Off Air... with Jane and Fi - Who knows what happens after a Cliff concert? (with Krishnan Guru-Murthy)

Episode Date: October 18, 2023

Jane and Fi survived the shared black cab journey and are here to tell the tale. They also discuss first words, hotel freebies and Fi's Cliff Richard resistance. Plus, they're joined by Channel 4 News anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy to chat Strictly Come Dancing and balancing the demands of his job with his dancing. Here's how to download the bonus episode: Make sure your iPhone has the latest iOS software up to date (you can check this in settings)  Go to the Apple Podcasts App and click on ‘Off Air with Jane and Fi’ Scroll down to the bonus episode with Aasmah from 6th October Hit Play: you’ll then to able to click on the option to say you have a Times Subscription Log into your Times account and bob's your uncle: you can download that episode and all the others coming over the next 12 months If you want to contact the show to ask a question and get involved in the conversation then please email us: [e-mail] Follow us on Instagram! @janeandfi Assistant Producer: Eve Salusbury Times Radio Producer: Rosie Cutler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Anna from 10 to 11. And get on with your day. Accessibility. There's more to iPhone. We've got two questions for you.

Number one, do you have an iPhone? Number two, do you have a Times digital subscription? If the answer to both of those questions is yes, then we've got a treat for you in the form of a bonus episode of the Off Air podcast with guest Asma Mir. So we're going to be doing these bonus episodes over the next 12 months. We are calling them very loosely

Only Interviews in the Building because we're talking to our colleagues, aren't we? Yeah. That isn't very good, that title. No, you see, if you watch Only Murders in the Building... Which I don't. It's very good. Well, most people don't watch it.

It's a huge, massive show. I know. But yes, if Jane Garvey doesn't watch it, it's absolutely nobody's business. How do people download the bonus episode? Oh, well, here we go. Make sure that your iPhone has got the latest software up to date. So that's quite easy to check, actually.

You just go to settings and it says update. And if it says that, you've got to do it. Yeah, you just press the thing and it does it. Then you go to the Apple Podcasts app and click on Off Air with Jane and Fi. And then you scroll down to the bonus episode with asthma from the 6th of October. You hit play. You'll then be able to click on the option to say that you have a Times subscription. And off you go. You log into your

Times account. Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt. You can download that episode and all of the others coming up over the next 12 months. It just couldn't be simpler, could it? Okay, right. Etch-a-Sketch. Did you have an Etch-a-Sketch? Yeah, they were good, weren't they? Oh, I love Etch-a-Sketches. I might get one, actually. There was a, for a time

you could get tiny little key fob ones. Do you remember those? I think I have seen a mini Etch-a- might get one actually. For a time you could get tiny little key fob ones. Do you remember those? I think I have seen a mini Etcher sketch. They were very good fun because I remember they were one of those few things that actually kept toddlers really occupied on long train journeys or bus journeys. For how long

did they keep toddlers? Well because there was something magic about them. You know when you twiddle the buttons. I'm doing it now Because you can't You can spend ages trying to get it to do a curve Can't you Yes I was never good enough to do a successful curve On my etched sketch

But actually both my kids did really like them I'm going to get No don't be so mean It sounds like your kids are child prodigies No that's not what I'm saying at all There's a funny story in the paper today. Cuddle milk. I just needed to link to this really quickly because this is just not true.

It's in the Mirror. Headline, a baby's hello spoken after just six weeks. No. No, it wasn't. A mum believes her daughter may be the world's youngest talking baby. No. After she said hello at just six weeks. Video

shows Belente Ede muttering the greeting. She didn't form the word properly. Muttering the greeting 45 days after she was born. It'd be trap wind. It is just wind, isn't it? Babies generally say their first words between 10 and 14 months.

Several are claimed to have said hello at seven weeks. I mean, these people, they're just fantasising, aren't they? But this is the first ever instance at six weeks. Belenti, who weighed £8.09, goodness me, on August the 21st, has most of her chats while she's having her nappy changed. No. No. No. Her mum, Summer, 30, an architect,

said it was the most heartwarming moment. She says it regularly now. She might not know what it means, but she sees a smile and she says it again. Well, I want to believe some of that, but I strongly suspect that my colleague here is completely right. Yeah. And isn't there some kind of slightly unfair truth, isn't there, in the fact that most babies say daddy before they say mummy? Yeah. Because it's quite often mummy.

It's easier to say. Well, it's because as a mum, you spend a lot more time going, say daddy, than maybe daddy says say mummy. Oh, yeah. Well, that might be it yeah uh anyway uh actually i thought genuinely they said that because it was just easier for them to say this is in english i mean who knows but i'd be fascinated to hear from people about whether in other languages other words are simply easier to say and might come first yeah so you think that da is much easier to well it is easier to pronounce than meh, isn't it? It's an easier mouth

formation. Yeah. But then does it work in France, your favourite country? Oh, it probably does. Well, it's the same there, isn't it? Oh, no, it's papa and mama. So, yeah, we're showing our real knowledge of the world's languages.

We certainly are. Lo siento. Lo siento. That's all I can say in Spanish. Actually, no, that's not true, because I just try and learn Spanish as an adult. I went to Spanish classes, Jane. And I was really, I was so disappointed in myself.

Why? What happened? Well, because I thought if I really put my mind to it later in life, that I would find languages easier, because I didn't really pick them up at school. I wasn't a natural linguist. So I thought, OK, well, I'll just really employ my adult brain and maybe it'll come to me quicker. And it just didn't at all.

So despite going to adult Spanish classes for a whole term, I can really genuinely only manage a couple of sentences. Soy periodista alondres. Where is the local laundry that does a service wash? I'm a journalist from London. Oh, OK. But, you know, interchangeable, really. Crumble and Ruben are my suggestions, says Georgina. This was because we were looking for

names for two delightful little tabby cats, weren't we? When I lived in Pakistan, I rescued a teeny tabby kitten off the streets and named her Crumble. I bottle fed her day and night. Yes, she came to the office with me and she thrived into an adorable feisty monster. She was my much loved pet for the next 18 months until one day when being looked after at a different house, she went missing. And my heart broke. My friend rescued a boy cat who was living on the compound where we worked. She named him Ruben after a bloke we chatted to at a half marathon in Thailand because he had an awesome pair of trainers. Just delicious detail. Although Crumble never made it home with me,

Ruben did make the journey to the UK and had another few years of bliss. I hope both those two cats know how lucky they were to be plucked from a life of suffering as a street cat. Although I've never stopped worrying that this is what became of Crumble when she went missing. Everyone, please adopt, don't shop.

That's the message from Georgina. Very good advice. Yeah. Quick one from Anne. Dear Jane and Fee, I'm 64. I've never pulled a sickie. You're like me, Anne. I'm afraid, though, I fell at the first hurdle with the book club read. Yes, this month it is Trent Dalton's Boy Swallows Universe. I did try, says Anne. I look forward to hearing what other people make of it, though. Anne, thank you. No shame there. I did try, says Anne. I look forward to hearing what other people make of it, though. Anne, thank you. No shame there. I have now read three or four pages of it, and I know I've just got to set aside a chunk of time to get into it properly. But I don't, I'm with Anne here because I don't think it will be, for me, maybe I've got similar taste to Anne, the easiest read, just saying so. Just getting it out there.

Yeah, well, I am going to agree with both of you and we're going to talk about the kind of time that you read books in your life and with regard to what else is happening and world events and all of that kind of stuff. Because I think it's a book that I would really enjoy, maybe not enjoy, but I get a lot out of in other times. But at the moment, when I feel quite full of human suffering and misery and difficulty, it's not the easiest to dip into.

I'm not looking forward to reading it every night as I gently lay my head on my scented pillow, Jane. Yes, indeed. Do you have one of those sprays? Well, actually, I do just because there was a free one in the hotel in Cheltenham. Did you take it with you? Oh, yeah, I left mine because I'm that kind of person. Oh, it was a tiny little thing.

It was like five million. You were meant to take it with you. I took the robe and a duvet. And indeed a mattress. A chest of drawers and a lampshade. I just didn't take that. Actually, that gives us a lovely, linky opportunity to talk about a book you could read at any time, Fi. Is that Claire Balding's Isle of Dogs?

That's right. Because we did say last night that we were going to the launch, so it would be very remiss of us if we didn't talk a little bit about it. Yeah, well, can I just say, dear listener, that we took a taxi cab, a London taxi cab, to the heart of London's West End, Claire Balding's launch. People who were listening attentively yesterday will have heard Jane report that her lentil cottage pie was a particularly windy affair. And there was a moment in the cab where I did have to say, what's going on? No, but it wasn't me, was it? I don't know, Jane. I don on? No, but it wasn't me, was it? I don't know, Jane.

I don't know. No, it wasn't me. We went past some sort of roadwork type thing that was causing a smell. We probably ought to say for people listening abroad who Claire Balding is. Oh, don't be ridiculous. No, you're right. She's an international star. God, she won't be listening.

How terribly insulting you are. I can't believe I said that. Now, I was, on the way there, I was desperately manifesting my favourite drink, which I, I mean, I've just got to own the fact that I really own, this makes me sound like such a prat. Don't worry, we'll get on to the book in a sec, everybody. Yeah, I just only like champagne, really.

And so I go to everything in the hope that there might be a free glass of something fizzy. And last night, I'm afraid there wasn't, Claire. But you did lay on something lovely, which was Twiglets. So thanks ever so much for them. And to be fair, I must have been getting on for six or seven bowls of them. Well, there were cheese straws as well. Were there? I didn't see them.

You had to move quite fast on the cheese straws. Well, we met some... Who was I talking to? Oh, the lovely Penny Smith. Oh, Penny Smith was so funny. Yeah. So she came... She's a TV legend and indeed now a radio presenter on another station we don't need to mention. We don't know. She came bounding over to

us and her opening line to us was... You really are small, aren't you? Yes, and this was delivered eye to eye because Penny, you're no giant yourself, love. I mean, I would estimate her to be five foot four. Oh, five foot three. Really? Yes, she may even have been wearing a heel or a built-up shoe.

No, she could well have been. She did have a good anecdote and I can't remember exactly what this amounted to but it was something to do with going to Barbados on holiday and meeting Kylie Minogue who was then appearing in The Tempest. Yep. I must admit Kylie's Tempest passed me by

a little bit like Dame Joan Collins Private Lives. I didn't see it or indeed hear about it but anyway Penny met her when she was out there doing that. It does seem incredible really doesn't it? Because I know that Danny Minogue continued her acting career because I interviewed her once at the Edinburgh Festival about her Lady Macbeth.

It's not a euphemism. Sorry, I wondered whether... OK, I... Wow. OK, no, it was a long time ago. She was very lovely, actually. She was incredibly wary of a journalist. I mean, really properly, you know, kind of hackles up. And I think actually both of them, that would have been kind of late 1990s.

They were dogged by the press, weren't they? Oh, yeah. Just wherever they went. They had a hard time. Yeah. But yes, Penny Smith, Connie Minogue, Short People, Barbados. We had it all going on.

But back to the book. Yes. Oh, the book. I also should say that a couple of guests, probably was it three, were enormously tall. Very tall.

Part of Claire Balding's family. Yes, wider family. And at some point we were standing in just a cluster of smaller folk. But very close to us, probably feasting on the twiglets, And at some point we were standing in a cluster of smaller folk. But very close to us, probably feasting on the twiglets, was this land of giants.

I think we might have looked a bit like a flower stall, you know, where they put the enormous great big trees at the back. And then right at the front, you've got a couple of very stunted begonias. Anyway, it was a good night. I was home by 8.30, which is my idea of a night out. And I defrosted a baguette and set to. I'm just going to tell our lovely listeners a little bit about the book. Oh, the book? Yep. So it's called Isle of Dogs and it is Claire's travels around the British

Isles, encountering lots of different types of dog ownership actually, and there were some dogs from the Dogs Trust there last night. it was lovely actually it was at a bookshop fashionable bookshop in Marylebone called Daunts and there were at least five or six dogs who had accompanied their owners featured in the book and it's just a really lovely book about why we love dogs and how we love dogs and just the various kind of different ways that

you can have dogs involved in your life. And it's all based on the fact that Claire and Alice had a really adored, adored dog who died and they are trying to work out, you know, what kind of dog they get next and whatever. But it was a lovely evening, Jane. I had a really nice time. It was a very warm-hearted evening

because sometimes a book launch can be a little bit, you know, everyone's talking to you, they're looking over your shoulder, see if Nick Clegg's arrived yet, and then they just want to go home. We're useful in that respect, because it's not difficult to look over us, is it? No. So that's probably why people talk to us at those things, I've just realised.

It's heartbreaking. Claire's on the show Monday after next. Yeah. So, The Isle of Dogs is the name of the book. No doubt she'll mention it a few times when she comes on. That's why she's coming on. Oh yeah, okay. Shout out to Veronica who emailed to say, this is actually after in the Times radio programme I mentioned the obituary to a woman called Linda Cardozo who had been a big, big force in the world of gynaecology. She was particularly expert in urogynaecology,

I think that's the right word, And basically, she pioneered all sorts of work into urinary incontinence. So this is a lovely email from Veronica who says, Linda Cardozo was a close friend and you both would have liked her. She's one of the kindest people I know and also great fun. When I had my son, she came and visited me in hospital and said there are two kinds of babies, ugly babies and babies. She said I was lucky. Mine was a baby. She threw great parties. She was an accomplished cook, a great guest and a great friend. She'll be missed by those of us who were lucky to know her.

And actually, Veronica goes on to say she met us at Cheltenham Station. So, yes, I remember absolutely meeting you, Veronica. I hope you enjoyed the event in Cheltenham and thank you I didn't realise you never know when you're talking about people that there might be people listening who know them really well so I'm glad you heard that mention can we say hello to Chris

because it was Veronica and Chris I think they were old school friends weren't they and they'd met up to have a nice couple of nights out in Cheltenham which I think they definitely did. Keep up the chat, says Norma, who was listening to our 18th of October episode last night whilst in the gym in Kuala Lumpur.

As you were talking about your grandmother leaving school at 14, sorry, I'm never sure if it's for your Jane speaking, well, that one was me, but don't worry, heard those lyrics from the song Nana Was A Suffragette playing in my head. Now, here I am standing with my college degree and my daughters have more options than Nana could foresee. And out of nowhere, I was sobbing. It is just so, so powerful to remember how far we have come compared to the lives of our grandmothers.

Luckily, there's no one else in the gym to see me crying. I'd better get back to the weights. Yes, you do need to. I don't know if you need to get back to the weights, Norma. But I think it is one of those quite profound thoughts, actually, about the lives of our grandmothers. They just must have done an awful lot of suffering in silence. Actually, we were talking, it's menopause day today, isn't it?

We were talking about menopause um with dame mariela frostrup who's been heavily involved in the campaign to publicize all of the areas of the menopause that you know just get overlooked in the health care service in the workplace and whatever and you just have to remember that our grandmothers you know probably never even uttered the word they probably just chugged on through with nobody to talk to. It was probably referred to in euphemisms in polite society. If you were lucky, you might have a sister or still a mum that you could share your experiences with. I don't know.

I think it was just women's troubles, wasn't it? Yes, yeah. That was it, and you were expected to get on with it. What did both of your grandmothers do? What were their jobs? Neither of them worked um my gran garvey gosh do you know what i should know this i'll ask my dad at the weekend i don't think she certainly didn't work after marriage and i'm not sure what she did before marriage i should know that my maternal grandmother lived with us so i knew a lot more about her and she actually she left school at 15 because her father very sadly drowned on uh in quite a famous maritime disaster uh the Lusitania so um

my gran had to leave school because she had to go to work so um yeah I mean that's just she was a bright woman actually and I think she would have, she would have, well, who knows? Because she was also famously indolent. Lazy. Yeah, she was nudging in that direction. Lazy Jane Susan. Yeah, well, yes, exactly. I mean, you know, blood is thicker than water, and I had a lot in common with her.

She was a great reader. She read the Liverpool Daily Post, the Liverpool Echo, in that order. Is she the one with the funny digestion? Yes, and then she would cram a couple of hardbacks in between, and that was more or less her daily schedule. But she made a mean Irish stew, and had an acerb... What do you know?

One of those... It's bizarre, isn't it? The nature of memory. I will never forget, and I don't know why this is stuck in my head, the day that the engagement was announced between Prince Charles and Diana Spencer as was I came home from school my grandma's very deaf and she couldn't she couldn't really hear didn't listen to the radio but I told her what had happened and she was very interested so we put

on news round to have a look and they it was their lead story on news round and I'll always remember her looking at Diana and turning to me and my sister and saying, she's just a girl. And I said, oh, I think it's really romantic. And she just said, well, I don't. I thought she was really miserable. But you know what? I think she probably had just a deeper understanding of how the world works. Yes, there may have been a different perspective.

Yes, she was. She was 81 at the time. This one comes in from Caroline, who suggests Pepper and Millie for tabby kitten names. And she goes on to say, I love the name Barbara. My grandmother was called Barbara, and when I had my children, she told me it took far too long and she was too old to write Great-Grandmaara in birthday cards etc so she shortened it to g granny b which made her sound like a rapper and always made me smile i love that

i think i might try and work up to be that actually that would be good uh this is from please keep me anonymous it's another lovely one about a grandmother. My granny got a place to study medicine in the late 1940s. She went to university, but by this time she was dating my grandpa. She eventually dropped out of university, married him, and had a baby, just about in that order. I never got the chance to ask her why

she gave up her studies, but from the letters she wrote during that time, it seems she just couldn't reconcile her desire for marriage and a family with her career. She was happily married to my grandpa for over 50 years before she died suddenly when I was only 11 and there isn't a day that goes by where I don't miss her and regret that we didn't have more time together. When I was 14 I decided that I wanted to study medicine. Before this I had no idea that I wasn't the first in my family to pursue this career path. I've since gone on to qualify as a GP and start my own family. At no point have I questioned my ability and the right to have both my chosen career and the

family I want. On telling my grandpa that I'd gone to medical school, got into medical school, the first thing he said was how proud my grandmother would have been. I kept her copy of Grey's Anatomy with me to remind me not to take the choices, not to take the choices I've been able to make for granted. Well, how true that is. And I think that's every now and again we need to remind ourselves of that, don't we? I know, totally. Can I just share with you one really spooky coincidence in my life? Can I just share with you one really spooky coincidence in my life?

That when I had my first child, my son, I had him at UCH, University College Hospital in London. And when my mum came to visit me after I'd had him, she said, oh, do you realise that downstairs is the ward on which your grandparents met? Oh, my goodness. Isn't that extraordinary, Jane? Makes me tingle. Well, that is quite tingly because your grandpa was...

So he had become a surgeon. He was a surgeon, right, and your grandmother was a nurse. Was a nurse, and they'd met in UCH. And I've never got over that. It's so weird. Out of all of the hospitals and all of the wards and all of the places, all the buildings and all that kind of stuff. Isn't that extraordinary? So anyway, I think I think my granny quite often, actually.

And I just wanted to mention this one before we go into our big interview. And I have already read it out on air, but it just really, really took my fancy. So apologies for the repetition. If you're listening to the radio show today. It comes from Annie, who says, I was in Amsterdam 25 years ago with a very good friend and we wandered into a department store. After a few minutes, we noticed that they were playing non-stop Cliff songs.

As Bachelor Boy segged into summer holiday, we got on the escalator. I turned to my friend Liz and said, he must have died. As we got off the escalator... By the way, that's sacrilege. OK, let's just own that. It's appalling. As naughty, Annie. As we got off the escalator,

we saw a large, exclusively female crowd gathering. On closer inspection, we saw a very much alive, permatanned cliff, standing in front of a life-size cardboard image of himself, signing autographs. Had I been alone, I think I might have thought I'd dreamt the whole very odd occurrence. No strange substances had been imbibed at that point. To this day, we have no idea why he was there. All I can say is the Dutch women adored him. And by coincidence, Annie, Jane Garvey has got a

cardboard cutout cliff anecdote as well. He has. I realise now why there was a cardboard cutout of Cliff sort of peeking cheekily round the corner in a supermarket aisle on the Algarve in the summer. Why? Well, because I think he has a vineyard over there. Oh, not another celebrity plonk. Yes.

I think he was one of the first. Was he? Oh, he was right in there. You're a little bit Cliff-resistant, and I do feel that I have to... I'm not quite with Ian Dale in terms of absolute worship, but I'm treading the middle ground. Well, you're going to go and see Cliff Richard

in conversation with Ian and some songs around it, aren't you? Yeah, that's right. It's in my diary. It's the 12th of November. I can't wait. It's a Sunday night, so I probably will be on very bad form the next day because I imagine that I will...

I mean, who knows what's going to happen after a Cliff concert. Can you put that on the production notes, please, Eve? Yeah. Because we'll all need a little stiffener when we get to work. Shall we go into the big interview? Who's it with?

Krishnan Guru Murthy. He's best known for co-hosting Channel 4 News and he's done that job for 25 years. Which does seem a very long time. A very long time, Jane. That's a quarter of a century to do Channel 4 News. Wow. You can catch him, though, donning the sparkles and the spangles now

every Saturday night in the UK as he shimmies his way onto the dance floor with his professional partner Lauren in Strictly Come Dancing. He's delighted us with his Charleston and his cha-cha-cha. And he took a break in today's training routine, joining us from the training studio. I am in the rehearsal room where we train when I am doing Channel 4 News. So we are around the corner from ITN in a place, I'm not supposed to name it in case people start coming around outside, but it's close to work

and it's where we come on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday if I'm doing the news. And I'm here in the morning from, you know, between eight and nine until lunchtime or so. And then I put news head on and go around the corner to ITN. And we do it around the corner just so that in case there's a sudden pre-record or you

know an interview that needs to be done I'm literally a seven minute walk away and I can be in the studio in about 15 minutes once I put a suit on. Your world is quite odd at the moment Christian isn't it? Odd isn't the word I mean it is beyond odd I have to say it is it's extraordinary and bigger than you ever imagine when you sign up to do something like Strictly. It's all consuming and much more profound than you ever imagine. It's physical and mental and, you know. Yeah. Tell me more about Profound. So what did you think was going to happen when you signed up to it? And what has the reality been like?

I thought it would be fun. I thought I'd have, you know, I thought I'd have maybe two or three weeks of a good time. I went into it, you know, genuinely thinking you've got to give it your all. You've got to throw everything into it. And but, you know, in the real world, you're going to be out first or second. it and but you know in the real world you're going to be out first or second and um you know then it'll all be over and it'll just be a few weeks of sort of sort of fun madness to add to the sort of um the experiences of your life but actually it's been much more profound than that and um not just because it's lasted longer than i expected, but actually just the whole experience. It felt life-changing very, very quickly. And not just because of the physicality and the intensity. I mean, any of these sorts of things, you know,

I've done sort of things for comic relief or, you know, intense celebrity-type things. And, yes, they are intense and consuming, but strictly it's totally different. It's unlike anything I've ever done because it requires, when you do throw yourself into it, it requires everything physically and mentally, and you think about it all the time because you're thinking not just about your steps but about your performance,

about how you're getting on with your your coach your pro and you know how you improve that relationship because you need to have a very good relationship with your teacher very very quickly um so that you can take their instruction and last hours with them in the room but then it makes you think about yourself and the balance of your life and how much happiness you have in your life and how much time you spend doing things you really enjoy versus how much time is just kind of work and family and living doing things for other people it kind of makes you think all sorts of things you know it makes you think you actually need to make time for yourself a little bit to actually find, you know,

re-find the happiness that you used to have when you were younger. Good Lord. So there's all sorts of things, you know. Yeah. I mean, so that is a massive Strictly journey, isn't it? And why do you think that that show does that to people? Because people seem to talk about Strictly in a very different way And why do you think that that show does that to people? Because people seem to talk about Strictly in a very different way to how they talk about other.

I mean, it's not a reality show. There's an element of reality about it. But but other kind of competitive celebrity. Let's see who wins at the end of it shows. It is just totally different. I've done quite a lot of big shows and I've done Bake Off and I've done comic relief stuff and I've been a sort of a guest on sort of a reality type stuff. This is unlike any TV show I've ever been involved in.

It's sort of part TV show, part West End show. It's an enormous production and team, all of whom who are working towards one goal goal which is to make a brilliant tv program and make everybody look the best version of themselves and um and everybody actually you know you know on most tv productions or productions i've kind of worked on there's always sort of there's a there's a little bit of tension pulling one way or another somebody's

not entirely engaged somebody's not getting on with somebody else. None of that seems to happen here. This is sort of a... It's a very, very impressive production. And in order for you to get the most out of it, you absolutely have to throw yourself into it. And that means... That doesn't just mean putting in the hours for the dance it means

being in the headspace so that um you can actually think your way into what you're doing I mean you know if I just sort of did the steps um I would look even worse than I do anyway well but the thing is you've ended up looking quite good, because as you say, maybe you had an expectation that you would only last a week, maybe two weeks. But I would be right to say that actually, the audience is really enjoying your continued participation. The judges seem to be enjoying your continued participation. I mean, you look like you might have another couple of weeks in you. Who knows? I mean mean you can't think about it as a competition because if you do I think you know you would then just give up because you look at all of these other people and they've got

you know there are actors and people with dance experience and it's just you think well they're all better than me but um but as you say people are enjoying seeing me learn to dance. And I'm definitely learning. You know, I'm definitely getting better each week and showing a bit more each week. And so people seem to like that. And that's really nice. And I get a real sense of that. You know, I mean, one of the things that's changed

is the way people, you know, just people relate to me on the street. So people have always stopped and talked to me mostly about the news but now people stop and talk to me about Strictly and they they get exactly what I'm doing and they they will say it's so great that you're really giving it everything and that you're trying so hard and that you seem to be having a great time and you seem to be um you know you seem to be genuinely enjoying it and I think that comes over and so people seem to like that and um you know, you seem to be genuinely enjoying it. And I think that comes over. And so people seem to like that. And, you know, I guess people can relate to it a bit. Can I ask you about your health? Because you did quite a revealing interview about your health and your fitness levels for this newspaper a couple of weeks ago. And I didn't realize uh that actually you have some quite serious

illnesses i mean you suffer from crohn's disease i'm sorry i'm going to remind you of your own fragility here um but also a genetic heart condition and all of these things had combined hadn't they to make you want to change your body a bit and change your lifestyle a bit so you decided to lose weight, not because you were going into Strictly, but because you just needed to. But is that something of a kind of, oh, I don't know, have you had some kind of a, I don't want to call it a midlife crisis, but I'm just going to say, Christian, have you had something of a midlife crisis? I may be in the midst of a massive midlife crisis um but it doesn't really feel like a midlife crisis because

um it's not really about my identity or you know having a fast car or you know my marriage or anything like that it's it's really just about wanting to not give up on life. And I do have all of these conditions. They were all sort of related to me being overweight and lazy and eating the wrong things. And I just thought I had to take myself in hand and go on a really strict regime to try and live a bit longer and live a bit healthier and enjoy things, you know,

enjoy an exercise and enjoy. When you're at the stage where taking the dog for a walk feels like hard work, you know you're in trouble. And I had a pre-diabetic blood test and, you know, sort of the really embarrassing one was an attack of gout where I thought what on earth is happening to me you know I sort of I've got this sort of um dreadful condition associated with overindulgence and I yes the disease yes exactly and so I thought well

you know what you you could either just carry on on this road where everything goes wrong with you you end up going to the doctor and taking goodness knows how many different medicines for different conditions. Or you could kind of get a grip of yourself and take yourself in hand and live a little bit longer and have a better quality of life. And so I just kind of decided to do that earlier this year. And so Strictly has kind of come along at precisely the right time. So maybe, you know, Strictly feels so profound because it is already fitted into my own journey, which had started a little bit earlier on this year. 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

christian and guru murphy is our guest on the podcast i asked him if it was fair to say that although strictly might have come at the right time for his health it's totally the wrong Yes, I mean, in a way, that is also part of what I have experienced with Strictly in terms of what I'm learning from Strictly, which is that we all do need balance in our lives. And you can't just throw yourself into work all the time, especially on a very intense story like this. And, you know, this very intense story follows lots of other very intense stories that we, you know, we had Ukraine and the pandemic and, you know, all of these stories have been very, very big and very, very, they take up a lot of your life. And actually having the balance of this, joyous thing that I'm doing and dancing and physical activity alongside switching into the news and thinking about what I'm going to be asking the Israeli ambassador tonight on Channel 4 News is actually really good.

Now, the difficulty is obviously I would like to be in Israel right now. And I nearly went to Israel last weekend. Difficulty is obviously I would like to be in Israel right now. And I nearly went to Israel last weekend. I was going to go out on the Sunday and come back on the Wednesday and, you know, at least do a few days before coming back to do Strictly. So there are practical considerations around this that, yes, you know, you are torn in that you would like to be at the story right now. And the fact that I've committed to this other thing means that it's not that easy um but as soon as I'm out of Strictly I'm sure I'll be out there and and doing that but in the meantime in a strange way and I I'm sure it's very hard to understand I actually find it kind of helps me switch into both serious and strictly quicker,

having these two very intense things going on at the same time. And that was one of the things I wanted to get out of Strictly, actually, which was to try and get some balance back into my life, because I'd felt that the news over the last few years had become very, very single-story focused. You become totally absorbed, whether it's COVID or political chaos or the Ukraine war or now the Middle East.

And it kind of takes over, you know, it takes over everything, you know, you're thinking about it all the time and it's not very healthy. And so I think, you know, the truth is there are very, very serious and terrible things happening all the time. And we all have to try and find some sort of balance between our own relaxation, sanity,

meditative moments, and dealing with things that are very, very demanding and serious. So I don't know whether that's a very clear answer to your question, but I think it's not, it hasn't, I haven't thought, oh, this is the worst time to be doing Strictly. I've actually thought I can actually learn from this. Is there a world event, though, for which you would leave the studio immediately? Yes, of course.

would leave the studio immediately. Yes, of course. And that was always an understanding with Channel 4, that if needs be, we know what my actual job is and what my priority would have to be. And yes, and if they wanted me to go, I mean, had I gone last Sunday and then it had been impossible to come back in time for Wednesday night, you know, that would have just been the way things were. Obviously, the news is, you know, comes first. Do you worry at all?

Have you worried at all? decision to join the program that uh that some people might always now see you as having spangles on and amazing makeup and doing the cha-cha-cha and things like that no not really I mean I um I've been around so long I think people really know who I am you're not that old well I've been on telly for 35 years I I've been doing Channel 4 News for 25 years. I think people know what I'm really about. And so if they see me done, I mean, well, the fact is that my experience having done Strictly has been actually that people are just delighted to see that side of you. And, you know, nobody's kind of going, but how can you concentrate on the news when you're doing that?

Or why should I take you seriously when you do that? It hasn't been my experience. I'm sure that's what I worried about in the past when I was asked about Strictly and didn't do it, but it's not my experience. You know, I think people know me pretty well now, so the fact that I also have fun shouldn't come as a surprise. What are you dancing this week?

This week we're doing the Quick Step to the Ladies of Tramp, which is absolutely brilliant. You know, it's wonderful, wonderful music and very, very demanding. It's one of the dances I actually, when I was, you know, being convinced to do it, and I'd mentioned my various health issues, and they said, well, you know, maybe there are a couple of dances you could avoid, you know, and the quick step was one of them. Because there are enough dances for you to do all the way through the series that you don't actually do every single dance, because I think there are 15 different dances dances but only 12 weeks or something like that so the quick step was one

where I thought well I wouldn't be able to do that physically turns out I can and um that's also been very nice and you know in a great revelation but things that I didn't think I'd be able to do even the Charleston I didn't think I'd be able to do, but I could. I'm a bit worried now, Christian. So when I'm watching you on Saturday night, are you absolutely sure you're going to be okay? Have you got a little heart monitor on you before you go on stage? No. Well, you know, the funny thing is when I started, I was wearing an Apple Watch to kind of keep a monitor on my heart rate.

But I just don't need it because, A, I'm a little bit fitter than I was wearing an Apple Watch to kind of keep a monitor on my heart rate. But I just don't need it because, A, I'm a little bit fitter than I was. And, B, the dances are only one and a half minutes to two minutes long. So my particular condition, you would only have to worry if you were doing that constantly. If I was rehearsing it over and over and over again without a rest, then I would be taking an unnecessary risk. But we rehearse, we have a rest, I get my breath back, my heart rate comes down, we rehearse again. That's the way it works. So no, you can watch on Saturday night without any worries

because I'll be doing it without any worries. Are you ever going to be performing in a dance where you have one of those slightly kind of open shirt moments, which actually, and I would ask the same question of a female contestant, Christian, but sometimes strictly asks you to be quite kind of super woofingly sexy. No, is the answer. I mean, when I first had a conversation with wardrobe, I went and I said, I'm going to be I'm going to be the boring one. I'm going to disappoint you because I'm going to say no to this, that and the other.

And, you know, I just want to look like a Saturday night glamorous version of who I look like on the news. And they were like, yes, yes. And you could hear that. You could tell they were all just kind of nodding along, going, we've been here before, love. Don't worry. And of course, within a week or two you're kind of going i don't have any sequins can i have some sequins you know um and and the one thing i said is obviously i will not i will not be subjecting the british public to my pitiful torso and um

i think that's one thing that they that we can say is not going to change. I don't have the body for it and I wouldn't put anyone through that. I'm getting the body for it slowly, but it won't be in time for this series of Strictly. Krishna Guru Murthy, he won't be going open-shirted, but he's happy to get into the sequence. I think probably if he gets as far as Blackpool, he will. I mean, they all seem to have a rip-off-a-shirt moment or something, a slightly suggestive twerking going on.

It gets a little bit oof-oof, doesn't it? Yes, it does. Yes, it really does. How many more weeks does he have to do to get to Blackpool? God, out of the two of us, you are far more strictly knowledgeable than I am. It's funny because there's so much emphasis spent on getting to Blackpool, a place which most of us spend our entire lives trying to avoid. I couldn't leave fast enough. No offence.

I mean, you know, I grew up not that far from there. But it is a very particular sort of place. I remember the illuminations were fabulous. OK. Why do you think they're all so keen to get to Blackpool, Jane? I don't... Do you think there might be something contractual in it? Do you think there's an incentive?

Oh, good Lord. Now you've ruined everything. You're being rude about Cliff and now you're suggesting that people are paid to do strictly. I'm not hearing it, Fee. This has gone on long enough. I'm the cynical one. You're getting just as bad.

Right. We're just... Is the storm arriving in London or is it just targeting? Oh, gosh. Well, do you know what? I don't think we should make light of the storm at all. No. So there's a red weather warning across the east coast of Scotland at the moment of, you know, potential severe threat to life.

In fact, in beautiful, lovely Montrose, where all the rallies are from, Jane. lovely Montrose, where all the rallies are from, Jane. So we wish the east coast of Scotland well tonight, and especially all the ports up the east coast, actually. They're so vulnerable sometimes. And yes, it is heading into London. So wrap up warm and definitely put something waterproof on and make sure your door is in tonight. My door?

Your doorer. I was going to say, I'd love to bring in all the doors how long is that gonna take oh the cat she doesn't go out anyway so you're all right you don't need to worry about that by me nobody knew when you're when you're hearing really does start to go you're gonna be hours i mean who's who's got lots of doors outside? I don't know. People might stack up doors. No one stacks up doors. Okay, no one does that.

Email us if you have doors outside. Well, you must have a door outside to get in. I know, but you wouldn't bring it in. It exists so you don't have to. No, because that would expose you to the elements. Right, have a good evening. Jane and Fee at times.radio. Oh, bring your doors in.

Well done for getting to the end of another episode of Off Air with Jane Garvey and Fee Glover. Our Times Radio producer is Rosie Cutler and the podcast executive producer is Henry Tribe. And don't forget, there is even more of us every afternoon on Times Radio. It's Monday to Thursday, three till five. You can pop us on when you're pottering around the house or heading out in the car on the school run

or running a bank. Thank you for joining us and we hope you can join us again on Off Air very soon. Don't be so silly. Running a bank? I know, ladies. A lady listener.

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