Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe's Parenting Hell - Now That's What I Call Parenting Hell... Volume 15

Episode Date: November 8, 2024

As we take a very short break for the autumn half term - here’s a selection of some of our favourite chats about (mostly) parenting misadventures with previous guests…  Episode Playlist: S7 EP32: Kevin Bridges S7 EP34: Scarlett Moffatt S5 EP30: Simon Gregson S7 EP26: James and Clair Buckley S6 EP24: Fin Taylor If you want to get in touch with the show with any correspondence, kids intro audio clips, small business shout outs, and more.... here's how: EMAIL: [e-mail] INSTAGRAM: @parentinghell Parenting Hell is a Spotify Podcast, available free everywhere every Tuesday and Friday.  Join the mailing list to be first to hear about live show dates and tickets, Parenting Hell merch and any other exciting news... MAILING LIST: parentinghellpodcast.mailchimpsites.com A 'Keep It Light Media' Production  Sales, advertising, and general enquiries: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, I'm Rob Beckett. Hello, I'm Josh Willicombe. Welcome to Parenting Hell, the show in which Josh and I discuss what it's really like to be a parent, which I would say can be a little tricky. So to make ourselves and hopefully you feel better about the trials and tribulations of modern day parenting, each week we'll be chatting to a famous parent about how they're coping. Or hopefully how they're not coping.

And we'll also be hearing from you, the listener, with your tips, advice, and of course, tales of parenting woe. Because let's be honest, there are plenty of times when none of us know what we're doing. ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] Red One. We're coming at you.

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Chris Evans. It might just go back to the car. Let's save Christmas. I'm not gonna say that. Say it. All right. Let's save Christmas. There it is.

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And I'm Josh Whitacombecomb and you're listening to now. That's what I call parenting hell. Kevin Bridges. We are honored to have you on the show an old friend colleague. You don't do much. What's going on Kevin? We've managed to get you. You done me a favor man.

Member of the two of you signed a book for my wife's book. Oh, yes. She's a massive fan. I should actually say hello. I should say a wee shout out to Hayley. Big up Hayley. I think it should be a bit suffocated, but I don't mean I'm doing you guys a favour coming on. No, I'll be honest with you.

You really are. Yeah. I've seen everybody's got a podcast, haven't they? Well, yeah. I think I'm maybe the only comedian that's not got a podcast. You and Limy should do one. Everyone in Scotland would listen if you and Limey did a podcast. Aye, that's highly inflammatory content, I would say. Yeah, that's highly cancelable.

He could have invented online comedy though, didn't he? So he's got that in his favour, but no. I never thought I'd be doing except in a gig at eight in the morning. This is mental. It's 8am. This is mental, it's eight AM. This is what time it is, we should get that across. Yeah, it's eight AM and we started late because my laptop had no charge. Yeah. Because I come back from holiday and I've been working.

So Josh, you had something wrong with the nursery or something? Let's not let it bleed into the interview, Rob. Let's not let- No, let's keep it upbeat. It's eight AM. My reason for being late, I was like, I don't know, both of you get dogs? Yes, I've got two dogs now, yeah.

I've been ten years in the dog game and this is the time of the year that when your dog does a shit or whatever you want to call it in the morning, in early November in the autumnal foliage, it's really difficult to locate it, so I was like, about five minutes. I've seen her squat and I've never seen her, and I was like about five minutes I've seen her squat and I never seen I was like where is it man you're just trying to find that shit and all these leaves so that was my excuse for being sick. That was why you was a bit late I mean do you know what it makes you really appreciate dog shit in summer. Does it? You can just see it on that green grass like a beacon of hope yeah that's the shit get it in the bin let's crack on. That's how I managed to locate it it's not quite cold enough yet to see the steam. December, January, it's easy to find. Yeah.

This is easily the most difficult month to locate a dog shite, is November. Especially after it's been stormy and windy down south. So when the leaves are everywhere, you've got no chance of finding a shit. But we should actually mention this under the weather, shouldn't we? Yeah. Martin just told you the pollen count and the humidity. So how many weeks have you got where it's bad dog shit weather? Speaking as someone who's not in the dog game.

Pretty much as soon as the clocks change, I would say, man. Right, okay, yeah. You've got a proper dog though. You've got like a Labrador type dog. That's right, yes. I've got Whippets, so they're proper dogs, but they hate going outside when it's cold and wet and rainy. So they'll do everything they can to hide a shit somewhere in the house. Do you need to put a jacket on them? A coat?

Oh yeah I know but if you open the door for them to go they'll try and get rid of it early doors before they go and they don't want to be outside at all. With jacket, no jacket. So that's the danger of it. But yeah they've done a shit outside today which is good so that's one pro. Let's focus on children Rob. Let's focus on children. Sean Walsh and Jack Deedoo dogs. Well, that's first thing I noticed when my son Liam was born, is how much your morning is shit, innit?

But you've got the dog. Yeah. You've got a couple and a half weeks during the night and then you've got, by the time half seven in the morning comes, you've probably dealt with like four shits. None of them belong to yourself. That can be the segue into the kids and a shit segue.

How old's your son, Kev? He is two, just turned two. It's quite good you can just say two because I'm getting fed up. That was a difficult, having to say months. Constantly, it's in your head. You've got the year, then you've got 18 months, but it's in between, but oh, he's 19 months.

So I'm quite good, we're just now around number. So you could probably hear him this is his room I should mention. Oh I didn't know if it was a kids room or if he was a Hindu elephants everywhere. It's getting changed because this is his baby theme so we're going to get it kind of put into him our young father team but I'm in his room so I actually get cut into this wee section this was originally my office kind of room and then I've just been put in this wee corner. So basically, he might rampage around at some point and interrupt this. Yeah, I'm in the corner of the house. You sort of get pushed to the side once the kid

comes along. Everywhere that was your area slowly slips away. So is this your office now? This is my office. I never thought I'd be a guy who had an office because he even says daddy office, daddy office. I don't know if he'd call it an office. No, it's called your child's bedroom. I've seeded the land to him. So. Because in my head, obviously, I mean, we were talking before we started that we all slightly feel like we're old now. Because it doesn't feel that long ago that you were, you weren't 17 on Macintyre's Roadshow. How old were you when you did Macintyre's Roadshow?

That was 2009, 22. 20,000 and 90s. Yeah, so you broke through, because we're the same age. I think Josh, you're a couple of years older, but you're 37, 38 Kev, is that right? 37, that's one thing. We're the same age. I remember starting comedy at like 23 or something like that. And you were already like on MacIntyre's road show

and doing all this stuff. And I was just thinking, how is he dealing with all this at that age? Cause I was struggling to do like five minutes, open spots in pubs. And you were like, your rise was massive. I don't know if I could have handled that if it was to happen right now.

Cause you overthink it. I think when you're that young, you're just enjoying it. The pressure side doesn't quite take over. Doing live at the Apollo, but you're not really thinking about it as like a big thing. Obviously, at that age, you're just kind of going, this is amazing, you're living the dream almost.

And then I think if it was to happen right now, I'd be like, oh my God, there's TV execs coming to watch the show tonight, and you'd start kind of- Panicking about it. I'm grateful that I've done it at that time but aye, it is 20 years I've done standard. Bloody hell. February next year will be my comedy birthday. It feels mad saying that on stage. 20 years. You've been doing comedy longer than you've not been doing it.

Aye, that's it. I started just turned 17. Like a kid, like a baby and it's only when you have kids you're sort of like, that's only 15 years away from Liam. He's such a baby at 17. The proper kid still at the time you feel grown up but you were a baby and it's only when you have kids you're sort of like, it's only 15 years away from Liam, he's such a baby at 17, the proper kid still, at the time you feel grown up, but you're a baby, didn't your parents used to drive you to and from the gigs and stuff like that? No, my dad took me up to my first gig, first open spot and then it just became me and his kind of thing. He would drive me all over Scotland playing these pubs and I would just be trying to get as many gigs as possible and then there would be some kind of nicer places we would go. We would be kind of east of the towns and my dad

would go, oh I should bring your mum, she'd love it here. Then she'd come and my mum would go, oh the next time you should bring your uncle George and Auntie Maureen and it'd be like, jeez how many people am I taking here? But the gigs are like at the start, like there's kind of single figure audiences and then you've brought fucking half the audience yourself and then you're performing to your auntie and your uncle and then a lot of your material when you're 17 is about very master butery. So you're-

I've never heard it called that before. You're so rigid and scripted that you don't know how to drop your wanking bit. So your auntie and your mum are in front rowing. So it was all that kind of learning process. Is that why you had such a good one on Comedy Roadshow? It was just all your family, the whole audience, it was just pure bridges.

When did you start? Just because we... I started 2008. By second till you'd done a lot of the supports. Yeah, God, that was years ago. That's when you probably would have gone for a drink after the gig. Yes. Now have you found your lifestyle has completely changed in the last two years? I had a gig last night, my mate got a new material night in Glasgow.

So I popped up to that. And after the gig, as soon as I came off stage, I was like, I was staying for a pint. I was like, you fucking nuts. Like, back in the day, obviously you'd be staying for a bit. That same way, you need to kind of readjust your whole, is it your circadian clock or whatever, like school, and then a bullshit college course, and then stand up.

It's the most nocturnal of lifestyles, that you've ever known as late nights, and having your dinner at one in the morning, and suddenly you're up, it's pretty military, like no, it's like five, six in the morning or whatever, but my wife, I mean, she does a lot. I should obviously credit her like we should. Can I just take, this is from nursery.

I've just got a call from nursery. Can I take, I know that's bad. I'm so sorry. Yeah, no, you can take it. That's the beauty about this podcast is the perfect one. If you just have to run off and take a call about your kid's childcare. I think it'd be bad if he just ignored it on the podcast.

I've got a call for nursery, but I'm doing a podcast. I think that was the first one. He's trying to get the kid into nursery. I imagine if his kid was in nursery and they rung, he'd swerve it and let them have him for another hour. Sorry, I thought that's what was happening. I think the babysitter is ill, can't turn up. So he's trying to get his boy into nursery for the day.

Cause that's the thing though, your world, when they go to nursery and school, is he in nursery yet, Liam? He's just started going twice a week. he was going on a Friday and now he's... Yes! Got him into nursery. He's saying that as if it's Harvard or something. Yeah!

He's been accepted into nursery, yes! He's got the grades. He's got the grades. He's managed to build a wooden train set. Good stuff. Sorry Kev. I'm so sorry, that's the most unprofessional thing I've ever done. So we were just saying about being unprofessional as a parent if you just ignored the nursery call. I never knew it was that. Just to get put in the nursery. I thought it was actually your

nursery calling about something that was up by the kid or whatever. So Liam's in twice a week now. How was that dropping him off? Was he all right with it? No. So, Liam's in twice a week now. How was that dropping him off? Was he all right with it? Initially, see, I used to like chase, I vaguely remember this, right? When I went to nursery, my mum said I used to like hate it,

like I would look proper, had meltdowns every single morning. And I kind of carried that on into the first few years at school. So, when I first took him, Liam is the only child. My brother has not got any kids and Kerry's the only child. So he's, Liam's the only child and the only grandchild. So he's not going to be surrounded by any kids growing up,

really. So we better put him in a nursery at least once. When he turned one, we put him in once a week. And I was kind of nervous about taking him because I was like, what if he was just another me? To be, was only one and I think I went to nursery when I was like three or something. He just went right in absolutely no problem at all and then the next few times he gets a bit upset. I think if we take him away somewhere, if I'm going down to London and we take him or we go on holiday and he misses a few weeks then he can get back.

Because are you taking him to gigs and stuff because you've just finished a sort of massive UK tour haven't you? Because you've just finished a sort of massive UK tour, haven't you? Cause you've done your tour in the UK and you filmed it and you're going off to Australia next week, but you released it in the cinema. We should mention this as well. This is mad.

Your tour is going in cinemas in the UK and Ireland. Is that right? I saw, I finished the UK tour and then I was going to just leave it based on a bit of family stuff happened at the start of the year. So we never got to finish the dates, but I just thought, we'll get back, we'll get it recorded.

And then I thought every other tour that I've done, I've took it to some European cities, and I've done Australia, and I thought it'd be a shame just to miss it and going to perform with people over there. Because you build up a following in these places and you don't want to just get an entire tour. So I actually fly out to New Zealand in the morning.

So I'm not going to take Liam there because I think that would just be a bit much man. Yeah, it's a brutal schedule when you're over there. It's amazing. But for kids, it's not ideal at all. Every day's a flight. I know. But I don't want to be away for too long from him and Kerry. So I've just pretty much got a gig every night.

But I think next time when I go over, I would space it a lot more and take them. He's not even gonna remember it. Like he's not gonna get much out of it. It would just be selfish for me to take him, but it's not even the flight, it's having to go forward for about 12 hours. Yeah. But also when you're there,

everywhere's a two hour flight. It's like going to Spain every day. I know. It's a continent, innit? So it's not as interesting. So I would take taking my way, see somebody and when you do a work in progress tour before the big tour,

because the hotels are always cool, they're always in farms or whatever. So I took him to a couple of them last summer and he loved it. I think it would just be a bit much to take him that far. And obviously it's different when you go away because I know you've got the gigs at night, but you're still, you're not quite yourself.

You're a bit on edge the whole day. I totally agree. So I'm due to do Australia again 2025 and the kids will be like you know nine and seven then so it's a nice age to take them but the way we're doing is I'm going to go out and hammer like two weeks of gigs gigging every night and then they're going to come out and we'll sort of do the last few in Sydney and then finish in Brisbane and then up there's really good for families and stuff and then have a couple of week holiday then fly back and do it that way. And that's a memory for them is what that is. And crucially Rob, you don't have to take them on the flight over there, Lou's got a

deal with that. I'll get hammered on the way back. Scarlet Moffat, is it Moffat or Moffat? Do you know what, it just depends where you're from, you can call us out. Because I always say Moffat. Is it Moffat or Moffat? Do you know what? It just depends where you're from. You can call us out. Cause I always say Moffat. I say Moffat. That's like a Northern dink. Well, yeah.

Perfect. I panicked. Should we start again? No, I like it. I like it. Just keep it in. Yeah. People will finally, finally find out. Huge exclusive. Before we start, Scarlett, congratulations on getting engaged.

I know. I can't believe it, honestly. This was last night. I looked on your Instagram and said, I was speaking to Scarlett, congratulations on getting engaged. I know, I can't believe it, honestly. This was last night. I looked on your Instagram and said, I was speaking to Scarlett tomorrow, brilliant. And I saw that, I was like, is she going to cancel? No, it was so lovely. Like Scott knows that like, as much as I think people think that like I'm very outgoing, like my favorite place is the house.

So like as soon as I walked in and he had the lights and the rose petals and stuff, and then we just got our favorite Chinese. It was lovely. Yeah, it was really nice. So like as soon as I walked in and he had the lights and the rose petals and stuff and then we just got our favorite Chinese it was lovely. Oh yeah it was really nice. And the baby was there wasn't it? Yeah little Jude he had like a little top on saying mommy will you marry daddy. So that was cute. How old is he?

He's four months now. Oh wow. Oh my god so still early days. Yeah he's just dinky. How have you got such a tidy, because you just showed us your office before and you've got loads like models and stuff, everything's very tidy and sorted with a four month old baby. How are you so composed and doing so well? You don't crawl yet, do you? So I suppose you

still have time to be able to tidy up and stuff. So if he plays with one toy it can go back in the box. I'm sure eventually that won't be the case. Well because we saw the collection of the little Warhammer figures, right? And are they yours or Scott's or both? They're both. So you're both into painting little models. Both, just geeks really. No shame. No, fine, I'll work with Josh. I'm used to it.

Oh come on now. But how protective are you over that? At what age do you reckon Jude will be allowed to play with a figure? Because you don't play with them, you sort of paint them and put them on the side, don't you? Oh they're not for playing with. No, come on Rob, bit of respect. They're not for playing with. I don't know, I suppose we'll have to have like a lock on this door,

because like the figurines are very tiny, they are a choking hazard. They do sort of look like kinder Bueno toys. Is that sort of thing? And they're quite low on the shelf. Yeah, no. You'll have to lock that room. That room will have to be locked. But he will eventually be allowed in here. Maybe it's when he's like five or something. Eventually when they're a bit older and they'll be desperate to get in there and start painting them all.

But then I'll be one of them mums that's like, now now, paint properly, make sure you're doing it properly Jude, none of this mess in the... it's not for fun, it's a very serious hobby. Is it Warhammer where you get them little like, figures that you paint? People take it quite seriously don't they? Very intricate, you've got to have the big light on, sometimes you use a magnifying glass, very tiny, tiny, tiny brushes. So yeah, it's not for kids. See where you're stuck from.

Am I making this up Josh, but did you do Warhammer stuff and games workshop? I did Warhammer from about the age of 11 to 13. I liked the playing, I was no good at the painting. My painting was shameful. It was really bad. I bet it wasn't. Oh. But that tells me a lot about you Josh, because the fact that you would rather play, me and Scott paint it because we have no one else to play it with. So I think that says even more how geeky we are that we have no one to play the game with,

so we have to just paint them. So is it a game then, Warhammer, as well? Yeah, there's rules. How do you play the game? It's like Dungeons and Dragons and stuff. There's lots of dice rolling. Okay, well how do you play that? You can't say it's like Dungeons and Dragons and expect me to know how that works. It's like a war with dice rolling. Like Risk? Yeah, like Risk. Like a Vegas stag do. Yeah, exactly. Well war hammer aside, Scott, how's it going? Four months old. You enjoying it or how's it going?

Honestly, I love it. Like all of my family were like, I really hope you have a kid like you. I think they meant that in a bad way. I think I must have been a really naughty kid because my mom and dad then waited 16 years to have another one. Right, okay.

So me and my little sister have 16 year age gap between us. Well, he's just, I don't know if it's because his temperament is like Scott's, but he's just wonderful. And like I'm one of those really annoying people that when people go, Oh, are you getting no sleep? I'm like, no, actually he sleeps 12 till seven every night since he was about two weeks old. Really? What? Yeah. I must have been lovely in a past life because he's just so chill, honestly. He's just the most chill baby ever. Does he wake up for a feed? He like did before. Sometimes he still does now at about four. Then he just goes straight

back to sleep. Oh my God. Can I just, your parents wished you had a difficult child like yourself. That's what they said. Yeah. That's awful, isn't it? When I actually say that out loud, that's horrific. But yeah, like I was the type of kid that even from about the age of four, I remember like being sent to my room and writing letters and posting it underneath the living room door. Being like, I'm so sorry family, that I'm your child.

Oh my god. Take me back to the shop, get a different one if you want. And then my dad would be like, come on back in the living room. Manipulative, I think is the word I want. So they used to send you out the room? To see if I got in trouble. And I'd just been a bit naughty or whatever. Or it was my bedtime. And then I'd write letters to make them feel guilty about sending me to my room. Or like I wanted to watch Crystal Maze and I'd like just write a lovely letter and then knock on the living room door, post

it under the door then run back upstairs and it worked every time they'd be like come on run back downstairs. I think that's the thing when you have your own kid you start to think back of what you were like as a kid. I used to moan about my kids getting up early then my mum was the same as yours would say like we used to gap at 4.30 every morning, good luck, and would sort of laugh along. Were you looking for sympathy, but like, yeah, excellent, great news.

I would do things like, I remember not being allowed another penguin biscuit. I think we had seal biscuits, though, they didn't have the joke on the back. Oh, right. But weren't that fancy. I remember being at school and having to pretend it had a joke on the back,

like, oh yeah, what did y'all say? Knock knock. I was just making a joke up. But I remember putting a whole packet of them in my pyjama bottoms and then sitting by this like three bars on the gas fire and it looking like I'd just shot everywhere. I was that sort of kid. Oh, so you're stealing them to take to your room and then they melted in your pyjama bottoms. I was that type of kid. So I'm hoping that Jude is just like Scott and is very chilled and not a penguin thief. Well, it seems that you've got an absolute winner with the sleeping. How was the pregnancy and the labour and stuff like that? Was that as straightforward? Honestly, I loved it. I think for the first time in my life, I could wear bando dresses and not feel like I had to breathe in.

What's a bando dress, Scullard? It's like a very, very tight dress. Right. Not very forgiving. It shows everything. Oh, I know them, yep. Yeah, and I purposely wore them because I was like, I'm never going to be able to wear these ever again in my life.

So I can wear them throughout my whole pregnancy, breathe out, not be bothered. So yeah, I just lived in dress as the whole pregnancy. I absolutely loved it. Did you? This is the most positive episode we've ever recorded. I mean, I feel like I should maybe throw something, like it is that. Well, the thing is, like I was just genuinely lucky, like, and I feel like I have to say that because I've had loads of friends who have had morning sickness. I didn't get any of that.

My craving was funny ju melon. It wasn't anything weird like charcoal. I do feel very blessed in the pregnancy that I had. Actually, I suppose the actual birth didn't go to plan. So Jude came at 35 weeks. Blimey. Is that seven weeks early? Five weeks early, yeah. So I heard like a pop and then, well Scott thought I'd weed the bed, which is not something

I do on a regular basis. I don't know why he was like, oh Scarlett you've weeded the bed. Here she goes again. Yeah, I was like, I've sinked that to my waters. He was like, nah, that's not enough water. Like, I think because we've watched so many movies, we were expecting like a proper tsunami of like water. Yeah, I thought it was going to be a bit like, you know, like in the films in like the summer in New York

where they hit the fire hydrants and the water comes out. I was expecting like a powerful surge. I'm pleased it wasn't like that. No, so then we went to the hospital and they were like, oh yeah, you're active labor, haven't started yet. Basically without, I know like years of blocks, but you've heard all this before. My water's broke, but then Jude's head was acting like a plug. I've not heard this one before, so it's plugged it up.

Yeah, so he was like, no, I'm staying in here a bit longer. So every time I like walked or moved, a bit more dribbled out. Oh my word. So I was just walking around as if I was like just casually weeing. So then I had to have a C-section, but again, it was lovely. I could really enjoy it myself. I would say that you're so positive, where really in another person's hands, how was it?

I was a nightmare, baby was early, and I had to have an emergency C-section I would say that you're so positive. We're really in another person's hands. How was it? I was a nightmare baby was earlier night to have an emergency c-section because his head was a plug inside me But you're like, yeah, just add a c-section Yeah, it was like honestly that nurses then my doctor was lovely She was called Geordie and she wore like a Disney hat and had pink crocs on. She was just wonderful. And then the music we had on, Jude was actually lifted out of me to Shania Twain, Man I Feel Like a Woman. It's not the opening line, Shania.

Let's go girls. Like, perfect for me because all of his godparents are actually drag queens. So I just couldn't have wrote it. Amazing. And then my placenta was born to the Macarena. Now, there's a couple of things I want to put you off, but born? Is it being born, the placenta, or is it coming out at the end? Because obviously the baby's being born, but when the placenta was born, that implies

it lives as a life. Like it does that thing like how the Lion King where it gets lifted out. It sort of feels likeenta was born, that implies it lives as a life. Like it does that thing like how the Lion King work gets lifted out. It sort of feels like it was born. I suppose with Cicero and do they pick that up themselves then? They just pull it all out. And honestly, it's the weirdest thing. Like I thought when I looked into C-sections and stuff, because I thought I best prepare myself in case this happens. I thought like you just not feel anything at all,

but you can feel everything, like you'd just not feel anything at all, but you can feel everything but it's just not painful. Yeah, I thought it would be completely numb so you can feel them rooting around. Oh yeah, you feel your organs like sort of drop after like Jude came out and then there's more room for your organs. I sort of like felt everything drop. Honestly, it was amazing. And they were playing Barbie Girl at that point? I sort of like felt everything drop. Honestly, it was amazing. And they were playing Barbie Girl at that point? No, I think I zoned out at that point.

Please welcome to the podcast, Simon Gregson. That is the introduction. Is that all right, Simon? That was perfect. Because it was correct, wasn't it? It was very correct. I can't say nothing about it. You can't leave this with the ump after that.

No, there'll be other reasons, but not that. It set me up for the day. Yeah. Where are you today? Oh, yeah, where are you at home? I'm at home, yeah. I've been up quite early helping my wife bake. She's just started doing a cafe up the road.

So. Oh wow. Doing a cafe, running a cafe? Yeah, yeah. She's taking over a cafe at a garden center. And so I'm making scones this morning for the first time ever in my life. Oh right, okay.

Well good luck to the people eating those scones. Exactly, yeah. We'll be sued by Wednesday. Now, Simon, we've met before because you was on Queen's for the Night, which is on ITV this Saturday, in your first sort of performative role outside of Steve McDonald on Corrie. Absolutely right, yeah. And so how long have you been Steve McDonald for on Corrie? 33 years.

Wow. 33 years. And then the first, because you've've done a lot of the celebrity shows, like Catch Phrase and Family Fortunes and those sort of things. But after 33 years, you've taken on the role as a drag queen. So before we get on to the kids, I just was so shocked. Well, it's a natural transition. How was that the first thing you did outside of Steve McDonald?

It was really fun. You know, I mean, my agent, you know, gave me, asked me whether I wanted to do it or not. And I was like, well, yeah, why wouldn't I? You've got to show you've got range, Rob. This is the opposite of what you've been doing. Now he's making scones. He's a changed man.

It's it, yeah. I was in me pinny this morning. I've got stocks. So, Steve, anyway, you was brilliant on that. We can talk about that a bit more later on. It's on, I think, Saturday night on ITV. But point of the episode, let's talk about your kids. How many kids you got? What are their ages?

I've got three boys. I've got Alfie who's 15. I've got Harry who is 13. And I've got Henry who is six. They're the most amazing boys. I've got Alfie's 15, I've got Harry who is 13 and I've got Henry who is six. They're the most amazing boys. We're so very, very lucky with them most of the time. Most of the time. They get on really well. There is a lot of testosterone there, so there is a lot of fighting. Not to the point where there's blood drawn or, you know, they get out swords or anything. But typical brothers just rolling around

and winding each other up. But apart from that, they're great. They're really great. We are blessed with them. They're very good boys. And you said you're not very good at computers when we were setting up this Zoom. And I can see on your Zoom, it says Alfie.

So are you on your son's laptop? Yeah, well, it was originally my laptop, but now it's ended up as Alfie's, like most of the things in the house. He's got a very small bedroom with all of our stuff in it. And how old's Alfie, 15? 15, yeah. And what's it like with teenagers?

Has it hit that sort of teenage angst yet? Do they sort of hate you now, or is it a bit not as bad as the people make it out? You know what, it's not as bad as people make out with us. I think because I have a friend who had a teenage daughter who obviously she's not a teenager anymore, but when she was she was not impressed with her dad at all. I think boys are a lot easier as teenagers.

You still get that kind of, do I really do I have to? And they do walk into things a lot. He's very gangly. You still get that kind of, do I really do I have to? And they do walk into things a lot. He's very gangly, forever stubbing his toe. Yeah. Because they've still not grown into their bodies yet. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, he's got no cut.

He doesn't realize that the toes have got bigger, the arms have got longer, and he's finding it hard to navigate, you know. So it's a lot of that. And you say that it's not that they're not impressed. Are they impressed by Steve McDonald? No. No. They're not interested in it at all.

It annoys them actually. When we go out, it annoys them. Me and Harry, my middle boy, we went out to supermarket the other day. And of course people stop and they stare. And you know, the usual one is that they kind of double take and the wondering whether it's you or not. And they're going, is it isn't it? Is it isn't it? They even say it out loud sometimes. No, it isn't. Yes, it is. No, it isn't. I'm not dead. I mean, you guys must get this all done. But Harry finds it fascinating

and starts to copy them and like walking around after them doing what they were doing. What, at them? Well, yeah, somebody can see, he's like, why do they do this, Dad? And then walk around and look at you like this, why do they do that? So they can hear and they're all terribly embarrassed and walk away. He's being defensive, he's being protective of you. They are very protective of it, yeah.

Yeah, they kind of don't, it doesn't compute for them like it doesn't compute for me, even after all these years. I kind of get it, you know, on a kind of logical level. But I really don't understand it somehow. There is a level of that fame that I think of being on a soap like Coronation Street for that long is that everybody knows who you are. It's sort of like, you know, a few people will say hello to me and Josh,

if they watch odd programs and stuff, but everyone knows who's on Corrie. It's crazy. It's almost like being a prime minister. Like if you're in one of the prime minister or one of the cabinet offices, everyone sort of knows you because they're always there on the telly,

every night kind of thing. I made a mind during the show, we're doing a lot of film, like really big films, and he'd done a lot of drama. You know, he was a very well known actor. And he said, God, when you get recognised all the time, you must do your editing. You must come to London. It does not as bad there. I don't get any of that. So I said, London's just as bad.

I said, listen, wait until your character's on TV. Sure enough, he was getting hassled everywhere. I said, that's so you know, you until your character's on TV. Sure enough. Yeah, it was getting hassled everywhere. I said, that's so, you know, you're in people's front rooms. Yeah. And so your sons would never what would they ever watch, Corey? I mean, I suppose it'd be weird for you. You don't do you ever sit down and watch it? That'd be weird. You know what?

I don't. I used to a long time ago because a friend of mine, a couple of friends of mine, in the sound department used to set challenges for me saying, I bet you can't do this. And I'd say, well, I better can. And then I'd see if it's past the editing and got out. Like what? Well, for some reason, I started going, ah, before every sentence. Just for something to do, because after 30 or 30 you get really bored. I was like, I think I'll have a pint of lagerblie. So we made coin and we made etch. God rest his soul.

He said, I bet you can't do it. From the door all the way to the other side of the rovers bar Scratching my bomb and sniffing my fingers that's gone out as well Sneak through the edit. Yes, great. And so when you do the from the door to the bar, did the director not go? What are you doing? Well, it's more than often I'm going back quite few years, more than often we kind of been out with the director the night before, so we don't have such a good laugh. Nobody really cared. It was like, yeah, we're going to do it.

But people seem to like that anyway, so. Yeah, I know. I think your character sort of gets away with that a little bit, doesn't he, though, because he's a bit more, you know, if he was just scary, you know, there's always like a scary one who's going to be like the end up killing someone or attacking someone. If they start going like,

aah, into the bar it would be. Yeah, I seem to really get away, especially when Anchorman came out and I was like religiously watching The Simpsons. I was introducing those. I just got away with murder, yeah. And it's just made life very life very easy for me at work. But I suppose your kids aren't going to watch it.

Not many teenage boys sit down and watch Corrie every night, do they? How dare you, Rob? No, they're not into it. Did you when you were young? I used to love EastEnders when I was a teenager. Rob, it was the biggest thing with teenagers at my school was Corrie.

You're joking. Really? Yeah, of course not, no. I was getting into that now, really. I'm like. I was getting into that, no, really. I'm gonna go down to Devon, do some PA's. All that blurbier racist, mate. It's about Cory V. Emmerdale in my school. That was the big rivalry.

So your boys aren't into it, but we will obviously come to real life parenting, but on the Cory thing, what's it like acting with the young kids on Corrie? Well, you know what? When I was acting with Ellie, Ellie Mulvaney who plays my daughter, Amy, she was about eight when she started

and very, very sweet, very lovely girl, but would bully me kind of into playing with her all the time. So it's like, right, we're gonna do this with a doll or coloring in or whatever it was. And I'm like, well, I'm just gonna know, you know, so we do this, do that anyway. But she made me want to have a daughter. Yeah, because obviously, so when a little girl like that plays your daughter for so long, and you watched them grow, you become very protected of them, you know, I've all my life. I'm like, you know, her older brother, I guess. But in the early, because I've always wanted a kid since I was about 18, really, always

wanted like a mini me. And now you've got three of them. Now I've got three of them. What have I created? I've created things that should not have been created. But yeah, she made me want to have a little girl because she's such a gorgeous, cute little thing, you know. And I was like, I want one of those at home, you know. So, but you're not going again, are you all done, your six year old's youngest? Yeah, I've got the doctors to get his scissors out,

yeah, three years ago. Did you? Oh yeah. Talk us through that. Well, not two, not two, actually go for it, yeah. It was absolutely painless. Apart from the big needle that goes in your plum, so to speak. That was a bit of a sting.

They basically a big needle in the balls. In the sack or the actual ball? In the sack or the testicle? In the actual, I don't know, because they won't let you look, you know? All right. So I've got this needle going in this... But you're awake for the whole thing? Yeah, you're awake for the whole thing, yeah. But you know, whatever they put in there, it's so numb, you can't feel a thing. And then they actually make the incisions and they kind of cut the tube,

then they cauterize it and tie them together, and then they sew you all up. But at the head end, there's a nurse holding my hand and she's like talking to me about the Lake District for some strange reason to try and keep my mind off things but she kept looking down the business end and pulling this face as like look at anyone not helping stop pulling their faces. Right Josh you want to do the intro? Hello, James and Claire Buckley, that's the intro. Rob always says, do you want to do the intro?

Not a lot to say, is there? There isn't. Well, we don't want you to sit there while we describe you. We think that's weird. So we do a little bit while you're not here. We intro you not in front of you, because that's awkward, isn't it? James loves people.

I do. I don't mind it. Although it does get embarrassing when the intro's, obviously an intro to me is ever so small it's very short did the in-betweeners what have you been up to for the last 15 years you like James? Not much. Well you're smashing it with your YouTube channel, you two have got your YouTube channel yeah you are. We're not smashing it. I've seen it. I've watched it. I like it.

Oh, thank you. And I know it's good because it, you know when a YouTube channel's big, because I wasn't a subscriber straight away, but your videos kept on popping up on the algorithm. I was like, oh, this is a good one because it's spreading. Just keep throwing enough shit at the wall, somebody will see it. Pretty much, yeah. You sure it wasn't pissing you off a little bit? No, no, I like it.

Beating into watching it. I liked it. And you've got your podcast as well now, haven't you. Yeah. You sure it wasn't pissing you off a little bit? No, no, I like it. Beating into watching it. I liked it. And you've got your podcast as well now, haven't you? Yeah. You joined the pod revolution. Listen, I wanted to see how this podcast thing played out before I decided to get involved. Get about a good 10, 15 years.

Yeah. I suppose if you and the Inbetweeners lads had started a podcast straight after the Inbetweeners. Don't get me started, Rob. Don't even get me started. Just those four lads chatting. I'm just saying. It must have crossed your mind. There was a little conversation that I may have mentioned to the boys.

Listen, they're like me, all four of us. The thing that we've all got in common the most is that we hate leaving the house. So if we did a podcast together, me and the other boys, it would turn into a whole curb your enthusiasm situation where we'd have to definitely find the exact equidistant between each other's houses and... You can do it from home though, can't you? We're literally doing this from home. I don't even think Simon Bird has a television. Really? Okay.

He's got books where his TV should be. I think he's one of those guys. He lives near me doesn't he? I sometimes see him in the park. He's just wandering around on his own looking for a podcast host. Your podcast is much easier to edit than a YouTube video. It is for us because we don't edit the podcast. So that's why I like doing the podcast. Editing stuff's awful. On the YouTube channel, everything's done by us, which is the, yeah, all right. Well, we'll just let...

What's that, Claire? Claire's pointing herself, though. Yeah, I just did a strong one. So who does it, Claire? It's us. I've done a lot of editing. You've done some, but I do most of it. Yeah, that's why I wanted to do YouTube.

I wanted to just do whatever I wanted to. And are you a trained editor, Claire, or have you taught yourself? I trained you. I trained you. I do. You can't do that. James showed me once, the very first video we did, James sat with me and showed me how to do it.

So I just sort of learned while doing it, learned on the job. But I'm all right now. I mean, I'm very basic. It's just the basics. It's just YouTube videos, isn't it? Listen, any good stuff that I'm going to come up with, I'm alright now I mean I'm very basic it's just YouTube videos isn't it listen any good stuff I'm gonna come up with I'm gonna see some money I'm not putting our best stuff out on the YouTube channel that's just free shit that we're giving to people there's no money in YouTube KSI skin any I think we

didn't fill out a form or something. I've got a theory because there's obviously a market in making yourself look, by the way, I'm not doubting he's not very wealthy, but there is a sort of thing to make yourself look a bit more wealthier than you are on Instagram. And you're posed by a Lamborghini and stuff and it's just rented and things like that. You go, oh, I've picked up the new car today. And it's like, well, you've rented it for three months, haven't you, mate? Whereas we're the total opposite of that, aren't we? Yeah. We like to really highlight how awful and terrible our life is and how

things have panned out for me personally. It's just always... So don't know how you in. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not going down with a ship on my own career aside though, your personal life. You've got a lovely family though. James that's the light of your life now. Isn't it? Surely. Personal life's great.

Got no complaints. I've made two little mates. I get to play video games with and wrestle and beat up. Not beat up. Not beat up. Not about. Fight. You got to be careful with everything you say. Beat up. Not beat up. Beat up. Not beat up. Not about. We'll fight.

You gotta be careful about everything you say, because that can just be printed, that James beats up his kids. That doesn't look good. Yeah, and you've actually said it, so you wouldn't have a leg to stand on in court. Absolutely, yeah. And how old are your kids?

How old are they, Claire? Go on, James. 10 and 11. Yeah. One's just about to turn 12. Harrison's a bit to turn 12, just on 10. Oh, so you had two under two for a bit then? Yes.

What's the gap? 21 months. Blimey. That's a quick turnaround that, innit? Do you feel like you're a bit out the woods now? Well, with certain stuff, you know. Yeah, they do sort of start to become more self-sufficient, don't they? Yeah, maybe let me finish those things because I just said bum really loudly and then nothing

else. Yeah, you just shouted bum and then James started talking. I didn't know what happened. I didn't know if he was trying to save you from something. I was going to say like bum wiping, the tantrums, that sort of stuff. But we are heading into the, they call it the tween. So Harrison's going to be 12 in a couple of weeks and we're getting a better attitude. That's creeping in. We've been told from parents that are a bit further along the line than us to enjoy the

time now because pretty soon they're not going to want to talk to you and stuff like that and just go to their room and that's going to really break my heart. We do keep talking to Harrison. We're like, will you promise not to be a stroppy teenager, like still hang out with stuff? And he's always like, yeah, no, of course, of course. But sometimes, like when I've started more recently, getting him up for school in the morning,

you know, sometimes you can just tell he hates me right now. Yeah. He does not have time for me at all right now. And you really see that little shift happening. And then obviously, once they discover wanking, you're never going to see him for ages, are you? Oh, God. No, you won't see him again. No, they won't do that.

They won't do that. They won't do it. You're going to have the only two teenage boys in the world that never wank. I'd say that would be more of an issue. Yeah, that would be more problematic. Yeah, I'd send them to see someone about that. Yeah, you get to 21. You've never had a wank. Oh my god. Who the hell would you send them to see for that? I don't know, but I might well, let's be careful.

If they can help you. Put the word out, someone should be able to help. Also, yeah, they're going to discover wanking. They'll probably discover the in-betweeners as well, which, how do you feel about that? Because that is some of the words in that. You don't really want a 12-year-old saying clunge. They're very aware of the images.

Yeah, of course they are. They've never seen any of it. They know it's very rude and they're not supposed to watch it. So our eldest has started secondary school now. Yeah. He's getting a little bit of street cred. Is he? Being Jiayi's son, your dad's a legend and stuff like that. And he keeps turning around saying he's not.

He's really not. I was talking to Blake Harrison about playing Neil, I was talking about a UFC thing, and it's like, it's so ingrained, it's like a cultural thing more than just a popular show. It's like, people of a certain age know everything about that show. So it goes beyond just being on telly for a bit and it will sort of be around forever because it was such a big hit. But I didn't know if it was carrying on with younger audience members as well. Is it still growing with the younger lot as well, James? I get loads of kids coming up to me and I'm like, mate, you must have been three when we started making it. Like what is going on?

James is getting the thing now that really sort of hurts your heart a little bit where it's like I grew up watching you. Yeah and the bloke is about 34 or something. We're the same age, what are you talking about? I grew up watching you and I'm like did you have a paper round on the N25 or something? I suppose it's a great show for like if a dad who's in his mid-30s is trying to connect with a teenage boy like if you're 15, 16 the in-between is the funniest thing of all time ever and if you loved it as when you were that age and then you're trying to find something to watch for your kids that is a great show to watch isn't it?

I wouldn't watch it with my kids. Woah it's different for you! Yeah because you're in it obviously you don't watch it with your kids. But Claire would you sit down and watch it with the boys? While James sits in another room? No, no, no, thank you. No, I've heard it's very funny, but no, it's too weird. Obviously, I've seen clips and stuff, but it's too strange.

Do you find that people are like, what? You've got kids, but you're only like 18 because you're kind of like, it's like you've been locked into this thing do you know what I mean where everyone sees you at this stage definitely in the beginning yeah in the beginning I mean I suppose in this day and age we did have our children quite we were in our sort of early 20s and I suppose that's quite young these days to have kids because how old are you I'm 36 36. So yeah, you're pretty young. But yeah, there was a lot of like comments online and stuff.

It's like kids having kids, absolutely terrible. Broke a computer. He's only 16. I'll be paying for those kids as well. So how involved are you at school and the drop-off and how do you split the... because your work is very sort of ad hoc isn't it? You work together, you can film when you want, so how do you split the parenting? Is it 50-50 or does it swing more one way? Annoyingly I used to do because they're now both at different schools so we're both on the school

run now. Right, oh cat annoying. It is terrible, it's awful. What's all goes through the school run now. Right, oh, cat-a-noin. It is terrible. It's awful. What's all this through the school run? Well, it used to be that I would do the school run. If I wasn't working, I would do the school run because I feel like I can handle that. I know where I am. Driving a car. Yeah, I love the school run.

If I've not gotten in too late the night before, I love it. Yeah, get them to school. They're already dressed and everything. And they're gone. Yeah. Pickups are worse because you have to have them. Yeah, the pickup. I stare at my watch during pickup because there's a time, isn't it? It's like half three or something like that. They're supposed to come out and it's when it gets to 3.33, I'm like, well, this is, I've got stuff to do. I've got a life as well. I'll tell you what, I'm going to start dropping them off three minutes later. That's cool.

See how that works out for you. Clare, are you involved with the mums and dads? Are you in the WhatsApp groups? Yeah. Is James taking the lead on that? No, I'm not in the WhatsApp groups. I'm desperately trying my hardest not to turn up to assemblies and things like that. Really?

It's great and everything. I get to see my kids like assemblies and things like that. Really? It's great and everything. I get to see my kids sing a song or something like that, but it's 30 seconds of watching my child do something and about two hours of sitting there bored out of my night. Like honestly, during sort of post-COVID when we had to wear masks, I loved that because I could just sit there yawning. Without offending other parents. Now you've got to be on the WhatsApp groups these days. To be honest, the WhatsApp groups are more helpful than the actual school

because you get these cryptic emails about all these different things throughout the year. And like there's always those couple of mums who really know what they're talking about. They're organised, they're ready to go. I'm always like, what's that thing? What do they need? When is that? And then like one of the organized mums will just tell you what to do.

It's because they've done away with the letter home. Because then if you didn't get the letter, you can really lay it into them and go, it's your fault. You were supposed to give me that letter. I get about three or four emails from the school every day. I'm not reading them all. Of course I'm not. There is a lot. It's like a full-time job trying to read school emails.

Yeah, I'm like an admin officer. Did less stuff happen when we were at school or did they put it in a letter? Well, no, but they had to really want to tell you, didn't they? So now they're like, well, I might as well pop it in an email. True. But I do think less stuff happened. I mean, the stuff they do know, like odd sock day and I'm just like... Oh yeah, fuck all that. You've got to take a quid into air tights.

Fuck off. Don't care. It's ten quid. Leave me alone. Yeah, you've got to pay money to wear your own clothes. I don't know what the book day comes dressed as a book. Why do we only find out about that the day before? Every single year they sneaked up on us. And you've got to run around trying to find a Where's Wally costume. And they really are to find actually.

There's the clip for Instagram. I'm going to be laughing about that tonight. I'm going to be just... That was a good one. All right, take the next five minutes off. Hello and welcome to the podcast, Finn Taylor. Comedian, parent, coffee drinker. Yes, guilty on all fronts.

Hand me in. What would you describe yourself as first? In order. Wreck, I'd say. I'd say sort of husk. Well, you do look a little bit wired today. You all right? Is it been a stressful day?

Well, it's because we're staying in a... We're having building work done because we bought a fixer-upper. Because my wife... Well, that's the end of the sentence. Because my wife... She likes that sort of thing. Put your own stamp on it. Yeah, yeah. I'd just quite like a place to sit down in. my wife. She likes that sort of thing. Put your own stamp on it.

Yeah, yeah. I just quite like a place to sit down in. The thing is, you're adding value, Finn. Have you heard the phrase adding value yet? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll deal with that phrase, that concept. We bought it just before the whole Ukraine thing. So we're now just kind of trying to level out the mortgage increases that are going to hit us next year. Yeah. Oh, good God. Yeah, so it means that the commute to nursery is like 35 minutes, 40 minutes in traffic. That was my life, Ben, for three years.

So I'm getting up early, getting her in the car, and just like passing snacks back sort of constantly. So you're further away from the nurseries you were then, now? Yeah, the nursery's at the end of our road, where we live, but we're in Tooting at the time being, while the work's happening. Where do you live? Sydenham.

Oh, really close, yeah, I'm close. Everyone's coming to South East, it's the future, isn't it? Yeah. Great sangeries you've got in Sydenham. Supposedly the biggest in the South East. Oh, it's like a stand at a football stadium. It's got a lint door pick and mix. Oh, wow. Sushi?

Yeah, sushi. It's an unbelievable sangeries, on a big round one way system. I imagine the locals didn't take kindly to the sushi counter. Rob, I imagine you all sort of, what's all this then? The kind of thing. Yeah, I think it was a bit like that. It just looked like a fishmonger's having a breakdown.

Just let him crack on. I don't know what he's up to. He keeps wrapping it in rice. Tiny bits of ice. I've got to go back to this lint pick and mix. This is a Josh Whiddicomam routine if ever I saw one. A lint door pick and mix in a science braze. Yeah.

No, I'm excited. Who's coming in the Sultan of Brunei? Wait there, let me get a pen and paper. So how many different types of lint is there kicking around? I'd probably say there are maybe seven or eight colors. Surely the red ones are lowest in stock. Do you think? I like the white.

Yeah. Yeah. You can tell a place is going up in value when the dark chocolate starts going. You know South East is getting gentrified because their fucking shit stuff is starting to sell. It's quite fun thinking what your routine would be Josh because I think you could do... I don't know if it is, I think it's a character

assassination. That's what it is, Rob. No! Because you could go, oh is it like the king of Abu Dhabi and then do a dib dab and that would bring back a bit of nostalgia with like an Abu Dib dab. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What I do is a piece of piss. That's what we get down to. He's fucking fishing in a barrel, choose an old thing, take it apart, put in a funny reference, tore with your eyes, dead. Okay, I actually did go the wrong way. Finn, how are you? You all right?

Yeah, well, I'm fine actually compared to Josh. Yeah, remarkably long fuse, it turns out. That's why most guests leave happy on this show. Yeah. How old is your daughter? Well, listen, I've been saying 18 months for a few months now. Yeah, me too. Yeah. I really resent the months thing. In my head, it should go one, one and a bit, 18 months, nearly two, two. Yes. You know, when people you say, how old is he? And they're like 22 months and you go, I don't actually care. Like, are you, you know what I mean? It's normally because they say that because if they say two and a half and they're not at the developmental point they want them to be, they don't want you to think they're

kids slow. Yeah, so I've just been fudging for a while. I think, what is she, she'd be 20 months, but because she was premature she's still actually 18 months technically. So I guess there is a bit of a fudge. It's like the aggregate away goals this is. Yeah it is. So how premature, she's still actually 18 months technically. So I guess there is a bit of a fudge. It's like the aggregate away goals this is. Yeah it is. So how premature was she? Seven weeks.

Fucking Nora. Oh wow. Bloody hell. Spicy entry. Yeah that is a spicy entry. That was the medical term. Three chillies. Did the doctor turn to you and go, I'm afraid this is going to be a spicy entry.

This is not a lemon and herb birth I'm afraid. This is the a lemon and herb birth, I'm afraid. This is the subio. You're looking at Diablo. They have three chilies on the whiteboard. So she has two ages until they're two, supposedly, where all the development like is caught up. So for the first seven weeks, you're like, well, that was a lot of fucking parenting to get to square one.

Yeah. Getting yourself out of a hole. Yeah, we were in a neonatal unit for, yeah, nearly two months. Fuck hell. So let's go from contractions. Yeah. Didn't get to them. Didn't get to contractions.

So what happened? So my wife had a thing called preeclampsia, which is, have you had anyone on? You guys, you must be well versed in women's stuff. Preeclampsia, I've heard of it, but I don't think we've had a guest talk about it. We've covered Brevels extensively. Brevels? Yeah.

Has that passed 35 weeks? I don't think we made it to Brevels. Yes, when they're overdue. Right, okay, you've got to get the Brevels out. She's absolutely Breveled out this one. Get a sweep in. Smoke them out. Yeah, so preeclampsia, well, they don't really know much about it because

obviously it's women's medicine and they sort of seem to concentrate on prostate cancer and veterinary science more than they do women's medicine. But it's something to do with the placenta. And it basically, the only cure is delivering the baby. Right. Lucky she was pregnant then. Well, yeah, it would have been a real job to go back nine months or seven months. I mean, I would have done it, but anyway. Yeah. So she, she just kind of starts swelling up. I mean, they missed it.

The problem was that normally what happens is if you get preeclampsia, they like, they catch it because your blood pressure goes up and then you're on bed rest, basically while the baby carries on growing and then they deliver close to term. But because they missed it, they still don't really know why, but anyway, she was like, she was really swollen, like swollen face and ankles and hands. And how long for? Like for months? Well, no, she always had quite a bad carpal tunnel with the hands. Yeah. Because it was the first pregnancy,

I was like, well, women get big, don't they? So, you know, you don't want to... You can't bring it up. You already got bloody out. Look at you. You're glowing. You are three times the size, but you're glowing. More of a kind of Chernobyl glow than a H21, but it's fine, isn't it? You keep it to yourself. You're the hype man, aren't you? You've got to support them. Yeah. But it's fine, isn't it? You keep it to yourself. You're the hype man, aren't you? You've got to support them. Yeah.

You know, it turns out there was quite a bit wrong with her. And we went for a, in hindsight, quite a bad idea. We went for a sort of little pre-baby holiday in Cornwall. And she had a funny turn. I mean, she's also, she's type 1 diabetic. Went to Lyft's Garden instead of St Ives. Lovely stuff. Lindor's back. Lindor's back. He's back in the room.

This is his wheelhouse. Funny place names. Here I am. Yeah. Thank you. I just want to let you know, Finn was talking about diabetes as well though, Josh, it's quite serious actually. We're all a bit serious for them. Lindor pops up.

He ultra wrote. This way is here. He's just floating in the space like Thomas Muller. Yeah. The Plymouth punchliner. Can't stop him. He'd be absent for ages and then bang. No, she's got type 1 diabetes. So like I just sort of called an ambulance and then they sort of settled her. They said sort of she's

fine and then later that night she just like started vomiting and her face was like, it was like a sort of almost like an allergic shellfish kind of reaction. Her face was really puffed up. So we drove to Truro hospital and they were like, yeah, it's probably preeclampsia. And then they kind of stabilised and then they were like, we'll let you go. Basically they were like, do you live in Cornwall? We were like, no. And they were like, well, It's not the time to get into that debate about out of towners guys. Yeah, you're just down there looking at a few properties actually to buy the letter. So then they basically discharged us on the condition that we went straight back to King's

where we were. So did you have to then just drive back that night? I drove back the next day, eight hours without stopping. Muggins here. Oh my God. That wasn't great. And then got her into King's and they did a bunch of tests. And so bear in mind, this is sort mind, this is coming up to 33 weeks.

Then they were like, I was thinking, okay, so we'll be in the hospital for like a month and then they'll deliver. And then they came in and said, yeah, we're going to have a go tomorrow actually. And I was like, have a go is quite a loose. I was hoping we'd say we'd get her out, but have a go. All right. We'll muck in. That's exactly what you need, isn't it?

An eight hour drive from Cornwall just before you have a premature baby had a go at. Have a go. Yeah. So yeah, then they're like, we're going to go tomorrow because she's actually, she's quite unwell. And then that's when I opened my first parenting book was the night before. Yeah. I was sort of cramming before an exam. I thought you had seven weeks, didn't you? Well, yeah. I was like, we hadn't bought a pram or anything. It was, yeah, they delivered the next day. And were you worried about, did it feel like it was kind of scary? Yeah, but the whole thing was sort of to save Amanda's life as much as it was like

a birth experience. Yeah. I haven't really worked out a way to talk about it. You know, when other parents are sort of sharing their birth war stories. Yeah. Yeah. I don't really know how to talk about it in a know when other parents are sort of sharing their birth war stories? Yeah. I don't really know how to talk about it in a way that doesn't kill the room, much like my act about five years ago. I haven't quite ironed out the tone. Obviously because the first year was quite a lot that happened and of everyone we know,

we've had the toughest entry as it were, so we're the ones that they use as an example when they want perspective. Yeah. Could be worse, could be worse. So how did you get on with hypnobirthing? Did you breathe the baby out? It's difficult. I mean, obviously men, you sort of learn to not really have an opinion on how women give birth, don't you? It's not really our place. But there's been a couple of times when friends or people have gone on about how they were annoyed at how medical their birth was and it wasn't the experience they wanted.

And I'm just a bit like, I'm just going to have to leave. I don't really know how to, I just sort of get a bit angry because I don't really know how to. Oh, I'm so sorry that you didn't feel like it was spiritual enough for you. But I was sat there after an eight hour drive, like your wife's going to die if we don't get the baby up and have a go tomorrow. And you're like, fuck off. I'm sorry they forgot to get your crystals out. It was very sterile, the hospital, wasn't it?

Yeah. They didn't even light a candle, you know. The real stress was that I was trying to connect to the Bluetooth speaker for about 10 minutes. And then because it was an emergency C-section, I think you've only got 10 minutes to try and connect before they go, you know what, mate, let's give up on the music. Let's get on with it. Get a scrub some though. I think I ended up playing Spotify out of my phone

by Amanda's face. Great app choice by the way. Great app choice, the perfect app choice I'd say, Finn. Oh Christ, just an A-cast, shouldn't I? Should really throw the cat in the village. No, we're not podding, we're not podding obviously, music. That's it for this special Best Of episode. I'm Natalie Cassidy and I've been wanting to do a podcast of my own for a very long time

and here it is. I'm going to be talking each week to family, friends, most importantly you. I want to talk about the issues that are bothering me, things that make me smile and how we get through that washing basket without having a nervous breakdown. This is a podcast for the general public, for the normal people. So get on board, become part of my community and let's have a laugh. and let's have a laugh. so smart and because it's obvious. Every Thursday I interview a guest about what constitutes their perfect day. So if you like hopes and dreams, fantasies and sweet memories, you're going to love this stuff. We have got so many lovely, funny, nice people on. Your Ramesh Ranganathan's, your Dolly

Alderton's, your Jamalial, your Maddox's, Arabella, where she's doing it. Don't worry about the quality of the guest, just worry about when you're going to listen to it. Or don't worry about when you're going to listen to it, just actually listen to it. See you soon. Jess Knapp here, signing off, wishing you a perfect day. B-O-F-U-C-T-Y