That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Rob Brydon

Episode Date: February 8, 2021

In this episode Gaby chats to the hilarious Rob Brydon. He tells the incredible story of how he broke into the entertainment industry. He talks about ‘Marion and Geoff’, ‘Gavin and Stacey’, ��The Trip’ and his admiration of Steve Coogan, plus his new singing career and performing live with Sir Tom Jones and Coldplay. Also working on 14 series of ‘Would I Lie to You?’ with his comedian friends Lee Mack and David Mitchell. If you enjoy his impressions, you won’t want to miss this episode! For more information on the sponsor of this episode Symprove visit www.symprove.com or follow on Instagram on @symproveyourlife. To claim 15% off the 12-week programme use discount code GABY15 at checkout. For new customers only in the UK. Symprove customer care team are available 8-8 to answer any questions or queries, call 01252 413600. 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.

Thank you so much for tuning in to that Gabby Roslin podcast. In this episode, I chat to the hilarious Rob Bryden. Now, if you enjoy his impressions, there are plenty in here. And of course, we talk about Marion and Jeff, the trip and his admiration of Steve Coogan, plus his new singing career and performing live with Coldplay. Also working on 14 series of Would I Lie to You with his comedian friends Lee Mack and David Mitchell.

He also tells the story of how he eventually broke into the industry that will give you goosebumps. I kid you not. I am so thankful that this episode is sponsored by one of my favorite companies, SimProve. I'll tell you all about them later, but for now, I'll just say this. It's a food supplement containing live and active bacteria, which honestly has done absolute wonders for both mine and my family's health. I love this stuff. More information can be found at simprove.com and that's spelled S-Y-M-P-R-O-V-E.

You'll have a discount code that you can use and it's G-A-B-Y-15 for 15% off the 12-week program. And it works. It really does. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to talk to you for a number of reasons that yesterday I allowed myself

to watch back-to-back Rob Bryden and it just made me feel better. Everything from the trip to... to, would I lie to you, to Marion and Jeff, which that's the very first time I think I interviewed you, was on the Terry and Gabby show. And this was 2003. That might have been the Keith Barrett show.

It was the Keith, yes, yes, yes, yes. And Terry couldn't bear it because you did a better Terry than he did. Well, you know, I used to love Terry, as I know you did. And I think that was the first time I ever met him. So it was exciting. In fact, I did a, I did a, a reading about a few years ago at a Carroll thing

that Alexander Armstrong organized and Terry was doing a reading and I was doing a reading and Terry was late, he was stuck in traffic so of course I couldn't resist just doing a little bit of him in his absence

but he was always so nice to me he was always so I don't know how you found him but he was so welcoming is how I would describe him. It was as if he was welcoming me into the business. Yes, he was very like that.

I worked with him for 11 years, and I have to say that there were very few people that he didn't like. If he didn't like you, you'd know it. And there were a few guests that we had on the Terry and Gabby show that beforehand he'd just look at me and just go, you can do this. I'm not interested. Okay.

Oh, really, really, really. Very, very few. But he, I just remember him adoring you, and he loved it if people did him, But he always said after that, because people would come on and do him all the time, he always said after that that you were the best. Ah, no, did he really? Seriously, that's no word of a lie.

Because he thought some of them, he got really annoyed that some of the people would do an impression of an impressionist, doing an impression of him. Yeah. But it's you're not an impressionist. Well, I, yeah, I don't think of myself as one. Well, of course I am. That's a ludicrous thing to say. I remember coming on, would I lie to you? And I think I remember you getting terribly embarrassed beforehand

because I think I said that to you said, you just make the world a better place. And you kept saying, oh, I'm not going to do your act. I can't do impressions. I can only do Miss Piggy. It's the only one I can do. So just it's, you know, you kept saying, shush, no, go away. But I mean it.

You just make everything better, Rob. I don't know what to say to that. Thank you very much. I mean, yeah, I don't know. I've always liked warmth, I suppose. I suppose, I would say, you know, I've never really been a big one for edge. I've always responded more to warm performers. And I suppose you sort of subconsciously model yourself on these people that you admire. So when I was growing up, you know, if it was between Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, while Cook was thought of as the genius and really was generally held above Dudley Moore in estimation, I always preferred. Dudley Moore and felt he got a bit of a raw deal. You know, he was this world-class musician, wonderful comedian, who happened to be paired up with an out-and-out genius. And I just loved his

warmth. And it was always the same with the two Ronnie's. You know, I would say Ronnie Barker was probably because of his writing was held up. But I always responded more to Ronnie C. That's the sort of humour that I love. And you're absolutely right, again, with the two Ronnie's and talking about, I know that you put Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in your Desert Island discs. And and actually Morkham and Wise, and all of those, there was a kindness. Actually, so is Lee. Lee and David. I mean, that's the, I love, I love that relationship.

And they're just such lovely guys in real life as well. I mean, we've done, I think, 14 series. Well, I haven't. I came in on the second or the second or the third series. But overall, I think they have been 14. And we may, we've just finished recording one now with a stripped back. audience, not a stripped audience, which was one of the suggestions, but it never got past health and safety or compliance, although any audience that would strip would be very compliant,

ironically enough. Oh, he's off. He started. What was I saying? Yeah, so we've done loads of those shows together, and we get on like a house on fire. And in fact, we toured. It wasn't would I lie to. We put together a stage show, which we started.

and we will do in the future, which is just sort of an evening with the three of us. They're very different talents, aren't they? I mean, I kind of love them both equally, but they're very different. You know, there's no one like David. He's a kind of one-off. And like you said, I could listen to him all day. I couldn't listen to Lee all day, and I would say that to his face. But I would listen to – I just have a little chuckle in my voice at the end there.

But I could listen to David, I think. Now, Lee, and you and I, you know, when you do this work, you know a lot of funny people. I know a lot of exceptionally talented people. Lee is probably the fastest mind that I know. And that's in the studio. But he'll do that when you're just with him, you know? I mean, we've been on holiday. You know, our two families have been on holiday together.

And we went skiing with them once. That's going to ruin his working class credentials, isn't it? but we went, it's all a con. And at breakfast in the morning, he'd have me crying with laughter. He's got such a sharp brain, and he delights in using it. There are some who, you know, have this ability,

maybe not to his extent, but are reluctant to use it, which I always feel as a little miserly. But he loves to make you laugh. Yeah, he gets a real joy out of it. I'm forever thankful. I'm thankful to him. He got me a series of my own show on Radio 4 called Gabby's Talking Pictures.

I asked him, I said, we've got a pilot of this show. And I gave him the top line. He said, I'll do it. I said, but I haven't told you enough because I'll do it. Yeah, but the thing you have to, I think you have to remember with Lee is that he's not very picky, and he's desperate for the money. Yeah, he's desperately short of money because of this gambling thing, which has he spoken about that publicly? I don't know if he has. I have such a huge crush on him, but he knows that.

And his wife knows it. She is the most beautiful person I've ever seen. So it's absolutely fine. I'll tell you the thing about Tara, about Lee's wife, that always fascinates me because they've been together since university. And again, that'll shock people.

He went to university. And they have been together for so long. And if I'm around at his house or we're out or whatever, and he'll make some funny comment, she will laugh. Like, it's the first time she's met him. I mean, it's most comedians' wives, certainly mine, has heard everything I've ever said, you know, knows all my schick.

But Tara and Leah, I was there sitting in their kitchen and he was saying something rather. And she was, I mean, I couldn't fathom me. Oh, how wonderful. Makes me very angry. Does your wife never laugh at you, not at you? Does she laugh with you? Well, yes, she does. But I mean, you know, like any married couple, you become familiar.

But that's always the funny thing with Lee is that when he is very, very funny, yeah, she laughs like it's the first time. She's ever heard it. It's lovely and a little bit annoying. You love to laugh though yourself, don't you? Yes. I love the way you try not to laugh. And we can all see that.

It's not put on, like possibly the Morkman Wives and the two Ronnie's did because they knew that that glint a mat, that laugh, that coerpsing moment. But yours are real. Oh, well, I love it. When we're doing Would I Lie to You and those two start to do their thing. I think one of the nice things about the show is that we do give each other space. You know, if one of us is always, he's doing his thing now. You know, he's doing that thing he does.

We will give each other space to do it. And I'll often tee them up, you know. I mean, I will say something knowing they can win, as it were, and get a laugh off it, you know. And sometimes at my expense. And I don't mind that. You know, I love throwing something up there. Because you know that they'll throw a ball in the air. You know that they will hit it.

And they do beautifully. But you also, they do that with you. And I was watching the, somebody had done a cut together, a brilliant best of what I lie to you. And there are just moments where you completely lose it. And they throw something back at you. And they laugh at you. They laugh with you.

You laugh at their. and with them. And that's when a comedy relationship to me absolutely works because I'm going to use that word, but there's respect. Yeah, yeah. That's true. That's true. That's very, that's very true. I mean, and a lot of affection. I was resistant to hosting a panel show. And I, then I did a sort of a spoof one. It was a sort of Larry Sanders type thing, only not as good, called annually retentive. And I did that. And in that, we did a spoof panel show with people on it, like David came on it, I think,

and people like Jimmy Carr and all these different people. Griff came on it, Griffith Jones. But it was actually doing the show itself that I enjoyed the most. And I really liked it. And it was that combined with a sort of decision at some point that, well, I'm just going to do things that I like as opposed to. planning it in some kind of career way and thinking, well, if I do, panelists, will that stop me doing this, that, or the other? And there were only two that had a kind of tone that I liked, which was

QI and would I like to? And I actually went on, would I like to you as a panelist in, I think, the first or second series. And I'm only on one episode. They booked me for two. And I thought I was so bad that I made an excuse not to go back for the second one because I thought it had gone awfully. I mean, when I saw it, it was fine. It was okay. And then I ended up getting asked to host it. Now, as promised, I'd love to tell you more about our fantastic sponsor of this episode, Simprove. Honestly, I've been telling everybody about this company for such a long time before we started working together, I promise. This staff I have been taking now for almost two years and so has my husband. We both swear by it.

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We have an exclusive discount just for listeners of this podcast. To get 15% off the 12-week program, enter this promo code when you're at the checkout. And it's G-A-B-Y-15, Gabby 15. For new customers in the UK, I cannot applaud this stuff more. When I think about it in terms of specific things that I wanted to do and I've ended up doing. So, you know, long before I met Steve Coogan, I was a huge fan, just a fan of his. And, you know, and I've ended up with this association with him, and particularly on the trips, but a few other little bits and bobs that we've done.

So I've kind of been very lucky in that way to do some very specific things that I wanted to do. How fantastic. But didn't you send something into Steve, a test? tape of you because you really wanted to impress him. Yeah, via Julia Davis, who I knew anyway, because I'd been in an improv group with her in the 90s, the early to mid-90s in Bath. And Ruth Jones was a part of that as well. That's where I met Julia.

And then the mid-to-late 90s, it was around Britpop time. It was about 97. She came up from Bath. I mean, this is, it's really fascinating all the links and who you know and being in the right place at the right time is so important. And I knew Julia and she got this job with Steve on his live show, the man who thinks he's it, which was Partridge and a few other characters. And Simon Pegg was in it. And I went to see her in the show and it was brilliant, you know, it was terrific. And I said, oh, and I'd made this demo tape because I was.

getting anywhere. You know, I was trying to get work as an actor and I really couldn't because I started out as a radio presenter and I found it was very difficult to get people casting directors and the like to take you seriously. Understandably, you know, because if someone writes into you and they say, yeah, I do the early breakfast show on Radio Wales, you're not going to think of them as a bona fide actor. But I made, I did manage, I got a little part in that film, Lockstock and Two Smoking barrels. I played the traffic warden in that. And when it came out, there was a review of it in Empire Magazine and then it mentioned my name. And I was so staggered that I would get mentioned in this film magazine, which was such a big deal then. And I remember thinking,

well, I must be able to use this. This must have some worth. So I went out and shot a video of four characters. And one of them was Keith Barrett in that Marianne and Jeff's. setting, sitting in the car, he was a character that I'd had already on the radio, and I sent so many of them out. And I would hear in the morning, as they were returned to me, you know, in their jiffy bags. And it would be the slow, slide, and thud of rejection. I'd hear it coming in through the letter box, and then it would go, ooh, badump. And it would be a letter saying, thank you for sending it in, da da da da da da da. And that got seen by two people that was so important. The first was Hugo Blick. He was someone I'd been at college with, and I knew that Hugo was working at the BBC, but I couldn't

bring myself to send it to him because the thought of rejection from one of my old contemporaries from drama school would have been too much to bear. But I thought, well, I always kept one on my person, and I thought, well, if I ever bumped into him, I'd give it to him. And lo and behold, that's not a phrase I use very often, one day I was at the BBC because I used to do those voiceovers for the Saturday night, you know where it would finish off with. And with match of the day at Tam, that's Saturday night on BBC one. I used to do that. And I was in the BBC back in the day, you know, in White City, in the Big Donut. And I've come out of doing that. And I'm walking the corridors and thousands of people are employed there. And I swear to you, as I thought to

myself, wouldn't it be good if I bumped into Hugo, he walked round the corner. No! Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, whenever I think about that, I get goosebumps. I have just got them now. Well, it is, I mean, it was because it did kind of, it kind of changed my life, really, because he said, oh, what are you doing here?

I said, well, I've been doing this voice, and we went and had a little coffee or something. And even then, I nearly didn't give him this VHS. But at some point, and I can see myself, I leant down off this stool to my bag on the floor. And I said, look, I've done this thing. Have a look at it, you know, gave it to him. And I went into town to do another voiceover.

And then I was, remember, I'd done this other voiceover. And I was, I was in a little cafe. And the phone went and it was him. And thank goodness, he'd stuck with this tape because I'd inexplicably put Keith easily the best character on it. I'd put him last. So he stayed with it. He saw it.

I went in and we started talking. And then we ended up making. Marion and Jeff. But the tape that Hugo saw was also, I got Julia to give that to Steve. And he saw it and liked it. So then I was on his radar. And then once Hugo and I had made what was the pilot and then became the first episode of Marion and Jeff, that got to Steve as well. And he loved it.

And eventually his company, Baby Cow, ended up making it and human remains. And that was the beginning then of my association with this person who I'd watched from afar. And especially because he'd started in a similar way to me, that is in voiceovers, but had moved into character comedy, he showed me that there was a root. Watching what he'd done sort of gave me hope. That's such an incredible story. And actually that, the fact that you carried your VHS around with you, because there must have been something in you that just was not going to give up. You were looking for the work that you wanted to do. I just wanted to express myself, you know.

I mean, particularly when we did Human Remains, which was the next thing, with Julia, which was six couples. And that really was me just wanting to scream, look what I can do, you know, give me a chance. Because I really could not get arrested by casting drivers. The odd one. There was the odd one, okay? But it was never a role of any substance. It was never a role that would do anything to your career or move it along. So it was so frustrating.

And I had this huge desire to express myself, I suppose. Yeah. I've got a wonderful quote here of yours. Obviously, I don't know if it's true, but you said, you have to make them want to watch you. And that makes so much sense with the story that you've just said. Yeah, I tell you what, I think communication is so important. important in everything. I find a lot of the people I meet who have what you would call success, one way or another, they can all communicate well, whether it's with an audience or with other people

that they're working with. They're able to communicate. There'll always be exceptions to that, of course. And it was only when I showed them. So I think what I said is you can't tell them, because in the way I was telling them. I was saying, you know, give me an audition, give me this. You have to show them and you have to make them want you. So it's like, trading, you've basically got to have something that they desire, that whether it's a producer, a director, a casting, or whatever it is, they've got, you've got to have something that they think will make their life better. I think it comes down to very selfish things, that if you're casting a show and you come across a talent, you go, oh my God, imagine if I had that person

in my show. And I suppose that up until Marion and Jeff and human remains, I just wasn't doing that. You know, I was kind of whining and why am I not, you know. And when I did get acting work, I wasn't that great in it, you know. I was, you know, I hadn't really found my voice. So I do think it's important to find your voice and just show people what you can do. With your, when you say finding your voice, I mean, and again, I'm not, I'm, I don't, you're not an impressionist. What you do is you're an actor and a presenter and a writer and all of the,

those things and also you do brilliant impressions. But you've created, I mean, I suppose you and Steve on the trip, that's where everybody who maybe might have not known that you did a small man in a box and you did Roger Moore and you do, whoever, you know, all of them. Suddenly everyone was, did you know that he could do that? Were you embracing that with the trip as well? I suppose so, but it's very much Michael Winterbottom, you know, who creates the trip and writes the stories and a lot of it. And then Steve and I kind of color it in. And the trip came about because Steve and I had worked with Michael on a film called

a cock and bull story. Well, I did a little bit in 24-hour party people. And I think if you see my bits in that, it's quite interesting in that it's an antagonistic relationship with Steve, which is not my real relationship. My real relationship with him is quite sort of adoring, you know. full of admiration. But we take real things and we exaggerate them and we twist them around because you're just looking for the comic dynamic, you know, in whatever.

So we have to disagree, obviously, in it. Otherwise, it wouldn't be funny. But Michael saw us particularly on a cock and bull story and maybe I was messing around in between and doing silly voices. I mean, not to the extent that we do them in the trip, that would be unbearable. But what happened on that film was there were one day it rains so there's a thing called

wet weather cover which when you're going to be filming outdoors if it rains they need to have something up their sleeve that they could go and shoot indoors and I don't think he had anything so he said to Steve and I look I'm just going to sit you in the makeup trailer and just talk and I'm going to film you

and I remember I'm thinking really oh okay so so he sat down and it ends up being the opening of the film. And it's he and I talking about our billing in the film because of course Steve is the star of the film, but I'm making out that I think I'm equal first billing. And we talk about the color of my teeth, which were a rather unpleasant, I hadn't embraced dental intervention in the way that I have now. And we talk about all that. And we just made it up on the spot. And it worked really well. And then maybe two years later,

He took us out to lunch and he said this idea. I'm going to make the trip. It's going to be six half hours. And he mentioned it was going to be a film abroad. I thought, yeah, right. And he said, you'll be at a meal and there's no script, really. I'll sketch out a story. Actually, that's doing Michael a disservice.

It's more than sketching out a story. But, you know, and you'll just talk. And I thought he was mad. But he didn't give up. He's very persistent and stubborn. and took us out for another couple of lunches. And in the end, we agreed because it was challenging and exciting. And off we went and ended up doing this thing that's, you know,

one of my most sort of successful and, you know, well thought of things that I do. And it's a joy. And actually, right now it's what we all need. It really, really is. I mean, that and Wilty, because I know everybody was watching it back to back. But it's, gosh, I love it. I absolutely love it. And your voices are extraordinary. I have a handful of impressions.

And I can do the same ones again and again. And as those series of the trip went on, I remember thinking, I really must now try and learn something new. And I gave some thought to trying to do Daniel Craig. I never got round to it. I think I worked up Andy Murray at one point. And my idea was that I would sit and sort of talk about how the meal had gone in the same way that Andy Murray talks about a tennis match.

You know, so he says, well, you know, I started out with a starter. It was quite tricky, but I hung in there. And then it brought the amuse bush. I was really hard, but I kept trying. I didn't give up. And then when it came to the main course, you know, Steve had loads more, but I didn't give up.

And I was going to do that. That's so good. Thank you. I don't think I've ever kind of shoehorned anything in that sense. It's always just been stuff. because, you know, if you're me, you've spent your life doing Roger Moore and all the people that you admire, you know. Now, he nearly came on. Roger nearly came on would I like you? He was all booked and then he got ill. That would have been such an enjoyment. And we were so looking forward to it, so looking forward to it.

But you had Ronnie on, didn't you? Ronnie Corbett did it. Terry did it. Terry Wogan did it. Yes. And whenever I had someone like that on, an older person who I admired, I would. always been slightly on edge, just praying they were having a good experience, you know, because I remember when Ronnie was on, and it's a long recording, you know, and Ron was already in his, I think he was in his mid to late 70s when he did it, I think. And I was thinking, oh, God, this is going on forever, you know. But he was terrific in it. Yeah, we've had a few

people like that. We ran into, we were at the BAFTAs one year and we ran into Tom Courtney, who I know a little bit. And we were stood in a little group. And I'd met him a couple of times before, and he'd been very sweet to me. And he came over and I said something. And I don't think he could hear me. So he lent in to hear me.

But I thought he was leaning in for a kiss. So I kissed him very tentatively on his cheek. And then he kissed me, I think, very tentatively on my cheek. And then we withdrew from him. each other. And the conversation began. And there was a few of us around. And I had to say, I had to stop and go, can I just ask you, were you meaning to kiss me? And he said, no, no, I wasn't, but you kissed me. Oh, I love that. That's so tender. That is so lovely. And it was a very tender, very sensitive kiss on the cheek. Oh, that's so precious.

I can't remember who kissed who first. But it was, it was the, It's the most surreal thing. When people come up to you in the street, because all the articles that I've read that everybody says that you're so, and you're so welcoming of when people come up to you in the street. And I've watched the behind the scenes of the Christmas, Gavin and Stacey, which we'll get to in a minute.

But there's another thing I read that you said that Rick Mail, you bumped into him in the street, and you've sort of taken how he was to you to be to other people. Yes, and I try to do that. I'm sure you could find someone who could find moments when I failed. but I tried to. It was when he was with Stephen Frye, and they were doing that play, cellmates,

and they were in Richmond before they went into the West End. And I was in Richmond. I wasn't known at this point. I think this was the mid to late 90s again. And I was walking to Richmond. And there was Rick Mail, this incredibly charismatic, just dynamic talent.

I mean, I can still remember going into school the day after the first, episode of the Young Ones went out. And I was in the sixth form and being in the youth wing, and I can remember going in and saying to my friends, did you see that thing last night? You know, everybody watched. You only had a few channels then. But it made such an impact. And he was such a special talent. So anyway, I saw him in the street. And this is before camera phones and all that stuff. And I couldn't stop myself. I went up. I said, sorry, I think I said something like, can I just say something like, thank you, you've given me so much pleasure?

something like that. And he went, he gave it full Rickmail. He went, oh, thanks, matey. And he shook my hand and looked me in the eye and then went on his way. But it made such an impression on me. I absolutely get that. I get that. And I think that's why we have to be nice and lovely to everybody. I'm a fan of people. I get very enthusiastic about people. Yes, me too. When you meet them sometimes, it can be just lovely, you know. And I've been so lucky with the different ones that I've met through my career and some of them I've gone on to work with, you know.

But even if it's just more of a fleeting encounter, I mean, you should always try and be pleasant to people, for heaven's sake. And you have to remember now, I always remember that Rick Mayle thing. So if someone comes up to me, you know, there's a part of me thinking, oh, for heaven's sake, They can't be that excited to meet me, surely. But then I think back to that time when I met Rick, and I never met him again.

But I don't think you'll ever not be like that. How do you feel when people come up, though, and always ask you to do small man in a box? Do you get to the stage where it's enough already? Well, I mean, obviously, yeah, the odd time, yes. But generally speaking, it's just fine and dandy. Obviously, if you're late for something or you're not having a good day or, you know, You know, things aren't going well. Then sometimes it can be a little inconvenient.

But nine times out of ten, it's just fine. Well, the only thing does happen now that is a bit different is because everybody has a phone, sorry, a camera on their phone. You'll sometimes get people, and it's very clear they're not that bothered about you at all. It's just that there'll be something to show their mates. So they'll get a picture with you. Sometimes, you know, without even ask you, don't mind you, mate, boom, you know. I prefer it if someone is pleased. If someone's pleased to meet you, then that's just delightful.

So that's the only little caveat I would give. Right, we have to go to Uncle Bryn. So 13 years ago, you started Gavin and Stacey. I can't believe it's that long ago. And as I said, I was looking at the behind-the-scenes, the BBC breakfast did the behind-the-scenes of the Christmas special. And it just looked like you particularly were, and Joanna actually as well.

was so thrilled, just beyond thrilled, to be back doing it. Because I get the feeling you love Uncle Bryn as much as we do. Absolutely, absolutely. I find it so easy. I find it such an easy part. It's so well written. And funnily enough, I spoke to Alison Stedman and she was saying she was quite nervous going back to do it. And I love her.

I had no nerves, you know, whatsoever. I mean, I just couldn't wait. I did that straight after filming the trip to Greece. I had a mad three months where I finished what I lie to you at about 10 o'clock, got home by 11, half 11. No, I got driven down to somewhere near an airport, maybe Gatwick, I can't remember now, had to get up at something like three in the morning or four in them, to get on a plane because all the rest of the trip people had gone out already, and I was late. I got on a plane to a place, then I had a two-hour car journey, then was in a whole.

hotel for two hours and then got on a boat all on my own. I felt like an evacuee. And then caught up with them. And then we filmed in Greece for about five weeks. And then came back. And I think within a couple of days, was down in Barry doing this Gavin and Stacey special where it was, they were having a heatwave. Oh my word. And I'm wearing brins, polyester and nylon and what have you. And I was loving it. I think particularly because, you know, when you do the trip, whilst it's a joy, it's also a challenge because you know you're improvising a lot of it and you're improvising with Steve Coogan and Steve is as good as it gets. So you know you've got to you've got to be on top of your game. So are you. So well thank you but thank you very much. But so then from that I was

going to great there's a script. Every word I say has been written for me already because always by the end of the trip we've had enough, you know, the two of us by the end of the five weeks we spent all day, every day with each other. So, you know, we're ready to head off. So that's another reason why I was particularly looking forward to it. And we hadn't all been together for a very long time. I'd seen Ruth, of course, and I'd seen James, seen a bit of Allison, I think. But it was just a delight to all be together.

And the crowds that came out, it was people in the streets and they would stay there. because there wasn't much night time because it was the height of summer. There weren't many hours of darkness, but it was meant to be Christmas with quite a few night time scenes. So we would be out there till three in the morning or four in the morning. And people would still be there watching. It was one of those things that suddenly everybody watched all ages, everybody watched, you know, was it sort of top 20 million or something, didn't it in the end?

Yes, it did, yeah, it did. And Uncle Bryn is just, it's a genius character. but Uncle Bryn on the floor in the kitchen is still one of my favourite moments. I just, oh, I love that show. I'm not going to ask you if they're going to be anymore because I actually, I don't want to, I don't want to know the answer, weirdly. I don't want you to say no and I don't want you to say yes. I want it left in the air like that.

I'll say nothing. But that scene in the kitchen was the last scene that I shot in it. I rapped after that. So I can, I remember that very, very clearly. I love that. I just, I cannot tell you how much I loved it. Now, one of the times that you and I saw each other was you were giving, I was hosting an awards and you were giving Tom Jones an award.

And then also, because I was watching you singing, as I said, yesterday was officially Rob Bryden Day in this household. But you were singing with Neil Diamond and you've sung with Tom and you, and you are a singer and you're doing your singing tour. And I know that David Walliams is the one that's. said do it. I'm going to come and I'm going to be a groupie at the front. Oh, please do. Oh, without a doubt, without a doubt. But all of that, singing is a deep love of yours as well, isn't it? Yes, yeah, very much so. And I've really put off doing a singing tour

because I was so, oh, I don't know, probably oversensitive to perception of being an opportunist, you know, being someone who's on the telly so he can go and sing. But all I can say in my defence is I have sung. You know, I started out doing the musicals at school. I was at school with Ruth Jones, and she and I were in Guys and Dolls, Carousel, West Side Story, together, Sweet Charity. I loved all that. And then I've sung over the years, whether it's in Gavin and Stacey,

or, you know, when I did the Rob Bryden show, and each week I would sing with a guest. We had Tom on. We had Ronnie Wood and Mick Hucknell and Paloma Faith. And Charlene came on, Charlene Spiterre. I did stuff with her. And I eventually got round. to do in it, put this eight-piece band together.

And we did it very quietly under the radar. I didn't really publicise it. I just let people know on Twitter that it was happening and we sold the tickets. And then we had to stop because of the virus. Everybody's going to have to go see that because it was just, that's what we need. Again, we need the Rob Brydon medicine. Well, it did, you know, it did work well. I mean, I was nervous of it.

And I think, I hope I found the right balance of comedy and music within it. Because I don't want people to come and all I do is sing, you know, because they, they, They want to laugh. They want to be entertained. So it's a kind of a, there's an autobiographical element to it. I tell stories of being at school where I first met Ruth Jones and then talk about some of these strange things I've done, you know, so that I have ended up singing at Wembley Arena with Tom Jones. Or I sang with Coldplay at, well, twice now actually. But the best time was they played the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

And we'd already booked tickets to go. And I thought, well, I won't contact Chris because he must get everybody, everybody in the world emailing him. And I thought I won't. And this thing, I had an email from him saying, do you want to come and sing the Welsh national anthem? Wow. And I said, well, I'm not sure. I know all the words. I mean, it's, you know, I don't speak.

I don't. He said, oh, that's okay. Do it. I said to my wife. I said, I'm going to say no because I don't really know this. She said, you're saying no. What are you mad? Good for her.

And he said, don't worry. we'll have them on a screen. And I said, well, all right. So we went down. I hadn't told my kids. I think one of my kids knew, but the others didn't know. So one knew and four didn't, that I was going to be getting up on stage with them right at the end of the show. Oh my God, that's fantastic. And we're loving the show. My God, they're fantastic. And you talk about, you know, what we need right now. I think, and in Coldplay are just such a beautiful entity. Anyway, so we go there. And when it comes to that bit in the show, someone comes and I say, I take my mate with me because he knew, I said, I'm just going to the loo and off we go, we're all around the stadium. And then they

put those in-ear monitors in me, right, in my ears, and I'm under the stage and I'm about to go. And Chris starts to introduce me. And he says, okay, we're going to do one more thing. We're going to bring someone out. Ray! And he said, this person has the most amazing voice in the the world, right? And I'm under, and I'm under, they going, yeah, all right, Chris, let's, you know, let's be realistic. And he said, and he's Welsh, the crowd cheer. They're all expecting Tom Jones at this point, right? So I'm under the stage, right, about to sing a song I don't know all the words to, thinking, oh, they are going to be, and there's 70,000 people out there, they are going to be so disappointed. Then he says, he's not just one voice. He's not just one voice.

He's a Swiss Army knife of voices. I thought, okay, well, that's something. That edges it a bit more towards me, maybe. Here he is Rob Bryden, right? Now, I had these in-ear monitors, and they were getting a feed of the band so that when I'm singing, I can hear my voice and the band. They are not getting a feed of the room or the stadium in this instance.

So what I hear in my years is him going, so here he is, Rob Bryden. quiet silence. Oh no. Because I couldn't hear the crowd cheering. Oh no. So I'm walking out thinking, oh God, right. And then you straight away think, right, Dr. Showbiz, darling, I've just got to act it. And so you go out just smiling and hey, great to be here. And I'm thinking, oh my good God, this is horrific. I mean, they're not just disappointed. They're angry. And it was very funny. Anyway, they had. They had cheered.

I hadn't heard it. And we did the song and it was fine. But then my wife had this great bit of video because we hadn't told the boys. And I think George was nine would have been maybe six then. I'm not sure. Maybe a bit older. And she's filming it and she's filming Chris. And he's saying, oh, da, da, da, da, da.

Rob Bryden. And you hear George go, it's daddy. Oh. Oh, that's precious. Which is obviously so precious and just so special. Yeah. Even more special than that kiss from Tom Courtney. Even more special.

It wasn't as intimate as the kiss on Tom Courtney. It wasn't as intimate. In this podcast, Rob, we always ask everybody what makes them laugh? What makes them really people go for, proper belly laugh? On a day-to-day basis, I watch a lot of American stuff. I love Martin Short. I adore him. I love watching his talk show appearances from America.

Steve Martin, Jerry Seinfeld. I mean, I love comedians in cars getting coffee. I find that to be as much a philosophical program as much as it is about comedy. I find it fascinating. A million comedians, you know, Frankie Howard, Peter Cook Dudley Moore, the two Ronnie's, John Cleese, Peter Sellers. I always like to see how they were doing what they were doing. and I think I was very influenced by a lot of them. I think I carry a little bit of each of them in different ways.

Barry Humphreys is a sort of God to me and very much has informed how I talk to an audience. I talk to an audience a lot in my live shows. And I would say that's stolen from him, let's be honest. And I can hear a bit of Ronnie Corbett's rhythm sometimes and I'm talking on stage and, you know, all sorts, I think, that all sorts that go into making a new thing, which is the combination of you and all your influences.

And finally, is it true you take a mini trampoline with you everywhere you go? It's not true. It's not true, no. What it was, what it was within the lifespan of the trip, I went from being someone who doesn't exercise much to someone who exercises pretty rare. regularly. And I started to really feel the benefit of it. And in fact, that story I tell in the trip about meeting Mick Jagger, which is true. And him doing the Michael Cain impression

to me, we're at some house party. And he does it. The other bit of the conversation that I don't normally tell is, I'd met him before. So it wasn't the first time. And he's very friendly and, I mean, absolutely brimming with energy and vitality. It's quite shocking. And I said, hey, I said something like, God, you're looking good or blah, blah, blah, blah. And he said, yeah, and somehow exercise came up. And I said, well, actually, I'd started to feel tired a lot. You know, I'd be out for lunch and I drift away, you know, and I was thinking, what's going on? I need more energy.

So I started to exercise. I was telling him, and he said, well, how often, you know, how often do you work out? And I said, or twice a week. And he went, well, I'll do something every day. And he just glowed. just glowed with vitality. So the trampoline, so then, so in part of me, yes, and I'd heard that this trampette bouncing up and down on this thing is very good for you.

Apparently is good for your lymphatic system, right? I mean, it sounds ludicrous. So I gave it a go. So when it came time to do the trip and Michael writes into the script that Steve and I are exercising, you know, there's a bit of competition. And I think you see me running in the trip when I never run. because my knees give out to me. But I took, so I asked them,

can you bring a trampette? And they did. And I would use it in real life. And then we would use it on screen. And I think that's become, in Steve's mind, I think he said it, Rob carries a miniature trampoline wherever he goes. I love the idea of it.

Keep that picture alive. Rob Bryden, honestly, you are the best medicine. I think you should be on prescription and everybody should get you. Thank you, Gabby. I was filming recently. listen to your one with Robbie Williams on the way back and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so involving and he obviously adores you and that came across.

And it was, I really enjoyed it. And I will be working my way through the other ones. I won't listen to Lee just as a matter of principle. But thank you, Gabby. I've loved it. Thank you very much. Rob, you're enjoyed. Thank you so much for listening and thank you to our sponsors, Simprove.

Don't forget the code. Gabby, that's G-A-B-B-Y-5. to get 15% off the 12-week program of SimProve. Please join me on the next episode when my guest will be the writer Russell T. Davis. He's the man that brought back Doctor Who wrote a very English scandal and also wrote the incredible It's a Sin. That Gabby Rawlsend podcast is proudly produced by Cameo Productions.

Music by Beth McCari. Please press the subscribe button and it will come straight to your phone on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you choose to listen. Also, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.