That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Laura Whitmore

Episode Date: December 14, 2020

In this episode Gaby chats with TV and radio presenter Laura Whitmore, yer wan off da telly. She talks about her childhood growing up near Dublin with her huge Irish family, studying journalism in Boston and getting her first career break after winning a competition on MTV. Getting drunk while filming and the hilarity of  ‘Celebrity Juice‘ with Keith Lemon and Emily Atack. She tells the story of how she met her other half, comedian Iain Stirling, and admits she may have forgotten their first encounter! Plus, building an Irish pub together in their garden during lockdown and the fantastic dance routines they shared on TikTok. Also, on finding her voice in the industry, getting her own show on BBC Radio 5Live and now turning her hand to scriptwriting and acting.               Produced by Cameo Productions, music by Beth Macari.  Join the conversation on Instagram and Twitter @gabyroslin #thatgabyroslinpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And thank you for tuning in to That Gabby Roslin podcast. In this episode, I chat with the very lovely Laura Whitmore. She talks about her childhood growing up near Dublin with her huge Irish family, studying journalism in Boston and getting her first career break after winning a competition on MTV. She talks to me about the hilarity of filming Celebrity Juice with Keith Lemon. She admits there are numerous versions of how she first met her other half comedian Ian Sterling. building an Irish pub together in their garden during lockdown and the fantastic dance routines they've shared on TikTok.

Also finding her voice in the industry, getting her own show on BBC Radio 5 live and now turning her hand to scriptwriting and acting. She really is a fabulous, wonderful, talented woman. Hello, hello. Hello, lovely. Hiya. How's your head?

How's my head in general? Well, you were recording last night. I saw my mate Keith's Instagram. It was brilliant. It's so much fun. It's also just nice to be making television in this climate. We had an audience. It was a very small audience, but we had an audience.

And I mean, you know that show. I just love that show. It's so much fun. It doesn't feel like working at all. How far did it go? Oh, God. There was nudity involved, but not from me. That's all I can say.

It's always the way. You kind of, you have a line and then, you know, you cross that line a long time ago. Oh my God. So do you do it completely sober? It probably helps if you're not. People probably don't realize because it's not recorded live. So you know what telly's like, it takes about two and a half hours to record it. So like you can be getting drunker as the show goes on. And then when it goes out in air, it's like, wow, Lord just like gets drunk really quickly. So I was trying to pace myself.

But I always think a little something to take the edge off is always good. Do you know what? I think you was team captain. That was just brilliant casting. It must have been the easiest. of your career. Yeah, I mean, it was a no-brainer for me. I don't even think they even asked me did I want to do it. I think it was always a no-brainer. Oh, it must be just the best thing, though, work. I mean, okay, so there are jobs you do where you're working with your partner. There are jobs you do when you're working with your mates. It's not bad. It's not bad at all.

I mean, I've known Keith Lemon, also known as Lee Francis, even though sometimes it's very hard to know the difference to the two of them. I've known him for years. Emily Atack as well, I was a good pal of mine since I first moved to London. So yeah, it is like doing about mates. And one thing Holly, Malibia always said was like it was her night out every week, was doing that show, was recording that show. And that's what I feel. Like last night I felt like a night out.

And let's be honest, we're not really getting many nights out these days. That is the truest thing you've ever said. Even if for work, did you ever, I mean, we're very lucky because we love our jobs passionately. I know you do like me. Yeah. But actually going into work is like the best night out you've ever. had because we don't go out. We don't do anything. Yeah. That's going to be my night out now is going to go and do Celeb Juice and I get to do my friends and it's fun. I have to say I do end up

in some situations on Celeb Juice that I probably wouldn't get into in real life. But it's such good fun. I think it's great that the TV world is still making and still creating and it's just so exciting to be part of it. I mean, it's a show that's loved by so many people. It's like a national treasure at this stage. I remember watching it in the beginning because Lee Keith, whoever he is, but to me and you, he's Lee, which is very bizarre. But, but, um, so I remember watching it and thinking, oh, no, no, no, I'm too old. I can't watch this. And then I just thought, oh, it's my guilty pleasure. And then I sort of came out and said, I love this. And all of my friends said, oh, so do I. Oh, my word. This is, you just feel like you're being naughty.

And you're allowed to be naughty when you watch it. And I think as well, you can even see by like guests over the years, people who are people who probably, you know, probably said initially, oh, I wouldn't go on that show and then doing it, do you know, because they love it so much. But listen, hold on. What about not going out? You've got a pub at the bottom of your garden now. I know. Do you know what? The worst thing about lockdown is we hadn't finished the pub before lockdown. We had basically a shed moved into this house about a year ago and then I haven't really been home before lockdown. I spent a lot of time working away saying with my other half. We're never home and then lockdown happened and we're like,

We have to live here now. And we had a shed built, but we hadn't put anything in it yet. And then during lockdown, when we were all forced to stay at home, which actually probably wasn't a bad thing, we thought, what were we missing? What did we really miss? We had four months when we couldn't leave the house. We thought, you know what? A pub, a local pub.

So we decided just to build one in the garden. I love that. So how pub is your pub? I mean, is it full pub or is it sort of, are we 50%? How much pub? We've got Guinness on top. That's hysterical. We've got a little wood burner.

It's quite like, it's not like a fancy pub. It's like a little Irish vibe. Do you know, like little shithole kind of pub. But I want that. I'm like, if you drop or spill anything in the pub, that's fine. You know, I want, I want cigarette burns. I want whatever you can do because I wanted to kind of remind me of where I grew up in my local pub from home. We've got like a brickwork wall.

We've got like a bench with Ian's. massive fan of Hiberian football club from back home so we have Bear Tartan and then we have lots of random crap so I was going to like start collecting lots of random crap because you know when you go to those little smelly pubs and it just has random crap on the walls that's what I want in my shed

oh you need those oh what are they called those Toby jugs what's that oh right okay I'm going to try and find one I'm going to find one I'm going to send it to you okay a Toby jug is it's like an old it's made out of of China or pottery and it's got a fat man with a hat on and a big long coat on the front of it.

I don't think I've ever seen, I didn't see a picture because I cannot think about, what? Okay, just go, have you got your phone by you? Yeah, I've got my laptop here, Holland. Okay. Like Toby, T-O-B-Y, like Toby MacGyer. Toby Jugg, yeah. Toby Jog. Nothing like Toby McGuire when you see the picture.

Yes, I know. It's quite British though, isn't it? Maybe that's why I don't know it, isn't it? It's quite British. Oh, maybe. Right, I'm going to find the most revolting Toby jug. Oh, I think I found it already. I've got a trump one.

Oh, no, that's too far. That's just going to. Too far. That's too far. That's too far. But also, don't they have horseshoe? You know, not horseshoes. You know, the things that...

Oh, I have a lucky horseshoe. Oh, there we go. Yeah, no, we've got quite a lot, but we're happy to take more. I'm scrolling now. I'm seeing some really weird things that I can't unsee now. I'm going to actually just stop Googling that. Yes. I shouldn't have taken you down that road.

But also, I know what you can get for in there, okay. It costs £2.39. Okay, I'll push the boat. Do you know what it is? Two pounds 39. That's very specific. Yeah. It's a Laura Whitmore face mask.

I mean, I don't want to know why you know that. I didn't know you could get them. Yep. If you've got £34.90, you could get a full-size cardboard cutout of you in a suit, Laura Whitmore. What would you want, no, what would you be doing with you? with that though. Maybe that's a nice present for Ian. Imagine, imagine Ian, I just got him a mask. Imagine I like, what would you be doing with it? I don't even know why I wouldn't even want to buy that.

It was so weird, because I know you and we know each other in the real world, I just thought, right, I want to just find out about your background and your degree and, oh, that you were in Boston. We'll talk about all that. But don't say you Googled me. No, I did. It was lovely. But the first things that came up were your mask and the cardboard cutout. And I just, you just, You know what was really lovely? It's a very funny thing. It didn't make me love. I just had this lovely smile

because you know how much I adore you. And I just thought, oh, you know what? If you're really missing people around you, you could just get cardboard cutouts of everybody. And I thought, then I started Googling cardboard cutouts. And you can get Danny DeVito,

great. Ben Shepard. Yeah. I thought it would be quite a good party. Well, listen to this. A woman came up to me, this was been a year ago, came up to me and said,

this is a really weird thing. I just remember this now. Her husband works for a company, like it must have been a vents company, and she's got loads of cardboard cutouts of people. She says, I have a cardboard cut out of you. I actually thought she was a little bit crazy at first, because I've got loads because it's my husband's job.

And what we do is we put them up in the house when we go away on holidays. Like, do you know, in Home Alone, when he pretended that his whole family were there when the burglars tried to come in, he could see the shadows. So if someone tries to break into their house, they just see like my face peering through the window.

That's weird, but great. That's not scary though. I mean, come on. If you're going to break into a house and you see Laura Whitmore, Ben Shepard, Danny DeVito, you're going to want to stay. That is a dinner party I want to stay. Oh, so come at look. You just mentioned home.

So what was it like at home in Dublin then when you were a kid? It wasn't really all bars with horseshoes and faggens on the floor, was it? No, not when I was growing up because I was underage. No, it was lovely. I'm very thankful looking back at my childhood. I grew up in a little seaside resort just south of Dublin called Bray with just my mom. And yeah, I'm just looking back and very thankful. Like at the time, I probably wasn't very thankful. And I remember growing up that my parents were the only people in my school who weren't together. Like, and that was such a big thing back then, like coming from a single parent background. I mean, now it's rare that any parents are together. Yes. But then it was quite rare, but I don't think I really realized. And I remember thinking at one stage, going, oh, I have the perfect family background to be an actress. Because I feel like I've got something a little different that makes me unique.

But I always felt kind of loved and happy. And for that, I'm really grateful of even if it wasn't necessarily conventional upbringing. Like, I have a great relationship about my mom and my dad. They're really good friends. And I think if they were still together, they probably wouldn't be. I'm 35 now. And I kind of looked to my mom who was in her 30s, who had it. Mom worked full time and she had a kid.

I had wedlock. And that was, she was the youngest of 13 children, the only child to kind of... 13. 13. I know granny and granddad were at it. But that was normal back then because there was no contraception. And that's what people did. And...

Yeah, but 13. I mean, you just... You forget. You forget who's who. Goodness me. So do you ever have big Christmases or events where the whole family, all the cousins and everything, get together? Probably not all. of them because it's hard to it's hard to track them down and I guess there's such an age

difference between my mom's oldest, my mom's the youngest, so her oldest sister is about 19 years older than her. So like my granny was like pregnant for most of two decades and I can imagine. No. And and but yeah so we do have big Christmases but that's that's even just with three aunties and uncles and the cousins like that's quite big big in itself and I do remember a funny story years ago because I don't know most people are probably related to me if they're Irish most people most people are related to you I love that okay I'm gonna call all my Irish friends I don't want to be like a cliche because someone's like oh you're Irish do you know Paddy McGuire and I'm like actually yeah I do I'm like I'm like don't be so stereotypical but I

again it's my third cousin once removed I remember years ago this guy coming up to me um and I think he was kind of hitting on me in a bar and then I worked out that he was like a second cousin. Oh no. I was like, hold on. Where are you from? Who's your mom? So you have to be careful of that. So I know you went to journalism school, but there you were as a child thinking you want to be an actress and you and I have spoken away from microphones and everything. And you just, you want to do at all, which is fantastic. But you went, which we'll get to in a moment. But then you went from Dublin University. You went over, didn't you study in Boston? I studied in Boston. Yeah. So I did, I was part of my degree. I studied journalism. And then we

a semester abroad in a different university. So I went to Boston University and like Massachusetts is an incredible place and especially Boston because it's known for students. It's got so many universities and prestigious universities and also I mean I looked out because basically you do in exchange. So

four Irish students went over to Boston University and then four American students went over to Dublin City University. But like the fees in America are like ridiculous. They are just insane what people have to pay to go to university. And at the time in Ireland, they were free. So I got to go to Boston University as still part of my Irish curriculum.

And, you know, we got to study some great things. We had proper newsrooms. And, you know, it was really eye-opening. I just turned 21, which is a great age to be in Boston, because that's the age of going out. And, yeah, and I was thinking of the poor divils who got sent to Dublin. Yes, very different. but also Dublin's an amazing place, but I just...

It's an amazing thing. Being a student in Boston, so funny, you went to the studios and the work. I wanted to know about what life was like away from the college. It must have just... Was it like the movies, like we all imagine? Yeah, exactly it was. I just remembered all I wanted to go was to a house party and drink kind of red cups and play beer pong

because that's what they did in the films in all those kind of college films over there. And we went, that's what they did. We went to house parties and we played beer pong. Pong, we drank out of Red Cubs. And I was there summer through to Christmas time, which is a wonderful time. Because it's quite hot when you first go over there and then you go through fall. And Salem's really close as well as within Massachusetts.

And they do Halloween, Gabby, on another level. It's like a week-long event and they go big. So I went big. And they're going into Christmas time as well. And it was just such, like for a 21-year-old who never lived abroad, it was just so eye-opening. Would you move over to the States? Yeah, do you know what? I don't really move full time.

Boston and I could live in. Last year we actually took a road trip myself and Ian. It was something that was like on my bucket list. We started off in San Francisco, the West Coast, and we rented a Mustang and we drove to Boston. So we just drove from West Coast to East Coast. And I wanted to end in Boston because Ian had never been to Boston. And Boston was so close to my heart.

It's such a great experience there. And it was lovely. And I remember it feels. it feels different. It's so strange when you're driving through the different states in America because you realize how different they are. Middle America is very, very different to the East Coast. I mean, I love America. Have you lived there? Do you know what? When I was younger, I would have loved to have lived in New York. I think it's an amazing place. It's beautiful. And some of my best friends actually live there. I think it's very hard at the moment,

especially during when they had their lockdown, whatever we thought living in central London was cramped. I think living in New York during that time, it's very tough. I love all the videos that you and Ian were doing and you're dancing. You and Ian dancing. I don't know why. I mean, you're beautiful and you're a wonderful dancer and your time of strictly. You know how much I loved you on that. Voting for you all the time.

But you and Ian dancing, it just brought joy to everybody. It just makes me smile. Does he like dancing? Because I'm not quite sure. So funny. It's so funny because the amount of people who mentioned the TikTok dancing, I'm like, we didn't do that many. And when we did it, like, I could never do anything that would take us longer than 10 minutes

because Ian just didn't have the capacity to like stick with it. So it had to be something quick and easy. So, like, come on, do this. And you could probably tell from his expression, it wasn't his idea. But when we did it, we only did a handful of them. But I still, to this day, people go, oh, you're dancing. This made me smile. I'm like, do you know what?

We didn't really have anything else to be doing, Gabby, if I'm honest with you. We were both working from home. And Ian was writing a sitcom at the moment. as I was doing the radio show from home and podcasting. But like, you can't just sit at your desk all day. So our nights out where let's do, let's do a little dance routine and record it and put it out there. And we would never have done that before lockdown. We've always been kind of quite private about our relationship.

And it's been an interesting time because we've definitely opened up a little bit more. We're still quite protective. But we have opened up a little bit more. And I think a lot of people have. I think a lot of people are kind of showing more of themselves because of that time, because all we had was each other. And it was a joy. And I remember through Prince's Trust, because you and I are very, very honored to be a part of that incredible charity.

And being with you and Ian, and I think I whispered in your ear, this is the perfect match or something. I was sitting, I was sitting behind you, and you went bright red. I remember. And he saw as well, and he went, yeah, yeah. Well, he was right there.

He was right there, Gabby. I know, and I just thought, you just, you know, when you look at two people, you go, oh, that, it just works. That just works. Yeah. I think that's why I like the dancing with you together. It works.

We compromise. I let him watch football. He does TikTok dances. Perfect. You see, that's what it's about. That's it. That's the whole thing. How did you meet?

Do you know what? Every time someone asks us that, we kind of tell a different story because we're not really sure. Because we both work in the same industry. Now, he started in children's television and BBC. I saw it in MTV. So our path didn't really cross then. But I actually forgot this is terrible.

We did a panel show together, like the same episode. You forgot him? He was on it and I was on it. Yeah. So it was, but we weren't on the same team. It was an ITV2 show called Fake Reaction that Matt Edmondson was hosting. And I was on Joe Swash's team and he was on Ellie Taylor's team. But I don't think we really talked or he says I ignored him, but I couldn't, I wouldn't possibly do that.

But we are on the same television episode like eight years ago or nine years ago. It is out in the universe. But we never talked. And also, Ian has this ability to look very different. Like, it's great. Him and our dog, this sounds weird. Him and our dog, when they get a haircut, looks like two different species.

So like our dog, I've got like, I've got a multi-poop. And when he's got long hair, he looks like one dog. When he gets a haircut, someone's like, if you've got a new dog? I'm like, no, he's had a haircut. That's like, Ian. They're like, have you got a new boyfriend? I'm like, no, he's just had a hair.

So what happens when they both come home after a haircut on the same day? at the same moment. I don't know who I'm living with. I'm like, who are, who are these people in my house? Actually, it might be quite exciting. It's quite exciting. It mixes it up a bit. Yeah, it's like, I'm cheating on, on you with you.

That's weird. So I just think when we did that show together, who did look very different. I didn't know it was him, but he did look very different. And then I, that was when he was like kids television presenter. And then we bumped into each other again. Actually, I think you were there.

It was the ITV gala. And we'd met each other at the, Children's factors, but we never really talk that much. And then at the ITV gala is where he got, had he slid into my DMs? Listen to this for flirting. You're ready to ask me what type of dog I had. Oh, he knew what he was doing. Apparently it was flirting. I just thought he wanted to know what dog I had. So I just wrote back, oh, multi-pooh, like no chat. That was it. So it took a while. It took about nine months after that. Oh, it's so lovely. I love that. I love that story. And I love the fact that there's there's proof that you actually did meet each other nine years ago.

Yeah. I can't remember. My other favorite thing of you at the moment is if you, no, so if you do Google yourself, not only we'll find the face masks and the cutout, but the amount of coverage of you buying a rug that wasn't what you expected. I mean, I saw it on Instagram and it's gone mad. The papers have gone mad for it. And so many likes for that, the engagement for that.

It's got more than a picture of me working. It's terrible. Me doing my job doesn't get as much engagement on Instagram as a picture of me messing up buying a rug. Oh, but it's just heaven. So for people who haven't seen this picture, you ordered a rug through online. Through online. And you saw that that was the picture. The picture I posted was the, it was only one picture.

There wasn't like a swipe across to different types of pictures. That was the picture that was on. So you can see why I thought that was it. It looks perfect. It's perfect size. I saw it. I was like, do you know what, even if I don't know exactly the dimensions, it's quite a big space. There's a big sofa in that picture.

You know, you can compare to all the things. There's like a, there was like a seat. There was like a double sofa. It's like you can kind of roughly gauge the size of it. I am really bad, especially during lockdown for buying online. I just kind of do things quickly. It's spur of the moments. I probably didn't read the smaller details like the size.

Yes, but I'm sorry, the picture. I would have done it too. Thank you. Thank you. They absolutely. They lured you in. and it was a little bit smaller than you imagine. Not only smaller, it just looked shit.

Like, the edges were rolled and the colour wasn't exactly the colour. And I think why it did so well, engagement-wise, and why papers wrote about it was, it's relatable. We've all been there. We've all bought something a line that's arrived and looks nothing like it. Oh, I remember buying a skirt that was honestly the most hidey. And I don't buy a lot because I do shopping in your wardrobe a lot. But this skirt. And by the way, I love that.

I've been shopping in my wardrobe during lockdown. I'm very pleased to hear that. And I know because I'll be watching. But the skirt, oh my God, it was the worst skirt. And I just, I had to admit it and hold my hands up. But the worst thing is that all these people underneath are saying, oh, I love that skirt. And I'd actually written, this is nothing like it was.

Just think, oh, well, each there and everybody has their own opinion, which is wonderful. Talking of opinions, though, your show on Radio 5, live. That's a great show. That's a different side of you than people. I think it surprised a lot of people, didn't it? Yeah, and I think for me it was really important, and it was lovely when I got the opportunity to do that show.

And a big shout out to Nahal Arthaniaki, who presents weekdays because he is the night and an incredible broadcaster, but also very giving. And this industry sometimes, you know, it's received to be quite cutthroat, but there's a lot of people who help each other out. And I know you've always been so lovely and encouraging from the first time I ever met you before I even knew you in a personal level. You've always been so lovely to me.

And I remember being a guest on the Hall show on his five live show. And we were talking about a few different. It was kind of around the time of Me Too. We're talking about different issues. And I was kind of on there, the kind of celebrity guest. And I started talking. And he was so, he was like, oh, you've got something to say. And then he ended up kind of letting me take over a little bit.

He's like, why don't you kind of lead the next segment and do this? And so lovely and giving. And I think because of that, you know, the commissioners got to see a different side of me and got to listen to the show. And that's how I ended up getting a summer series and then I end up eventually becoming a full-time series. And I'm so thankful for that because you know what it's like. You've been in this industry for a long time. People see you doing one thing or the big breakfast or MTV or whatever and they're like, oh, that's who you are. You're the entertainment

presenter and you're the blonde girl and we'll put you in the box and that's where you're going to stay. And it's so lovely when people give you the opportunity to prove what is wrong. Do you feel, though, that that that has opened you up to more? So, yeah, everybody knew, you know, you did MTV, you did strictly. So suddenly people saw you in a different light. And then, and you did, I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here on ITV2. I can never remember what it's called. Get Me Out of Here now.

It's the longest title ever. I'm a celebrity, get me out of here now. The longest title ever. Rolled off the tongue. And you did all of that. But suddenly the Radio 5 thing, I just felt I was so. delighted for you. I can't expect, I, I'm incredibly proud. As you know, I'm always saying, oh, you've got to do more, got to do more. And, and suddenly everyone went, ah, and I, it was

hallelujah time because there's, I don't like the way that, um, uh, people are very judgmental. And I think that people judge people because they're, you are incredibly beautiful. You're incredibly good girl. You're lovely and beautiful. But, but also suddenly people go, oh, she really has an opinion. She really, you know, it's not just about all of those things. And it upsets me that people just think that don't look past that, if you know what I mean. Yeah. And it's a tough one when you're first starting out as well because you're kind of told a little bit sometimes to shut up and be quiet. Not exactly that. But, you know, especially when you're starting out in an industry and you're kind of navigating your way through and, you know, you're so happy just to be where you are and

have an opportunity and it's kind of taking me a long time to find that voice and to, you know, stand up and say I'm not happy with something. I haven't always done that and there's been times of the past I wish I did. I think that's age and experience, you know, it's very hard when you first start out when you're naive and you're just, especially like I moved from Ireland to London and that was such a big kind of culture shock anyway and not having really any friends from home over here and and it took me a while to kind of get the confidence to kind of speak up a little bit more. And when you work on entertainment shows, especially live shows, you don't really have a lot of time

with MTV, you know, I have great relationships where I get to, like, people who I've interviewed years ago, like Katie Perry or Chris Martin, if I see now, like I interviewed them kind of like about 10, 12 years ago and you're probably the same, you see them now and you still have those lovely relationships with them, but like on telly

you've got 10 minutes where that's aired, especially when it's live. And to be able to do radio, I feel radio is a different environment and, and you know it, it's warm, you've got a more space, it's more conversational, and it feels a little bit more authentic. It's immediate. Exactly. And by doing that, I think people see a different side.

Sometimes you just have to let people see a different side. And I judge people. We all judge people. We all see someone in the paper magazine and we think we know them. So I'm trying to learn not to do that as well. You're very generous. You're a good girl. You're a good girl. It sounds so funny. I sound, tell my mom. Tell my mom. Yeah, or you can tell it from me that I think she's a good girl. This is a question. I'll ask everybody. And it's so funny because everybody seems to say the same thing and I'll tell you afterwards what they say. What makes you laugh? What makes me laugh? Sometimes it's not the things I should be laughing at. Sometimes it's when everything goes wrong and you have to laugh because that's all you've got to do. But what makes me laugh?

I mean, I do live with a comedian but shockingly I'm not going to answer that. I think I'm not going to say comedian because I am like you can't just do stand up at home all the time because that's just too much for any one person to take. But life makes me laugh. I think every day. I laugh every day somehow. The little things that go wrong, the things that work out the way they're supposed to,

my friends, the dogs. See, I love that. Just normal stuff. Do you said the thing that everybody says and people love things going wrong? What is that in us that we like things like that? Because if you don't laugh, you cry,

especially when it happens to you. I don't know. Maybe it's the human connection in it because let's be honest, no one's perfect things go wrong in life all the time. So maybe there's like, yeah, it's back to that word relatability in that and that's kind of why we laugh. Maybe it's to hide the embarrassment because it's easier just to laugh. But sometimes you don't laugh straight away and it takes a while to look back and laugh. But yeah, I'm the same. I kind of grew up watching slapstick comedy as well, like the really kind of outrageous stuff and just the silliness being silly. Oh, like when you're

you're a kid being silly, you know, you'd run so fast that you'd fall over or it'd hurt and you'd just like, you know, proper belly egg laugh. And I don't think we do enough of that. And sometimes when I see my friends' kids or my godchildren and I'm just like, I need a bit of that in my life. Oh, I'm not going to take that further. I promise. I'm not going to steal someone. I'm not going to steal someone's child, but I need to, I'll just play with them. That's so funny you say about living with a stand-up though, because there's that weird thing that everybody imagines that a stand-up up is funny all the time. One of my best friends is a very well-known, very famous stand-up.

And he always gets frustrated because if we're ever out, people say, oh, go on, be funny. He's weird, isn't it? Does Ian get that all the time? No, he just gets people shout. I've got a text. He gets people shouting that. And you know what annoys him? He never says that on the show.

Like, it's the islanders say that. He's like, I don't even say it on the show. So please don't shout that, Adam. if you see him. So he gets a lot of that. And I'm all I've got a lot of friends who are comedians and writers and I mean it's such an incredible talent but

it's also most comedians like it's a work in progress and you know they're really great writers and they've been working on on their standard for a long time. They haven't just got up there. Like I always think Ian's great at heckling like he's just got a natural funny bone and he's very quick and he's very smart

and don't tell him I said that. But I am I I think there's a lot of work that goes into it too so you can't just tell someone like it's like you know telling an actor to like suddenly just perform a whole piece of theatre for me do you know? Yes go on act act act yeah they're not going to do it

you're going to do more acting aren't you yeah I know I've really enjoyed it I wrote my first screenplay last year of a short film and that was doing the rounds and festivals we won a lovely award for that we got into a good few festivals so that was really really really special and I've just had it treatment commissioned to write something else. How exciting?

But in very early days, everything takes a while. But I've done a lot of theatre. I'm quite new to acting on camera, which is a whole other ballgame because theatre is immediate. And for anyone who acts on camera, it takes up a bloody long time. Because I've done a few different shows and little sitcoms and things like that. And like, oh my God, you can spend a week doing one scene.

So is that something you do want to do more of that though, don't you? Yeah, but I also don't think it's not hugely away from what I do anyway. It's all storytelling. It's performance in some ways. It's not like I've gone from like carpentry to like, oh, I'm going to be a dentist now, do you know? So I do think it all kind of fits in the narrative. I've always loved writing and I think that's the one thing that kind of ties everything together. I've always loved questions and I've always loved people.

Whether I'm interviewing them or playing them or writing them, I just, love that. And relationships. I'm just so intrigued by people. I love people watching. Like that person who like sits on a park bench by themselves, just watching, which is a bit weird. It is, but I do it too, and I love it. I love it. And

yeah, so I kind of think it all kind of fits in in the radio and it's all storytelling, it's all getting ideas. So everything I do, I end up getting an idea for something else. So I could be doing a piece on radio, someone shares their story, and there's something in that which gives me an idea to write something or a character,

for something. So it is all linked. Oh, you see, I think the world is your oyster. And I mean, it's such a cliched expression, but it really is with you. And what's so wonderful is that you're embracing it all? Instead of saying, no, you just say, okay, let me think about it. You don't necessarily say yes straight away. And there is nothing greater than having open arms and an open heart. And that's exactly what you have. That's a lovely thing to say. And that, it is really nice. You kind of have to be open to things because as my mother always says, if you're not in it, you can't win it. And like my first job ever was in this MTV competition, which I will forever be grateful for because I had no experience. No one in my family works in television. My mom's a civil servant.

My dad works in finance. My best friend's a doctor and one's like a nurse and they all work and you know, they all have real jobs, a primary school teacher. And so I was like, how am I going to get in this industry. And I entered a competition. And, you know, a lot of people sometimes constantly go, oh, I want to be a presenter. How do I be to be a presenter? And I can't tell you how to be it, but open yourself up and put yourself out there because I can tell you one thing, the opportunities aren't going to come to you and knock down the door. You kind of have to hustle and open up that door yourself. Good for you. Well done for the hustling. You know, it's such a joy to talk to you and actually have this long to talk to you. Send it in my love.

And as I said, I think you two are the perfect fit. but you have to make me one promise, please. Okay, go on. It's not a big, heavy one. Just one more TikTok dance, please. Well, I'm always up for it. It's just trying to convince him to. But if I say that you've requested it, I'm sure he will.

Thank you. Thank you, my darling. You're gorgeous. Thank you, Gabby. Thank you so much. That Gabby Rawlsing podcast is proudly produced by Cameo Productions. Music by Beth McCari. Please press the subscribe button,

and it will come straight. Rate your phone on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you choose to listen. Also, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.