That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Rosie Jones

Episode Date: June 27, 2023

Comedian and author, Rosie Jones, is joy personified!She joins Gaby in the studio to talk about the highs and lows of her incredible career, her writing, her comedy and her activism.They discuss her new documentary on Ableism, highlighting the challenges and prejudices that disabled people still face every day, as well as her brilliant children's books and stand-up.Rosie also reveals what - and who - makes her belly laugh! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

and welcome to Reasons to Be Joyful. My guest this week is the comedian Rosie Jones, who is Joy Personified. She started her career behind the scenes in television as a researcher before turning a hand to stand up. Since then, she's toured the UK, appeared on countless TV panel shows, and is a published author.

So here's our chat. I hope you enjoy it. Rosie, you and I first met in real life. backstage at a charity event. And we were, everyone was in the room, there were all these women, a really sort of strange bunch of women.

I mean, real mix of women. And the two of us were gnatering in the corner and they kept saying, can you come out on stage? Can you come on, come on you two. Because we have a mutual friend

who got you singing opera. Yes. Fee, we love her. What a woman. Yeah, so, Fee is a great TV producer and I've known since before I was a comedian when I was a little TV researcher. I love that, little TV researcher.

Yeah, yeah. I'm only if I thought what I was. Tiny. And Faye rang me up last year and said, Rosie, can you think? And I went free. I can't even talk.

And she had faith in me. And I did opera lessons. That was extraordinary. and caught to me on the stage of the Coliseum, light TV, comic relief, with four brilliant women who could sing a lot better than I could. But just like going out of my comfort zone

and doing something that I never even imagined that because it was incredible. I was crying and I don't really know that patronising way. I was so overwhelmed because Fee is such a dear friend and she told me that you were doing it and then I watched you doing it and I remember messaging you just going, honestly it was incredible, but you always take yourself out of your comfort zone. Did you do that when you were a child?

Yeah, yeah. I think I always did. Basically, I had a mom and dad who from a very young age, they learned that if they said no to me, I will kick, scream, and do it anyway. and I think my disability is the reason for it. I've had several policies since birth. And I think definitely growing up in the 90s,

I didn't have that positive representation. of what it meant to be disabled. And that's quite isolated. Of course it is. Yeah, and I think if you're a woman, you normally have your mother or older positive role models, If you're non-white, you normally have a lot part of your family who are the same.

If you were quiet, there were spaces as soon as you start drinking, you know, to get to your local gay bar. But in terms of disability, there's in that sense of community. That's interesting. I never thought of it as community. Yeah, not because none of my family had a disability. No one at my school did. as I grew older in a seaside town, there wasn't any disabled spaces. And that's isolating.

And definitely for me, I had to figure out a lot of that myself. How did you do? I mean, so at school, how did the people at school, the teachers and the pupils, treat you, or how were they with you? First of all, to be a little political, I want to school at their perfect time, because if I want to school five years earlier,

I probably would have been put in a disabled school. But when I started in the early 90s, they were phasing out disability schools. So I went to a mainstream school, but we had a Labor government, and therefore the funding was there for me. So I was able to have a teacher's aid. The wonderful Judith Lassen,

who was with me one to one for seven years in primates ago. Oh, actually that's giving me goosebumps. She was my best friend, whereas now, well recently she's actually left education because of all the course by the time she left she had to look after five or six civilians. disabled children in one girl. And that means she's exhausted and they mix out on her right for education in a mainstream school.

So you've got a locked, I mean, she was there for you, which is vitally important, to have that person to hold your hand. Yeah. When you left school and you started, a little TV person, as you said, a little TV researcher and you got into writing and everything, did you have those people there then? Were there people holding your hands then?

No, no, not really. And even quickly back to school, Judith Ford's incredible. the teachers were amazing but in terms of that all the students I was never bullied but because I always run into

every room every situation going hello No, I'm Rosie, I'm disabled, but I'm just saying everyone else. I was loud, I was funny. You surprised me, Rosie, really? No way.

Loud and funny, really? Yeah, and that would have always been me. But thinking back on it, it was definitely created as a defence mechanism in order for people to see my personality more than those are my disability. So it's always up to me to almost apologise for who I am. Oh, that's interesting. Rather than me just entering a new space

and being able to just be able to just be in. make. Did you do that then? So there I asked you about when you went to work if people were holding your hand. Did you do the did you do the loud rosy, the funny rosy because you wanted that for them to see that first again in the workspace? Yes, yeah, definitely. And again, I really benefited

from television. I started in TV. in 2011 and I was part of a channel for diversity scheme which was incredible because for me living in Yorkshire I could not have afforded to move down to London and get it. packed a job as a runner. So just doing this year-long scheme, put me in a production company and gave me stability. But even then, even in 2011,

I was at only disabled. in a production company of about 150 people. So we're gain isolating. That must have been very isolated. Yeah. So therefore, like, Scula had to go, Hello, and Rosie, and the loud one, and the one that would crack jokes in the kitchen.

And I often mask what I need with a joke. So, for example, I love tea and coffee, but I cannot make it because me with hot, it's a bloody disaster. So I normally, when I work in an office, I get to the kitchen, I hang around, a chat to people. It's a nice way to meet people. Yeah, and then I go,

oh, love doing my empowering that for me. and hopefully in my mind they will never go oh I'm helping the disabled woman it was like chat chat tomato

oh could you carry it to my death if I carried it and be a fucking disaster little joke, chat, chat, chat. Whereas I never felt like I could enter the workspace and go, Hello, I can't make tea, could someone help me. about my shoes comedy to get what I need.

That's so interesting because one of the things, and I'm fully aware, and I did check with you, we could talk about it, was all the online abuse that you get. So it's all well and good in person for you to be the loud, the funny one,

the one that everybody knows, completely falling in love with, but then you did question time and the online abuse that you got, and you get, which I didn't realize, but you get all the time. You can't be loud and funny in print, can you really?

No. So those people are just foul. Yeah, yeah. And you mentioned question time, and that is a fascinating one because I think I got a lot of the abuse because that wasn't funny. because I didn't have that armour of

she just a happy, lovely, lovely, for me lady. Yeah, it was, he's an angry woman who was very clearly anti-Torri labeling. So you think that was the reason that people went on the, That was the first level. Yeah. And what they then went on was the physical level. Yeah.

Of she's a disabled girl. Yeah. Right. So I have watched what I said back many times, and I agree with it wholeheartedly. And I went to town on the Tory government and how their truth. pretty disabled people because I think it's absolutely disgusting.

And I think a lot of right-leaning people got angry at what I said. And if you get angry, but you may not have their intelligence to say your side, you go for the physical, you go for the disability. So that's why I got that abuse. It's just, for me, when I think of you, and that's why we wanted you on this podcast because it's reasons to be joyful.

You like to spread joy. Yeah. And yes, you have your beliefs and you're not quiet about how you think. I mean, the TV shows that you've done are so funny. I mean, so funny. From the stand-up stuff to the, you know, to mock the, all of those things.

But your own shows now that you've been doing. I mean, Trip has properly. There's my favorite clip that you have on your website it just makes me laugh thinking of it. When you went, most people climb to the top, but I can't be bothered. I mean, you know, you just, you take the piss out of yourself happily. But you are about spreading laughter because laughter actually is important. And it's very important to you, isn't it?

Oh, hugely. And I think it's what we've been saying of laughter. laughter and humor is very disarming so you can get your point or your beliefs across with a joke so a lot of people including my Nana say to me oh, you should be a politician

or you should be a lawyer you can change the world and my argument right now is I think I can make more of a difference in comedy because if a person watches my show, that comes to my comedy shows

and they leave thinking, that was great, I've had a great night, but now I'm thinking about how I might not use a certain kind of able to abuse at their pub, or maybe I will vote differently at the election. I am slowly changing the world, one joke at a time. How important is laughter to you, though, for you to laugh? I really got.

Mainly I'm laughing at myself. When I told my best friend that I wanted to become a comedian, she said, why no one will ever find you funny as you find yourself? And actually, that's true. I did a show on Saturday a tour show and I had to stop for like three minutes

because I made myself laugh but for me if I find something funny I go great hopefully other people will too. And yet, like, you know me, day to day, I just chat to people at Joe Cash,

find the joy in life. You've got funny bones. And I think, you know, we were talking earlier before we started recording about people that we both think, oh, just funny. Yeah. They're funny.

Tom Allen, funny. Rob Beckett, funny. You know, and there are many others, so apologies for not mentioning them all, but funny bones. And I think it's something that you're, it's a weird thing to say, I think it's something you're born with.

I do, and when I think about my child's taught, it was always around the kitchen table, mum, dad, me and my little brother and we'd eat for hours. You'd eat for hours? Eat. But even after we finished all the cheese and all the bread

would be sat there laughing and talking. Oh, how lovely. And that. It's still my favourite thing to do, just to go for dinner with a few friends and sit there and laugh and laugh and laugh. So the one thing I've picked up from that is you obviously come from a very posh family

because you ended with bread and cheese at the end of the... Yes. I was never a time when I was a child that we had bread and cheese at the end of the meal. Actually, yeah, we were... were a little bit, but only on a Friday. Oh, you had bread and shoes on the...

And we wouldn't end on bread and cheese. That would be the whole meal. Oh, I see. That's the whole meal. What would have bread cheese, olives, like a picky bit. Oh, that's my favourite type of meal. Yeah. Let's go to the TV shows that you're making. So documentary is coming out in a few weeks about ableism.

Yeah. Now, there are a lot of people who have maybe heard that word for the first time or read that word and don't know what it means. So for people who don't know what ableism is, can you explain it and then just tell us a bit about the documentary? Because it's a big documentary for you. Yeah. It's from the heart.

So abelism is simply when you do something. discriminate against somebody because of their disability. And it's interesting if you ask someone on the street, what is racism, what is sexism, what is homophobia, they could tell you immediately. Whereas when I say, watchability people aren't sure, or they say, is that really a thing? Or they say, have you made that up? And even I had a disabled person only learned.

that was about five years ago. And then in hindsight, I took a lot of abelism on myself, and I blame to myself. You blame yourself? Yes, for example, a big example of ability, It's at least once a week. I will call a taxi. The taxi will pack up

and then I walk towards it and the driver will go, you're not getting in. What? You're drunk. And I will say, no. say, no, I'm not drunk, I got sicker, but palsy. Once a week this happens to you?

At least. And the driver will drive away. And that has happened to me at 3 a.m. in the middle of London. I can't tell you the amount of times. been stranded and I felt like I was in danger as a woman and as a disabled person. And before I knew what ablism was, I would go, well, yeah, it makes sense. I do look drunk.

It's not there for. Whereas now I go, no, taxi companies need to educate their drivers on different levels of disabilities. I do even find it with the court ablism. So if I get shouted, a slew in the street. You still get slur? Yeah, yeah. Usually at night. This is just horrible.

Yeah. And again, before I knew what I believe them was, I would go, well, yeah, well, they don't. really know what a disability is. So I'd eat up all the abelism. And luckily I got a great network of friends and family out there, but it takes its toll. Of course it does.

So I decided. to do a documentary all about abuse enableness because I think I've established myself and this funny comedian is always happy who just happens to be a little bit wobbly and I think it's time for people to realize that whilst they am all of these things but on the camera I am still getting abuse every day I am still getting discrimination about what I sound like and what I look like.

And I think it's time for us to take abelism as seriously as we take all other forms of discrimination. I completely agree. I'm so sorry that that happens to you because I just think there's no two ways about it. is wrong. That's it. Yeah. Don't do it.

Yeah. Just don't do it. But also for you, going into the spotlight, so there you were, right, because you were writing, well, what's going to talk about your books again in a minute as well, but there you were writing for TV and then you put yourself out there. You know, nobody pushed you and said, right, you've got to do this. You put yourself out there. Did you have any concept then of what was going to happen?

how it was going to roll. And I mean the good stuff as well as that, horrible stuff. I mean, I can't say this without something like in an American break. No, I asked you the question. So, yeah, just tell me as it is. I started stand up when I was 27. And around the time of when I was like 23, 24, a friend said to me, you should do stand up.

And I said, yeah, I will, but not yet, because I'm not ready to be famous yet. So you really knew what you were doing. I knew, I knew, and it sounds incredibly arrogant. No, it doesn't. To me, it doesn't sound arrogant. It sounds actually really bright and with it and very tuned in. Yeah, and I just think, of course, it is a magic person to be famous and successful. but definitely for comedy right now I think you need a combination of

like we said natural humor and I knew I had that because I knew I could go into a new workspace or meet new people and made them laugh immediately. So I knew I had the humour and the confidence coming from TV and knew how that side worked

and you how to write a joke, how to picture, how to act, how to act on the panel show in order to make sure that a lot of your jokes made the edits. So, yes, that's clever. That's clever. That experience.

And a third thing, again coming from TV, I had experience and the knowledge of the comedy industry and I saw the new comedians coming up and you never were saying what I would bring to it. So I could. Even then, see a rosy hole in the comedy world that I knew when the time was right when I had the tools and knowledge and experience,

I could fit myself into that. And my final component, which you'll know is huge in this industry, is I work damn hard. I've been a full-time comedian now for six years. and in that six years I can count on my two-hand-see totally three days of us even when I have a day off

from writing a picture mulling over a joke so I've worked that matter then when I was ready to become a, quote, famous comedian, I've already put my mind into it, and I don't take anything for granted. So all of those elements I could envision, I could envision, even at 23, 24, going. Yeah, I will be famous.

Not yet, but when I'm ready, that was always a path for me. Do you know, I didn't realize that we all... This isn't going to sound a bit old. We all needed a hole filled with Rosie. But you know what I mean. Now, you know what I mean. know what I'm just saying about your writing because of course you've written Eadie

the books about Eadie three books and more to come yeah yeah so for people who haven't read Edie get the books um I told you about my friend's little boy who is precious and lovely and those books are very important because he also has cerebral palsy and he's going to be 10 in November and he's lovely and he loves you and his but more so his mum's loves you for what you were doing for him. At nine years old, he sees you on tell you. He's got those books. So important and to so many others.

And it's taken too long for that. Let's be honest. But those books are so important to you as well, aren't they? Yeah. So that comes back to my childhood when I need to stretch. I had a great childhood. You did? Well, you had the bread and cheese.

Yeah, I had bread and cheese. But in hindsight, it was isolating. And a big part of it was when I turned on the telly, when I opened a book, there was nobody who looked or sounded like me. and I remember age five, I said to my mum, I want to write a book all about a little girl about me. When you were five?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's just didn't want anyone out to feel as alone as that. So I wrote easy. I wrote their first book during lockdown and out of everything I do, that's probably the thing that I'm most proud of. And I love it, I do a lot of book festivals and a lot of the children who come are disabled,

who say, thank you for writing someone like me. And, spoiler, the books also deal with queer identity, and at the end, kisses another girl so I then have a lot of girls who come with their mum and dads and say thank you they've read it and they were able to have the language to tell us that when they've always they might want to kiss other boys that will be good. So that's a match as well.

But then I have a third group of children who are able-bodied and who come dressed as easy and they just go, oh, I like Ed because she's funny. And I think that group made me the most emotional because when they were putting their ED d d dungarees on that morning, They weren't thinking, oh, I'm dressing like a disabled girl. They were just going, I want to look like because she's amazing.

So it's incredible to see how my little book will have found. little book will have fat children and educate them and hopefully make them feel less alone. Rosie, you know what you are, you are wonderful, and you call yourself the triple threat. There's many more threats there. There's more than just three. More than just three. Rosie Jones, thank you. Thank you so much. I hope you're enjoying the series so far. Remember to follow and subscribe to the podcast, please, so you never miss an episode.

And find me on Instagram at Gabby Roslyn for more podcast and joyful nuggets. We'll be back with Rosie on Friday for our show and tell episode. And I hope you can join me then. Bye for now.