Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster - Gillian Anderson

Episode Date: October 8, 2025

We’re back in National Tredge territory with multi-award winning actor, ‘Sex Education’ and ‘The X Files’ star and soft drinks entrepreneur Gillian Anderson. But what is Green Glass Jello? ���TRON: ARES’ is out in cinemas on 10th October. ‘Trespasses’ will air in November on Channel 4Buy G Spot drinks at stores nationwide – including Sainsbury’s – or online at thisisgspot.comFollow Gillian on Instagram and TikTok @gilliana Watch the video version of this episode on the Off Menu YouTube on Thu 9 Oct.Off Menu is now on YouTube: @offmenupodcastFollow Off Menu on Instagram and TikTok: @offmenuofficial.And go to our website www.offmenupodcast.co.uk for a list of restaurants recommended on the show.Off Menu is a comedy podcast hosted by Ed Gamble and James Acaster.Produced, recorded and edited by Ben Williams for Plosive.Video production by Megan McCarthy for Plosive.Artwork by Paul Gilbey (photography and design). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James, huge news from the world of off-menu, and indeed the world of the world. Yes. Ever heard of the Royal Albert Hall? I have. We've done live shows there, and guess what? We're doing more live shows there next year. Sure, a lot of them are sold out already, but we thought, hey, throw these guys a bone. Let's put on one final Royal Albert Hall show in that run. The show will be on Monday the 16th of March.

It's going to be a tasting menu, a returning guest, coming back, receiving the menu of another previous guests. Those shows have been a lot of fun. We cannot wait to do them live. Who will we pull out of our little magic bag? You'll have to come along on the 16th of March to find out. Get your tickets from royalalberthall.com or offmenupodcast.co.uk. taking the baked beans of conversation, the little sausages of humour, and putting them in the can of a podcast. Sausage and beans in a can, James. Oh, you're in the factory making these? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, the factory of humour.

This is the first time we've ever had a factory introduction. Normally it's when someone's about to eat it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You're working in the factory now. Yeah, I'm working in the factory, mate. Because the way this country's going, we need to remind people of the... the working man. Yes, industrial revolution.

That is a gag, well, my name is James Acastle. Together we own a dream restaurant, and every single week we invite in a guest and us from their favourite ever start, a main course dessert, side dish, and drink, I want to say? Drink, yes. Not in that order, this week, our guest is Gillian Anderson. Gillian Anderson, James. Whoa, I mean, international treas. Yes, international treas, absolute ledge.

It's pretty exciting, pretty crazy. obviously, you know, an icon of Scully on X-Files when we were growing up, but now an icon all over again with sex education, the Crown. Also, some really exciting projects coming up that we're excited about. Tron, Ed? Tron Ares. Yeah, I'm glad you said it because I didn't know how to pronounce that. I'm assuming it's Tron Ares, unless it's Tron Ares, which that wouldn't make any sense.

No, Tron Ares, I'm going to say. It's an anagram of arse. Yeah. But yes, I'm excited about it Now, the Tron films Tron ass, I'm going day one. Yeah, yeah, day one I'm going to see Tron ass. Yeah, it's completely normal.

Everyone's in normal, like, the world, but all of their arces are like computer generated. The asses have been Tron. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, no. And Trond on our butts. Yeah. What are we going to do?

Yeah, I'm glad we're getting all this out of our system before Gillian arrives. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's good. But it is exciting. It's the exciting film that's coming out. Loads of great people in it, including, of course, Gillian Anderson. Yes. Hassan Minaj is in it?

We met him. Yeah, we met him. We met him. We met him. Very hungover when we met him. Yeah, yeah. To be honest, yeah, I would like to meet Hassan again and be sober. Yes.

So that he thinks more of me. It's become a reprobate. Yes. Jeff Bridges is in it, of course, the OG. Yeah. The OG. What about trespasses on Channel 4? It's not just Tron.

Not just Tron, Ed. There's trespasses. Or trespasses. When I was a kid in prayer, we said trespasses. I went to a C of East School. Those who, forgive us. Those who trespass against us, thingy. Yeah.

Yeah, that one. So we go, forgive us our trespasses. Yeah, forgive us our trespasses. I would say forgive us our trespasses. But then trespasses, surely, is like, actually how you, but I think this is called trespasses. I think it's trespasses. That's how ridiculous for what we say it.

Yeah, yeah. Trespasses. Look, we've got things to ask, Julian, but I think question one, should be, is it trespassism? What did you say in Sunday school? If it's called trespasses, it might be about a world. All of Gillian's things she's here to talk about are about bums. Our arses have been trepst. Anyway, she's also got a drink called G-Spot, James.

Oh my God, Jenny that doesn't. Which is nothing to do with arces if my reading has been correct. Yes. Apart from with men. Yes, it's a delicious drink. The delicious non-alcoholic drink Oh, by the way, if me and James sound like we're out of sorts are a bit weird

We're not in our usual studio today We're in a different studio, Spiritland Because Benito is having the off-menu studio refurbed And I saw the blueprints, James You know, it's going to be exactly the same But he's having a glory hole put in Benita You naughty little boy

We are giddy, we like little kids on a school trip Yeah, we are, I've just had a coffee We can't believe we've been allowed here Yes, Gillian has a drink called G-Spot, James. It's a fresh alternative to the high-sugar-caffeinated drinks that dominate the market. I tell you what, I think we're sounding like we need that at the minute. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, we need an alternative to high-sugar caffeinated drinks because we are all over the place.

We're buzzing off our wangers. Yeah, we're 40 years old, we're buzzing off our wangers. 39, thank you. Please don't wish my life away. It's coming for you, man. Yeah, I know that. I'm not stupid. But let me enjoy those months Yes, I'll let you enjoy those months

Thank you We love Julian Anderson Yes We're going to kick her out the dream restaurant If she picks the secret ingredient That's what we tend to do Yes And normally we say the secret ingredient together James

But I don't really know what it is So you're going to have to read it out Yeah because it's quite long Yeah The secret ingredient is Non-fat tofu tea rice dreams a cult And that's something from the X-Files Yeah

Season 6 from the episode The Unnatural Scully is eating a non-fat Tofuuti rice Dreams are cool, and Mulder was making fun of her for it. Can I check something? Yes. Someone else has suggested this ingredient to you?

My partner. Your partner. Who loves X-Files. And now you're reading what it is off a photograph where she's written it on a card. Yeah. Why didn't she just text it to you? She had written it down while watching the episode on a post-it next to her, and then just took a photo of it and sent it to me. Okay.

So she's watched this episode recently. Yeah. Okay, cool. I don't think Jillian's going to pick that, which is good. Well, she might do. You never know. And my partner's very excited that Gillian Anderson's in. So am I.

She was her first female crush. Can I tell you what happened when I told my wife that Julia Anderson was coming on? Yeah. She simply went like this. Wow. Yeah. Wow, well, I mean, we can tell Gillian Anderson all this. We can see, can't we?

We'll see what the vibe's like. you can watch this on YouTube from tomorrow. So listen to it and then watch it. Sure. Listen to it and you might think, hmm, what do they look like when they say those things? Yeah,

I wonder if what I imagined in my head is the same as what actually happened. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And like you get points. Yes. For how close you were. Yeah. And then Benito will send you a sign shopping board.

Yeah, if you get the most accurate imagined version of the podcast. Yeah. And you've got to be honest about it. Yeah. Do it in a percentage. Yeah, percentage. You could say I imagine like this percentage. Accuracy, yes, like 100%.

This is the off-menu menu menu of Gillian Anderson. Welcome, Gillian, to the dream restaurant. Thank you for having me. Welcome Gillian Anderson to the dream restaurant, but it's been to you for some time. Exactly that. Do you have questions about James's entrance there? Yes, no, no, no, no, I was prepared. Yeah.

I have his a little bit of Googledge. Yeah, Google itge and listening edge. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listening edge to the guests and whatnot. I don't think I've ever heard the edge added to listening before. But it works for me, listening. I like listening. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, it's good. I'll start using that. I might come away from this as talking exactly like you if that's okay. Why not? Why not? You know, you're a cool person. Thanks very much. A lot of people think you're cool, you know.

Pretty much everyone. Yeah. How's that feel? Not too sure about that. But everyone I've said to we're into Gillian Anson and we're like, what the fuck? Yeah.

Everyone thinks it's cool. I'll take that. I don't know how you expect Gillian to react to that, James. I want to know what it's like to have everyone think you're cool. Right. One day the shoe will drop. Yeah. That's, yeah.

I don't know. But also, everyone thinks Gillian's cool. Sure, I agree with that. But imagine if Gilliam's like, yeah, everyone does think I'm cool. Then immediately not cool. Yeah. Yeah, then you stop being cool, don't you? Yeah.

If you're arrogant about it. Duh. I don't know. I'd like that if you were like that. Yeah, yeah. If you were bringing DIR back. Yeah. If I was bringing DER back.

Yeah, I think that's great. Bring Dirk back, I reckon. Yeah. I think Pilly I've tried to bring Dirk back on that song. It kind of worked for a little bit. Wait, which song? Can you sing a bit to me? Duh.

She has that about it. It's a bad guy, that bad guy's song. How else does it go? Oh, God, I don't really like sing it. I'm so scared of singing. And I think Gillian picked up on that. And that's the last thing. But I've made it sound like

I'm a dead guy. That one. That was almost crowded housing. It was a bit like that. It sounds like Noel's house party. Well, it sounds like something that should be on like a nightease, like Saturday night show that were what I just did. Like a Chuckle Brothers theme tune or something rather than Billy Eilish.

You got to know about Chuckle Brothers. You've got to know about Chuckle Brothers. Are you kidding me? This is a huge moment in podcast. Oh dear. You and me get to explain to Julian Anderson who the Chuckle Brothers are. I don't believe that. I mean, they would have been at their peak at the same time as X-Files.

So maybe... I've never thought of them like that. No, they were, though. So they were 90s? Yeah, so there's a chance that they passed you by because you were very busy during this period of time. I was also living in the States. Yeah, you're in the States. They don't sound like they were in the US.

They didn't make the crossover. They didn't make the crossover. They're sort of like Robbie Williams. They never managed to break America. sadly. Yeah, and a couple of monkeys. Or Jimmy Saville, fortunately. Yeah.

Oh, yeah. And thank God. Yeah. The Chuckle Brothers, they were children's entertainers. They had a show called Chuckle Vision. Okay. Where they would just like get up to hijinks. They'd have a new job every week and it would always go wrong.

They had a catchphrase, which is to me to you, normally when they were carrying something, to me, to you. Okay. One of them was sadly passed, but another one's still trucking. Yeah. And there was always like, I think there was two bosses. Yeah. And one of them would say no slacking to them.

If they were being lazy, he'd go, no slacking! Yeah. Like that. And as kids, we all loved the Chuckle Brothers. They both had little moustaches. Yeah. So that's who the Chuckle Brothers are, Gillian. I'm not going to look at a bit.

They used to do Panto quite a bit. Very similar, actually, if you ask me, to Tron. Another great link from you, James. Yeah. Coming to Cinevas soon. Did they have light cycles? Yeah, they had light cycles. was the Chuckel brothers.

But one, they had a tandem. Yeah, yeah. Oh, I'd love that. Chucco Brothers got in Tron. That's exciting. What was it like when like a franchise that you've seen for years? Because like Tron, even though there's been, I think only two films is the third one. Yeah.

But like it's still like such a huge part. And like you know, you've remembered the first one. Yeah. And now you're getting to go into that world. It's pretty cool to be, yeah. Because, you know, you get a phone call. I mean, you know, proverbial phone call. Every once in a.

well and sometimes it's like okay and sometimes it's like yeah so it was kind of like yeah what was the phone call like when you offered this podcast

yeah yeah yeah yeah a bit of good glitch yeah no no no no it's all good yeah pretty fucking cool actually yeah to be asked to be involved in Tron and also

aside from my own fandom or whatever knowing that it was that they were throwing a lot of money at it and I'm a big fan of Greta Lee who's in it and Evan Peters and you know it's got Jared Leto it's got a good cast and

and it lives up to it's it really lives up to it. It's really good actually. You've got to throw a lot of money at Trond there haven't you? If they're, you can't skimp on the budget for a Tron film. Because you know science fiction sometimes there's the other version of it which is it can be rubber bands and glue and cardboard. Which has its charms.

Which has its charms and makes it, you know, adds to the cult appeal. Yeah. So it could be that. But in this instance, it's many, many multiples of millions. Yeah. High end, high-end sci-fi. Yeah. Yeah.

And we've been debating how to pronounce trespasses. Is it trespasses or trespasses? What would you say, the show that you're doing on Channel 4? Because in prayer time, as a little kid at school, I'd say trespasses. Yeah. that was what we were taught to say, but now if I say it on its own, I say trespasses.

I've just never said it on its own. I've only said it in terms of asking God to forgive me. And all of your trespasses. And everyone trespasses against me as well. Oh, no, that I will forgive them. When you started talking about prayer time, it's very early for this as well. Gillian looked at me

and the way most guests look at me at some point during the episode. It's quite early. Who the fuck is this guy? Yeah. No, it's good. Yeah, yeah. I think I'd probably say trespasses, Whether I say it during my morning prayers or whether I say it on its own.

I think I say trespassers. Just to reassure you, I don't do prayer time anymore. This is when I was a little boy. And it was having to do it. Yes. Have you ever thought about taking it up again? Yeah. Yeah, many times I thought about taking it up again.

Do you think that would answer some of the, you know? Huh? You know. The big questions. The issues. The issues. You think prayer time would answer some of my issues? That's what I think.

Yeah. No, I'm just thinking about your comments at the beginning about him not really being happy about anything. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was before we started recording. I was it? I was sorry.

Yeah, yeah. How did you phrase it not to like repeated or anything, but what did you say? He's never excited about anything? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So maybe if you started prayer again, you'd get excited about things. Yeah.

I could pray to be excited. You could. Please God. Please God, make me excited. Yeah. And forgive those who questions against me. One of my drinks out there is called arouse. That will get you excited.

Oh, yeah. I should sink a big can of arouse before I leave the house. You just have some G-Spot. Anyway, hello guys, nice to meet you. We're drinking G-Spot, which is your drink. I'm drinking Lyft. Yeah, I'm drinking Sooth. None of us picked Arouse.

I've gone for Sooth as well. I should have got arouse, really. Yeah. We can do something about that. I don't want to drink a row as well. talking to Gillian. I've never met Gillian before. I don't want to risk anything. Benito's got a big kind of arouse on the go, actually. No, it's another soup.

He's soothing it as well. It'd be fun to say he's got a rouse. Especially because he got a laptop on his lap. We'd know if he was drinking a rouse. Well, presumably the laptop would be on the ceiling. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, that's a compliment. It'd be through the fucking roof. You've got to be happy with that. You'd have to refurb another studio.

It's stuff. And obviously we know that you're a fan of food and drink. You've got your own drink, yeah, yeah, as well. So normally we'd ask people if they're, you know, if they're foodies. But I guess... I'm sort of a foodie. Mm-hmm.

Yeah. I mean, I'm one of those people that could literally eat the same thing every single day for a year if I like something. I'm not really that fast. But I do, and I don't really cook. I cook for my kids, which makes me happy. That's cooking. So you do cook.

Yeah, I do cook, but I don't. I'm not very good at cooking. cooking for anybody else, like, for guests and whatnot. What's your speciality that you cook for your kids? What's your kid's favorite thing on your repertoire? One of them likes chicken wraps very much. Like, he could eat that every day for a year. I'm imagining a little Colonel Sanders.

Yeah. Yeah, well, I do, you know, it's just, it's, you know, sometimes it's salmon and kale and sweet potato and sometimes it's... It's a healthy kids, man. Yeah. Did Gillian Anderson's kids, ma'am? Yeah. What do you think they're going to be eating? They're healthy kids.

I don't know if I cook. I cook, you know, it's some form of protein and vegetables, really. That's what it is. Classic? Classic, yeah. Sometimes curries, but, you know, I don't make it from scratch. No. I'm not one of those people.

You're ordering it in? No, no, no. I make it. I just use, there are these great, like, Massamank curries that are frozen. and they're actually frozen. They're on like popsicle sticks. What? Yeah, it's odd.

Have you ever considered during the summer just getting one out of the freezer and eating it like a popsicle? I have not. No. You should do that. But you add, you know, you add coconut milk or coconut cream

and you start in. That's what I do. Better than a jar. For some reason it feels more natural. It feels like you're doing something. Yeah, and you're cooking something. It feels more natural that it's on a lollipop. Somehow?

I don't know why. It's how you find curry in the wild. It's like a grown. Yeah, he'd pull it out the ground. He's funnier than I thought he'd be. He's a funny guy, isn't he? He's a funny guy. How funny do you think he was going to be?

Like, one to ten, I thought maybe a seven, but he might be like a nine. He's nine on a bad day, this guy. That's amazing. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's my job. Yeah, all right. It was fucking offensive thing anyone's ever said. At least it was that way around.

Yeah. Yeah, to be fair. Yeah. I thought it was going to be funnier. People turn up disappointed. Yeah, I used to say, he's way more miserable than I thought he was going to be actually. Yeah. Because I don't, you know, I think it's quite annoying if a comedian tries to be funny as soon as they meet you, right?

Outside, I said, I was like, turn it down, turn it down. I was like, hello, thanks you for doing the podcast. I turned your eyes. You were very dry. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Very dry. It's going to be funny.

Yeah, you should have come in a little tris. So it was a manipulation. Should have come in with like a clown. Yeah, he was hustling. Yeah. I was hustling. Yeah, it was a hustle. And I apologize.

Because that was dishonest of me. Well, we always start with still of sparkling water on the podcast. Do you have a preference for your dream meal? I do. Thank you for asking. Sparkling, please. I mean, obviously, G-spot is sparkling.

It is, yeah, because I like sparkling. You do like the bubbles. Yeah, I do. They're not meant to be good for you, though. They're not meant to be good for your gut or your teeth. I've heard this, but we've got to just relax, haven't we? Come on, we've got to have some fun now and again Yeah, push the boat out

Yeah Have a bit of sparkling water You can't walk through your life going Oh, is this good for my teeth or not Just get stuck in Yeah, yeah We've heard it not being good for your teeth On the podcast before

But I haven't heard someone say about the gut thing Yeah Yeah, I think it's, you know All the air Just the air in your gut Yeah What, it's not good for the air It's not good for the air

It's not good for your gut Oh the air is so don't breathe I think Don't breathe Is the vibe? Maybe in the bubbles Maybe it's not me to do Okay, in the bubbles.

The extra air? Not all the air in the world. Actually, I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about. I'm just, I'm making it up. I'm sorry. Look, this is modern podcasting.

We can just say something scientific and pretend that it's real. And it's the, yeah, yes. And we'll be the biggest podcast in the world. Or politicians. Yeah, exactly.

Just make it up. So Ed is worried that now that air is bad for your guts. You can't breathe. Yes. So that's going to be stressed for him now. So well done. That's Ed for ages now. Every time he breathes in, all scared.

But you say it's the bubbles get in. I don't know. And then pop... I say, I don't know what I'm talking about is what I say. I believe you, though. Yeah. I believe you. I think you'd know.

But regardless, yes, they are sparkling because I like sparkling. And also, they all have an apple base because I mix apple juice with sparkling water in my life. Yeah. Just at home, you do a little... What are your ratios there? Oh, good. Very good question. It's important.

Yeah. Half and half, probably. It should probably be a quarter to three quarter. Uh-huh. Heavier on the water. Sure. But it depends. Over the years, you've, like, gone up with the apple juice, I imagine.

Actually, more likely to have more apple juice while eating a meal. Uh-huh. I'm more likely to have more water in between. But I shouldn't be having either. Really? Shouldn't have apple juice either? Well, you shouldn't really have... No, so many things they're bad.

You should... Well, no, no, no, but you... I know, but you're not really supposed. I don't want to use the word supposed, but they say, if you have fruit at the same time that you're having food, it causes fermentation, which is awesome. Good for your gut. Obviously, I don't listen because I drink it with every...

You can ferment your gut, yeah. Oh, my God. Although some fermentation is good for your gut. Again, I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about. I'm just saying. Yeah, because I thought like fermented things, like kimchi and that. That's supposed to be good for your gut, right? It is, but it's all the sugar that's in if you have a lot of, you know.

I'm sorry to draw an X-Files, like, parallels so early in the podcast, but you're like Mulder and Scully in one. You believe something without knowing it, and then you question it immediately. That's not, I can't be real. It's like both characters walking around. My girlfriend drinks a lot of apple juice. Oh, really? Yeah, got to the point now.

She doesn't have to ask me to get it when I'm going to the shop. Oh, well. She'll need a new, like, massive bottle of apple juice. What brand? Are you allowed to say brands? Yeah, we are. But, like, I actually don't know this one because it's like, I've literally got it so many times from the shop. I don't even see the label anymore.

Is it in plastic or in cardboard? It's a glass bottle. It's a big glass bottle. Yeah, that's a fancy one, isn't it? That's a fancy one. That ain't Capella. No, no, it's big. It's like a huge glass bottle.

You mean the big ones like that, like Martinelli's with the... No, but like, is this, it's quite a tall, like, big bottle. It might as well be a wine bottle, really. Right, yeah, like a magnum. Yeah, and I'm like, that's always got to be, any time I'm going out to get something I've got to get one of those because she's guzzling that. Is she drinking it straight or is she putting...

She's not doing the... I couldn't do that, that's not for me. She's not doing this. It's like, she may as well have like an adult-sized sippy cup, like a little kid. Well, that's it. I think adding sparkling water to it makes it a grown-up drink. It does. Whereas drinking straight apple juice.

Are you five? Is your girlfriend five? She's not, just to be clear, when she was nine, which is still, still the gum. She told me that when she's nine years old, she had her first crush on a lady. Oh. She's ever had in her life.

Can you guess who that lady was, Gillian Anderson? Well, I hope it wasn't her mom. I mean, sorry. Fingers crossed, not her mom. I'm sorry. Sorry. Why would I be bringing that up? On the pot, guess what?

My girlfriend used to fancy her mum when she was throwing up. What do you think about that? And now she loves apple juice. Oh, she loves apple juice. There you go. It was you. Oh, really? When she was nine.

Yeah, it was nine. She remembers it very clearly. She's telling me it's her first female. She's old now. Yeah. She's like in her late 30s. Yeah, yeah. But, yeah.

But, yeah, but yes, you were her first. Well, and she knew at nine that she had a crush. Yep, she was like, this is the real deal. Right, okay. Yeah, like, this lady is like, I can't stop thinking about her. Oh, interesting. Yeah, yeah. What did your wife say when?

Oh, yeah. I said we're interviewing Julian Anderson tomorrow and she went like this. So there you go. Both of our partners are very jealous that we're speaking. Clearly, yeah, rather be with you than us. My wife is like Les Dawson. That was my impression. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, his wife's quite grubby. Oh, Les Dawson. I can't believe you miss Les Dawson as well. You know, Les Dawson? Old comic. Old comedian? No, I don't. I'm going to pick my references better

of moving forward. No, no, no, no, it's all right. This is good. I'm learning. I'm learning. I don't know how much, how useful all the stuff you're learning is, though. I do apologise for what we're filling your head with. Popatoms or bread.

Popatoms or bread? Gillian Anderson. Popadoms or bread? Definitely bread. I love Puppadons, but bread's the real deal. Not the real. That's not to imply that Papadons. aren't real, but I love bread.

Yeah. I love a lot of bread. Oh, yeah? Yeah. I mean, bread's probably my favorite thing to eat ever in the world. I could eat it all the time every day. All the time. And do you?

Or is this another, it's bad for the gut scenario? No, no, no. I do eat bread. I do eat a lot of bread. What's your go-to bread? What bread is always in the house? Oh, probably bagels. Oh, nice.

Oh, lovely. We rarely get shout-outs for bagels. Yeah. That's interesting, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah, this is nice that we go. Because obviously we do this section every single episode. So it's nice to get a bread that we don't really see, get enough praise.

I mean, I like a sourdough loaf, like really crispy and kind of white, bad for your gut, white flour on the inside. That's really nice with a lot of butter or really good olive oil. What bagels are we talking about? What are your favourite bagels? Usually sesame bagels. Yes. But, you know, there's a big difference between. You know, New York is famous for their bagels.

Yeah. And there's a bit like proper New York bagels. They just taste different than other bagels. And I don't know what makes it different. Well, we've had some guests from New York on this show. And they claim it's the water in New York. So apparently the tap water in New York and the water they get is different to everywhere else in America. It's like amazing water.

Is it? And it goes into the bagels. It doesn't feel like it should be. The tap water? No, isn't it full of drugs? And that's why the bagels are so good Full of drugs No but of course it would be

But they say it's like it's from a mountain spring Yeah In New York City That's what they say Susie Esmond told us that Yeah Susie Esmond told us that Yeah

She never mentioned that it was full of drugs She didn't say it was full of drugs I know But if all those people taking drugs Prescription drugs And you know The fentanyls of the world Are then peeing

Yeah You can't filter all of that out I hope you can. Well, you can't. Are you saying every time we drink tapwoods are we're drinking pee? Aren't we? Hold on. Hold on.

Are we drinking piss? What are you saying? We're just drinking piss? No, but it's all going in, no, no, no, but it all goes into the water and the filtration, the sanitation systems, isn't it? I mean, it's not all coming from London. It's not coming from the glaciers where. No, sure. But I'm assuming that they filter.

it well enough that there's almost no piss in it by the time I'm drinking it. No, it's not, well, the piss is the least of your problems. Okay, tell me it's more of my problems. All the drugs and everything that's left over because the particles of the drugs is smaller than the particles of your piss, isn't it? But it's all like drugs that was in your piss.

It's all piss drugs. Gillian, how have you wandered down another blind alley where you're claiming to know your size of drug particles? How have I lived this far alive? How have I survived? I know nothing and everything that I do. do know is bollocks. It'd be a great episode.

I would like it, but me make X-Files and have it, that Gillian just plays both characters, just want her. So it's just like, you know that's piss, you're drinking. No, it's not. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Well, look, I'm only reporting what people from New York have said. Okay.

That the bagels are better because of the water. Okay. And maybe that's because the bagels are full of drugs. Yes. Maybe there's, like, all sorts of drugs in there. Like, you've gone upers, downers. Could be. All of it.

Yeah. Yeah. Could be that there's full of drugs. drugs. And all the drugs probably balance themselves out, don't they? Because they're all doing different things. Perhaps. Yeah. Yeah. So you're saying that like the uppers and the downers and the we're really out of our death because we don't, we're not very druggy. What would counterbalance the fentanyl? Would cocaine do it? Yeah, but cocaine, surely. Fentinol's a downer, is it? And then cocaine's an upper. I don't know anything. Cocaine is definitely enough. Yeah. Because I've spoke to people

on cocaine. But then prescription, prescription drugs. To they're on cocaine. There'd be like loads of antidepressants in there. So that would be good. Bagel cheer you up. Bagel cheer you up. Because of the antidepressant. Yeah, so that's nice. Yeah.

Did you find that the bagel cheers you up when you have it in New York? Um, might. I don't know. It was the last time I actually had. Use that as a sound on its own, but either. Cut that on its own

and use it in various episodes when Gillian isn't even on them. And have it just in between people talking of ah only if you're watching this episode will you be able to see that Gillian did a full 360 rotation

not 360 because actually when I got to there my neck and really hurt quite a lot 360 would be impossible that would really be X-Files yeah that would be full X-Files if you did that I'd go Walt that was X-Files so I could play the monsters as well

Molda and Scully and the monsters with mine well it's a one woman show right so yeah yeah Full 360 of the head. Yeah. So are we giving you New York Sesame Bagel as the bread course? See, I don't think so. No.

Not based on what my main is. Okay. So you like the sour dough? No, it feels like it needs to be more. I probably, even though it traditionally it wouldn't suit, it feels like it would suit for other reasons, which is a hala. Oh, yeah.

Yeah? Lovely. Yeah. Yeah, we've had that chose on the podcast before. Oh, yeah. I think Ben Schwartz chose that. Yes. What did De Niro choose as his...

He chose whatever's good for every single course. Yeah, we had to choose it for him because... And Joe, what, a lot of guests had a problem with that. And we're like, why has he not chose his own menu? Why didn't he do the prep? I think it's very insightful into the life of Robert De Niro that you just learn that what he does now is turn up at a restaurant and the people there just bring him out whatever they think is best.

And I think that's interesting. Is that a truism? Did he say that? Yeah. And for everything we asked him, he went, I like whatever's good, good food. And then we did have to say, Robert, we're going to be asking you the whole time what you want. So just, so you know, it's not an aggressive act. It's just the, it's just the format.

We're not being dix. Yeah. And the answer is always, why did Robert De Niro do that? It's Robert De Niro. I can do what he likes. Yeah. And you can do what you like, to be honest as well. But we're glad you're picking something specific because that does make the chat way easier.

But there you go. I mean, you must know some, like, some of those people. actors and whatever who just turn up and they just go just bring me whatever's good you must have met some people like that you don't have to name names but like you know i'm sure you've come across that before i don't know if i do i feel like i've known a couple humans in my life not not necessarily actors who you know properly trust the people within the restaurant to make that decision but i think i'm too controlling right you know when you look at a menu you are deciding what you actually feel like at that moment?

And what if they brought you something that you didn't feel like? Yeah, absolutely. I agree with you. And I'm looking at a menu before I go into a restaurant. Do you do that? I look online to do my research. Do you? Yeah, big time. Was that prior to doing this podcast?

Yes, prior to doing this podcast. It's kind of one of the reasons why we do this podcast. Because we're both obsessed with food. Already our person. Sometimes I'll be going to a restaurant and then it's like, where are you going? Right. And then when I'm on my way to that restaurant, it takes me what he would get at the restaurant because he's looked at the menu online.

Oh, well. And knows what he's. would get. That's funny. He can tell you any menu of any restaurant in love. Really? No, absolutely not. He can recite it. Like Devin Brown. So interested in this.

So how often do you go out to eat? Probably less than I used to, maybe a couple of times a week. A couple of times a week, but for a special meal out twice a week. So it's not really special anymore. Do you try to always choose new places that you haven't been to before? No, you've got to go for the old classic sometimes. It's like you say, sometimes you're just in the mood for something

set and so you know you go you go to the old classics but i do like trying new places went to a lovely restaurant this week had not been to before called a cocoa which is a west african inspired tasting menu restaurant right very very good was it yeah it was excellent he's the best at trying new places out of anyone i know he's the best at going in new restaurants all the time finding them telling me about them every time people ask me yeah yeah we're in london for a few days where you know and eat i'm like here is ed gamble's phone number yeah i'm not afraid that that is who you need to sort of. It's basically my job now

is recommending restaurants to people in London. Have you ever watched that documentary by the food critic in Los Angeles called Something Gold? He was a famous,

but he would travel all around L.A. and go to like mom and pop's restaurants. You can see the LA Times critic or something. I know the guy you mean. It's a really good documentary. He'd literally change people's lives like meant they could put their kids

through uni and stuff because he would give her a view of just this tiny hole in the wall Mexican or, Cuban restaurant and next the next week they'd have lines down the block that'd be swamped that's great that must feel really good to be

I think point my favourite part of doing this podcast is when we mention a place and then people come up to us and go we went there because we heard it on the podcast and that must have been great for that guy if he's running those reviews and then seeing that difference being made. But also he really cares he really knows his foods and knows the questions to ask about the ingredients and

well yeah we know what that's like let's start your menu proper now, Jillian, your dream starter. Okay, so my main is pretty heavy. Yeah. So under normal circumstances, I don't think one would have a starter. But... You don't need to.

But I'm going to... Okay. Thank you. So I'm going to... James, don't try it with skip starters. I'm going to have like a pumpkin soup. Love it. Mm.

But a pumpkin soup with roasted pumpkin seeds on top. Mm-hmm. Oh, yeah. delicious. The most of pumpkin seeds is very big difference. Yeah. And it has to be a little bit creamy, but not too creamy. Yeah.

Yeah. Our friend Josh Whitacom loves soup. We learned this yesterday. Last night. Josh Whitacom's a comedian. Uh-huh. And he loves it. He loves it and he has it before his gigs.

He goes to his tours. Yeah. And he turns up at his tours. What do you think of this? He turns up at his tours and his tour manager goes and makes him a soup. What do you think about that? Wow. It's all right.

isn't it? Yeah. Because Josh says he's not allowed to use the microwaves at the theatres. Because that's for the staff at the theatre and the tour managers are allowed in that little room. Like the kitchen room where the people who work at the theatre. So where does he make him the soup? In the microwave in that little room, in the little staff room. So the tour manager is allowed to do it, but Josh says he's not allowed to use the microwave.

So he just sits in his dressing room waiting for his soup to be delivered to him. That's funny. That's what he's saying. But I reckon he is allowed to use the microwave. He's just lazy. Yeah. Do you agree that there are two types of people in the world? There are soup people and there are people who don't like soup.

I think that's got to be. And it's pretty much 50-50, I'd say. Do you think? Yeah, in the world. Yeah, down the middle. Some people will go, no, I'm not having a soup. Yeah, no way, I'm not touching a soup. That's very good for both.

Not for me. I'll tell you what, Ed, no slight on you as an actor because you were doing it alongside a professional there. Yeah. That wasn't very convincing for you, but Jillian, I really thought she didn't want a soup. And then I remembered, I know for a fact. Yeah, she loves it. I know for a fact she does like. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that was amazing act.

Gillian's an amazing act. Straight away, you get the part. I wasn't trying. I'd not had a chance to prep for the casting or anything. Okay, well, you know. Use all the excuses you want, but the parts go to Gillian. I'm not good in the room. I'm not happy to go on tape. I'm happy to go on tape, but I'm not good in the room.

Do you have to do self tapes? Surely you don't have to do that anymore. Come on. Surely it's been ages since you've had to audition. No, yes, that's correct. I don't generally. But if it was a fancy, fancy, fancy director. Yeah.

And they weren't sure if I was right for it. I'd be happy to do it as a help tape. So who's the top director for you? Who would you go on tape for? Do you have a dream director? Let's say, let's say Paul Thomas Anderson or someone like that. Okay.

Where to say, look, I really, but I don't know whether she can do it or not. We have a character who doesn't like suit. I need to see. Yeah. The suit painting character, suit painting lady. You're straight on tape for PTA. Yeah, that would be good. That would be good.

Magnolia 2. Yeah. And one of the characters, their storyline is they just don't like soup very much. And then that comes around at the end of the frog lands in the suit. It's way less weird this time around. Oh my God, the frog. Remember that kid at the end?

He sat behind the desk and said, something like, this happens. Yeah. This happens in life or something like that. Yeah, yeah. It's thinking about the coincidences that happen all the time. Yeah. Goes and tells his dad, you've got to start being nicer to me. I tuned out when the frogs started.

It's brilliant. Did that lose you? That's ridiculous. I didn't like it the first. As opposed to as, of the rest of the film. Yeah, yeah, the rest of the film I was on board with.

Right, all right. But yeah, as soon as the fraud, I was like, this wouldn't happen. No way, Jose. We don't remember the ages, like, you know, the age we were when that film came out.

Yeah. It was like nothing we'd ever see. So, like, I remember watching that film and, like, loving the beginning so much that lists all these different coincidences and a bunch of, like,

short stories. And I was so on board and thinking, oh, the ending is going to be like all of those coincidences. And at the end in is it rains frocks. I was like, what? And I was really like,

I hadn't seen anything like that before. Yeah. And then the second time I watched it because I couldn't stop thinking about the rest of the film. Cloudy with a chance of meatballs. It is quite like Cloudy with a... I guess nowadays, kids...

I don't know why. Nowadays kids would have seen Cloudy with a chance of me. Yeah, and they go... This happens. Clearly. Yeah, they would be like... But wait, so how old would you have been when you saw? Late teens?

Yeah, probably. So what did you think of the whole Tom Cruise character? Oh. Or any of it, actually. I thought that guy's speaking a lot of sense. That's what women are like. No, I thought, I mean, it was just like, I was familiar with Tom Cruise already. So I was like, I've never seen Tom Cruise be like this before.

I think, yeah, it's a pretty amazing character. Also, I hadn't seen many characters that are just out and out clearly wrong for the whole film, but also be painted in the end in a little bit of a sympathetic light in a way. Yeah, I just thought it was a really different character to what I was used to seeing in films. I only remember the frogs, really. I don't have as good a memory as James. remember the frogs. I've seen this for one. But you remember food? I remember food. I remember menus and the frogs. Those are the two things I remember. Yeah, I don't know how much. Do you like

eating frogs? I have eaten frog's legs in the past. Yeah. I think they're fine. I wouldn't go out of my way to get, get frogs legs. Right. You know, chickeny. They're a chickeny. They're a bit stringy. They're a bit stringy. They're a bit stringy. Yeah, a bit fiddly. I'd say you don't get, you don't get a lot of meat on a, on a frog leg. No, you wouldn't. So I wouldn't, you know, I wouldn't go out of my way. I'd rather have a chicken leg, to be honest. Would you Would you have a lick a frog? I'd lick a frog, sure. Sorry, you know, the drug, the, the hallucinogenic frogs.

I mean, I may as well lick a frog. I'm drinking tap water. Yeah. You know, it's all the same thing. I have a frog swimming around in some New York tap water and have a good weekend. Would you look a frog? I don't know. I don't like hallucinating.

Have you ever hallucinated before? I have. I have quite a lot in my younger union. Just hallucinated, yeah. Loads you in the old. quick glance to appear for the listener I'm sat with my back

so the mood that Jim is sat in so every day I together get to see I have hallucinated little good yeah little look over but it's not even nice

when it's not on purpose like you can hallucinate on purpose and at least you know that I'm making a choice to hallucinate it's coming yeah

but then there's sometimes when you hallucinate and it's not on purpose and that is even freaky yeah I bet no I'm not a I'm not a fan of hallucinating I think I've never really gone out of my way to try and hallucinate.

Yes, you wouldn't look a frog. I'd lick a frog maybe if it was a controlled environment. And the guy who had the frog was like, this is what's going to happen if you lit the frog. Yeah, and you knew it was a clean frog. Yeah, a clean frog. But also, like, I'd be constantly worried it was a prank. Right. Like, I was going to lick the frog and then I'd go, you can't believe you fucking lick that frog, you did you.

That'd be really bad with it. Like, candid camera. Yeah, exactly. Like all of your friends standing around laughing at you. Yeah, he looked at a frog, like curtains come up and it's my whole friend. and families sat there. But the prank is just that

they got you to lick a frog and then nothing happened to you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So... That's worse. I say

licking a frog for no reason is worse than looking a frog for hallucinating. What if you licked a frog and what you

hallucinated was the prank show? Oh my God. That's too much. Yeah, yeah. And that's a film. That's a film like that. I think that's a

German show. Yeah. Oh, what a film that is. If we're talking about, if we're talking great films in the Truman show.

Yeah. Oh my lord. So good. I met Natasha McElhome I just stopped talking about the Truman show doing her editing She introduced me to her kids Because her kids thought

I was nine out of ten funny But like So I had a photo with her kids And then I saw that as a green light To talk about the Truman show as much as I wanted Did she bring her kids when she did the podcast Because there was much fans It wasn't the podcast

It was weirdly They were there watching I've only been on the show Have I Got News for You twice But they went to watch Have I got news for you Because she knows someone who makes it And the kids wanted to come.

I don't know if it was because I was on it that episode or not. But her kids had. So, like, I got to meet them afterwards. But then I definitely, one of those things where, yeah, you're the one that coming up to being, hey, we're fans. And then you go, I love the treatment show. And you talk about so much. They're like, goodbye.

And then that's it. You've blown it? So that's a shame. Do you think she remembers that? I bet her sons remember it. I bet they're like, we were excited to meet him. And then it turned out. Don't meet your heroes.

No. No. I don't think Natasha will remember that. You can ask, do you know her? You're friends? I do know her. I do know. But I probably wouldn't. Can you put that sound from earlier on? I probably wouldn't text her to say, yes. It's a bit much to open a conversation with that. Did you think he was as annoying? And also, would you lick a frog? You've got to finish that. Ask back I only shouldn't have. Yeah, good point. And by the way. Your dream main question, you say this is quite substantial.

Yeah. Thanksgiving dinner. Oh yeah, that is substantial. American Thanksgiving. Does that count? I'm allowed to do that. Yeah. Of course you're allowed to do that.

We haven't had English guest choose it yet. Right. Have we had an American guest choose Thanksgiving dinner? We definitely had English guests choose Christmas dinner. A lot. British Christmas dinner. But I don't think we've had the full Thanksgiving dinner. Yeah.

So this is great. Let's talk about all the components. Yeah, there's lots of components. You asked about sides. It's all sides. Yeah. And you've got one big bit in the middle and then everything else is a side. Yes.

Have you ever had a Thanksgiving dinner? Once, but it's Canadian Thanksgiving. Yeah, it's probably quite similar. Definitely the best turkey I've ever had in my entire. Oh, right. I think I like it all the time. I have had Thanksgiving dinner once. But we were filming a TV show and I was pretending to be a member of the Royal Family,

so I didn't really get a chance to enjoy it. Georgie Colton. It was being Georgie Colton. Yeah. It was a show called Almost Royal. It was me and Amy Hoggart were pretending to be 50th and 51st in mind to the throne. And we travelled around America meeting real people. Like Borat.

Like Borat, but kind. And we had Thanksgiving dinner with a family in a house in Florida. Oh, wow. Did they serve you mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top? Did they? They did. Yeah. Now, I can't picture you eating that, just.

No, that's not how, that's not how I make it, but I figured, yeah, I figured that's what you would have been served. They did, yeah, like grilled and the mushroom little grilled on the top. Yeah. It was, it's crazy to me. Yeah. I can't, I can't wrap my head around it because it's sweet on sweet. You take something that's sweet anyway, the sweet potato. Hello, clues in the name. But very often people also add maple syrup to sweet potatoes, even though they're sweet. Holy moly. That's a dessert, surely. Yeah, you think.

So what are you having? What's your dream, Thanksgiving, dinner and think about this don't point to the guest James who are your if you're your dream meal who's at the table with you oh well definitely my kids definitely my kids

and probably the rest of my extended family mom and dad and sister and her kids and whatnot and so usually be a turkey and would be mashed sweet potato maybe a little bit of maple syrup if it's not sweet because sometimes they're not sweet Sometimes you mash them up.

You put a little bit of salt and butter in them and then not quite sweet enough and you need to add just a teap of maple syrup. So a little jug, maybe leave a little jug there for people if they want to sweeten it up even more? No, no, no, I take control of that. Oh, sorry, I forgot about the controller again. Also roast potatoes.

Is that normal on a Thanksgiving dinner or is this you bringing a little bit of Britain? I don't know what normal is. Okay. Sorry, I did. That's good to admit that. Yeah, I really don't. I really don't know what normally is.

So, roast potatoes sometimes in duck fat, but I'm not sure whether I prefer it, actually. But definitely, well, as opposed to just oil, heating up the oil beforehand and then rosemary and garlic and that. Duck fat feels like it's the special occasion potatoes, right? Yeah, but then does it actually make them any better? I think it does. If you're using duck fat or, dare I say, goose. fat. Yeah. It feels like they're crispier and they've got that sort of rich, luxurious taste to them, I think. Right. But maybe that's all, maybe that's all in my head. But do they, can you,

you know how sometimes when you have a roast potato and it's really crispy? Yeah. Sometimes you taste it and you don't taste the oil. It's just the crispy and then the hot goopie in the middle. My fear is that duck or goose fat, you only taste the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, grease. Yeah, I think that's a good point. I wonder whether that's to do with like the heat of it before you put the potatoes in, whether there might be some cooking technique thing that changes that. So you just get, you just want the crisp and you want the hot goopy in the middle and then that's it. Yeah, you don't want it to be dripping dripping. Yeah, you can as long as you don't just taste that. Yeah, you don't want just drippy, no. You want crisp, hot groupie.

Very glad we worked this out. Okay. For the listener, Julian's entire body language went towards Ed there and I was out of the conversation. Gillian trusts me on the roast potato. Yeah, yeah. Julia's got a lot of questions for you. Gillian, I have a question for you. Along with all the guests, just for the dream meal, you can have three of your co-stars at the meal as well.

Oh, yeah. Throughout your career, what three co-stars would you like at the table for your dream Thanksgiving meal? And this is no shade on anyone who doesn't get picked. Three is a very small number. Hannah, I'm Bender I just worked with I would pick her

and I just worked with Greta Lee I'd probably pick her and I would pick gosh this is interesting how about

Olivia Coleman oh yeah wow what a that's a nice triptych that would be a lot of fun I mean I wish we had access to the inner monologue where you ran through

people and went, no, not them. I actually didn't land on anybody else in between. But, yeah. I mean, those three, fantastic. Coleman's going to be a laugh at Thanksgiving. Coleman is a laugh, man. She is a laugh. She seems to be a laugh.

Like, doesn't seem to take anything too seriously when she's on press tours and stuff, you know what I mean? Like, she's promoting that film The Roses at the minute. Her and Cumberbatch are just going around having a right jolly. That's good. She deserves a jelly. I'll become hooked on all the... I'll watch YouTube too much, Jelly.

Do you? Like, it's a problem. That doesn't surprise me. Trying to put it down. Yeah. And, like, I just got so into watching the two of them talk about the roses. I don't think I'm ever going to see the roses. No, no, no.

But, like, absolutely just love watching the two of them, try and guess each other's films, get lines from that. How long are your holes? Pardon me? When you go down a... The kind of question. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean to. But when you go down around...

Let's have fun with what it sounded like. Are YouTube rabbit at all? How long? Do you wake up after how long and go, oh my God. I mean, there's my afternoon. Yeah, I don't know, you know, but like my screen time updates are getting longer and longer. But, you know, each week it goes, you did, you average this much a day. And it's like...

Are you watching on your phone? Yeah. Oh, right. See, I also watch a lot of YouTube, but I'll only watch on the laptop. The phone screen too small for me to watch things on. Yeah? Interesting. I'm just on it too much.

I got absolutely addicted to watching videos of Dave Franco and Alison Brie talking about their relationship. It's just in it, because there's so many different formats on all these different YouTube channels. And what does that do to your relationship? I think it makes it all, I don't know. Maybe it may, I don't go back and go, you pretend to be, you're Alison, I'm Dave. But if it's like that, but like, I don't compare, I think maybe I relate to their relationship. That's why I like watching it.

I'm like, that's like us. Well, because Dave Franco watches eight hours of YouTube a day. Yeah, he just watches eight hours of YouTube and how there's something worried about him and fancy's Jillian Anderson. Yeah, I mean, they talk about their cats quite a bit. Oh, we've got cats. Right.

And I just like the way that they talk about Oh, they're cracked him up. How they met. Because it's so ridiculous. He's laughing, imagining, watching the videos. He's really ridiculous. Totally admitted. Yeah, yeah.

I just say, yeah, I think, I think, I think they seem like good people. Oh, right. I like watching and thinking, they're they seem like good people actually. You're too deep into this YouTube thing, man. Have you ever met them? No, and I can't, I can't now.

Well, we can't have them on the podcast now because anyone who is listening who represents them for PR stuff. Yeah, I was saying, I was a stalker. Yeah, absolutely not. Keep them away. Yeah. Even if they came on together,

that would be the worst, actually, if they came on together, yeah. That'd be the worst. I'd know too much about their lives, how they met, how they feel about each other. It would be bad. Even though she's called Alison Brie, which is perfect for a podcast.

Oh, my God. Do you know Mr. and Mrs. where you feel in the, yeah. They did that. I've watched them do that. Oh, they did. Oh, I was going to say you could probably answer the question. You could do Mr. and Mrs.

Mr. and the creep. Yeah. What does the creep say? The creeps, full marks. He'd be like a ventriloquist, damn it. Yeah. You proposed while wearing a mask. Really?

Yeah, he did. We wore a mask that he'd kept from when they went to New Orleans together, and they met in New Orleans. Oh, he's fine. And then she was wearing like a mask at New Orleans and then he kept that mask and when he proposed to her he was wearing it and she didn't like it.

She didn't think it was a great idea that he proposed like that but appreciates where his heart was in the right place. I didn't hear a single thing you said there. No, no, no, I was like, I can't listen to this. I've got to be friends with this guy. La la la la la la la la la la la la la la. I think it's cool that I know that. Yeah, yeah.

I think that one day is going to be played in a court. Yeah, it will. So can we talk through the rest of the components? Yes, we can. You've got turkey. Yes. You've got sweet potatoes. Yes.

Yes. With a little bit of maple syrup. A little bit. You've got roast potatoes. And with butter and salt. With butter and salt. And what else is on there? I usually make brussels, like a Jamie Oliver recipe with bacon and chestnuts.

Nice. But I don't really like them, but I make them anyway. Oh. Okay. Yeah, like Brussels sprouts in general. Or you don't like Jamie Oliver's Brussels sprouts. No, I don't like them really in general. But I make them because you're meant to.

And they're meant to be good for you. And if you've only got a couple of green things and usually green beans as well. Yeah, nice. Then there's a couple of dishes that are, that we've always had family dishes. Like a pearl onion groutin. Lovely. Which is almost like a cauliflower. flowered cheese, but with pearl onions.

It's really yummy and it's got crumbled bread crumbs on the top and it's really delicious. That's not good for the gut and there's... Ed, please. It's Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the time where you give thanks for your guts by mistreating them, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. And then there's another one and I have

to say I've already mentioned this on a food podcast. What other food podcast? There's no other food podcast. What are you talking about? No, on Jesse Weir's food podcast, I talked about, I talked about this dish, but it's a truism and I can't think of Thanksgiving without talking about this dish. So I'm going to bring it up. Okay. And let's see if we're, the way we react is going to be way better than the way Jesse and Lenny Ware react. Yeah, here we go.

This is going to be good stuff. We're getting ready for this. Okay. Here we go. All right. So you've gotten paler. That's something. I went to the Isle of Mall recently off of Scotland

and we wanted to see wild ponies and there was a lady who could show us where the wild ponies were and she was walking up the hill with us and she said, what do you do for a job? And I said, I'm a stand-up comedian and she went, that's why you're so pale just locked up in all the clubs your whole life.

Right. And you're like, no, it's because I spend all day watching Alison Brie on YouTube. Yeah, that's why actually. Thank you. Did you see the ponies? Yeah, we saw the ponies. This is great.

He is a little bit like a ventriloquist dummy, isn't he? The way he sat up now. Yeah. And the way you're... Yeah, absolutely. Very good. Yeah. Very good impression straight away.

Yeah. This is the master at work. That's the clip. Benito, we've got the clip. That's the quickest anyone's done. No, it's really interesting. It's fascinating. I don't think I've ever met a live ventriloquist dummy the fall.

He met Jimmy Carr. Haven't you? I have met Jimmy Carr. Yeah, there you go. I take it back, yeah. Surely that was an ex-file. Jimmy Gar. Yeah. If only.

Hoping out of a great. If only, if only he was just an X-File and that was all he was. That would explain him for him. Oh, you mean a ventriloquist? I think we did have a ventrilochist on the episode. Yeah. I'm sure you do. You must have done.

How many episodes did you do? There must have been a ventrilochism. Yeah, there must be a little bit. What's the one that gets brought up to you the most? Because I'll tell you the one that I've heard everyone said the most who watches X-Files. And they're like, they're like the scariest one. They're like, I can never sit on the toilet again because of that big. Oh, yeah.

Oh, the fluke worm or whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's scary. Tooms, surely. Yeah, and tombs and tombs, yeah. Yeah. What when did you find most scary, like, to film? Like, when you're out of the Jimmy Car episode.

Coming out of the toilet. Coming out of the toilet like that. Oh, no. Here we come. Sorry, Gillian. We asked you some. Then we asked you another question and we kept on pivot and what was the original question?

The side dish. We actually asking Dreamside? No. No. No, it was the... No, we're not at the side dish that also came up on table manners. And we were getting ready to react in a great way. Unfortunately, we've just proved we are much worse podcast host than Jesse and Lenny. Yes, I'm sure they didn't do that.

Go off on a Jimmy Car tangent. Okay. Tell us this. Watch this. Okay. All right. Concentrate? Yeah.

Okay. So it's cool, we call it green glass jello. And it's a sweet dish, but you have it on the plate actually with everything else. Yes. And it's got chunks of pineapple and it's got lime jello, cream cheese layered, chunks of pineapple, like crushed pineapple. I think it might even have a lemon jello too. It's got different striations.

And it's delicious. When you spoke to Jessie and Lenny Ware about this, what was their reaction to that? Was it? You'll take it very seriously and I really appreciate it. But was it? You are. Can I tell you my initial instinct?

Oh, yeah. Mine's going to be identical. Gillian, that sounds absolutely disgusting. I know. Everybody thinks, even my children think it's disgusting and why are we making this another thing? in a row, and I'm the only person who eats it. Ah, okay.

But it's, you know, it's ingrained in my childhood DNA. Does someone make this for you as a child? Yes, yeah. It was a family recipe, yeah. Yeah, that's, I mean, it really sounds like a family recipe. Yeah, it does. It sounds like a family recipe from the Midwest of America. Truly.

It sounds like, yeah. Wow. And it is. How many generations was this passed down? I don't know. It sounds like, it sounds like, something they'd call salad in the Midwest of America. Yeah, no, you're right.

And I'm going to be on an iceberg lettuce. Yeah, put it on there and call it green salad. Yeah, that's my vegetable. How much are you eating of it? If you're the only one that touches it, how much are you eating to make it like justify having made it? I mean, a nice dollop. A hockey puck.

Yeah, there might be one other per. I mean, if my parents are over, you know, they will also have some. It's just my three kids. And it's going on the plate with the savory ingredients. Yeah. And is it like, so does it get like gravy on it by accident and stuff? Does it like touch? And that's good.

Yeah. It is. Yeah. It is. It's good. Because also on there are two different kinds of stuffings. There's another family recipe, which is a, what's it called? Chocolate and porridge probably not your family.

He's done. No, it's a, um, where is it just going to have? my head. It's a cornbread stuffing. Oh, nice. Cornbread stuffing. My mom makes a rocking cornbread stuffing, which I now make. And then also we'll do one with sausage meat. Oh, yeah. See, that's great. Like sage, sage and apricot, sausage meat, stuff. Really delicious. Absolutely love stuffing. But next to jelly, I don't know. Yeah. It's, are you worried, what's it called the jelly side? Does it have a Well, we call it green glass jello, but only because a green glass vintage bowl fell and it broke into the jelly.

Into the jelly? Yeah, it was on top of the, somebody put it on top of the fridge, they opened the fridge and the whole thing. So from that point on, they called it green glass jello. They didn't eat it. Okay. They're just, yeah. I like that. I like that.

The name comes from something that happened and a family, you know, because it's a family recipe. Yeah. Are you worried that the green glass jello tradition is going to stop now because your kids won't eat it? So no one's going to carry it on. It hasn't occurred to me, but I have a sister. And she has kids. Yeah. And she likes it and she will pass it on.

Her kids like it? Well, probably it's like pudding, right? Well, your kids don't like it. Yeah, but mine are late teens. Oh, so maybe they're British rather than, then my sister's kids are American. And I can imagine the American kids being used to that kind of thing. The British kids aren't going for that. And they're rebelling against, you know.

As disgusting as I think it sounds. Yeah. Me, my brother and sister would have to wolf that down. Oh, God. Well, no. We're little pretty good. No, you'd have to wrestle it off your dad. Yeah, yeah.

But when you have turkey, when you have turkey, do you have like cranberry jelly? No. I can do. Yeah. Yeah, I have, I guess it's the same sort of principle, isn't it? It's the same sort of principle, yeah. But you only have a little bit of the cranberry jelly, right? Oh, no, you don't.

No. Or like a schnitzel. when you have a schnitzel, do you have the Lindenberry jam and stuff? And that's chicken, that's it. You know, it's like Turkey, it's chicken. It's the same. So that's your main course and all your sides.

So we get onto your dream. Wait, is that everything? Hang on. Let me think. Okay, got a big green. Yeah. A bit of orange. A bit of white. This is how you remember.

You picked up on the Irish flag. Hair or Italian. Um, what? No. Orange, not orange. Is it? A bit of red. A bit of red in the cranberries, all. There is, wait, there's something else. There's something else.

Oh, well, the gravy. Gravy is very important. Now, let's talk about, when I say gravy as a British person, very different to what Americans might call gravy. What do you call gravy? Well, sometimes American gravy is quite thick, like, it's very thick, flour-based, like a sausage gravy. It might be like a white, thick, creamy sauce. But are you thinking of more like a thinner meat-jou sort of situation? A meat-jew situation. Yeah, yeah, yeah, nice.

And you're thicken it up with a bit of flour, but it's not flour-based. It's not like a bread sauce. Yeah, you're not spooning it on or anything. No, but a bit of red wine in there. Yeah, nice. Love a gravy. So important, isn't it? I love a gravy too.

Yeah. So important to really bring the jelly to life. Your dream drink. I wonder what this could be. Were you waiting that? You left that pause because Able was drinking. I was taking a sip of water. But that could have been a G-spot you were drinking.

It could have been. I'm happy to have a sip of G-spot. No, go on. Have you tasted it yet? I really like it. Well, you have to say that, don't you? Yes. Yes, I do, but also I do.

Yeah. Yeah. Because it's a sparkling functional drink. Yeah, it is. Yeah. And it's giving me a lift. Yeah, it will. It really will.

This one's red berries and sarawak. Yeah, you should know what. Sarah Wack is. Should I? Yeah. I've got absolutely no idea what Sarah Wack is. Oh, come on, man.

You're fired. He wrote, what was the book? What was the main book you wrote? Everyone goes on about it. The thing is that for the joke to land, you do have to remember

what the work is so we can work out when you're talking about. Wait, who wrote a book about Sarawak? Sarah Wack wrote all those books. You mean Carrawak? Oh, sorry. There we go. I'd be thinking about that.

If you said on the road, we would have got that on that quick. I knew it had the word road in it and I was good to think of it. See, that's what I'm talking, I like the... The herbaceousness of this. And of course, Sarawak is a black pepper. Yeah.

Yeah. I've just remembered that. And this one that I'm drinking is scarlet apple and sage. But the functional ingredients are things like mushrooms. You know, like ashtaganda, chaga, rishi, cordyceps. Do you ever take those in in any form, way, shape, or form? No, cordyceps scare me now because of the last of us. are they

quarter steps in the last of us yeah that's what grows out of everyone when they turn into really scary mushroom zombies oh wow I did I did not know that the last thing that you need

been bought up when talking about your drink yeah yeah because imagine if G-Spot was the start of a zombie apocalypse oh my God

yeah you'd have a lot there'd be a lot of blame at your door especially the zombies have drunk arouse yeah yeah oh god

that's the last thing I'm my good Lord that's a completely different show How did this start? The drinks. Did you think one day I'd like to start a drinks company? No, never.

Or were you getting interested in like all these different mushrooms? Somebody in my life, my son-in-law brought it, came up with the idea of me doing a drink, which I had no interest in doing at all. But I was addicted to full fat Coke. I drank about five of those a day. Wow. And so the idea of finding something or creating

something that I might turn to instead of it, that was also good for me. And initially, starting with the lift, something that would actually give me the energy that I was after. All the drinks are caffeine-free, vegan, low sugar, all natural. And so creating something that I might actually become as addicted to as I was to the Coca-Cola. And we've done that. We're actually really, really proud of their flavors.

We work with a fantastic alchemist called Alchemister, it's a company in his stanchstead. And he did Seedlip, do you know the? Yes. So he works with botanicals and really mature, nuanced flavors. Anyway, we're very happy with them. And under normal circumstances, wouldn't necessarily have chosen to do a drink, but the whole branding around the drink feels very appropriate. given stuff that I've been doing over the last few years,

sex education and a book I did of women's sexual fantasies, anonymous, sexual fantasies. But the drink is actually not, it's, G-Spot was chosen as much as anything because my name begins with a G. Yeah, it's not a sex drink is what we're saying. It's not a sex drink, even though we have an arouse. Yes, it doesn't sound not sexual. It's called G-Spot.

No, but you know, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, what's your G-spot? What's the place where you find pleasure and it can be in the drink. You can find pleasure in what you drink. If it turns out my G-spots in a drinker, it's going to be mad. Much easier time for everyone.

Yeah. in this one, the juniper and coriander. Very nice. Thank you very much. We're in Akado and lots of places at Sainsbury's Akado. Harvey Nix. Harvey Nix. Harvey Nix.

That's pretty cool. And do you need two guys for the advert? We could be in an advert? Yeah, you could. Yeah. What sort of thing do you think we should do for the advert for G-Spot? I think you could say we finally found it. Yeah.

Yeah, that's good. It could be us looking for it in a supermarket or something. Yeah. Yeah, in the bushes. Jane made that joke this morning. He came in and said, I couldn't find because he had a bunch of G-spot.

He said, I couldn't find this for a while. Yeah. Good little joke for it. So, just me and James in the bushes. You and James and the bushes looking through your G-SPot? Me and it in the bushes, drinking G-spot? And then we pop out on our hair is all messed up. Yeah.

We found the G-spot, and then we hold up the cans, yeah. Sounds good to me. That's a sort of classy advertising you need for your product, isn't it? Perfect. When you were writing the book and you're getting all the, so you've got a load of fantasy sent to you, but they're anonymous. Yeah. How do you go about choosing which ones get in the book?

Were there some that didn't make the book that you felt bad for those people? James, I've told you to not bring this up. I know you're gutted that yours didn't make it. Listen, I think it was a good fantasy about Dave and Alison Brie. They franker, Alison Bray, all they wanted. The fantasy was just them talking about their life, fully clothed. That's the fantasy. I don't see why you didn't involve that in the punk.

James, you said you wouldn't bring this up. I just want to hear them talking to each. other about their love. That's a good fantasy. Yeah. And the fact you didn't put it in. He is. He's like a ventriloquist.

Yeah, he is. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. But no, I don't think any performer would make their dummy say what James says. Yeah. He's a possessed one. He's got ideas above his station.

Yeah, yeah. One of the ones that, if there was a venture with a christian, end up back in the bag. Yeah. Pretty quickly. Not for saying anything, you know, un-PC or anything just for just for just doing their headid. Yeah.

Getting back in the back. Stop asking me stupid questions like that. Talk to me like a person. What was the original question for Gillian, James? I can't remember now. Anything you felt bad about not put in that book? Yes. Oh, not bad, no, no.

It took a while to go through all the letters. And we've got a second book, actually, that we're compiling letters from as we speak. But it's part of the modus operandi was asking women from as many places around the world as possible. so it felt like the book was representative of all voices. And so sometimes it would make a decision, it would be making a decision for a letter that was representative from a country or a city that it may not have been the better letter, so to speak,

but it felt like the experience or the writing because of where the writer came from was that that was the more important decision to make than that. Did you notice geographical trends with the sorts of fantasies? Is there anywhere in the world where they specifically have fantasies about podcast hosts? You talk about food? Not podcast hosts, but there are some around food. Fantasies around making food or partner making food during sex or after sex.

Oh, there is sex involved. It's not just my fantasy as my partner cooks me something. So that would be the saddest letter. No, but there is. Yeah. Yeah. Or, you know, does laundry, empty as a dishwasher, you know, that kind of stuff. Yeah.

Which is interesting. Yeah. So easy to make that person's fantasy come true. Yeah. Yeah. Geographically similar. No, I mean, I think on the whole, probably the ones that were more explicit came from the West. You know, what I found fascinating was, you know, the little bits and pieces that you get.

of slice of life stories because they don't want to reveal too much because it's anonymous, they're not going to, you know, but the little bits that you do get from the women's lives and their relationship or their religion or the culture that does or does not allow them to, you know, how scared they are that they're even putting it down on paper, so to speak. Well, that's really interesting. Well, that leads us nicely onto your dream dessert. It does, you're right.

Perfect, perfect, perfect. Bread pudding. Great. Yeah. Really eggy. Yes. Made with panitoni. Yes.

This is great. Yeah. With custard. Brilliant. Absolutely delicious. Heaven. Hot custard, cold custard? Hot custard.

This sounds great. This is exactly the kind of thing I like. I mean, quite Christmas pudding-y when made with Panitone as well, has that? Yeah. It's got that seasonal taste to it, hasn't it? Yeah, for sure. And when would you have this after Thanksgiving dinner? No.

And in fact, it's been a really long time since I've had a bread pudding at all. And when I realised that that is what my desire would be, I thought, I need to have it more often. Yeah. This is the service we aim to provide on this podcast to make people realize that they want bread pudding. Have you ever thought about? Have you ever thought about actually making the food or having somebody make the food that the people have on and then having people back again and serving it to them?

We have thought about it because it gets suggested all the time. So we've had to think about it. But every time you've thought about it for a split second and gone, what a bad idea. We're not doing that. A lot of work. And who gives us shit? Like, only you would enjoy it.

If we made your meal for you, as in the guest, as in the guest, it's not just you. Oh, what if the guest made it and brought it in for you? Sometimes that's happened and then try to get you to like it. Again, that's nice for us, but the listeners don't care. I'd say in an audio format podcast, the last thing people like is when everyone's eating on mic. I'd say that's definitely an issue. People get really upset by that.

Where are you imbalanced in your lives? Good question. What, me? Well, we know your answer. I don't want to hear it again. Please, I don't want to hear it again. Where am I imbalanced in my life? maybe work and relaxation.

You know, I go hard on one or the other and then absolutely hate that I'm doing it. So it would be nice to find more balance in that. But other than that, I feel pretty balanced. I knew the kind of person who, when you realize that you want to change something, you actually take active steps to change it? I think so. I will think about it for a long time.

But then I will actually take an active step. James is probably the best person to ask. I don't know what I do. Yeah, yeah. Ed, I got asked in the podcast recently, what do you admire most about Ed Gamble? And I said it was how disciplined he is with stuff like that. Right.

Whenever he decides, I'm going to make a change. I'm going to do this now. He really does it and really commits to it. Right. To the extent he's one of those friends, when he does it, you think, I should really be doing it. I should be looking after myself a bit better. That's really good.

So, yeah, he's... But I think that says a lot about James. He's the best in the biz. I should be doing that. Oh, yeah, yeah. And what would he say is the trait that he admires the most in you? You, Mr. and Mrs. is in his... A little bit of that.

Yeah, yeah. But I'm asking you what you think he would say about you. Well, I think it would say about me. Yeah. I have absolutely no idea. Oh, yes, you do. I think secretly he doesn't like me. It's no secret.

Oh, no idea what I would like to know? Yeah. Very hardworking, very talented. Never rests on his laurels. Always creating. lovely man, very emotionally literate. Anything else? Do you want more things? That's very nice. That's lovely. That's lovely.

Yeah, that's a surprise you, wouldn't it be from the Ventra of the Chris dummy? Yeah, it does. It's surprised me. That's a lovely thing to say about somebody too. If it's true. It's a nice. It's very cool. I quite nice to hear. And do you go spend time with each other outside of the podcast?

We do. Yeah. Yeah. Last few new years, been spent together. Yes. Any more than one day? No. Well, we'll go, you know, we'll go away. There we go, we'll go away on the sort of, on the 30th, 31st. And then we'll, you know, leave on the second, I leave it earlier.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's up to three days, Gillian. Right, okay, that's interesting. Yeah, outside of the podcast, pretty good, pretty good. Well, the whole menu sounds great. I'm going to read it back to you now and see how you feel about your menu. You would like. Yeah.

I'm going to put a little bit of apple juice in there for you. Oh, thank you very much. You're like hullabred for your poplar bread. Starter, pumpkin soup with roasted pumpkin seeds. I feel like we didn't talk enough about that. We didn't know. Can I quickly ask, would you like it served in a big pumpkin? Absolutely not.

No. That's a no to that. No. It's gone so well up until that point. No. Awful. Main course, thanks for dinner. You got turkey, sweet potatoes, roast potatoes, green beans.

Perlin, grattan. I want that. Green glass, jello, both types of stuffing, gravy. drink. Oh, G-Spot, of course. Dessert. Panatoni bread pudding with hot custard. Oh, delicious. I mean, I think I'm most excited about that dessert, but that's so at my street. Yeah. It's unreal. Very excited. I think that's a great menu.

Well, thank you. I do. Yeah. I felt it's making me very hungry. And my initial reaction to the green glass yellow was that that would be horrible, but I do actually want to try it. I really want to try it. So I'm intrigued by that. So if I sent you the recipe, would you make it? Benito will make it. Benito will make it and and bring it in and you guys can try it together. We'll try it with the guests that we have in that day.

Okay. Yeah. If any listeners tweet the podcast and say like, hey Mr. Benito, can I have some green glass jello and patrito? Yeah. You'll make it for them. Amazing. Send it to their house.

Love it. I genuinely will make it if you send a recipe. Okay. I will. I will send a recipe. Deal. Gillian, thank you so much for coming into the dream restaurant. Thank you for having me.

Jillian. Well, there we are, James, the wonderful Gillian Anderson. Wow, wee. What a pleasure it was to meet, Gillian Anderson. And, I mean, so many things in there. I've never heard of the green glass jello. The Benito's going to make for everybody. That's very exciting. It does sound disgusting, though. Yes, but I will eat it. Yes.

But you have to eat it with a savoury meal. You have to eat it with those things. Yeah, I understand. Yeah, separate. I imagine it's quite nice if you have it as a dessert, but the issue with it is you're having it with gravy. Yeah, yeah. So you've got to have it with gravy, so Benito, you've got to make some gravy.

You got to make some gravy, Benito. I understand all the rules. Oh, dear me, that was me picking my phone up. It sounded like a fart. The rubber case of my phone dragged across the wood. It's because I have to look at my phone to recite the secret ingredient which Gillian did not pick. Yes. Which is non-fat to tofu tea, rice dreamsicle from season six.

Yes. of X-Viles, the unnatural. And Tron Ares, not Tron Arse, is out in cinemas on the 10th of October. Trespasses, forgive us those who trespers against us. Yes, please. We'll air in November on Channel 4. And you can buy G-Spot drinks at stores nationwide, including Sainsbury's, or online at this is g-spot.com.

Careful when you're typing that in. And you can watch this episode on YouTube from tomorrow. Look, listen to it and then watch it for all the little nuances. If you watch it on YouTube, be careful, because that thing is addictive, and you can end up on there for a long time. watching God knows what else I won't even tell you what videos are which you won't be able to guess

because I'm presuming Benito's going to edit that out of the episode so I don't look like a weirdo Things to enjoy on the YouTube video Gillian's noise where she rotated her head a lot Gillian's impression of James Yes

And also how uncomfortable it looks when she brought up her sex book Yeah yeah Ed really didn't When I was asking questions about the sex book Oh no I didn't mind at that point It's when she brought it up And she was looking me right in the eye and she was talking about her sexual fantasy book.

And then you were scared. Not scared. Uncomfortable. Yeah, you seemed like you wanted the conversation around pretty quickly. I didn't think the book was going to come up. We're already talking about a drink called G-Spot. That was enough circling around the netheres for me. Oh, I'm touring Europe in November.

So if you live in, you know, your Denmark's, your Netherlands, your Portugal, weirdly. Circling around the Netherlands? Circling around the Netherlands. Yeah, I'm doing Lisbon. I'm doing Rotterdam, I'm doing Amsterdam, I'm doing Oslo, I'm doing Bergen, I'm doing Gibraltar, never knewer. Always funny. Yeah. Always funny.

And you can go to agamble.com.com. UK for tickets. I'm also touring America next year in February. Absolutely fantastic. And then, of course, got to come back because we're doing bloody off-menu at the Royal Albert Hall. Oh, yeah. It's over. It's not the way we're struggling to sell tickets for that.

Can't give him away. How many shows we're doing, Benito? We're doing six Royal Out of the Hall shows, James, and we just put the last one on sale. Yep. We're trying to get bums on seats. We sold 22,000 tickets. It's over.

We're trying to get bums on seats because everyone's giving us a bloody standing ovation. Sit down. Put your trons on the seat. Brilliant. Thanks. It's best in the biz.

Well, there we are, James. Thanks again, everyone for listening. Thanks to Gillian Anderson. Thank you, Gillian. Let's all raise a G-spot. And we'll see you next time. See next time.