Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe's Parenting Hell - S11 EP1: Stephen Mangan (The Return)

Episode Date: August 7, 2025

We're back for Series 11!! Joining us this episode to discuss the highs and lows of parenting (and life) is the brilliant actor, writer, comedian, and presenter - Stephen Mangan. The Fortune Hotel continues Wednesday and Thursday nights throughout August on ITV1 and ITVX. You can catch up on the first two episodes on the series on ITVX now. Parenting Hell is a Spotify Podcast, available everywhere every Tuesday and Friday. Please subscribe and leave a rating and review you filthy street dogs... xx 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] Follow us on instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@parentinghell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ A 'Keep It Light Media' Production  Sales, advertising, and general enquiries: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Searchlight Pictures presents The Roses, only in theaters August 29th. From the director of Meet the Parents and the writer of Poor Things comes The Roses, starring Academy Award winner Olivia Coleman, Academy Award nominee Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Samburg, Kate McKinnon, and Alison Janney. A hilarious new comedy filled with drama, excitement, and a little bit of hatred, proving that marriage isn't always a bed of roses. See The Roses only in theaters, August 29th. Hello, I'm Rob Beckett and I'm Josh Whittickham. Welcome to Parents in 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 you'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 where none of us know what we're doing. Hello, you're listening to Parents in Hell with.

Can you say Rob Beckett? Rob Beckett. And can you see Josh Whitakum? Josh Redcombe. Good job. Good job. Can you say Rob Beckett? Scottish. A wee Edinburgh.

Yes, but where do they live? Peasley. I don't know what happens. Adelaide. What? I love Adelaide. Michael, hello. Michael, I'm patiently waiting for 7 a.m. to roll around.

Please don't let me down. This was sent 6.57am. They know what they're bloody doing. What, UK time or Adelaide time? I don't know whether the scent shows your local time you sent it or the time. Fuck, yeah. What does it? It has to be your time.

It was sent your time. Oh my God. because that'd be confusing. Josh, I've never thought about this. It came in a 657 hour time, UK time. So they've done the time difference math. So it's sent. It shows the time that the time zone of the receiver in the scent.

Not the sender. Not a sender because that would be too complicated. So she's actually that to work hard on the time. When I did Australia and it's going to happen again when I do Australia last time, I had a special website that did all the time zones and it's an absolute minefield trying to get the timing right. So she's done well there. There you go. Michael, I'm patiently waiting for 7 a.m. to roll around. Please don't let me down.

Long time listener, first time emailer, one out of one. This is my four-year-old Maggie. I've been meaning to do this for years. Would love for Rob to guess what accent she's got. We've done that. Love the podcast. I chat about you in my day-to-day life like we're old friends. Oh, thank you. Looking forward to seeing Rob in Adelaide in October. Norwood Hall, I think it's called. I'll be the numpty saying gobble, gobble. Keep it sexy and relatable.

Lauren, 35, I'm too tired to count out months. Mum to four-year-old Maggie and nearly two-year-old Harris. It's his birthday tomorrow. Oh, lovely. Well, big up to Australia. Yeah, there's still tickets available for Canberra and Thoreau, which is in Wulongongong. Louis Thoreau. Louis Thoreau.

Yeah, so if you're pleased buy tickets, if you were in Australia, I'm doing Gold Coast, Brisbane, Canberra, Sydney, Perth, Adela. Melbourne, then I go to do Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand. And also, I've got tickets on sale for Dubai. So if you're in Dubai, I'm doing Dubai, I'm doing Dubai in January. There you go, that's my little,

Robbeckincom for tickets, please. If you want to see me, come to fucking Britain where comedy was made. Oh, sorry, it's a bit LB, a bit of GB news there, sorry. You're so patriotic, you're not gig abroad. I don't think foreigners are entitled to laugh. coming over here, stealing our laughs. I'll possibly do Australia.

I'll possibly do Australia. I'll possibly do Europe, but it's not in the diary yet. Did it actually say what her accent was? Yeah, Scotland. Scotland? Yeah, but that's quite... Scottish.

Scottish. Scottish. I thought it might be a bit more location-based than that. No, Scotland. No, are you going up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year, Josh? No, Robert. I'd rather nail my dick to a plank of words, to be honest with you. I think that's actually on at the free.

fringe. I'll probably get bloody nominate for the award, wouldn't I, for that. Could I give you a bit of trivia about this interview with Stephen Mangon? Yeah, go on. Lovely man. Lovely guy. Do you know what the future is, Josh, right? And this is what you should use when you do Radio 2 is don't Wikipedia people anymore. That's basic. Chat GPT and type in, I'm speaking to, for example, Stephen Mangon about his show Fortune Hotel. What should I ask him and what should I know about the show? Okay. Let me do. that and then you'd get loads of good questions because that's what I do now

whenever I'm supposed to have read someone's book I just go give me the brief synopsis of what happens in the book and chat GPT goes like basically this happened that happened this happened okay here we go I'm interviewing Rob Beckett about his tour what should I ask

you've run on the road with Girard for a while now Rob what's been the most unexpected a memorable moment of the tour so far I don't care I don't care that's a solid boring That's a boring question, but go on. Your wife has expressed concerns about you being away from the family during tours. Yeah.

And you know what? That bitch could express those opinions on the beach the next time we go on holiday. Right, guys? Sorry, apologies for saying bitch. That's that in character. So what was the other end of that question? And you... I've had to cancel some shows getting involved in our marriage.

Yeah. You've had to cancel some shows due to illness on this tour. Yeah. How do you feel about letting your audience down? Oh, my God. That's not the question. How do you handle those situations, both personally and professionally? And what measures do you take to avoid burning out on the road?

There we get. Your comedy often draws from personal experiences, particularly family life and your podcast parenting hell is a huge success. How do you decide? Oh, that, Chad, GBT. Battering me up, look. Yeah, how do you decide what a card? This is, it's good, isn't it?

It is good. Do you know what? We should start using this in interviews. Well, asking the questions, it doesn't work because it just gives you the sort of basic questions, but if you need to know about something, so if you put in, give me a brief synopsis of Josh Whitakam's book about TV, what, Neighbors was it? Yeah, watching Neighbors twice a day. Yeah, and it'll basically break your book down in about five bullet points.

You can tell me if it's right or not. Okay, thinking, it's looking at 66 sites. Not enough, my tastes. The book's themes include Whitickham's unconventional rural upbringing. Yeah. Observations about 90s television. humorous recounts of events, reflections on the 90s event, nostalgic look at the end of an era when television viewing was a shade experience.

Yeah, I'd buy that. It's not mentioned your tiny dick that you talk about in Chapter 5. No, but you can't. You can't look at the photo section, can it? So it can only do the words. And you've got a spoiler alert tattooed on it. Here, guys, is Stephen Mangon. Stephen Mangon, welcome to the podcast, the sequel, the second time on.

And you've seen quite, I'd say, busy this morning. We've had headphone problems. You look like, and don't take it's wrong way, that this is the last thing you need. Well, it's not that. I had a call half an hour ago that I'd forgotten about a research chat for something. So they're trying to ask me questions. And I'm wandering through the house thinking, where's the microphone? Where's the stuff? I've got to speak to Rob and Josh in a minute. I hate a research chat, Stephen. It's bad diary work. It's bad diary work. It's all it is. So research chat for people that don't know what we're talking about, basically, when if you're going on a TV show like Sunday brunch or Jonathan Ross or Graham Norton,

a producer will ring you and chat to you about what you've been up to to then give the notes to the presenter to bring up on the show. But the danger is if you have the research chat too far in advance, you're sat on Graham Norton and he says, so Rob, you had an encounter with an otter recently. And then you're sat there going, what? Why did I mention otters? I don't even remember this. I think a research chat that goes too well is always a bad sign.

Always a bad sign. like a good dress rehearsal. So you want it to go badly. You don't want to be absolutely cracking everybody up because you know the same story will get nothing on the air. Absolutely. Or you have someone who's new to it

is a researcher and they're taking notes and you're telling what you think is a hilarious story and you just hear, yeah, yeah. Yeah, because they're writing at the other end. You're like, come on, give me something. I just think if I'm being funny on a phone to one person, it's got to be the wrong energy for a sofa in front of 400 people

and then millions at own. We've got... Anyway, good luck with the show. What show is it? Is that for? I'm doing this morning. Oh. Yeah.

So I will be on the sofa, yeah. Yeah, you can't have just frivolous, relaxed chat on that show. You can't. It's all got to be absolutely nailed down. Tight. stung they don't they want to keep their presenters on a tight leash that is true everything's got a bit more nailed down there recently isn't it so you've been on before

september do you want to have a guess what year wow 2022 2021 how time flies oh wow that's crazy you're teenage boys they how old are they now you had 13 11 and 5 then yeah well i mean if you do the math uh they're now 17 17, 14 and 9. Oh, that's a different proposition, isn't it? It's a whole different proposition because, I mean, it was always tricky to find stuff to do as a family that everyone was going to be into.

But if you've got a four or five-year-old, they basically have to go with the flow. Their opinion doesn't really carry much weight at that. As long as they're happy and fed and not crying, you know, you can just take them. But nowadays, it's much more difficult. Although the other day I did find the perfect outing for a 17-14-year-old and a nine-year-old, which is go-karting.

Oh! Yeah, because the nine-year-old can now do it, and it was an absolute treat, not least seeing the two older ones constantly trying to force the nine-year-old off the track. But would the nine-year-old be quicker because they're lighter? This is what we all thought. Oh, yeah, it's bloody is. Bloody Jerry Halliwell's husband, whatever he's called, Christian Horner. Currently unemployed.

We all were thinking about that, the physics of it, how they're lighter, The trouble is they're breaking into corners all over the place when you're a nine-year-old. Absolutely shocking. The line they're taking through some of those S-Benz, ridiculous. Have you seen that footage of Lewis Hamilton on Blue Peter when he's about five or whatever he is? And he's doing, he's on a, I think he's like John Leslie or someone, is interviewing his dad. I'm not going for that, keeping away from the mum. Not a notch in the this morning bedpost.

Wrong analogy. I think he's doing more research on their presenters. And Lewis Hamilton's just playing this remote control car around his track and he's like Tunnel Vision, absolutely nailing it. A bit like that footage of Tiger Woods hitting golf balls at the age of three. And I played football with my son who's four. I just thought, well, you're not going to make it. Right.

Yeah. Did you break it to him there and then? He doesn't care as much. You take him into a room and sit him down and say, listen. But it's weird. You already know, because I've watched. enough YouTube these days, in the old days, when I was a kid, you could kid yourself, but now you can see a YouTube video of Lionel Messi when he's six, absolutely destroying

everyone. And you go, oh. Also, you give him a golf club, they just walk up and bang it hundred yards when they're seven, and then it just goes from there, you know. I had an interview with Joe Root yesterday saying that when he was eight and nine, he was playing in the senior team at his club. He was playing with the sort of 30-year-olds. And because he was so small, they wouldn't let him field in the slips because he'd probably get one in the face, so they had to send them down. But yeah, you know, you know that if you're beating adults when you're eight or nine, you've got a good chance of making it. And how are your kids at Go Cutting? Do you think you've got a Formula One champion on your hands? Those sort of

things are terrible for bringing out the competitive Dad and you because I just wanted to win so badly. So you go cutting with them? Oh yeah, I was Go-Kying with them, yeah. You wanted to win. I wanted to win. It was really important to me. When we finished, you run in, there's a screen comes up with all your times on, I mean, I couldn't get out of the go-car quickly enough, rip the helmet off, shove a couple of the other families that were there out the way, and then stand right in front of the screen, and then punch the air when it was me on the top of the list. Do you think, though, that's a male neighbour?

He dropped it in. No, I ignored that he won. Do you think that's a male, because we were very competitive. I've got four brothers and then my dad, and he'd be very competitive when we play Paul and stuff. Do you think male ego brings it out in you? There's a silverback feel, just the mangan household. You're silverback and you've got this 17-year-old who's going to be able to beat you up soon? Soon?

We passed that hurdle a long time ago. I don't know what it is. I mean, my dad was the same with me. I think it's, I always felt my dad was very good at, he wasn't rubbing my nose in it all day long about everything. It was just when it was a game that everyone had a chance of winning. He wanted to win. And so when you did beat him, you know, it's that old excuse. When you do beat him, you feel like you've sort of.

you've actually properly earned it, but I don't know. I don't feel anything but shame about it after the event. After the event. I'm not screaming in their face. I was 2.6 seconds quicker per lap than you. Which was, but I wasn't screaming it in their face. I was just pointing it on the screen. The screen was screaming it in that face.

But your competitiveness slightly less for the 9-year-old than the 17-year-old. Is it the same? Yeah, it's not the same. I think partly because the 17 and the 14-year-old were giving it a lot of chance. out beforehand and they'd both been go-karting before and I haven't been for a long time so there was a lot of we'll show you the way kind of thing dad so I think it was old timer exactly so I think the lion you know he roars once more last one last time standing on the top of the mountain he may be a little bit worn around the edges but by gun he's still got it

you think though as we get older though we've just got less to lose going into a bend go-kart and you're just like I've had a long life I don't mind crashing out of it Yeah, maybe. I mean, I don't know. I was a laugh. But now I think I feel I need to go and check with them whether they had as much fun as I did. Can I put you in a hypothetical position? You're playing. There was a lot of truth to that, actually, Josh. Stephen had a moment there when he was like, I should actually ask me if I had fun. He doesn't know. I mean, as I walked off, they did seem to sort of trail behind me as we left. They did on the track. All two point seconds behind walking. I mean, that's quite a lot per lap, let me just say. up, was there a chance to... You must have been close to lapping at points.

Listen, Josh, I mean, between you and me... No, you didn't lap. I did one more lap than everybody else. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh. It's tragic, isn't it? If you were playing... So you're playing a board game against your son, who's nine.

You're playing him at Connect Four. Yeah. And he really wants... to win and you can see you've got a four coming up but he hasn't spotted it I might go easy on him in that point or am I you would oh that's okay I think what the Americans call a teachable moment you might say you might just want to look out for you know you want them to develop because also ultimately you're smug with it as well you can't even just let him out of it you've got explained why you've let him win totally smug no no just warn him in advance because I suppose

what you want to you want to sharpen them up to be good at the game so that when you do beat them It's not just a soft victory. When I charge around the house shouting, I beat you, I beat you, get back in the cupboard. You little bitch. I can actually feel I've really earned it. What about Uno? Do you play Uno with them? Because that gets spicy, Uno.

I haven't played Uno, no. Not with them. Uno really kicks off in our house between the girls. And we have to try and almost like put adults between the kids. Because in Uno, you can do a thing when you make someone pick up four cards. And they are desperate to do it to their sibling. I don't know if you get in sibling fighting in the go-kartner, is it just towards you mainly?

All the time. Three boys are never-ending kind of squabbling. But they are so far apart in age. I mean, it's five and a half years between the youngest and our middle child, Frank, and three years between the top two. So they are, it's like me and my sisters. My sister was a year younger than me. And our other sister was two years.

So, you know, there's all three of us born within three years. So it was a much sort of different vibe. Yeah. But I think they are quite competitive with each other. But they also have a laugh with each other. So it's not, they're pretty good. I think, you know, you want a bit of, I think everyone after you, after you know, why don't you win? No, I think it's your turn to win today.

I mean, no one wants that, do they? Not long term. Not when they're older. You know, when they're younger, it sort of keeps it quiet. But when they're teenagers. Yeah. You didn't get to the top of your industry, Stephen, without a bit of fucking edge. 2.6 seconds per lap, Josh.

A few spiky elbows at Rada. Do you know what? Did you go to Rada? I did, yeah. It's exciting, isn't it? It does, he sound, yeah, no, very exciting indeed. I wasn't having a dig. What?

Listen to the words, not the accent, Stephen. I was being nice. The thing I liked about acting always was that it is. You're still acting, Stephen. You're still acting. I know you do a lot of hosting and bookwriter. You're still acting. I know.

I'm still acting. What I like about it is that it's a, team sport, team game. You know, if you put a play on or you're doing a film or a TV series,

you know, you're part of a big gang of people who are all trying to make it work together. I like that side of it. I think it's probably the thing I've always wondered most about what you guys do

standing up there on your own, not allowing anyone else on stage with you, insisting on being, you know, sort of lone wolves is what I'm saying. Yeah. I find it fascinating that,

to me, the fun of it is a sort of the bit afterwards and going, You know, how did that go and discussing me with people? And I always thought, I'd find it very odd doing what you do. I'm in full of admiration, of course, and I could never do what you do. I think you could. We were discussing beforehand.

You're one of an elite band of non-comedians that's as good as a comedian on a entertainment show. Well, that's very nice of you. Can you name the others that we named? Can you name? I don't think there are. I think I'm the only one. Let me bring. Well, I imagine, though.

Stephen's never on with them because they're all filling that same booking of the funny non-comediency. Right, yes, yes. We're talking Winkleman. Winkleman's very good. Charles Brandreth. Osmond. Osmond, excellent. Charles Brandreth, good.

Would you ever consider it a go? What, stand up? Stand up. I think that ship has probably sailed. Would you have, if at the age of 28, the acting hadn't really been taken off? Yeah, I only started at 26, by the way, so. that would have given me 24 months but yeah go on all right the age of it's 32 are you with your wife by this point 32 no no no not till late 30s oh bloody how you are a late are you older than i think

how old are you stephen how old are you stephen 70 this is blowing my mind because i only read your wikipedia this morning right see if it's right how old you mangan how are you i'm 57 oh bloody how you look incredible thank you there's a punders and thousands of pounds worth of work done. You were born in the 60s? Yeah. Fucking Nora. You're not doing well to get on this Zoom.

My agent's so depressed now that this has come out in this way. Because I'm going up for 30-year-old parts still. You could get a really disheveled late 30s guy. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Not that disheveled. I wanted to ask you a question about your Wikipedia. Yeah. When I read this earlier.

you worked at the Royal Shakespeare Company in school for a scandal. Do you remember that? I do. That would have been the mid-90s, yeah? Late 90s. It would have been, yes, mid to late 90s, yeah, yeah. Do you remember the name of the director?

Declan Donnellan. Yeah, did you ever bring up that his name was a bit like Declan Noddley? I mean, have you ever had that question in your life, Stephen, in any interview ever? He did actually have an aunt called McParlane. Aunt McPartland, that deserved more. That was excellent. Thank you. Aunt McPartland, he fucking ripped it on the briefing call.

Yeah. Michael fell on the floor laughing in the research call with the Ant McPartland stuff. Obviously, he went to crowbar in the question. I knew he went too well in the briefing call. Yeah, Declan. Donnell, I worked with him many times, actually. But does it ever come up? It never ever came up, no.

Because we were moving in very rarefied circles. I don't think he'd have known who Ant and Deck were, to be honest. PJ and Duncan at that time as well, to be said. It would have been another jump. I mean, how old would they have been in 1996? That would have been about the peak of them as PJ and Duncan, I think. Yeah. Okay, the sort of curtain haircut.

I wonder if it's ever happened the other way around. Do you reckon Dex ever got it? I love the fact that, by the way, that you've looked at my entire CV, and the one thing you've picked up is that I work with the director who sounds a bit like Deck. All right. The other question I was going to ask, which did you prefer hosting out of keeping up appearances 30 years of laughs hello hello 40 years of laughter or birds of a feather 30 years of laughter

listen I love doing those shows I'll tell you why because there's a sort of a rush of kind of nostalgia yeah of nostalgic thank you of rushing nostalgia but you get to watch an entire sort of or several series cut down to the hour and a half of their best bits so it's a treat it's an absolute treat I love doing it I'm doing it doing one about the Good Life next week. Oh, yeah?

Yeah. I've not seen these shows. You talk with guests? I'm the voiceover to a sort of talking head. They talk to the cast members who are still around about the making of it, hilarious things that happened on set, stuff that didn't make it into the show. Maybe there's an unseen footage. Oh, I'd enjoy this.

I should watch these. I know you're not on to promote that, but I would watch that. One last question from your Wikipedia, because I've done. Yeah. I don't know if we covered this last time. If we did, do stop me. You worked with a director called Kean Huntley In 1992

Now In Postman Pat the movie When you provided the points of Postman Pat Yes Josh, are you okay? It's parenting Ronan Keating did the singing voice Yes, he did

Have you watched the film? I haven't got round to it Did you play Postman Pat? I play Postman Pat, yeah in the movie. Ronan did the singing. It's like a gear shift. Well, he does. The thing is, when I got the job, I thought I was hired to do the voice of Postman Power and the singing voice. So when I went into the first voiceover session and they said, great news, we've got Ronan Keating. My face obviously fell because this is the first I'd heard I wasn't going to be singing.

And the guy said, I didn't you know you weren't going to be in the singing. I said, no, we'll get rid of Ronan. You do the singing. You do this. I'm sure he didn't mean. He was just trying to make me feel better. And I was like, no, you've got Ronan Keating. Why would you, you know, so yeah, he, Postman Pat does sing with a slight Irish accent, but that's okay. In fact, one of my best showbiz moments ever was a screening of Postman Pat in a massive cinema with just me and Ronan are the only two people watching. It doesn't get much more showbiz than that. Wow. Why don't know? I think everyone else had seen it and didn't want to see it again. They do do that sometimes because I've done the voice of this parrot in a kid's film and they're like,

Do you want to come to the screen in? I was like, oh, I need to do some press. Should I do the press there? She went, oh, you're the only one in the room? I went, what? I was like, oh no, I just thought you wanted to go to the screen? I was like, don't book out cinema for me. Like, just email me the link.

I can watch it at home. How badly is sales going? I think that must have been what happened. Yeah. Yeah, it was a great showbiz moment. He does a fine job. I put it on record. He's a much better singer than I am.

Oh, that's good of you. That's good of you. And from a man so competitive. 2.6 seconds per lap. obviously in that situation you've gone right I'm Stephen Mangon I'm a great voice actor I can do a bit of singing I'll just do a bit of Postman Pat it's not got to be perfect his postman Pat

a little bit annoyed Ronan's coming but great guy but then flip it Ronan's got to be going I could do a bit of talking couldn't he need Stephen do he need Stephen has he gone in and that's same thing and he's gone to do the lines I went no no no you're just singing well in the movie

Pat enters a TV singing competition run by a man called Simon Cowbell. Lovely. Lovely. You also directed you. And Pat's voice is jaw-droppingly good. So it's kind of the centre of the movie that he can really sing well. So the change is actually, it's a lovely plot point rather than just a way of levering in two big stars.

It's actually absolutely central to the entire thing. It's an interesting film because it's basically the film is about that. It's also about hostile corporate takeovers. which I always thought was an interesting choice for a film. It's essentially for five and six-year-olds. Towards the post office? Jesus. Does it cover the post office scandal?

They bring in... It's got a Fujitsu fax machine in it, I think. The new boss brings in a robot army of postmen who replace all the current postman. So we all get sacked. I need to watch this. It's a good film. It's the whole post office thing's blown over. Did your kids like it?

Did you watch it with them? Yeah. I mean, they came to the premiere. And we're very confused. They were quite young at the time, especially Frank. And he was very confused because there was a guy there dressed in a big Postman Pat outfit. And I told them I was Postman Pat. But Postman Clark was clearly there and it wasn't me.

I had a similar experience as a child that became kind of family folklore, that I was obsessed with Postman Pat. And then my parents took me to meet Postman Pat at like something like that. Not like that, but it was a big bloke dressed up like a Pat. and I was terrified and I hated him and I said no big Pat and no big Pat became a kind of catchphrase because I imagined he was going to be like an inch high

and I was terrified of no big Pat I wanted to ask because you're a huge Spurs fam last time you're on you'd manage to convert your oldest son who was 13 then to Spurs you went with him your youngest son had become a Liverpool fan because your wife had made him a Liverpool farm. Did you manage to change him

and did you, this being the year of Spurs, having possibly one of their best events in the history of Spurs, winning whatever that third-tier Europa thing is? Oh, please. Shame, isn't it? Finishing full from bottom. Did you take your children to it? And are your children still split between teams?

Well, did I tell the, I mean, because this goes back to their very earliest days. Harry is our eldest. I took him to White Hart Lane when he was eight days old. I put him in the car. And they said he's not going to make it. He's not good enough. We can see it already. No, I mean, I didn't take into a game just to have a picture. I'm not a monster. Just a picture I said they put the scarf around him. I was carrying a big flag and there's a picture of me and

an eight-day-old baby outside White Hart Lane. That's intense. He's quite a mad time when you've just had a kid. You do weird stuff. You do get a little bit weird. And then when Frank was born on his eighth day on the planet, I thought, I had a compulsion. do it, into the car, drove him to the ground, picture of him outside the ground, eight days old. Is your wife with you and these things? She found out what happened with our first son and said you're not going to do that again, are you? And I said, no. Is she a big Liverpool fan? She's not at all. No, she couldn't care less about football. So the second time I had to pretend I was going for a walk into the car, drive to the ground, picture. Are you getting a stranger

to take the picture? My cousin came up with me and she took the picture. So, So the elder two are both big Spurs fans, and I didn't do it with our youngest, and that's why I think he has gone to the Liverpool side. She did it to wind me up, but, you know, obviously they won the league this year, so that doesn't help my cause. No. You go to the final with them? I went without them, yeah.

It was during term time, and I could only get hold of one ticket anyway, because I'm this, you know, season ticket holder. Oh, all right. They don't have a season ticket. So, yeah, I went with my cousin and a couple of other people, and it was amazing. But Frank is a massive, my middle son. He's got into that kind of, you know, superstition thing. I mean, he's got this big foam hand that he bought outside the ground, which is clearly...

I thought you were just talking about it. But thank God he said that he bought outside the ground. Yeah. He just happens to have a very big foam hand, is how he was born. Big year shift into a medical episode. Can we just do a trigger warning here, Stephen? If you are affected by me. Please phone, 0800 foam.

on your massive phone. But he has to take this hand with him to the ground because it's his lucky thing. I mean, he's sort of obsessed by it. So clearly it's a knockoff. Daniel Levy's obviously been in touch with whoever makes these foam hands because I know we're on the foam hand,

as it say, Tottenham or Spurs. They've obviously been threatened with legal action. So it says N-17 Club, which... That sounds like pro-evolution when they didn't have the rights. They didn't have the right. N-17 clubs, it says, come on you cockerels, which is also not a thing.

No. He's convinced that it's helping us to win, you know, all the games that we won last year. I think it might be the foam hand. It might be the foam hand. And you say he wasn't there with the foam hand at the one big game that you did win last year. Yeah, okay, I see what you're saying. The stats are. Yeah, fair enough.

Yeah, don't worry. I'll take the foam hand with me. Did they watch it and love it, though? Is it a big moment for them? Are they not as into it as you? No, there was a big moment because I think it hasn't been easy if you're 14 and you support spurs. it's not been an easy 14 years. Not a lot of glory. So I think absolutely it was a totally joyous moment. And my youngest won the league. So yeah. Yeah, of course. Very happy hour.

So everyone was a winner. Can we talk to you about Fortune Hotel? Because this is an easy gig, isn't it? Do you go to Barbados or somewhere for a month? We go to Grenada in November for a month, which is, I hate missing November in this country. It's just a delight. It's a lovely month. It's a lovely month. Everyone looks forward to November. So the people that haven't seen it, take us through what Fortune Hotel is.

So the Fortune Hotel is a game show set in this astonishing resort in the Caribbean, 10 pairs, each given a suitcase. One suitcase has an early checkout card. One suitcase has a quarter of a million pounds in cash in it. Every night you get to swap cases. If you end up with the early checkout card, you go in home. If you end the whole series with the money, you keep the money. The first series was really a joy. A deal on Odie on the beach.

Yeah, exactly. And there's speedboats and yachts and all sorts of exciting tasks for them to do. This is the absolute catnip for TV channels at the moment, isn't it? It's a format that will work internationally so that Grenada all year can have Fortune hotels. Yeah, yeah. Is this from abroad or? or is it being sold? It's a new format, which is, you know, you'll know working in television

is always a bit of a more risky proposition because if it's been done in Sweden or Malaysia or Japan or somewhere and been a success, then you know that it sort of has worked somewhere else and you just have to translate it to this country. But when you're sort of creating a brand new series from thin air, it's always a more difficult thing to pull off. So the fact that the first series went down so well and was so popular and they were back for a second series is great.

I bet you couldn't believe your own. luck when it went well, could you? And you were... Well, I have to go back. I bet you've been the most you've ever been interested in the ratings of a TV show. We've got a 34-point share? Yeah. I know everything about TV ratings. Literally, looking at my calendar in November, just, you know, blocked off. I know, it's a delight. And how do you sell it to your family that you're off to Grenada for November? Well, I tell you what, the hardest work I did in the whole series was finding somewhere to FaceTime my wife that didn't have a rum shack or a palm tree in the background.

Honestly, it's really hard work. Yeah, I'll have a rum punch. Yeah. It's really hard work. Was it long days for you or was it quite an easy gig? They're very long days. 12 hour days, six days a week. Oh, there we go. Yeah, here we go. This sob story. Everyone get the violins out. Let's go. I mean, the luxury hotel, guys, it wasn't even functioning as a hotel. There was no bar. There was no restaurant. we had to eat in the staff canteen. Oh my God. It's a ridiculous gig, and it's... Long may it continue.

Let me hope in 40 years' time, I'm coming back to you, and we're talking about Declan Donnelly. Would you be pleased or disappointed if they said we're going to bolt on another two weeks for a celebrity version? I mean, I don't know. I'd have to face that hurdle when it came, Josh. Just see if you had the energy left. I don't know if I could miss the first two.

weeks in December, because they're another gift in this country. The treat of those shows is the people they get on. And, you know, because they don't work unless you're watching people who are interesting. You're either willing on or you're hoping don't do well. The casting is all about. And this year, they have absolutely surpassed themselves. Do you hang out with them or do you have to keep a distance? We have to keep a distance just because, I mean, they're even separated in their pairs

because they just don't want all the action to take place off. camera. So all the sort of strategising and gossiping and, you know, theorising. They want it to all happen so we can see it. So it's all quite carefully monitored. And to be honest, you know, having spent the whole day with them on a yacht, they probably want to break from me, you know, because I lie in my boudoir. When's it on, Stephen? It is on in August. August the 6th, I believe, is the first. They're showing it two shows a week. So it's Wednesday and Thursday nights at 9 o'clock on ITV. So yeah, it's a belter.

I've already seen the first four episodes. You've made the cut. I'm still in it. I'm still in it. It's an absolute treat. And I get a lot of people, you know, have been asking when it's on because it's been on slightly later this year than last year.

So, yeah, I'm excited. I'm excited for it to get out there. So you've got that going on. You've also got your book coming out. Yeah. I've got it here. Is this your sixth or seventh or seventh or eighth? Eighth, maybe.

Yeah, seventh or eighth, yeah. The fart that saved the universe. Yeah. And I should say it's not just you. It's your sister, Anita, has illustrated it. Yeah, yeah. How does that go? Do you have rounds?

Because it's hard working with family. Or does it work well? Yeah, but she's very easy going. I mean, we do Celebrity Gogglebox together. Someone said to me the other day, your wife doesn't half look like you. You're like middle house. His parents. My sister.

I mean, she's basically me with a wig on. I mean, it's exactly the same. How weird to marry someone like that. Anyway. No, it works really well because, firstly, she's lovely and very laid back. And also, I can't draw at all. I'm absolutely hopeless with it. It's interesting.

I host a show about painting on Sky, but anyway. Does she have an issue with that? No, she doesn't, because I think, I mean, that's another story. But the brief of me is not to know anything about art. That's, I've told myself as the reason I've been employed for that job. Basically, I do the writing. And then when I finish the writing, I hand it over to her, and she does all the illustrations. Have you ever said that isn't how I envisaged it at all?

I mean, no. Occasionally, I'll say, like, we had a thing, because I'm writing, we've got a Christmas book called Barry saves Christmas that I'm writing. I've just finished writing. It's about a St Bernard called Barry who saves Christmas. Spoiler alert, Steve. There's no twist there. You can't have him not saving it for a Christmas book.

It's really moral. I upset everybody. But, you know, occasionally I'll go, oh, something about scale or, You know, but on the whole, 95% of the time, I just, what she does works perfectly. So I just, this is the fun bit at the moment. She's sending through pictures every day at the moment. Oh, that must be fun. It's great, because I don't think visually.

I think I've done my bit. And as you know, writing a book is hard work. You've got yourself in a situation where you're knocking out one a year now, aren't you? Is that quite a kind of. Two a year. Two a year. It's sitting how hard you're working in Grenada. Yeah.

They stitched me up with that one. Not stitch me up, but they just appeal to my ego. totally worked because they said, we think you should write two a year. I said, I'd really got so much else going on. I'm not sure I can do more than one. They said, most of the top writers do two a year. I'll do two a year. I'll do two a year. We are competitive, but you're pathetic, isn't that? But actually, there's something about being in the flow of like, you know, thinking of ideas and sitting down every day and doing two or three hours of writing. It's kind of easier if you're just doing it nearly every day

throughout the year. So, yeah, I like it. It's part of your routine habit, basically. Yeah. I love writing for that age group because they're kind of old enough to get quite complicated, you know, ideas, but they're still young enough to go with you anywhere, you know, you want to go with them. So, yeah, the eight to 12-year-old kind of age group

that they're aimed at. And I love writing this Christmas book. It's quite hard to find a story about Christmas that hasn't been done, you know, Santa, elves. Jesus. Jesus, yes, obviously. The big part. So, yeah, I thought St Bernard's this year.

So, yeah. Me and my wife were talking about you the other day because you did the voiceover, not the voice, you narrate, this is children's related, the Funny Bones audiobook on the Tonys or whatever it's called. You know, it's probably on all formats. Yeah. And it's a quick old book, obviously.

And we were discussing how quickly you knocking that out. What's the process when you've got to record 12 lines? Are you walking in, knocking out Funny Bones? and you've gone within 20 minutes, or are you reading it the day before? Oh, I'm definitely reading the day before, six weeks of rehearsal. I'll do some improvised dance, maybe paint a few pictures. Imagine what it's like to be a funny bone skeleton. I read it and then go in and, yeah, they don't take long.

You're right. Are you doing loads of them in a day? You might, if you're doing like a series, I do the Pipp and Posey series, for example, and you might do four or five books in a day. It's counterbalanced that with doing actual adult audio. books, which are brutal. I don't tend to do them anymore because they are really different. I think they're the hardest thing to do because you are sitting there for eight hours in a studio reading a story out loud essentially. And I find that after a while, the words just start

to swim in front of your eyes. Also, you're trying to remember what voice you gave a character that appeared six chapters ago. You know, last time it might have been talking like that. And then you've forgotten. Suddenly he's talking like that. You know, so at least I get to do voices. My children and don't let me do voices when I read to them. Do they not let you stretch your legs when you read into them? Oh, I mean, you think as the children of an actor or two actors, that that would be the one thing I could give them, apart from, you know, crushing their spirit on a go-karting track,

the one thing I could give them would be able to read a story and bring it to life, but they just, they can't stand, stop, no voices, Dad, no, stop doing the voice. She's pretty sure, Dad, doing it, even as you're doing it well. They're like, and then the witch said, And then I came home, and they're like, Dad, stop it. Are any of them following in your and your wife's footsteps? Well, they're too young, really, for that at the moment. And, you know, Harry's doing his A-levels next year.

Oh, you only got started at 42 or whatever it was. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I took the long way around. I think it's good for people to do. I'm always slightly, I mean, I know some people are like Tiger Woods and know what they want to do at the age of four. But I think it's good for people to get out and do lots of different things and see a bit of the world.

They never turn out well. Those elite sports people never tell. I did a whole episode on Formula One and I don't think I'd want my child to be a Formula One driver. No, I don't think there's a good way to live your life. I think all elite sports people are slightly... They've had a weird life, haven't they? Yeah.

Well, that's why someone who, like Pat Nevin, who read The Guardian and was famously, you know, lambasted in the dressing room, are such standouts because... Or even Marcus Rashford doing all his charity work and stuff. Even someone like Ian Wright, who's come to football late. Do you know what I mean?

A bit more perspective. They totally have a different perspective, yeah. How involved and stressed you're getting about your kids' GCSEs and A levels or just let them crack on with it or because they don't go bored in school. Do they go bored? You went to boarding school? No, no, I did, yeah. No, they don't, no.

Having a very different educational experience to you. Are you involved in it much or just let them crack on? That balance is so difficult because half the point of those exams is for kids to just learn how to tackle something on their own and achieve something that they learn how to put the work in and, you know, be a success doing it, which means sometimes they won't get it right and then hopefully they'll think, oh, maybe I could have tried a bit harder and, you know, I don't want to be those parents who's standing over someone every time they do any homework and showing them how to do it because I think that's not helpful. But at the same time,

of course, you want to give them help and you want to support. I find that really difficult. I don't know. I mean, Harry just did his end of year mocks and really for the first time, like he sort of got in worked really hard and it was great to see and you can see how much he cared about doing well in them and you're like wow that's amazing you know he worked way harder than I did at that stage and he's sort of very proud of him but I don't know I you always feel you're getting it wrong as a parent don't you those sort of things I think also like there's a surely a feeling of the more you push the more they'll push back right yeah you can't force someone to care yeah about their GCSEs completely and if you're going

this matters and you need to know that your whole life fucking hangs on you getting up it's not even called a C anymore but whatever it's called in maths yeah four otherwise you won't be able to go A levels and blah blah blah do you know what I mean

it's surely in your not it's in you or it's not in you but kind of you are who you are right to an extent you are and also Harry's 17 I mean he's going to be 18 in a couple of months he's using me an adult yeah you're going to take him for a pint Well, yeah, I suppose I have to

Don't know, even though he's been in pubs for ages already with his fake ID. We've got to do a sort of, you know, sacrificial, not sacrificial, what's the word? Yeah, God, I've lost the plot as well. How about to shut all the windows in this room for the sound? It's like 700 degrees. Can I ask on that?

Yeah, go on. How are you like with, obviously you say, as with any 17-year-old, you know, he's been in pubs and stuff, are you a you do this you don't do this or you are the same with that as you are with education in the sense that you're going I'm just going to let it happen and see how it plays out because that's a really difficult one for parents I think it's really difficult it's like he's out and about you know you have to learn how to cope with the world you can't keep someone in cotton wool and then expect them to be a fully functioning adult you have to let them

get out there and and navigate slightly tricky situations but of course you don't want them to be in a situation they can't handle or that becomes dangerous. So it's really tricky and I live in the centre of London. So obviously there's all sorts of... Big Ben. ...acitements and dangers out there. That's a mad decision. What, living in London?

How central are you, Stephen? Without giving you... Yeah, Zone 1. In my head, you're living in Soho. I'm living in Trafalgar Square. Just next to a Canadian enmity. But you need to let them spread their wings and go out there and navigate the world and learn. how to deal with people. I think that's basically what school is dealing with people,

some that you get on with, some you don't like, some who wish you well, some who don't wish you well. And you're kind of trying to, they need those skills, how to deal with it, and to recognise who is good news and who might be bad news. And that's all part of the things they're trying to learn. Well, Central London's quite a stressful place to learn that, you know, because that is like for teenage boys, all that's going on. And like, even if you live in the most nicest part of London next to it can also be a very rough part and there's gang stuff going on and that you must be quite worried about them going out to, you know, fake IDs or going to pubs and staying out buses and...

Yeah, or clubs, you know, he started to go to clubs and yeah, it's a big thing and yeah, you just have to trust that they, you know, are savvy enough to, you know, navigate it, but at the same time, me and Lou, we're always encouraging them to come back here. If they're going to be doing anything, we'd really did it in this. house than anywhere else. So there's always quite a lot of his friends around here and at ours. We want it to be the house that they come to and are comfortable doing that. So in order to do that, you can't be over their shoulder what you're doing now, what you're doing now the whole time. You have to give him a bit of freedom. And like I said, he's going to be an adult in a couple of

months. So do you wait up for him still? You're waiting up for him or you getting to sleep? Or has he got a light? He has to turn off when he gets in or what's the protocol? He does. He has to bolt the door. And yeah, I mean, his Uber account, we obviously get him, you know, He's coming back late from somewhere. We'll make him get an Uber back. Lou has got him on Find My Phone or whatever so she can see where he is. But, yeah, of course you worry. You really worry.

And, you know, he might go off to university next, you know, September. And he'll be in a different city. And speaking to my mates, you probably worry about them less when they're in another city. Yeah. Because you don't know the specifics, yeah. You don't know. You're not waiting for them to come back. Yeah.

You kind of like, well, right, well, he's, I'm not going to hear from him anyway now. But it's really stressful. I can't tell you how. Oh, Safari. Well, it just did. I think every parent would say the same. It's just one of those things you know yourself at that age. You think you know everything and you know your way around.

And of course you don't. But you have to learn. And we were all in situations that might have been a bit iffy at times. But, you know, you learn from that, hopefully. And your fingers crossed that something, he doesn't come across a situation that you can't handle. So, but yeah, I'm incredibly stressed now just talking about it. He's still asleep next door. I want to run in and give him a cuddle. He goes, don't ever leave this house again.

Is that generation a big drink, or they're not drinking as much, the younger generation? That seems to be the betrayal, but I don't know how true that is. I'll tell you what that generation does seem to be really into, which we were no one. They're really into politics. Both my 17 and 14-year-old will sit around and talk politics, and they're so clued up. And I think it's partly... Is a reform household? Yeah, massive.

Massive. I think it's because politics has been so interesting in the last few years. You know, we had lockdown and we had Trump, and we've had Boris Johnson and Brexit. I think they probably feel like also that the world's a bit more fucked than we felt. When I was, I mean, obviously, now we've learnt your age, obviously. Who was your Prime Minister Churchill, or was it Clementley? Harold McMillan, yeah. Lord Robinlin.

You were just livid about rationing, weren't you? That was the main thing. I was just decided by the arrival of the steam train. Yeah, you had a lovely time, though. You got evacuated into a nice family, wasn't you? He did, you got a lovely time, then, in the country. I think, you know, there's a lot going on where you'd probably be a lot more fired up as a 17-year-old than we were when. Well, I think, you know, if you're cynical about politics going, look, nothing ever changes, everything stays the same, nothing ever happens.

If you were 14 or 13 when lockdown happened, and because of a disease, the entire society was changed. Everything was completely revolutionised. And suddenly, just because the government decided it was going to be different, it was different. You go, well, hang on a minute. If you can do it because you think there's a virus going around, why can't you do it for other reasons? So I don't know. Just to confirm you, did you think there was a virus going around, Stephen? I did, yeah, I did.

Okay, just that and climate change, all a hoax. I like it hot. Yeah. Grenada's fucking beautiful. Why don't we want more? that. Why don't we? I'm not denying it. I think it's happening and I'm loving it. Personally, I can only talk about personal experience. I'm not a denier,

but I'm enjoying it. Climate enjoyer. I'm an enjoyer. I'm not a denier. It's been 30 degrees for 10 days in a row. Personally, loving it. Stop with the electric cars, guys. I don't want to go back. Yeah. Before our final question, just to say, the fart that saved Christmas is out

but your second book of the year not the fart that saved the universe and then Barry... Barry saves Christmas is out in October and the Fortune Hotel is coming in August. I don't know when this is going out. August. August the 6th, yeah. Stephen, final question. We asked you it last time.

We need to check if the answer has changed but also the format's developed to a point where we don't just ask the negative. It's not just Fortune Hotel that changes the format. Here we go. It's not just Formatune Hotel that... Love it. that tunes things up.

Five years on, we've made a few changes. Basically, what's the one thing about your partner that frustrates you as a parent? Now, last time you said, it was she will give the kids a snack before dinner and they won't be hungry at the right time, which frustrate you. Is that still the case? And then the second part is,

what is the one thing she does as a parent, the positive thing that you think, oh my God, they're amazing. I'm so lucky she's their mum. She still will give them a bit of a snack before dinner. So, yeah. She won't listen. I think the thing that's great about her

and that is also, she's always just way ahead of any, she sees a situation coming way before I do. And she will go, I think this is going to be an issue, that's going to be an issue. And I'm like, no, it was. And then of course, a week later, I'm like, oh yeah, you were right. And I still haven't learned that lesson just to listen to her. She's way more emotionally literate than I will ever be. What kind of situation? Oh, just if someone's having a problem with school or, you know, or they're unhappy or a certain like period in their, you know, exams or, you know, something's coming up that's going to be an issue she just is way way on top of

I think you know Is that the time difference between the UK and Grenada Or is that I think that definitely is part of it You know Because they're already at lunchtime When I haven't got up yet He's crying down the phone

On a wet school run And you're on a loungeer going Well I'm sure they'll be all right won't they Kids are kids I don't think that'll be a problem Will it? They're shoving shit in his lunchbox Yeah, but, you know, it's hygiene.

I was at Bourbonne's called. It's way worse. Not now. I'm having a manicure. Stephen, thank you so much for doing it. It's a joy to speak to you. Absolute pleasure, gents. Thank you.

Stephen Mangon. What a lovely bloke. He's a good girl, Mango, and he? He's a hard worker, and he? Jokes of sign back when I don't know. I think sounds like a good gig, but he's banging out two books a year, the guy. He doesn't stop.

Good on him. 56 he looks incredible that's great you do need that little bit of competitive energy to do the job he does if you're you know i can write two books i'll do this i'll do that yeah i can watch someone draw a palt portrait i can have a breakdown when all my kids leave home and i realized working and gone out of the oh bless him i felt like we'd really cut into it we wait until the end of the episode when it was all hot up in his attic room with no windows open and started telling him about his son growing up and being 18 in london i'm sorry stephen i'm sorry but i'm sure he'll survive in living in his central london house and going to grenada for a month in november Josh, until next time. See you later. Bye-bye.