself laugh, my sister laugh. She does the illustrations beautifully. And I think there's something

about writing for kids that's quite challenging because you know that they're not going to be polite and sit there and listen if you're, you know, droning on like I am now. They're very honest and ruthless. They'll just go off and turn on a screen, probably.

So, you know, there's that. But also, I think they'll go with you anywhere. Their imaginations are very fertile, and they enjoy comedy, and they enjoy silliness. And I try and put all the things... I was a big bookworm when I was eight, nine, and ten. I always had my head in the book. I got away with reading at the dinner table.

I don't know how I got away with that, but... God, god that was a time wasn't it when when you were told to book put a book away i remember that myself i mean you'd be delighted now wouldn't you would be delighted with the book yeah yeah because they stay there and read it's quite a fine line sometimes isn't it in a kid's book between uh having some kind of a moral backbone to the story, because that is one element that you want kids to have, and not coming across as kind of prosaic and lecturing. So how do you work out that balance? I think you try and hide the moral of the story. There isn't a moral of the story.

I think you have, as a writer, have your own morality that probably comes out and your own view of the world. I mean, my books tend to be, now I've written three, I can see a theme emerging of distrust of authority. Well, and flatulence. And flatulence. There's a lot of flatulence. That's true. Flatulence, stroke, distrust of authority. And I think, you know, now I'm getting older, and you realise that the people running the country are often contemporaries of yours, you realise what dreadful hands we're often in. They're now younger than me, Stephen, and that's worse.

It's actually worse. So without giving away any of the plot too much, would a comeuppance be available to a rather buffoon-like Prime Minister who answers a question with a fart? You can't have a villain and not have him get his comeuppance. So, yeah, I have a lot of fun with him. I think with children,

you try and make it as unguessable, the plot. You just don't want them to know where you're going next. I think that's part of the way you hold their attention so um i don't plan them too much i literally sit down and try and surprise myself on every page and then and then get told it makes no sense go back and make it make sense which i then do does your editor tell you that or one of your three children do they read them i don't let i don't let the kids have it until it's done, partly because I just couldn't bear, you know, a bad review because they're the ones I'm writing it for. That's the worst moment.

I give them the book and, you know, Frank... Each of the kids has a hero named after them. Frank was the hero of The Fart That Changed the World. He read that four times. That's all I needed to hear. That was a delightful thing. Harry's book is the Harry Sponge book and my youngest son was the hero of Escape the Rooms. Is Flatulence

I'm going to attempt a serious question about Flatulence so brace yourself. I'm not going to. No. I didn't mean that. I didn't mean that. Because actually oddly I don't ever do it. But is Flatulence the last great global comedic unifier? Is it universally funny across all generations and all cultures?

Yeah, I think so. Well, although, aren't you supposed to... Yeah, I think so. I mean, when I first suggested that my last book be called The Fart That Changed the World, I was met with a little bit of resistance from my publishers who said, what about The Burp That Changed the World? Which just isn't as funny.

And I don't know why, because, you know, they share some certain similarities. But they're not as funny. I don't know what it is about it. And, yeah, and I don't want to analyse it too much because I seem to employ it quite a lot. I mean, I'm a christmas book at the moment and there is there is one in there yeah it's obviously becoming my thing yeah i don't

know if that's i've got aunts and uncles who are very disappointed in me that my books have stooped that low but there you go you are you're a literary type i mean you've been a judge on a leading book award haven't you um i mean you must have a grown-up novel in you i mean think of the turbulence in the acting profession yeah all the heartbreak and the rivalries you could do it i maybe but one hasn't occurred to me yet and i mean this all started because my sister said let's write books together i thought she meant picture books with one line of prose on each page i thought knock it out in an afternoon but turns out she wanted me to write a 50,000 word novel. So I did. I do everything she tells me to do. Is she older than you?

She's younger than me. She's a year younger than me. And you are one of three siblings. So does your third sibling feel a bit left out of this literary illustrative? I hope not. She's not in this area at all she um trains people to deal with the media actually um corporate people to do sort of interviews and stuff so um i hope she's very busy and earning a lot of money she's actually got a proper job sitting around like the two of us drawing and writing about farting yeah and and when you were kids i know that you had

uh you know just a horrendous thing actually you lost both your parents when you were quite young particularly your mum and I had read that subsequently you and your siblings have bought a house all together to make something good out of something really bad, which is actually a really heartening thing to know that a family can do. Yeah, because often people fall out after, you know, people die. Things can get very messy. We were always very close. My parents were from big Irish families and were always very close. My dad worked with his brothers and sisters all his life.

My mum's brothers worked together. So, yeah, it just seemed natural to us to spend the money that dad left in his will on buying somewhere we could all go and be together because you've suddenly lost that place to go where you would hang out. You know, a parent's house is a kind of focal point so yeah it was a great decision I'm glad we did it yeah and you did take a year out after university you went to Cambridge University and your mum was very unwell so you took a year out afterwards to care for her how were your contemporaries and friends during that time

did they recognize what you were going through and could you keep them around you I could I think it's hard though because I think most a lot of people find it hard to know what to say or do when someone's going through something like that even when they're in their 30s 40s 50s 60s I mean it's a it's a difficult one isn't it um and none of them had really had that experience and there's something about caring for someone who's clearly terminally ill especially someone so young my mum was only 45 um that is really difficult to know what to do about but they were great and you know we're still we're still all very close friends now can i ask did you know that you could be a carer

at that time because you were very young and it's a tough, tough job. It is a tough job, but you're grateful to be able to do something because you feel so hopeless in the face of illness like that. So actually to have something practical you can do every day. I mean, my two sisters were, Anita was in Spain and Lisa was at university, and they found it very difficult because obviously there comes a point where you say you should come home now but up until then you don't want you know it's almost more distressing for for mum if everyone drops everything and puts their life on hold so yeah and you're making it up as you go along um but I'm I'm grateful from my point of view that

I had a chance to look after both my parents. They both had illnesses. They were diagnosed six months of illness and then they died. I'm grateful I had the chance to look after them and to know that they were going because I think the knock on the door, a heart attack or a car accident, that must be very violent emotionally to deal with. To have something like that, losing your mum, just as you're actually going onto the stage as an adult yourself,

is an incredibly difficult thing to deal with. How much of that trauma do you think was part of your decision to become an actor? Did it have anything to do with it at all? It was completely the catalyst for me to try and do what I'd always wanted to do, but was too, I suppose, scared or just, you know, Dad was a builder. We weren't surrounded by arty types, by actors.

We just didn't know any. I mean, I might as well have wanted to become the Pope or an astronaut or something. It was just not in our sphere. And all you ever hear about actors is none of them work, none of them earn any money. It's all horrendous and, youous and you're forever living hand to mouth so I did my law degree, mum got ill and I thought well, her mum had died at

47 of cancer, mum died at 45, so you start to think well if that's the pattern of our family, I've got 20, 25 years left, I'm trying to be an actor so I did and I'm glad I did. Yeah, it's turned out all right for you. It's turned out so far. Up till now.

Yes, well, I mean, let's not say that now. You know, Jade and I don't want to have anything to do. They do tend to end their careers. If this was the moment. Looking back. VoiceOver describes what's happening on your iPhone screen. VoiceOver on. Settings. So you iPhone screen. VoiceOver on. Settings. So you can navigate it just by listening.

Books. Contacts. Calendar. Double tap to open. Breakfast with Anna from 10 to 11. And get on with your day. Accessibility. There's more to iPhone. Stephen Mangan is our guest this afternoon. He told us about his reaction to being cast as Postman Pat. Some in-depth interviewing went on here. I mean, shock and surprise.

Postman Pat? I mean, the answer is yes before they finish the question on that one. Of course, yeah. But it's an interesting plot for a children's film because it's about corporate takeovers and a singing competition. And I thought I was going to be singing Pat Pat. When I got there, the first thing they said to me was, good news, we've got Ronan Keating to do the singing voice. And my face must have dropped.

And they said, oh, didn't anyone tell you you weren't singing? I said, no, that's OK. They said, well, you can still sing it if you want. I said, you've got Ronan Keating, you don't want me. What was Poseman Pat's seminal work in that film? Oh, God, I can't remember. It's a long ago now. Somebody will know, don't worry about it. I didn't, yeah.

And what voice did you employ? Well, I mean, I tried to do the same voice as Pat has. I mean, it's sort of a Cumbrian-esque kind of thing. Late district-based, isn't it? Yeah, it is. But they're very weird, those things, because you go into a room on your own and you do the entire film on your own.

So you don't meet any of the other actors, you don't act with the other actors. And that's really tricky, because the whole point of acting is listening to what other people say to you and responding. So you didn't meet Mrs Goggins? I didn't meet Mrs Goggins. Oh, dear.

I didn't meet Mrs Goggins, yeah. What was the emotional nuance that you felt you brought to the role? I think a sort of, you know, post-Mannion, is that a word? Sensitivity, sort of envelope-savvy joie de vivre. I don't know what I brought to the role, frankly. The song, by the way, was called With You. There you go, thank you.

Very moving. Very moving. And so would you not do that type of work again? I mean... Postal work. You know, yeah. I mean, I do often fall into conversations with postmen about it. They'll stop me in the street and that's what they want to talk about,

which is nice. They're the only sort of people I meet, apart from yourselves, who do want to talk about Postman Pat. Oh, we've got many, many more hours in us. But it's always struck me as slightly odd. You know, the film animation business now revolves around getting really, really big names in to do the voices. Yeah.

But as, you know, as the viewer, you don't see them. That connection seems a little bizarre. Well, also, if you're a five-year-old, which is what it's aimed at, do you care? Yeah, you don't care. No, of course you don't care. It's Stephen Mangan from Green Wing in it or whatever, you know. You just...

So, yeah, I don't... I think it's more to get the parents involved, I think, but the amount of money they spend. The film business is in a really weird state at the moment and I don't like it. I'm going to say it on air. What don't you like? I don't like that those smaller films that are more intimate and perhaps more out there are just not being made

because the whole film model has just gone down the tubes um so now it's endless superheroes and and i just don't care about superheroes have you and that's nothing to do with the fact i've not been asked to do it it's got everything to do with that no it hasn't it's got nothing to do with that you know when we were laughing about not ending your career on this show can i just say tread carefully because you don't want to do the superheroes you don't want to do the superheroes, you don't want to do the animation. Please stay and work. No, the animation will work,

but you're right, it's odd. Yeah. Tell us a little bit about Episodes, which was just the most fantastic series. I thought it was knowing, it was clever. Was it actually filmed in situ all the way through? Take us through it. No, it was filmed, the first series was filmed in Wimbledon and Surrey.

And there's bits of us driving up to our LA mansion, Surrey. Bits of us sitting in a car at two in the morning in a convertible with T-shirts on, minus four in March. Yeah, so it was just cheaper, half the price to film over here, so we filmed over here, the way these things work. Matt LeBlanc stayed in a hotel in Kensington and we went to Wimbledon every day. But it was a treat. I mean, beautifully written show.

Really beautifully written. For people who might not have seen it, I mean, you know, I envy them because they have the series, well, a couple of series ahead of them, don't they? Five, yeah, five series. What was the concept? The concept was a British couple, husband and wife TV writing team, played by Tamsin Greger and myself,

have a huge hit over here about an English boarding school starring Richard Griffiths as the headmaster. It gets bought up, as these things do, by an American network who decide it's not going to be about an English boarding school anymore, it's going to be about an American hockey team, and it's now going to be called Pucks, and the lead character is not going to be about an English boarding school anymore, it's going to be about an American hockey team and it's now going to be called Pucks and the lead character is not going to be Richard Griffiths who has to audition for his

own part and it's incredibly embarrassing it's now going to be played by TV's Matt LeBlanc who's playing himself and it was an absolute, you know just a treat, some brilliant performances from people like Daisy Haggard.

So, yeah, we had a ball. We eventually end up going up to L.A. for all the sort of... We do ten days each series out in L.A. But it was written by David Crane and his partner, Geoffrey. I played sort of the David Crane character who thinks the glass is half full, and Geoffrey thinks the glass is an idiot, and he's played by Tamsin.

I'm a little heartbroken that it wasn't in L.A. Yeah, I mean, the exterior scenes eventually were, but a lot of CGI'd palm trees into the Surrey countryside for a series one. Can we talk a little bit about what you're doing at the moment, which is Private Lives, the Noel Coward play. It finishes this week. Is that right? You've done how many weeks? Seven or eight weeks? I think seven, something like that, yeah.

Is it... So I've never seen it, I must be honest, but it's about a couple who can't bear to be together, can't bear to be apart. Yeah. Written in the 1920s? Written in 1929. OK. First performed in 1930 with Noel Coward and Laurence Olivier.

He's 23-year-old Olivier and it's one of his first roles. Really? Wow, OK. Rachel Sterling plays your ex-wife. Yeah. And is it fair to say that it's slightly troubling from a 21st century perspective? I mean, it is because these are a couple who are sort of out there, so they don't believe in God. They don't conform to a lot of social norms. And they talk quite openly about how they sort of, you know, hit each other. There's sort of a bit of domestic violence in there,

which at the time was treated as a big joke. And one of the things they do that shows that they're a bit wacky and, you know, and of course, you know, you can't treat it in that way. So we're trying to balance balance the it's a brilliant play and it's got huge sort of psychological depth and we're taking that violence quite seriously but i mean there are certain lines in there i say at one point certain women should be struck regularly like gongs which brings the house down and it's very peculiar because we're not playing it to be funny but people laugh and i think but i think that's something about why people laugh

there's something about i mean we can get very deep into what comedy is and what laughter is but it's something about fear and release of fear or i don't know um other people gasp and can't believe you're saying it um so yeah it's a really interesting one, you know, playing into the whole debate, I suppose, at the moment about what you do about slightly problematic plays and books. And so when you first read through it, did you think maybe we could change that or were you happy to stick to the original script?

We sat and talked about everything and that particular line, I thought weeks about it you know do i say it like i'm deliberately don't mean it um but you know she calls me out for a fight we had the night before in front of people and in that moment the character sort of doubles down and goes well if you're going to call me out i'm actually going to own it even more and take it a bit further and i think that's something that people do um you know how ashamed he is of what he did is a sort of separate matter. But in that moment, I think he's provoked

and his ego and his desire not to take a step back with this woman who he's hugely in love with and also they can't stand each other. You know, it's a really interesting moment on the stage and it changes every night. Some nights it just brings gasps of horror. And other nights it brings, you know, a big woof of laughter. So, you know, there you go.

It's really odd. You've been a terrific guest. We've covered an awful lot of ground in half an hour, Stephen. Thank you very much indeed. We're almost out of time. Two very quick questions. Any thoughts on Sweller Bravman's parking and speeding difficulty, isn't it? It's the question of the day. No one should be

above the law, shouldn't they? And have you been approached to fill Philip Schofield's shoes on the sofa? ITV are ringing me every ten minutes. Why don't you do it? I don't like sofas. They gave you a high-back chair? Well, then we'll talk.

But until that moment, I'm not entertaining any offers. Very interesting rider. Stephen Mangan, what a lovely chap. I'd like to see more of him on television. I think, who knows? Who knows what lies ahead? We can't say. No, we can't say anything at all.

Have you had the call from ITV, Jane? Do you think? I think it would be a great combination. Jane and Holly. I can see that working. Because you could be the slightly... Like Holly's nan. No.

I was going to say you could be a kind of wiser elder. And I think it would be a good foil for her I don't think she'd enjoy it well don't count it out strange things have happened I think one of the scariest phrases on earth is the ITV family

who wants to be in a family like that what with the ITV family and the Royal family well okay if you had to be in a family like that? What with the ITV family and the Royal family? God. Well, OK, if you had to pick... If it's a family at all, which one would you pick? The Royal family. Right, and that is saying something. OK, so we should say, I mean, everyone in these sorts of circles, showbiz circles that Fee and I move in so effortlessly,

talks about a great line-up of guests. But we really do have a great line-up of guests this week. Yeah, we really do. So tomorrow, we've got Joan Nesbo. So if you're a fan of his crime writing, he's in the studio in person. Send in questions if you'd like to. His cop.

I mean, I've only just started the book. Harry Hole. Harry Hole. Are we all right about that? Well, it just seems like a weird name. I'm sorry. Well, I don't think most people have gone there you have to remember he's norwegian so it's probably not not it probably doesn't have a

any kind of a connotation in norwegian and actually you know we were talking earlier on the podcast about why we don't read enough this is the podcast yes no but where we were talking a different podcast here Here? No. Today? I tell you what, Jane, dear listener, is wearing a really heavy roll neck jumper and I think she's just got a bit too hot. Earlier

on, as lots of people can testify, it was quite cold today. No, it's not cold at all. But it's not cold now. I think you've just got love bites. Anyway, we were talking earlier on this podcast, in an earlier episode, about why we don't read very much outside the English-speaking world. And, of course, all Joe Nesbo's books are translated.

And I think he obviously speaks incredibly good English. It will be interesting to ask him about the characterisations. And he's a massive, massive success in America as well. And I think those nuances of Norwegian, you know, maybe you just accept that they do get lost. And maybe that's that's a question for him. You know, whether if you were directly targeting English audiences first, you'd call your hero Harry Hole. targeting English audiences first, you call your hero Harry Hole. Probably not, because I haven't read very much.

Is it another in the long line of personally dysfunctional detectives who can always hold it together to solve the case? No, I don't think so. I mean, he's not even a recovering alcoholic, and his wife was murdered, and that was by a guy who was seeking revenge. So I think, no no he's all good he's all good right somebody somewhere is going to

write that book about a guy and it is normally a guy who doesn't solve any crimes but has a wonderful personal life I think that is the appeal of Donna Leon's books actually so her detective he does solve the crime, but he's got a lovely, lovely home life

and he always goes home for lunch. Right. Yeah. Well, if I lived in Italy, I think I'd go home for lunch. Yeah. This is Joy Serges. You were talking last week.

Oh, sorry, can you just do the other great guests? Yeah, well, I don't want to. Just because I said them, I don't have to remember them all, do I? Yes, OK, I'll try. Gary Kemp. Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet. He's going to be talking to us on Wednesday.

And Alvin Hall on Thursday. And also next week, looking ahead to one of my DJ heroes, Mr Fat Tony, who has written an autobiography that is so rich in appalling detail about, well, the high life in London, I think it's fair to say. And he developed actually a chronic drug addiction, overcame it, but at one point was just doing anything and everything he could get his hands on,

while simultaneously being one of the highest paid DJs Britain had ever produced. And being compass-mentous enough to remember it all to then write a book. I know, that is quite weird, isn't it? Actually, you've nicked one of my questions, that was one of those we were asking. We have to end soon because I've got a train to catch.

Well, I mean, they are quite regular on the Northern Line, to be fair, but I just thought I'd add a bit of jeopardy. Have you had enough? I guess not. Do I? I've had enough. It's just a nice positive one from Caroline, and it's about joy surges, because you were saying that

for everything your kiddies can put you through, there are always those little times, aren't there? A joy surge. Now, says Caroline, the eldest son is away at uni. I still get my own joy surges. He's not the best at replying to bog-standard messages. However, I leap with joy when he sends me a funny dog video or one of the red pandas. Cute as anything, look them up. It's just a point of connection, a lovely technology wave of hello and hi mum

from Leeds surging across the Pennines to me in Cheshire. It means so much that I'm just on his radar for a moment. I love that. I like that too. Thank you, Caroline. Yep. Because students, you do seem to escape their attention most of the time. Would you like me to text you more? No, you're alright.

Oh dear, less of a surge, more of a dribble. Right, goodnight everybody. It's been lovely and it's only Monday. Bye-bye. Bye. You did it. Elite listener status for you for getting through another half hour or so

of our whimsical ramblings. Otherwise known as the hugely successful podcast Off Air with Jane Garvey and Fee Glover. We missed the modesty class. Our Times Radio producer is Rosie Cutler, the podcast executive producer. It's a man. it's Henry Tribe. Yeah, he's an executive.

Now, if you want even more, and let's face it, who wouldn't, then stick Times Radio on at three o'clock Monday until Thursday every week and you can hear our take on the big news stories of the day as well as a genuinely interesting mix of brilliant and entertaining guests on all sorts of subjects. Thank you for bearing with us and we hope you can join us again on Off Air very soon. VoiceOver describes what's happening on your iphone screen voiceover on settings so you can navigate it just by listening books contacts calendar double tap to open breakfast with

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