Off The Telly - Ultimate TV Huns with Hunsnet aka Gareth Howells

Episode Date: November 15, 2024

In this bonus episode Nat and Jo hear from listeners about their ultimate TV Huns. We're talking Pam from Gavin and Stacey, Gemma Collins, Jane McDonald and Nat Cass herself! The girls also chat to Hunsnet aka Gareth Howells who's an expert in the Hun field and helps Jo finally pin down what a Hun actually is and how she could be one.Natalie Cassidy and Joanna Page chat about all things on and off the telly. What they can’t stop watching, what they definitely aren’t going to bother with, new releases and comforting classics – TV is timeless and no telly is out of bounds. As well as having a natter about what’s on TV, they share backstage goss from the world of telly, whilst also cracking up about the more humbling moments in their lives. Self-confessed TV addicts and stars of two of the biggest shows on our screens, EastEnders and Gavin and Stacey, Natalie and Joanna are the perfect companions to see what’s occurring on and off the telly.Get in touch by sending us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to 03306 784704.Hosts: Natalie Cassidy and Joanna Page Producer: Georgia Keating Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts Production Co-ordinator: Becky Carewe-Jeffries Sounds Editor: Arlie Adlington Music by MCassoOff The Telly is a BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Sounds.

So we are finally here to talk about the ultimate Huns. Yes, not the tall, blonde German men that I've got in my mind. Not those. The proper Huns now. I have, in my research for this show, I have now, I think, discovered what a Hun is. Well, before you go into that, people last week could not believe that you didn't know what a Hun was.

Genuinely, they couldn't believe it because it's so out there and so iconic. So, have a little listen to this. Love, love, love the podcast. It's so iconic. So have a little listen to this. Love, love, love the podcast. It's so funny. But I can't believe that Jo doesn't know what a hun is and I realise why. Because surely Stacey is the princess of huns,

but the queen of huns has got to be Pam, Gavin's mother, and Gavin and Stacey. Discuss. That's so exciting to hear. Do you think Stacey is a princess of hands? She is such a hun. Really? Just her fashion.

When you go right back to the early... Yes, first series, there's like a green, you know, sort of like tight jumper and there's like a short tweed skirt. Oh, honestly. And then like knee-high boots and stuff. And my hair in the first series. Your hair is so hun. Yes. Really, really is. Oh, my God. And like the knee-high boots and stuff. And my hair in the first series. And your hair is so Han. Yes.

Really, really is. Oh, my God. And like the hen party and all of that. I think that's quite Han-ish. Yeah. Very much so. But Pam is. She is ultimate Han, isn't she?

Everything about her is iconic. Oh, my God. I love this. This is lovely, isn't it? Yeah. It's just fun. Yeah. That's what Hans are.

Yeah. Good old-fashioned fun. No moaning, a little bit taking the piss out of yourself. Yeah. You know, you don't take life too seriously. Yeah. That's what it's about. I like it.

Now, to make sure that you really know what a Hun is, we are going to talk to Gareth Howes, the creator of Hunsnet. We're going to ring him now and he is going to explain everything to you. This is massive. I'm excited. If you don't know what a hun is after talking to Gareth, I give up. You ready? Yes.

Right, let's have a chat with him. Hi, Huns. Hi, Hun. G gareth how are you i'm very good i'm very pleased to be on here and i i um i just posted i wanted to do to kind of solidify my thoughts on huns i've just posted a meme about you nat um about you going on big brother okay in 2012 and I was like what did I write I put I hope the person who um did Nat Cass's uh music Big Brother in 2012 is having a really nice life and like this is how popular you are in the hun world because it's been online for like 40 minutes and it's been shared like eight with like 80,000 views,

1,600 likes. It's a hun icon, ladies and gentlemen. Oh, my God. Will you explain to me exactly what a hun is? Because I think I know now, but I've never heard of it before. No, and for me, it's difficult being a hun. And I kind of think I know what it is, but we need to go to the top of the tree here yes

and gareth undercover yeah we're undercovering and gareth you need to tell joe and me really like for basics for someone who's never heard of it what is a hun all right so i would say and bear in mind that you know i this world and this is my world day to day the high version of hun so everybody's got their own version this is my version of it so i would say like hun culture is like a basically a celebration of everything unfiltered genuine and a bit camp um it's those who embrace the highs and lows of life with humor nostalgia touch a glam um people who love hun culture they love 90s and noughties reality tv and pop culture moments so gavin and stacy been a huge part of that so joe you're definitely in this world whether you like it or not oh my god that's amazing and yeah people who like like the

old old school tunes drinking prosecco and just celebrating like even like the most tragic moments but making them magic and just living living loving and laughing just through everyday life really it is live live laugh love yes it is very much live laugh love and it's you know people are like a greg sausage roll and you're like that actually is my life see interestingly i think when i was younger i was more of a hum which is what i feel, interestingly, I think when I was younger, I was more of a hun, which is what I feel. You use all the stuff when I was younger. Because I feel like now, if I had a bottle of Sancerre on the go,

and I had a very sort of slim gin glass, I don't qualify. I don't think you do. I still qualify, don't I, in the way I chat and the way I am. What do you think, Gareth? Nat, you are, if I had a Hun dictionary in front of me and I opened it up, you would be there now. One of the things you said on lockdown, I quote all the time, well, you're in lockdown and you probably don't even remember.

Come on. You said in lockdown, you were like, is anybody in the mood to go out? And I'd go out for a nice a moose boosh nice bottle of wine yeah lovely and you you put that on your story's age i sound like a stalker but i say this day-to-day life like all these years on it's it's about those like iconic and it's about like celebrating like just really ordinary things i mean like people you know we used to love the cut you know we were told we need to love the kardashians and all of

that glamorous lifestyle but the huns the huns don't want all that they want to celebrate you know normal normal things that are relatable and just popping down to primark and getting jeans and a nice top yes exactly it's very primark jeans and a nice top it's nat cass on the way to um boots with a meal deal in a bag it's gavin and stacy quotes that people weave into their day-to-day life it's just like about and you mentioned it in the pods when you were speaking about this the other week it's just about celebrating more often than not iconic women in iconic situations do could i be a hen because at christmas time i do like a bottle of asti spermante and i like snowballs and i like ferreira roches and toffefies and i like fancy dress does that count well i think it counts

because three of those things you can buy in a news agent andagent food is totally hun so if you get oh my god if you find yourself down the newsagents buying a bottle of asti spumante with a pot of ferrero rocher sat in watching strictly on a saturday night that is me that is me there you go i'm not even joking i mean i well this weekend i what was i drinking i was i had like the big goblet for gin and tonics i had a pink a double pink gin and tonic uh this weekend i was watching strictly i was eating um cheesy puffs which kind of annoyed me because james didn't go and get like watsits he just got like cheesy puffs and they were like really cheesy and then i was eating some chocolate does that count well now i'll let you do you think that counts i'd like to know what what was the attire oh oh you like this go on my onesie that

i don't wash now you see that is not pun like really i would have should i've been done up a bit better no you just can't have a dirty onesie really yeah did you have fluffy slippers on though i didn't know i was wearing crocs maybe a little work needle there then, but I think you're definitely on the way. You're getting there slowly. The cheesy puffs and a double pink jean. Yeah.

It's perfect. Do I need to be a bit glammed up a bit more? It's not so much glam, but kind of a pair of pyjamas maybe. For instance, I would say... Matchy matchy. Matchy matchy. Or I've got a T-shirt that's... You know those...

What's the bloody phrase? Hang on, help me. Oh, what is it? Live, laugh, love? No, not live, laugh, love. I can't think of it. What's it about? It's really annoying.

Is it about life? Is it about life? It's about enjoyment. It's like, don't panic, do this. What am I thinking of? Like, keep calm and carry on sort of thing. Thank you. Thank you.

Yes. Oh, my God. I know, I just couldn't think of it. Don't panic, do this. I think I'm going to get that phrase off. Keep calm and carry on. And I've got, I wear a pair of little leggings and I've got a big baggy T-shirt that says,

keep calm, carry on watching EastEnders. Oh, that's good. I like that very much. Do you have any mugs with any like quotes on or anything like that? No, I've got loads of mugs though of my children's faces. I have actually got mugs that I've sent to James saying, make me my breakfast. You're sexy. Things like that.

But I don't have any quote ones. No. I've got room to grow, haven't I? I've got room to grow with this. Have you got any Yankee candles? No, I don't have a Yankee candle now, but I do have like cowboy boots. Cowboy boots, yeah.

Yeah, they've come into fashion. I'll tell you what, back in the day, Jo, did you have like gypsy skirts um god yes and gladiator belt yes and also I used to wear you know like those little handkerchief things so you just have a triangle just across your bust and you tie it at the back so it's like you're wearing a napkin just around so you'd be backless but it was tied and it was just literally like a little triangle I'd wear that with like a gypsy skirt and like little boots and then I would have like a studded belt.

And you're walking around thinking you're Sienna Miller, right? Obviously, yes, definitely. In Swansea, in Ritzies or Downsenders. The thing is, Jo, I'm from Pontypool in Wales, so I know what it's like walking around in a gypsy skirt and gladiator belt in the valleys of South Wales and getting pontypl Wales back in the day. Who would you say is your most iconic hun?

Well, I'm not just saying this because one of them happens to be on this podcast right now, but Natalie Cassidy, a.k.a. Nat Cass, is like, honestly, the of like love that people have from like the culture community for for now is is just off the scale like another part of it is we you know and you say this quite a lot in in interviews I've seen um um that is that people have grown up with you they feel like that they know you much you're familiar to them so like when you pick up your your your social media and you know and you're talking to the camera it feels like you're talking to an old friend because we've been there through through you know we feel like we've been there through every part of your life and you've had some really iconic moments that can be turned into memes you know like this this

the Sonia scene where you're giving birth can be used in memes in so many different contexts that isn't about giving birth. Do you know what I mean? It's just brilliant. One of my favourite things, and I don't know if it was, it was definitely a hun thing, I'm sure. It was just a picture of me that I'd popped up on Instagram on a Sunday morning in pyjamas. It's me in bed.

Yeah. And it says something like, me going to bed really early on a sunday morning checking out what everybody's deleting hun you know like those yeah i use that i use that every like november the first after halloween judging everyone's halloween outlooks and it's you with a cup of tea yeah um yeah it's brilliant and and yeah like yeah it's just all of these like it's it's celebrities um who are not afraid to be unfiltered and and it's not all about being glam all the time you know we love it when the celebrities are really glam but we also

want to see you in bed with a quote mug on a sunday morning judging people what they've done before it's you know, it speaks a draft. I have to say that I think up there for me has to be Gemma Collins. Yes, she's got to be, isn't she? She's got the quotes. And I think anybody who's got quotes that people remember, and I think a whole part of this Hun culture thing is taking those quotes that people say um on on reality show and on tv and then putting them into your own life and in different contexts so like you know whenever i'm in a

situation that i don't want to be in i immediately think in my head get that far exit door i'm off i get it what did diane do from The Traitors to become such a hun? Yeah. That needs to be studied because she, it's just, I think people, you know, you've got to remember The Traitors is on in the middle of winter. You know, we've all just had Christmas and we want somebody to root for.

And I think that she came on with her iconic, you know, ginger bob. She was, you know, she suffered no fools. She had a great quote. Paul's not my son, but Ross is. And when people sort of lodge onto a quote, it's that, you know, if you've got a quote that sticks in people's minds, it's like a hun bomb going off. That's why Gavin and stacy is such a

huge part of it you know because all the things that pam says oh it's pam a hun oh huge i wrote a book and i and in the book there's like i categorize like who like who these different huns are because there's loads of different versions of huns you could be like a literal hun and you know have a level of laugh photos. You can be like a literal hun and, you know, have a live, love, laugh photo frame, or you can be like somebody who just celebrates the culture or lives like through other huns. But I think what, on Gavin and Stacey, for me, she embodies like the hun mum.

So if your mum's a hun, she's definitely like got her pasms about her. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Oh my Christ. Oh yeah. oh my christ oh yeah oh my christ michael this is like a fever this is like a hun fever dream for me today oh my god it's amazing well i'm so excited now to be in this world and seeing videos that like I'm watching stuff now that's like really really making me laugh like I was watching going through so much stuff on Instagram Alison Hammond

dancing with Aliash on Strictly and then she's in hysterics and her sleeve is just like going all over him and I was like oh my god that's so good Gemma Collins on Big Brother talking to Tiffany and saying that you've got to learn how to make a cup of tea for everybody and how important a cup of tea is I mean Gemma Collins just like full stop Alison is a massive hun though is she oh my god massive brilliant absolutely and the thing is as well underneath all of this you know I've got a question for you actually Nat what what did you feel like when you started seeing yourself on pages like this did Did you immediately get it, like the sentiment? Immediately. Yeah.

Absolutely. As soon as I saw it, I just felt honoured. And I've always said that and I mean it. Because I think I, because I just love a bit of camp and I just embrace that world anyway. I just feel really honoured to be on those pages. And I think, you know, once you've been on Albert Square with a peach bridesmaid dress and a trumpet,

there's no way of getting away from it, really. The other thing I would say as well, like, if once you're, you know, sort of in this world, one of those huns that are on these pages, people like you... Honestly, Nat, if you called me up tomorrow and you said, do you know, if I've just knocked somebody over and I don't want to go to the police about it, I'd be like, right, how deep do you want them buried, Nat?

I was joking. I don't want to kill anybody. No, of course, please. You know I don't like true crime thrillers. We're not going there. It is such an interesting subject and I'm absolutely so proud to be a part of it all. Really, I am. I've just looked back at our Instagram messages, Gareth,

and I asked you about a hum brunch ages ago, and then you sent me the dates and I didn't get back to you. How rude. You know, you check through. Yes. Well, I tell you what, you girls, because huns love a bottomless brunch. Have you ever been to a bottomless brunch, Jo? No, I haven't.

And I was looking at all of the things, all of the videos, and it was saying about Huns going for bottomless brunches. And I thought, I've never been to a bottomless brunch. Well. I have. Have you? Do you just get to drink and drink and drink? Yeah.

Drink, drink. Right, OK, so picture the scene. Bottomless Prosecco, drag queens, all the hits from the 90s and noughties, Random Prizes, Hun Bingo. Unbelievable. Oh, my God. This is really good. Where do we go to do it?

It doesn't. Oh, my God. Can we go? Yes. Yeah, you must come. So what I'll do now is I'll send you the dates again. Please do. And I will bring Joe and we will sort it out this time for sure.

Oh, definitely. And we can get Piddled on Prosecco and pop our pussies to Cascada. Sounds perfect. Oh, my God. That sounds amazing. Brilliant. Well, thank you for all of your time. Thank you. Thank you for having me. And you know what? You girls are just amazing. The Hun world loves you. I love you.

We just want you to do well oh bless you and you're doing so well so the same right back at you thank you so much gareth bye girlies bye lovely bye hun bye oh he's so lovely yeah isn't he lovely i've never spoke to him on the phone yeah message every now and again you know so how did you first like you know get to meet and how did you first start messaging i just saw a post that he'd put up about me and i replied with a heart or whatever and he and then he just said oh love you hon and i said oh thank you so much and you know you just kind of know who gareth is if you're if you're a hon yes you just do gareth's you know well i've now entered into this world. Victoria Beckham is a hun, but when she had like the short blonde,

like, pub that it was called. When her and David dressed the same. Then she was a hun. Ultimate. Oh, wow. Yeah. But she's far too classy now. Right.

And she's a fashionista. She's done amazingly well. I mean, I think you would always look at her fondly in the hun community, but she's just too glam now mean I think you would always look at her fondly yes in the hun community but she's just too glam now too glam now

yeah back in the day she's made it a little bit too much to be there right right you've got to be a bit

middle of the road right I just want to keep sending you videos now on Instagram going is this a hun is this a hun that's fine

you can do that I don't mind at all joe now you know all about huns you've completed the course have a little listen to this message from our listener i'm sending in a voice note for your huns bonus episode because i have got three options and i hope you agree with me also Also, Jo, you're going to love this. The Real Housewives of London has just been announced, and it's coming out late 2025. I know, Nat, that you're not into anything like that,

but get yourself on it, because that would just be... Oh, my God, I wonder what women they've got on it. So, yeah, Hans, basically, right? I've got to start off with someone who I look up to in many ways, someone I love, adore, and just, I don't know, in some way just brings me to tears every time I see her, and that is Hannah Waddingham. I don't know what it is about her.

It's just her acting, her singing, it's just her presence. She's amazing. Also, Miranda Hart. I don't know what it is about Miranda Hart, but also another star I've always looked up to. Her quirks, her charisma, and the way she presents herself is just, you know, don't give a fuck attitude. And my other one, obviously, is, I hope nobody said this yet, but it's got to be the iconic Letitia Dean who plays Sharon Watts in EastEnders I mean come on it goes without saying it's Sharon Watts she shagged everyone

on the square she's even gone for Keanu and that says something no I love Tani Walters but um yeah those are my hun uh ideal opinions. I absolutely love them. I saw a video of Sharon earlier on when she was in the dock and then she said, I will not be slut-shamed by that man. And it was brilliant. It was brilliant. My favourite Sharon line, I mean, there are so many. Yeah. She is so iconic because, again,

of these lines that you remember. Yeah. But she had a line and she played it so seriously and she said, My son is in the kitchen eating a biscuit. Oh, my God. Iconic. That is iconic. She's iconic. Who else did he say? Now, Hannah Waddingham. Hannahconic. That is iconic.

She's iconic. Who else did he say? Now, Hannah Waddingham for me. Yeah. Just for me, because, again, it is personal. This is what's lovely about the Hun community. You can go for whoever you want, you know. Yes.

But for me, she's too glam. You think so, yeah. Yeah, she's far too glam. I can see where he's coming from, because I can see she's got the qualities, but then she is so beautifully glam and just really like... But the things she says is brilliant because she is very normal and her attitude's very Hun-like. Yeah.

So, yeah, you can see both ways. Yeah. What about Jane MacDonald? Is she a Hun? Yes, she is. Because I lived in her house for a bit in Wakefield. Oh, I remember you saying about staying at Jane Macdonald's house. I can't wait to hear about this.

When my James was in Emmerdale, we rented her house. No. Yes, and I was very excited. I can now say I've slept in a hadnim's bed. Yes, you have. Did she have photo frames with words all on? Phrases on? God, I don't know.

I can't remember. No. I can't remember. Mugs with phrases on? No, I can't remember. Oh, my God. No, I can't remember. But she is absolutely...

Yeah, she is. Looks amazing. And her show, The Cruises, she goes on. And I hold her... You know when Jane MacDonald's show started, and I remember on the first episode I saw, and then I think she started going into a George Michael song, and I was like, oh, my God, my mind is blown. I'm not quite sure and I hold her. You know when Jane Macdonald's show started, and I remember on the first episode I saw, and then I think she started going into a George Michael song, and I was like, oh, my God, my mind is blown.

I'm not quite sure what I'm watching here. This is incredible. This is just amazing. That is perfect, hadn't it? Yes, it is. Very much so. But Jane Macdonald, you're onto something. She's huge in the Hun community.

Very, very, very good. Let's see another favourite hun of our listener. I have actually got a little voice note here all about Pam. So a bit like Jo, I wasn't entirely sure what huns were, but I think, thank you, Nat, for your explanation, I think I have identified the hun of all huns, which is the one and only Pamela Shipman, nay, Wiglaczewska.

And I think we all have a real-life Pam in our lives. And yeah, surely she's the absolute epitome of the huns. So it's the glass of wine. It's calling Mick all the time. Yeah. It's pretending to be a vegetarian when you're not one. Her hair is always... Perfect.

Yeah. And sometimes even if she's in a tracksuit, like I think I've seen her in a pink velour sort of tracksuit, but it's always... But it's always presentable. Yes, always. She's got to be presentable. Yeah.

Or what about, there's a scene where she comes in with like karate, like a karate white outfit on. Because I'm sure she's done judo or karate lessons. I don't remember. And I think she comes in wearing one of those, but it's quite stylish the way she's wearing it. That is like perfect Han, isn't it? Very, very good.

Up for a laugh. Oh my God. But yeah, Pam is perfect Han, isn't she? Yeah, everything about her. Her voice is the epitome of hun. God. Wow. There's this whole world that I didn't know existed.

My mum was a bit of a hun. Was she? When I think back, she used to talk a little bit like that. Did she really? Yeah, a little bit. Michael? Yeah. Mum had a bit of a Charles you're right

Charles you're right won't we do it and she always had jewelry on yeah always very well turned out so I think my mum would have and she used to use a baby pram to put the food shopping in a mall cup chapel market didn't care who knew it yes If it was heavy shopping, she'd use a pram. Oh, my God. And put all the shopping in it. Wouldn't care less. That's brilliant. So she was a massive hand, my mum.

I love it. I love it. I just want to go now and just find all of the hands. I know. And all of the quotes and stuff. Yeah. I love it. Brilliant.

Thank you for introducing me into this new world. That's all right. It's my absolute pleasure. And we can share a little glass of prosecco at some point yes although i can't drink loads of prosecco i can at a bottomless brunch i'll have terrible acid what will you have instead a white wine or a gin and tonic oh god i can't have a white wine that'll give me acid i can have a pink gin and tonic and I can have Asti, Snowballs, Prosecco. Basically anything sweet and sugary. Fine. Yeah.

We'll work it out, the alcohol intake. It'll be fine. We'll be all right. Yeah. Well, that's it for another bonus episode of Off The Telly, What Shall We Watch? Thank you all so much for sending us all your voice notes. I loved that episode.

It was good. Do you think that was our best one yet? Best bonus. Yeah. Yeah, I'm going best bonus. Oh, I like that. How can we follow that? Yeah, what are we going to do now?

Well, we've had a little think and we haven't spoken that much about period dramas lately we haven't what do you think we haven't and we've not really talked about our favorite ones or ones from the past or ones that we've loved before we haven't because we've only really talked about bridgerton really and what's going on like right now but the old school yes yeah. Jane Austen's. Mr Darcy. Yeah. Men riding along on horses. We've also got a new series of Wolf Hall coming up. Now, I've not seen any of that, have you? Oh, my God.

I loved it. I love every second of it. Really? Was it good? Yes. Very dark and very slow. Oh, God. Right up my street.

Really, really good. Oh, my God. Do I have to watch any of the other ones before I watch this one? Oh, well, I basically know because is it real life history? Yes. Right. Where are we in history then for the next one? Oh, I can't remember yet.

I can't remember where we are. I might dip into it. But it's Cromwell. I think you should dip into it. I'll dip into it. Mark Rylance. We're going to do period dramas next. Mark Rylance.

Fantastic. Well, I'm looking forward to that one then. So, send us a voice note on WhatsApp all about your favourite period dramas. The number is 03306 784 704. Oh, that'll be a good one. It will, won't it? Yeah, it will.

Thank you for listening and we will be back next week. See you next week. Bye darling. Bye. Bye. The producer is Georgia Keating. The commissioning editor is Rhian Roberts and it's a BBC Studios audio production for BBC Sounds. I'm Hannah Fry. And I'm Dara O'Brien. And in the all-new series of Curious Cases, things are getting curiouser and curiouser.

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