That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Diane and Ross Carson talk about life after The Traitors

Episode Date: September 2, 2024

The Traitors stars, Diane and Ross, join Gaby for a chat about all things joy. They talk about their time on the show, how Ross had to be convinced to do it and what they're both up to next. Way back when (in the hazy mid 90s), Gaby actually met Diane and Ross when she was hosting The Big Breakfast. How come? You'll have to listen to find out. (yes, Ross was only a baby!) As well as Traitor chat, they also reveal how they are as mother and son in 'real life'. We hope you enjoy the chat! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome, Diane and Ross. Hello. This isn't The Traitors. This is all for real. This is me looking at Ross in the eye because Diane, share with everybody, this isn't the first time that we've met. No, this is actually the third time we've met. Apart from the Joe Lysic show. Yeah, the first time was back in 1995 January when my family appeared on Family the Week on the Big Breakfast show.

And Gabby was one of the hosts. And Ross, how old were you at the time? I think I was about one years old the first time we met. One years old. I can't remember it, obviously. Well, you sat on my lap. I did. And I cuddled you often.

Yeah, often. I was a big cuddly baby at that point. You were adorable. I was a big cuddly baby. It is so surreal. So there I am watching traitors. Did you recognise me? No.

I'm going to say no. I'm going to say no. There I am watching it like everybody. else. Take it. And thinking, oh, oh, isn't it amazing? Their mother and son. Oh, look at it.

Oh, that. Oh, is he a traitor? All of that. Like everybody else. Uming, Ring, owing. Then I go on Joe Lysit show, dressed as a dinosaur. Yes, this is all, you know, this is surreal in every way. And your mother comes up and said, guess what?

Ross sat on your lap when he was one. But didn't say why. And I was, what? with no context that does seem a bit odd. Oh, my word. So let's go back. I tell you what, we're going to end with traitors

because that's the last thing that people saw you with. We're going to start with. So you were on the big breakfast with your sons. Tell me. Well, it used to be a great show. I don't know whether it's still on.

I just love the family. Is it not? I just love the family of the week and they always wanted to do fun things. Oh, you see, it's fabulous. And I thought, do you know what? I think my family could do that. And I applied with my dad.

because my dad was a great character and sadly dad wasn't allowed to do it because he didn't live under the same roof but they just went ahead I got time off work which was unheard of really what did work make of it well they all thought it was a bit mad but I just got yeah I got the go ahead to go on on it and the funny thing is we had an absolute ball but the next year but the next year then they you did a road show yes you came to bangor I got a phone call to see if my dad wanted to take part in the pensioner's talent show. Honestly, now I'm not kidding you. So Danny Manogue hosted that.

And Ross's sister, my eldest, introduced Dad on the talent show on the big breakfast radio show the next year. So Danny Manoge is going to be coming on this podcast soon after this. I'm going to ask her if she remembers. She will because it was a terrible joke. It was, I mean, to be fair, I have mentioned this before. So there were three old age pensioners. Dad told a joke wasn't great.

Somebody sang like Al Jolson. And then the banger mares sang with their dog. So she played a keyboard and the dog was supposed to bark and howl or whatever it did. The dog didn't do it. It did nothing, but she still won. So I think that was a fix. The thing is, on live television, there is nothing you love more than an animal that doesn't perform. I know, nothing.

So, and the audience is always on the side. But did Ross behave himself? Yes, of course he did. And he behaved himself on the Big Breakfast. Yeah, he was good. But he was a good, cuddly, sort of good nature child, really? So was the Big Breakfast? Was that specifically a Northern Irish thing?

No, no. No, that was like UK. They came to our house and did a recording. Do you remember the recording? It's hilarious. No, I do like remember Like the introduction to us. You're one. No, I know exactly. So I don't remember being on it. Mom's got all these family tapes. And like, I have seen it maybe once or twice.

But I thought it was a Northern Irish thing. So like when my partner, Rima asked me about it and I go, okay, so she's like, whose podcast are you going on today? And I'm going Gabby Rosalind's podcast. And then I say, you know, Gabby Rosalind held me as a child. She's going, how? Why? Why? And I'm going, whoa, because we were on this

show like back in the day. And she's going, oh, so you and Diane, mum, you were born for this, basically. Well, that's, she's quite, well, I think mom's groomed me to come on shows because not only did you force me when I was one year old, without

consent on the big breakfast, but you then, you know, got on the traitors. You persuaded you persuaded. You persuaded me to get on the traitors as well. So the whole thing is you were born to be on television and then your brother is in Game of Thrones. Look what you did to your children. I know, I know. And my daughter's been, she's been on TV as well. She's an actress too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But she was in called the midwife briefly, but she normally was doing musical theater. So she travelled around doing that. What shows? Because now you're talking about language.

Well, she did... Well, she was on top girls, wasn't she? She did top girls. And she worked with... I've forgotten the name. Simon McBurney's theatre show. What's it called? It's physical theatre.

That's shocking. I've forgotten. But she's been in that. And she's done crimes in cold, warm countries. Is it? Hot countries, cold countries? You put me in the spot. It's fine.

The hilarious thing is, it's like, so my siblings, they're like six to eight years older than me and they're both actors. And like my childhood, all I remember is being, is complicity. That's it. Thank you. That's where she's been in. She did a lot in that. Yes. Yes.

Thank you. But my memory of that is being like essentially dragged when I was a kid. That's like how I felt about it. I was dragged to these theatre shows. And I say drag because now I love the theatre and that's like my industry. Well, you weren't dragged. You know when you're a mom. You want your children to have every experience.

And we are very creative. It was my older brother and sisters like thing. And they'd be like, okay. And it would be like every week I'd have to go to these different theaters or every couple of to these different theaters. That's a lovely thing. It's a lovely. Now that I'm an adult, I'm going and this is my industry as well now.

And I'm going, wow, like that was incredible to be surrounded by that. But as a kid, I was just like, I don't care about any of this. So I'd be dragged to these things. and inevitably I fall asleep. So it's hilarious that you're going, you're looking at me going, what was Lisa's show? I was asleep.

I went to see River Dance and I was persuaded into that and I didn't want, I'm not a dancer and I don't do dance particularly. Come on, you could. It had been extended in Belfast and I just went with my ex-husband and we were up in the front row and those dancers came on from the second those dancers came on. They hardly even touched the stage and I'm sitting. watching, looking, I was mesmerized.

I mean, I cried because they were so talented, these Irish dancers anyway, Ross wasn't born. And I felt guilty that Lisa and Michael, his siblings hadn't been ass. So I said to my ex, would you take Lisa and Michael to see this? Because I cannot keep this performance all to myself because it's mesmerizing. And he took them and Michael fell asleep. I mean, I think, how in the name of God was it possible to fall asleep? Are you going to be doing any of that sort of dancing when you do Panto?

I hope not. Oh yes, you will. Oh, no, I won't. Yes, you will. Oh, we can't wait. They're all dancers. I'm not. Are you a real?

Nobody can dance is what I mean. No, no. No, you know, I can do a little two-step in a club. The three of them can dance. They've got rhythm. I don't. Okay, I've done why I won't make you dance. Or maybe afterwards I might, do you know?

Yeah, I think we should. We should get her up now. But you also ended up in the industry, because you're, You have a company. I'm a director, yeah, owner production company. We do like a lot of, you know, for money, we do branded content. And then for passion, we do short films and, you know, trying to get into that narrative world. But it's tough.

So Lisa, when she was 13, said, I want to be an actress. And I said, oh, no, you don't. And I said, it's such a difficult world. So when she was about 14, she played Laurie in our local theatre at an Oklahoma League Girl. And they were all great, all of them. she was lit up from inside out. And I thought, nobody stopped me being a teacher. She has to go through it, you know.

And it's a difficult career. Anyway, he came to me. And it's not been easy for her, by the way, out of all of them, acting, particularly for females. Yeah, very difficult. It's a hard job, you know. Anyway, he came to me at the age of 1819. He said, Mom, I want to go to study music at university. And he said, but I've been told there's no work out there, what do you think?

And I said, I think you have to follow your passion. Because you do not want regret. you know and in the end actually you've trained yourself you had all of that grinding yeah so i did i did music and then that's kind of what i always wanted to be when i was a kid was you know i'd look up to like distinctly robbie williams which is hilarious because now as an adult like Robbie i love you but at the same time he's not you've all their types of music that you've been introduced to do that you like that and when i was younger that's like who I loved and then and that's just what I wanted to do.

I just wanted to be a singer. Do you still sing now? In the shower. You can sing now. He can't. He honestly can say, well, no.

Well, definitely not. Definitely not. If I'm going to do it, it's going to be so low. No, I'm not. No,

I can do it in the shower. I love to sing, but I wouldn't do, you know, I've gigged and done all that and I, and I studied it, whatever that means, because like,

I just think, oh my God. Oh my God, it was amazing. Yeah, exactly. I agree with that. Very lucky. It was amazing. I mean, I can't say that I went to many of the lectures.

And then I realized that very quickly that I wasn't like a, you know, I didn't have like a real natural ability to see a guitar or see a piano and just pick it up and be able to play it. Whereas all my peers that were, because I went to a, I went to a conservatoire, darling. You know, it's very like, it leads, Leads Psychology Music at the time. It's called Leeds Conservatoire now. It was all, it was full of like the most amazing musicians that were surrounding me. And they could all just look at something, having never played it and just play it without, you know, without a second thought. And I was just never that person. And I lost loads of confidence. But what then happened, which was beautiful, was that I picked up a GoPro at the time, a little camera, started making little skate videos and then started making little music videos for my friends who were at uni. And then I became the kind of the music video guy. Like I became.

Oh, wonderful. Yeah. And then once I graduated uni, I was making more, and it wasn't a lot, but I was making more money doing the little music videos for 50 quid than I was doing any kind of gig. And then it just kind of so bad from there. I love how things happen. I love it. But you never know.

You don't know what way your life's going to go and what opportunities come your way. Yeah, exactly. He did have, I like to say, did have instrumental lessons. He had piano lessons. he had drum lessons. She might have even had guitar lessons. He had trumpet lessons. And I remember him coming to me one day and saying,

All of those. Oh, yeah, yeah. I didn't have guitar. I wasn't sure about guitar. But he said the rest and he came to me and he said, Mom, I haven't practiced the trumpet. Can you tell the teacher I've been ill? And I went, no.

You have to tell him you haven't practiced. I just couldn't do it. I wasn't a born musician. Hold on. Whoa, whoa. I'm just, so the two of you couldn't tell a lie. And yet there you were on traitors as bold as bras, lying to millions of people. But we didn't lie, though, because nobody ever said, is Ross your son?

Nobody ever asked us that. Oh, Paul was mum's son. Yeah, Paul was my son. Yeah, exactly. That was weird. That was weird. That was weird. That saved us.

It was perfect. Paul came to me the day before and said, you look very like my mom. And then, of course, my response was, so she's gorgeous looking and very sexy. And he went, absolutely. Now, well, that's okay. Honestly, that happened. He actually said that to me. Because I'm now seeing a photo of his mom.

Because he was so sure. I don't think I look like her. But I can see if you take him and his brother and Paul, they've all got the same jawline and foreheads and widely spaced eyes. How do you get on traitors? Not that I'm looking to do it, but, you know. Well, there's basically an online form. So my kids were at, well, Lisa and Michael, I don't know about you. Lisa and Michael were obsessed with it. And they had said to me, you need to keep watching.

You need to watch. you need to watch and I was busy so I didn't watch. And it was Christmas and all my family were together, which is like the best time. We're all together. And we all got a tummy bug. So we're all a bit flat out. It took us and turns to be ill. And it was my turn to lie in the couch and it was the penultimate episode of the first season of traitors. And they said, watch this, watch this. You love it. And I looked and I said, oh, I could do that. And they went, what? You would be awful. You'd be opinionated. You'd be gobby. You would not last. And In fact, you probably wouldn't even get on.

So then we watched the last episode and I said, oh, I'm sure I could do this. So they made me play Werewolf, was it? It's a game where you have to guess who them. And my eldest kept saying, my eldest boy kept saying, you're lying. I know that it's you. I know it's kept going. And then my daughter flippantly sent me an application form in January. And that was it.

And I thought, okay, let's go. So how did you get involved? For me, it was like, I just get this phone call off mom. No, it was Face-timing. I wanted to say his face. You know, we, like, we don't talk all the time. And then she just, you know, I could just feel this kind of pent up excitement going through. And I was like, you're okay, Mom, like, what's going on?

And she was like, Ross, I've just got something to, you know, it's going to sound a bit weird. But I've just got something to ask you or tell you. And I'm going, okay, okay, go for it. And I knew what the traitors was. And I may be watching an episode, but I didn't really know, like, what it was. and I didn't know it was such a big thing at all, like not at all. And then mum just all of a sudden was going, look, I've applied. I'm kind of, you know, at the one of the last stages.

I think you were a bit more than halfway. I think you were kind of, she was like, I'm pretty much one of the last stages, but they've asked me if I've got any family members, like any children that might want to come on. And I was just like, what the, like I did, you know, I was just going, what is going on? Like it was mental. And then you asked me and you were going, you know, would you want to come on? And I just straight away was going, no, absolutely not.

Like, no, I've got stuff to do. Like, genuinely, I've got stuff to do. And then I go to Rima, my partner and I'm going, Rima, mom's just said this. But do you know what happened? Because this is quite dramatic. I don't think we've told anybody this. So we had another phone call.

And he said, right, I've spoken to my business partner. And mom, to be very honest, well, there's a couple of things. I don't want you telling me what to do on national TV. And I said, but I'll be. telling everybody what to do, so you won't stand out as somebody that's different, right? As you can tell, Mum doesn't normally do this. You would never normally tell people what to do. Or talk over people or anything like that. I don't tell people what to do. I'm opinionated. But anyway, then he said to me, Mom, I don't honestly think I can leave all the workload to my partner because

their young lads set up this business together. And I went, okay. And then he said, ask Lisa. And I said, well, I'd love to, but I don't want to put her under pressure because she would love to do it. She's got a wee one. They're moving house. As was his brother, two wee ones and moving house. Because his elder brother doesn't look like me at all. We'd have got away with that and he'd have been a traitor from the beginning. I know he would. Anyway, I said, so he said, no, mom, let Lisa's an adult. She can decide herself, ask her. Okay. So I ring Lisa and she said, hi mom and the next man at this point I then rang my business partner no no no no but we haven't got to that no no no because I rang a business partner and I go patty look mom's just asked me this thing like I've already said no

mate but you know what do you think and then he just turned around because he knew all about it and he just went do it 100% do it and then that's then and then I mean you yeah so then I'm how are you da da da and then I can see it says Ross is ringing me and I go oh my god so I've not I asked her, what are you ringing for? And I went, oh, so you were taking the dummies off, Louis last night. You were that close. I ring him back and he said, I lied. I hadn't told Paddy at all that I was going, maybe going to go on traitors.

So I have just been on the phone to him. He says, it's okay, go. He'll take the workload, just go for it. And I said, okay. Wow, fantastic. And that was it. And imagine if Lisa had said, yes, so you'd said, you know,

sliding doors, moments. Sliding doors and moments. We would never have had but Rosses. We would have never had people knowing about how shit you're roasting. We would never have had that. There was wonderful moments. And it's very interesting when I was obviously doing my background reading on everything. And I've got to the extent that if one more person says to you,

has this changed your life? You're going to scream. But what I like is that the two of you, you obviously really got something out of the experience. You really did. I think us more than anyone, you know, everyone individually goes on and they have that experience

and it's amazing, but you don't have that with your family member, you know. I think there was for us, there was a naivety of what, I mean, I honestly thought I could pop up on TV and my kids and even my hobby, because he found out accidentally as well, they'd go,

it's Diane. And because I do have a naivety, because I don't watch a lot of reality TV. I mean, I used to watch Big Brother, but then I stopped. And I don't follow celebrities and stuff. So there was a naivety. But we've, honestly, and I think this is important to say as well, we've been talking about it on the way here. So I was at Mighty Hoopla recently, and I went on stage to introduce Bewitched.

And, I mean, there was a lot of cheering and screaming and getting on. And it was like, because it's sort of passing us by a little bit because we've still got her own job. as well, well, you've got your job and I've got my life. And anyway, my friend said to me, I showed it to my friend and she went, God, that's addictive. And honestly, up until that point, I know this sounds ridiculous. I hadn't thought about that because part of it is still, what? You mean the people are running up and coming up for photos and stuff? No, but you breezed over what actually happened.

So you went to Mighty Hoopla and then a crowd of thousands started basically chanting your name or shouting, which was the most surreal, like not only if you were. you obviously, but like for me and for the kids, we're going, mom's a rock star, like mom's an actual rock star. But it's a weird existence. Well, what my worry was that maybe I am just letting this pass over and when

it will, because it should, well, it probably will come to natural end unless I had established I don't know something. But for now I used platform for raising money and things like that. But anyway, I sat down one night and I thought what happens if it is passing me by and then suddenly

it stops and then I think, oh, oh, I'd like that again. I'd like people to say, oh, hello, there's Diana, whatever, because I love a chat to people. And I actually sat down and I looked at all the things of Ross and me. And I just laughed because they've got like Ross and Diane's best bits. They've got, you know, Ross's wink.

They've got Rosses and all of it. And all the silly memes have made of us. And do you know what? It's the memories. And even if it does completely stop dead, we have had the best time. and what mom and child could, you know, and I had to sit and talk to myself and think, actually, it's okay. The memories will be amazing and we'll always have them and who else has had this.

Nobody in the world has had this. And I love it. But it was, and I thank my friend, I had a gin party last week as you do, gin and pizza party. I saw it on your Instagram. I sat with my friend in my gin corner and I just said, I want to thank you actually, because you made me sit down to extort. of what's going on. Because it would be very easy just to breeze along thinking,

oh, this is nice, this is fun or just this is all weird and then go, oh, oh, it's stopped or whatever. And I don't want everyone to be that person either. And I don't want to be clambering for attention

or anything like that. So just sat down and thought, do you know what? It's been amazing. People get very intoxicated by the word, I hate the word celebrity. I think it was,

but people get intoxicated by it and a lot of people who come through reality shows. interestingly say the same thing there are lots who then get they just want more more more yeah yeah but that's about

and that's not who defines us that's what we were talking about it you know if you need external validation for who you are as a person but you've got families you've got grandchildren that's my life I mean that's what happened like when I

I think I was chatting to my friends after all came out and I can't remember who said it but they were going look you and your mom have got like for your grandkids or my kids like we've got unbelievable family videos you know that we can just show them

and I'll be like and of when you were a baby wait till you show I'll be like look you'll meet Auntie Gabby and you know you're great great great great grandma I love the smiles

and this is really real you know it's more than when you first came out and you were on all the various TV shows it was still the sort of the bright lights and the whole sort of what have we just gone through what's so lovely is I can tell from both of you, you've had the best time. Yeah.

I love that. But now, as you said, let's just talk about you raising money for Alzheimer's research. So you're doing the Great North Run. Both of you? Yes. The whole family. Unfortunately. The whole family.

Yeah. Just one can't do it because of child minding. But all of us are doing it. Are you ready for it? No. Not in no way, shameful. Obviously, it's summer. It's just being the Euros.

Well, from the Olympics. The Olympics, all of it. And like that's so hard to not just drink beer and eat. You're running. You're going to be running. You're going to be running. But there's charity is important. Yeah.

Charity's very important. So for people who don't know why the charity is important, you're happy to talk about. Yeah, yeah. For our family, my dad was the biggest personality in the world. It was so much fun. I mean, I'm a daddy's girl, so if you couldn't tell. He was very nutty and his humor was mad. mad. So when Alzheimer's probably

started slipping in, we, to be honest, probably didn't really notice. A lot of people don't. And then it was a day. He kept talking about the same thing and I just began to get worried and I said, please go to the doctors. So he went and we got the diagnosis and in some ways we were

very blessed because the essence of my dad was still there. Still this happy man. You know, even an example, mom and my sister, because they were back in Ireland with him. He's, you know, the old fashion silver plates with the extra teeth. So he'd three or four teeth missing. And the plate used to sit in the water at nights. Anyway, they said he needed new teeth doing. So he got them in.

And I thought, well, anyway, they spent a lot of money getting these new teeth for him. So he was about two years off, probably passing away, so probably really in the throes of dementia. And he had gone to the loose in the shopping centre back in Bangor in Ireland. My hubby had gone with him. And he came back and the teeth are missing. And mum, well, where are they? Stan And he said, oh, I don't know. And I said to my husband, you're going to have to go in and look and check. They're not down the low. Anyway, I said to dad, dad, really, your teeth, where are they?

And he put his hand in his pocket and he brought out his teeth. I'm like, okay, right, we're okay. And I said, Dad, you need to put them in. And he went, no, no, no. I thought, well, do you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to take a photograph of you. So I took a photograph because what I wanted him to see was what he looked like, thought his teeth.

And then he might, oh, so I do a photograph of him, big smile. obviously four teeth are missing. I showed it to him. Well, he fell around laughing. He thought it was the funniest thing. And I just, we all laugh with him and I said to Mom and Sandra, leave it, leave it. You know, he just still had the same sense of humor. And then another time we took him for an afternoon tea in a really nice hotel in Balfast because we just, he'd been ill and we just wanted to revisit what we used to do, you know. It was a bit of a long story, but my sister who does the accounts for this hotel. And, So she parked up in the staff area and there was a luggage trolley. And I said, my sister, let's put Dad in there and I'll get in with them. What? And I said, but that's what we used to do. You know, we'd go with Ross and his stepsister, Sophie, and push them in the luggage. And we'd all laugh and everything else. And I said, I'll go on with them.

My sister's going, good God. So my dad and I are in the luggage thing and he's starting to sing. And I'm like, oh, my God, we've got Dad back because he'd been ill and so on and so forth. Right. We're going to go in for afternoon tea. We just needed the, the, the, the, the atmosphere. fear because we were a wee bit nervous about how it would be. Go into the rotating, you know, the door, rotating door.

My God, we must have gone around 10 times before he worked out, how to get out, fell into the restaurant, caused this, you know, because it was quite quiet. Anyway, no problem. He's still laughing. We sit down and we've gone through the food and he got a little chocolate mousse and there's the cardboard in the bottom. He's trying to eat through the cardboard. And I said to Dad, can I have your mousse?

And he went, no. Now he knew he was never aggressive But he knew there was something not quite right But he didn't know exactly what that was And I said dad can I have a share of your mouse Of course you can love And just hand it to me and I went That's gorgeous slipped away the corporate

There you go thanks a lot So his levels of generosity His personality His humour was still there So in some ways We were very blessed But we lost that man Years before we actually lost him

And I think it's got to be one of the most cruel diseases in the world. So whatever we can do, we did a tough mother years ago to raise money. I was just about to say, like the amount of times I've put an oven pizza in and the cardboard still be in the bottom and I've had a bite of it, you know.

So I think that's just a general thing. It's a family trait. But we met, you know, we absolutely, and when he passed away, the funeral, we had lots of family videos of them, just us all together, because we do a lot.

We always did a lot of family parties. and we still do when we can. And dad and mum, we're always in the midst of our family parties. And to have been lost to such a cruel disease, we've got to do what we can to raise money. You're raising awareness and you're raising money. So thank you on behalf of the charity as well. And it's really important that you talk about it.

But honestly, hand on heart, I mean, Ross, you and I, we are going to. Yeah, we go south of back. Way back. We are, before you leave, and we'll put it on all of our socials, We're going to reenact the moment from the big breakfast where we first met and you sat on my lap. Gabby, I will. Are your legs?

Are they up for it? Are you up for it? I'm a lot bigger now, you know. It's fine. We'll do it. We'll do it. You two, thank you so much. That's a pleasure. Thank you for asking us.

Thank you so much. Thanks for having us all.