THE ADAM BUXTON PODCAST - EP.247 - TIM KEY AND TOM BASDEN

Episode Date: May 25, 2025

https://www.adam-buxton.co.uk/Adam talks with British writer/actor/comedians Tim Key and Tom Basden about their comedy film The Ballad Of Wallis Island, private comedy gigs, AI identity theft, and being told off on bikes. Plus, Tim introduces Adam and Tom to one of the all-time great accidental 'C' bombs.Conversation recorded face-to-face in London on 9th May, 2025CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE!Thanks to Séamus Murphy-Mitchell for production support and additional conversation editing.Podcast illustration by Helen Green ORDER 'I LOVE YOU, BYEEE' HEREEXCLUSIVE NORD VPN DEALTry it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!TICKETS FOR UNION CHAPE SHOW - 21st July with Adam, John Robins, Aisling Bea, Mike Wozniak, Ria and more tbc - Monday 21st July, 2025PICS, LINKS AND SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTER ON ADAM'S WEBSITE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This advert for my new book may contain AI. Have you heard of this British guy, Adam Buxton? I think he's kind of a loser, but I love his books. Love Gramble Book, very funny, but also very profound. Did you know he's got a new book? It's called I Love You by E with three Es. He's like Sean Rider, this guy. Too many Es, but it's a great book with stories about the highs and

lows of working with Joe Cornish and revolutionizing the worlds of DIY TV and podcasting in the process. They did incredible work, these guys. Made comedy great again. There's also stuff about hanging out with notorious rock and roll hell raisers like Travis and Radiohead. These are really bad guys, dangerous guys. Then there's some sad stuff about losing his mom.

They didn't get separated in a shop. She died. And he writes about it. There's real emotions in this thing. It's like a movie. Anyway, I've got the book because it has nice pictures in it. Owning a book reminds people I'm smart, but I listened to it on audiobook and that was fun but there's so much bonus audio on there I think I might have to put some tariffs on it. I Love You Bye out on May 22nd order the hardback eBook or audiobook now. I added one more podcast to the giant podcast bin. Now you have plucked that podcast out and started listening

I took my microphone and found some human folk Then I recorded all the noises while we spoke My name is Adam Buxton, I'm a man I want you to enjoy this, that's the plan Hey, how are you doing, Podcats? It's Adam Buxton here, reporting to you from a Norfolk farm track on a balmy, not to say muggy, evening coming up to the end of May 2025. Just me today, because my best dog friend, Rosie, was taken out for a walk by my son earlier today. Why the hell did you take Rosie out for a walk without checking with me first whether I had a podcast intro and outro to record?

Don't you realize that she is an absolutely central part of the brand? What are you trying to do? Destroy the foundations of Castle Buckles? That's what I was thinking. But instead I just said, oh you've been out for a walk with Rosie. How about another walk then Rosie? He used to like multiple walks in the olden days. Rosie gave me a pitying look as if to say, well, these are not the olden days, as you are well aware, so why don't you do one, and I will stay here and relax on the sofa. So that's where she is. Anyway, she sends lots of love. She's doing well, and I hope you're doing well, and I hope you're enjoying my book which came out this week. I have quite a large stack of hardback copies which I need to sign

and send out to people. Apologies that I haven't been able to do that earlier if you've already ordered a signed copy from the book hive in Nudditch. While you're waiting why not pick up the audiobook? It's cheaper than the old hardback, it's got a lot of bonus stuff on there. Not that I'm discouraging you from reading with your eyes. My wife refuses to listen to the audiobook because she feels she has enough of my voice in her life as it is, but she's actually been reading the physical thing and being quite nice about it, which for me is the ultimate review, of course.

Anyway, look, let me tell you a bit about podcast number 247, which features a rambling conversation with two of my favourite British writers, actors and comediansians Tim Key and Tom Basden. This is Tom's first time on the podcast, you may know him from the sitcoms Plebs and Here We Go, both of which he writes and stars in. Then there are the numerous performances in shows that include Ricky Gervais's comedy dramas Derek and Afterlife, as well as appearances in The Windsors, W1A, The Wrong Man's, Ghosts and Diane Morgan's show Mandy. Tom has also written on TV shows like Peep Show, Fresh Meat and Gap Year, and he is the

author of several plays, and as if that wasn't enough, he's an extremely talented and accomplished musician. As for Tim Key, well I think this is his third appearance on the podcast, and you might have seen him as sidekick Simon in various Alan Partridge TV shows. He also co-starred with Daisy Mae Cooper in the BBC sitcom The Witchfinder, and there's been countless appearances on other great comedy shows over the years. But Tim is also an author and poet. As you'll hear, his latest book of beautifully laid out poetry and dialogue vignettes, his fourth with designer Emily Juniper, is called LA Baby and details his experience of working in Los Angeles in 2024 for the upcoming American sitcom The Paper.

Set in the same universe as The American Office, The Paper is a mockumentary about an ailing Ohio newspaper and stars Donald Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore, most famous for her role as the no-nonsense hotel manager during season two of HBO's The White Lotus. My favorite season and she was amazing in it. Anyway, Tim is also in that show which I think is due to be released in the States on NBC's Peacock Channel in September or something like that. Tim and Tom's friendship began at university, where with Stefan Golusevsky, hope I'm pronouncing that right, and Lloyd Wolf, they formed the sketch group Cowards, and have worked together on and off ever since. Some of my favorite stuff that Tim and Tom have

done together is on Tim Key's late night Poetry Programme, where they play exaggerated versions of themselves in a show that began airing on BBC Radio 4 in 2012 and has run for five series so far. And if you're familiar with that show, you'll know that Tim sometimes refers to Tom as Lord, which he does in our conversation. To explain, according to Tim, the Lord nickname has two origins. One, he used to be my landlord, which is neat, but it wasn't really the reason.

And two, he once claimed he had a lift in his family home, which is the reason, but which isn't very neat because it's confusing. The Norwich Speed Devils are out tonight. Tim and Tom's latest project together is a feature film on general release this week, as I speak. It's called The Ballad of Wallace Island, in which Tim plays a lottery winner living on a remote island, who offers a huge fee to his favourite folk duo, Maguire Mortimer, to reform and play a private gig just for him. In the film, Maguire Mortimer were once romantically as well as artistically involved, but though Mortimer, played by Carey Mulligan, has moved

on and has an American husband, played by Famulam's Akemji Defornian, Maguire, played by Tom, has found moving on more of a struggle. I got the opportunity to record with Tim and Tom face to face in London earlier this month, and as well as talking about some of the inspirations behind the film, and the experience of working with one of the best and most successful actors around, Kerry Mulligan that is, we also spoke about the remorseless march of AI. I blew Tim's mind with a couple of bits of AI powered software that I've been using recently and we talked about being told off while riding our bikes and we concluded by

having Tim introduce myself and Tom to one of the all-time great accidental broadcasting sea-bombs that somehow we had managed to miss. Ooh, it's the Canada geese massive. Goosey gang, goosey gang, goosey gang, goosey gang. Off they go. So yes, obviously, sea-b bomb warning, strong language ahoy. I'll be back at the end for a bit more waffle including upcoming live show news and news about the release of my first single.

What the? But right now with Tim Key and Tom Basden. Here we go. Last time you interviewed me, I think that the setup was, well look, let's put it this way, I could only see about a quarter of the top of your face. Okay. Because it went me, then it went your laptop, then it went you on quite a low chair, and then just a little bit peeking out from above the laptop. Was that in that hotel in King's Cross?

Yeah. And I was in an alcove. You were in an alcove. Yeah, that's right Criticism it's nice to see the whole thing. Oh, that's relaxing. Yeah, I might do that. I Just put my arm over the high back of the chair In a way that's unnatural, but does actually feel good It's stretching. Yeah. Yeah And then the last time I saw you in the physical world was

beginning of last year or something in Norwich when we did a conversation about one of your book of poems. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And yeah, did a conversation about chapters. That's right. Norwich Art Centre. Which I thought started very strong. And then I felt like I lost them and I felt responsible and I felt like I'd let you down if I want to be on.

No, well, you didn't let anybody down. You interviewed me you're only as good as your interviewer. Oh, not really. I don't believe that. No. I think it's on me. Yeah, a little bit. But that's my ego talking. Oh, wow. But that's my ego talking. Oh wow. Now, last night, I understand from your PR guy, Andy, you had a private screening of

your film. Am I allowed to ask about this? You're completely allowed to ask. We didn't really have the screening. Someone else had the screening on our behalf. Richard Curtis intervened. Richard Curtis stepped up to the plate. He'd already seen it and he was so knocked out by it.'s just like I've got to show this to Paul Rudd and

Nish Kumar yeah that's exactly what happened. It's been the reaction of a lot of people how do we get this to Paul and Nish? Great I think Paul and Nish really really enjoyed it and the other people that were there did too. Nish was a good settler actually in that room. There was a lot of like famous people who you don't know. So to have a sort of Nish Kumar on board who you sort of know of old, it's sort of yeah, sort of a port in the storm. At the other drinks too afterwards. You can't just be sort of stood there talking to Emily Maitlis. Was she there? Yeah. Oh god she was there talking to Emily Maitlis. Was she there? Oh god she was there, yeah, she was there in force.

You're suddenly thinking, oh dear, here we go, I'm talking to Emily Maitlis. What did she make of it? She liked it. She was great. She was a lot friendlier to us than say, Prince Andrew or something. He enjoyed it by the way. Did he start to sweat? It was a hot room.

Yeah. And still yet. No, no, nothing from Andrew. I watched the film three nights ago in the Castlebuckles screening area, which is the front room, but we've got a projection screen. You've been there, Tim. I'm old enough to remember watching the, um, the woman in black, the woman in

black, you did a show in Norwich and then you came and stayed the night and we had some jazzy wine and a reefer. Yeah. Yeah. I watched the woman in black. And we snorted some snow. Would you rather I didn't mention that we had a reefer. Did you? Yeah. And watched the Wobblin' Back. We snorted some snow. Would you rather I didn't mention that we had a reefer? No, why not? We had a reefer in Adam's farming Is that what you farm? It's pigs and weed. Buckles weed.

It's the finest in the land. On that screen, we watched the ballad of Wallace Island. Once we'd spent half an hour negotiating the security protocols set up to prevent piracy of the film. Well, nothing to do with us. You have to download the app. First of all, you have to log in, set up an account, and then download an app to receive a security code,

scan the code with a QR symbol, and then anyway, half an hour later, the film is starting. And I made a few notes. This is fantastic. I'll share some of the notes. Some of them are just random notes. Some of them are more conversational. What do you see these notes as being?

Are they jumping off points? Yeah. Or do we just hear you out? Either way. Because the film is locked. We can't really change it now depending on what the notes are. It's not those kinds of notes. It's more sort of responses.

No, I haven't said you missed a trick here. I think you should go and do something different. I've written down things like Coral Shipman and Condoleezza Rice, which is one of the lines from the film when you're making curry. Making curry, yeah. Reference Dr. Coral Shipman. Didn't go for much actually in the States. It was thank God for Condoleezza Rice. Yeah,

brought him back. But yeah, it's quite a deep cut comedy wise that one as a reference. Yeah. And I was wondering what are the Americans gonna make of nothing in the end? He doesn't. Yeah, he never could quite correct the states. It's hard. It's hard. It's hard, it's hard. The British Axe too. Travel. I enjoyed this film so much.

I don't think I expected it to be quite like that. It's like, it's got so much heart. I'd seen the short film that you made in 2007. Yep. Yep. And how did you come to make that one in the first place? I remember being deeply envious and impressed by your ambition to go off and make a short film

back in those days. You filled this question, Lord. I loved your answer to this. Yeah, we were talking about this earlier on, and when we'd been talking to Americans about the film and where the idea came from, we't remember or we just said like it Was just one of lots of ideas we had and then I remembered Recently brilliant new and I don't know if this is true because it's so long ago

I don't think works with the timeline, but this is a no. I think it does what were the time far off brilliant answer Okay, so just you've ever had to know but just before this We were asked to do a private gig by Rick Edwards off of Radio 5 and Et al for some very rich people he'd tutored the kids of these rich people and they wanted a private comedy gig in their house on their estate in I think near Exeter. I think near Exeter and I think I want to throw in the word billionaires. Okay so it was he then assembled the lineup and it was me and Tim and Alex Horne and Rick and Joe Wilkinson and we went down there and they put us up in a sort of a small house on the estate and we had a

golf buggy to kind of like just maraud around on and then we did this gig for them after dinner and there must have been like eight of them the couple and then some friends and they were just sat there in their in their dining room just sort of, you know, on their- Drawing room, I'd say. Yeah, drawing room. On their dining chairs, drawing chairs. I don't know what drawing chairs are. And then we'd sort of do like 10 minutes each, and after a while, just I think because they're just very rich and they've probably never been to a comedy show before,

they'd sort of start going, oh no, not him, can you get the other guy back? I keep asking for Joe Wilkinson again. Yeah, they kept asking for Joe. Joe, can we get the tall chap back? LAUGHTER He's got funny bones. Yeah, it was a bit of that.

Your stuff's a little bit undergraduate esoteric. Who lives the chap with the poems? It was a bit. Not another song, is it? That kind of thing. When was this again? Well, this must have been around 2007. I honestly think it was just before we made the short, I really do.

And so I think that might have been in our heads because we just found it such a funny and humiliating experience. It probably made its way into becoming one of our ideas. But you didn't get half a million quid. We got paid pretty well. We didn't do badly. And at the end of it, they tipped as well. I mean, these guys, they had, I mean, if you, I'm trying to get the email, but if

you can get a gig in this mansion. Did you stay overnight? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We were drinking Brown Velvet. Brown Velvet. Yeah.

We managed to, I think we stopped off at an off-license and bought a load of lagers and bitters and things. And then when we got there, it was very much a case of well obviously you can have some champagne and you know Oil wheels Backstage and they were fans of yours already were they or they are someone else just to get a line up together They Rick had been tutoring their child. I think it was a case of someone some comedy and they said yeah send for the clowns Honestly, that's what it was.

They didn't know us from Adam. No. Oh my God. And did they share with you what their favourite kind of comedy was? Did they make any references? It wasn't ours. Were they sort of saying like, you know who I really am? Michael McIntyre.

His observations are absolutely spot on, aren't they? I think it's more sort of Noel Coward would have been there. Okay, right, so they were quite a lot older, were they? I don it's more so Noel Coward would have been there. Okay. Yeah, right So they were quite a lot older with it Actually important part the story I think they're very nice one there as well They well it depends what you mean. They were very nice But they were also they didn't really understand the kind of audience and no like comic relationships So they just sort of start talking to you in the middle of like a bit, but not even heckling Yes, that is true

Actually, it was It wasn't rude it was just about this is this is really odd Yeah It's like one one person that I drinks do happen to be on a stage and were they sort of landed gentry or were they like? succession type billionaires It was more Downton Abbey than succession okay no baseball case didn't feel like no very money no more tweety yeah wow and is that the quintessential example of the private gig for you guys have you had other ones the only private gig I've

ever done I think same yeah have you ever done a private gig well I sort of did one by default I went I was in New York I'm sorry ours was by default. I Didn't get paid for my one that I was in New York and I was trying to I was doing some podcasts I guess it was 2014 or thereabouts and It was half an excuse just to go on holiday a little bit and half. I thought well while I'm here I'll do some podcasts. I recorded with John Ronson and a few other people who are out there and then I thought oh I'll book myself a few stand-up shows a few gigs because I had some stuff back then you know

I thought and I had a little portable projector that I would take with me I just thought I'll do some small shows and show my videos and read out some YouTube comments and introduce myself to an American crowd. I'm guessing this went well. Well, there was a couple of shows that were okay, but one of them at a venue called the Creek and the Cave, which was across the bridge over in Long Island City. And it was a nice little venue. And I turned up there and set up my projector, sound checked, everything good. It was only a small room, like 50 people, seats laid out. And then I went off to the bar and I got talking to a British guy who was there, a guy called Mike, and he was from

Manchester and he said, yeah, I'll come to see you actually. And I was like, oh, right, okay, cool. And we got on well, and we had a nice chat. And then I looked at my watch. I was like, shit, I'm on in like two minutes. I better get down there. So, so he's like, all right. Yeah, I'll come with you. We go in there.

No one there. So I looked at Mike and I said, Oh, well, this is awkward. I guess my profile is not as big as it could be in the U S I'd only tweeted about the show about eight hours before, you know what I mean? That was the extent of the publicity. And I said, uh, well, I guess I better give you your money back. And he said, Oh, you could do the show. You got to do the show.

I did the show. Of course you did the show. I did an hour, but it was very, any walkouts. Of course you did the show. That's nice. I did an hour, but it was very weird. Any walkouts? The sound guy felt sorry for me, so he came and doubled the audience. Oh, wow.

And sat around. Yeah, I once did a gig with Alex Horne where there was two people in the audience and then we needed two volunteers. Was it fun? Yeah, honestly, if you'd watched that game, well you wouldn't, there was no one there, but you wouldn't have known there was no one in the audience. Horn just, absolute pro. Doing the bit with the volunteers just to an empty room?

Yeah. We had the sound man, Aspects was in the box. Okay. So the sound man's there, so if a tree falls in a forest you're good still. But yeah, Horn just doing it with complete commitment. It's like an art piece. One on one gigs, intimate experiences, especially musical intimate experiences. I'm segueing to a scene in the film that I want to talk to you

about but may I say at this point how much I loved it. I don't know if I've made that clear yet. I loved this film. I'm sure it was helped by the fact that I know you both a little bit and I'm well disposed to you so I wanted it to be good but I really loved it. There was also the anxiety that it might not be good and then how awkward that would be but it was lovely and thank you and funny and the right length one hour 40 minutes yeah you don't want to go anywhere over that but no that was that was basically our not only but I was saying the biggest editorial note was like don't go over a hundred minutes and I'm actually

very glad that we didn't fight that because I think there's a cut of it that's two hours 45 yeah which is insane when you think about the finished film that we could have eeked out to that but that cut I think you know we watched that yeah you're watching it and like well that's got to stay that bit's got it you know have you got subplots in there that you cut out? We've got scenes. There are whole scenes yeah whole scenes whole scenes. Not many of them though. It's more like just riffs and nonsense. What happens to extras in the streaming era? Like in the old days all that stuff would turn up on the DVD. I mean you still do DVDs I guess but the market's way down and when you stream a film, do you get extras?

I don't think you do. I think you do get blooper reels of TV shows, don't you? They love that. Are you gonna put a blooper reel on the DVD? I don't think we're very blooper-y. I think if it goes wrong, I think there's some shows where everyone just creases up. And I think if it goes wrong in our one, we're just a bit annoyed that that's gone wrong. Yeah, I think it's also like, you know, Griff, the director, just forcing us

smart and looking at his watch. Exactly, you've got your underpaid crew going. 18 days it took and there's, yeah, so there's really, there's some things where you go, yeah, this is a complicated scene that's taken longer than we thought but I mean if it's a case of Basmos wetting himself about you know something that a slip of the tongue that doesn't get us anywhere does it? I watched Being There with Peter Sellers the other day and it's got a blooper reel at the end of it. Has it? Yes I forgot there's a whole montage over the credits of Peter Sellers cracking up. It's one of the first ones. Maybe. I imagine. But what a weird film to have a blooper reel at the end of. Anyway.

Wallace Island though. Oh, I mean, it's got special effects, my favorite kinds of special effects, which are emotional pyrotechnics. Okay, I like that. And you can put that on the poster. Yeah. There's a wonderful scene in which your character and Carey Mulligan's character, so Herb and Nell, are actually having a moment of reminiscence and getting on a little bit better than they have been. The atmosphere has thawed, and they're kind of rekindling their musical connection.

And Tim, your character, Charles, is sat there watching. And obviously he's looking forward to his private one-on-one gig with this reunited duo. But suddenly from nowhere, he's got a private show in the dining room. They're getting on well. They're back together again. The old magic is still there. They start playing and harmonizing.

And the emotional special effects close up on Tim Key's face for genuine non-ironic emotion at being overwhelmed with sort of everything, all the emotions. It's a massive imoverload. Him watching these people that he's invested so much love and it's tied up with his relationship with his ex and everything, it's all there. It's really resonant as well because I think most people have had moments like that when they do see music performed at close quarters. It is such an incredible experience.

It's like nothing else. Then if it's two people and they're harmonizing, like harmonizing is a special magic human thing, isn't it? Well, you know, the thing that's- Here he comes. The thing that is quite interesting about that scene when we shot it is that no one had heard me and Cary singing together before.

Right. So we'd kind of like practiced a little bit. We didn't have very long as we've sort of touched on and we didn't have Cary for very long. And so we've rehears practiced a little bit. We didn't have very long as we've sort of touched on and we didn't have Carrie for very long And so we've rehearsed a little bit in makeup like a little bit of makeup truck but in quite a loosey goosey kind of like, you know, keep it keep it fun way and Then just kind of got to set and just sort of did it It just sort of came together in a really really lovely, you know, happy accidental way

sort of came together in a really, really lovely, you know, happy accidental way that I think the fact that we that we hadn't played together very much fitted with what it was needed at that moment, which is two people kind of who hadn't played together for like 10 years, sort of rediscovering something. Were you in the zone or were you nervous? Were you bricking it because you felt like you weren't sure it was going to work? I mean, I think for the whole shoot, it was a combination of those two things. I think I'm obviously much more comfortable doing stuff with Tim that's like comic stuff with Tim than say dramatic stuff with Carey Mulligan.

Cause that's like wildly out of my comfort zone. How did she come to be involved? Was she someone you had worked with already? No, Tim got in touch with us. Just a huge Hail Mary. How did she come to be involved was she someone you had worked with already no Just a huge Hail Mary where we wrote that character and then made a hit list of who wanted to do it she was at the top when I reached out to her and Luckily, she knew who we were and she said I'd love to read it And so she was on board pretty much immediately we got we got very lucky with her and you knew she could sing yeah from things

like Inside Lou and Davis and you know she's singing oh yeah I felt confident she could do it and you know she sort of I think because she's married to Marcus Mumford she doesn't really see herself as that musical right but she's really good like she picked up all the tunes very quickly and understood how the songs are put together. If she hadn't been, then it would have been difficult given the time frame. But that scene you're talking about, we've probably only had about three complete takes. It was kind of, in terms of my fantastic performance in it, it was all kind of quite real. It wasn't too much of a stretch. And actually the whole room was kind of like that

because Griff hadn't seen them practicing. Yeah, the director. And then there's crew in there just sort of, you know, on chairs and things holding booms and sort of round monitors. And so I think it was, yeah, it's a scene that we've talked about a lot in other interviews because I think it does sort of pop out

as being quite emotional. And it sort of was the, in some ways, sort of the epicenter of the whole shoot, wasn't it? Like Tom says, we didn't take ages doing that scene but it's kind of, yeah, it's kind of, it's quite good value. Very good value. Your end reveal, which I won't spoil, but you've got a nice little narrative wrap-up thing, It's very satisfying and I got quite emotional. Good. Do you get emotional a lot? I mean I do. Do you? But... I've got to say he was a right state watching

Women in Black. Was he? I think it's because his friend was in it. I mean I can get emotional. It's not that I'm totally unselective but no, I can get emotional. It's not that I'm totally unselective, but no, I did get emotional. And I just felt like, hooray, I want to watch a film that's got some heart and that's actually about relationships and also that it's about music as well. And also that it was very funny. Did you do a lot of improvising or are you sticking fairly close to your script?

It's a bit of a mixture of the two. I think what we tend to do is write it, try and get it really funny in the writing and then film that and then after that get to be a bit looser and do some takes where it's kind of goes a bit crazy. And also sometimes at the end of a scene, just carry on for a bit. And so the director wouldn't always say cut. I mean, sort of after about four or five days actually, he was sort of saying cut a bit quicker I guess.

Yeah. Are there any moments in the final cut that are moments that arose spontaneously? Yeah. I mean, there's improv throughout the film, but there's a couple of scenes which are like, largely just stuff we were trying out there, and then like things like looking at the boat timetable and things like that. Just, you know, you can probably tell it's the stuff

where it's just dialogue. It's just the kind of like, you know, there's a sort of, you could leave the camera running and we could try different things indefinitely. Those are the scenes where you get the sort of freest swing. Yeah. Improv.

But when it's like jokes around tennis serves, you can't really improv very much in that environment. Yeah. I felt like Carey Mulligan did a spontaneous laugh at one point. I think that sort of makes the film that stuff when she arrives. And then when their relationship starts to just warm up again, and there's suddenly a kind of little gang of the three of us and yeah I'm being like a plonker and they're both kind of loving it and then she's laughing and and he talked about this

the other day where it sort of unlocks in herb that he can sort of he sort of notices that I'm harmless enough and quite fun. And so you do, and I think all of that comes from Carrie's laughing and Carrie's just sort of being, you know, so natural in the scenes. Which to give her credit, it's probably, she's such a good actor, it probably could well be acting. I wouldn't be able to call it. Rather than a real laugh.

Yeah. We won't know. It's all fate. Did you feel though, were you aware that you're acting, and this is not to disrespect both of your extraordinary and established acting talent. Would you know what, just take the pressure off you so you don't feel bad, I'll ask him the question. Did you feel like it's a scandal that you're able to be on the screen with Kerry Morgan? It's an outburst. It shouldn't have happened. I don't know. I don't know why she hadn't noticed.

I think right at the start when we were like, when we had our hit list and we aimed high and then it starts to look like we might get Kerry Mulligan, we knew if we didn't sort of up our game and try and act really, really well, we would look like an absolute disgrace. So it kind of just lifted the bar slightly yeah like bringing in a very expensive new signing at a football club where the other people have to sort of fight for their place not that she was ever going to take one of our parts but she's Bruno Gimaraes and we're lost a little short long stuff yeah it's been said before and it'd be said again Kerry Mulligan is Bruno Gimaraes Yeah, it's been said before and it'll be said again. Kerry Mulligan is Bruner Get Marrish.

Is it Sean Longstaff that I'm thinking of tonight's name? Is it Matt Longstaff? There's brothers. I think Sean Longstaff is the guy who's still sort of, well, Adam will be able to tell us. What is the make-up of the Newcastle squad these days? All of the stuff you've just been saying for the last couple of minutes is literally like...

Okay, sorry. Do you pick up any leading man tips from Kerry? Brilliant. Like any kind of acting insights you're thinking, oh, this is Hollywood game insights. No, I mean, I think like there's a really disarming thing about Carrie is that she's really lovely and chatty and just kind of easy to work with.

And then she'll just slip into being really amazing in a way that you go oh but my preparation is exactly the same but I don't know if I back myself to just sort of slip into it in that in that way you know she's not the kind of actor where you've got to call her Nell the whole time or you know she'll only sort of eat whatever the character eats whatever that sort of nonsense she's well what I have heard is that David Suchet dresses as Poirot to do his ADR. Really? That's what I told you that?

That's well enough, so I've still heard it. I've not heard that. It's my anecdote. Well, I've heard it and I'm just telling Adam that I've heard it. And actually the dignified thing to do there would have been to say either nothing or wow. Wow like I haven't heard it before? It would have been helpful. Wow.

Bearing in mind the amount of people who listen to this. OK, I'll help you out. What's ADR? Additional Dialogue Replacement. Yeah. Recording. Ah! Recording.

Works both ways. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, what would you replace additional dialogue? You need to explain. There'll be people who don't know what you mean. OK. Right.

Well, let's start again. Not listening to this podcast. It's all, especially now. We're in a post. The rest is entertainment universe. Every corner of the entertainment industry is now intimately occupied by the average person. Absolutely. They've glued it all together, haven't they? They've sewn it up, if you like. There's no such thing as backstage anymore. Which podcast do you listen to? Well, I listened to that one. Yep.

And got to keep on top of what tends to happen is that depending on my guest, I will explore a lot of podcasts that they've been on and that will introduce me to other ones, like I was listening to one made by a guy who calls himself Rick roll and he, that's like that thing with Rick. Yes, exactly. I think maybe that's the point. Rick roll podcast. Okay. Or. I think maybe that's the point Rick the thing roll Podcast okay, maybe he's rich roll. Yeah, he's not Rick roll

That's what yeah, he's relying on the mistake to be made rich delves into all things Wellness with some of the brightest and most forward-thinking paradigm busting minds in health and fitness You love paradigm busting. Oh god. I'd love to go on that and promote the movie. I listen to him. Do you know much about wellness? No, very little. Do you not? Well, look at the state of me.

I mean, that is what that's a bit of a humble brag. Look at the state of him. My wife said, Yeah, here we go. He's very handsome. Oh, did she? Yeah, yeah. There we are. This is great.

What she didn't say, but I know she was thinking was like, he's not losing his hair at all. Oh, good. Let's see. Do you ever take that thing off? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's, it's just getting thin. It's not too bad. There's some still there.

Oh, there's some bits and bobs. Is that happening though? Oh yeah. Oh, well, if it might actually feel better. There was a review of the film where someone said the way that they way that they'd they'd started thinning Herb's hair was really effective. It was sort of past his prime which is obviously a kick in the nuts because that happened. But anyway I recommend Rich Roll. I enjoyed his conversation with Yuval Noah Harari. Do you know who I mean by that?

I love old Yuval. This man bought me sapiens. Yes, yeah pretty good. Did you read it? Not yet, no. Oh it's good. Not yet. That's a banger. Yeah well not yet. It's on my shelf, it's sort of you know loaded up. The shelf is like in all the books. You've got to get through the sports by the way. Shut up! All I have just got was got through one. Have you? Yeah just got through pocket money. Who's that? That's about Snooker and then I've also just got through a Brian Clough one. Yeah, well you've got to make space for you about another RR. It's more important than a sportsman. Is it? What does he talk about in Sapiens? I mean like humans. It's history of humanity. Where we come from, where we're going.

Ah. It's big. Big picture. Do you audio book stuff Tim? I've only audio booked twice. Oh really? Yep, I audiobooked Bob Mortimer. Yes. That's a decent one to audiobook. Definitely. Does he read it? Yeah. That's nice. Yeah, well, who do you think is reading it? Vic? I don't know. And then I've audiobooked You know the actor Pacino. Pacino, is that good? What is it, Cosy Crime? It's not a Cosy Crime, it's not a biography, a memoir. Oh, right.

And why don't you ask if he reads it? Does he read it? And he's not too... Of course he reads it. He's not too... He's not too doddery, is he? No, he's not. He's just had a child.

I saw an article about Pacino just becoming a father again, that's something like 82 and him going Is that so Conor? Yeah, and going it's great. You know, I see the kid on zoom sometimes Don't say that Al Hang on why is he still working as well? I don't know what he's doing. I think 82 and a child and still working is the Triple Crown, isn't it? I don't know, I haven't seen him in a while.

Plus he's read his own audio book. You read your own audio book? Yeah, I just finished it yesterday. Reading it out? Yeah. Oh, fantastic. Maybe I'll read that one. On audio.

Because I read the other one. Yeah. This one's got music clips in it. Oh, you should listen to it. Oh, I'll listen to the clip piece. But Yuval Noah Harari though, I was listening to him talking about AI, which his new book is all about.

And I generally avoid people talking about how doomed we all are because of AI. But he talks about it in a very interesting way. And in the course of listening to this podcast, I was alerted to a bit of software that I'd never heard of before and it's a website called or I don't know what it is online tool called notebook LM and you can upload a piece of text or a PDF of a book if you have one and notebook LM will munch it in five seconds and then if you want it'll spit out a podcast an AI generated podcast with two people Talking about the book as if it was a part of invited us on. Yeah. Well exactly

Are you joking? No, and if you have you spuddy, did you spit yours in? No, I spat yours in You've got a new book Spit mine in yeah Would have been nice to be lost it's nice to be asked before you spit mine in? Yeah. It would have been nice to be lost. It's nice to be asked before you spit me in. I checked it says it makes a big play of saying we don't share the data and we don't absolutely teach the AI on the data. Did it spit the podcast out? Yep. Okay. But can you can you set up the book first? Okay, my book is called LA baby, right? Which it didn't quite understand from the PDF. It's a la baby. It called it leaving London or something like that

Oh, yeah, the first poem is called so long London. Yeah. Yeah, okay I'll tell you that's because if you really want to know that's because Emily Juniper who designs the book She has two files and the cover of the book is on a separate file. So what your idiot has done is added to and to and made five I'm afraid and called the book the name of the first poem. So Long London. Anyway, my book is about me going to live in LA for three months at the end of last year and it's me kind of um out there just sort of a fish out of water Tale, I suppose. Yeah, like a Alien in LA and you're working on a production that is undisclosed in the book, but are you allowed to say what it is now?

It's disclosed in real life. Yeah, it's it's it's called the paper and it's like a sitcom by the chaps who made you know the office The American office it's not your ways in LA. I think it's much more hamster doesn't it. So yeah it's it's but you don't really see much about that. The me is sort of an irrelevant stuff in the background is me just sort of plodding around and trying to work out how to live in LA. What the AIs think of this. Oh yeah, good point. Yeah, so I've done enough there. Here's the podcast and here's how it starts.

Now you sent us Tim Key's book, So Long London, and we're diving straight into his experiences as an Englishman working on a show out in Los Angeles. Yeah, and what's great is the way he shares it Isn't it's not just prose. No, exactly. It's like through these quick little anecdotes bits of poetry even lists and like Overheard chats this was generated in 10 seconds about five seconds after it had ingested the PDF Well, I don't know if we're doomed because it's not an interesting it's just punditry though, isn't it? It's a boring podcast and it doesn't really it doesn't pick up on what's good about the book or your words I'm sure it's nothing bad about now I wonder if it makes sense for you to read out the poem and then hear what

they have to say about it. I'd love to do that. Have you got the book? I do. Oh I think I might have the book with me. It is called... Oh is it a poem? No it's just a sort of encounter. Let's find this. That's the problem isn't it, it's taking you longer to find in it than it is the AI. Yeah. Everyone's an actor. Page 91. Love that. Got it. Okay. The barmaid asked me what I was writing. Poems. She immediately looked bored as fuck like a lighter gone out, started fussing over some other barfly. Sometime later she reappeared, asked if I wanted more pills in her. Screenplay, I said. I meant screenplay. And she stopped in her tracks, hovered. She had on denim shorts with what looked like rivets

drilled into the pockets. We stared at one another for 45 seconds before she began to move away once more. You can be in it, I said, and she sat herself down on the stool next to me immediately. What's the role, anyway? Oh, you'll be the lead. I covered my insipid poetry up with the nearest charcuterie board. She smiled. I must say, facially, she didn't look a million miles away from her own Melinda messenger. Clever boy, writing a screenplay like that, she said, removing her baseball cap and signaling for another barmaid to fix her a Jim Beam neat. This is what the AI podcast says about that section.

It's around here. Then the barmaid encounter, his slightly desperate ploy, claiming he's writing a screenplay. You can be in it. You'll be the lead. Tim, it's awkward, but kind of charming, isn't it? A classic move.

Hilarious though. Shows that performative thing again, especially in a city where screenplay is like a magic word. Her whole attitude changes. Speaks volumes about the, you know, perceived glamour of the industry. Definitely. And reinforces that recurring idea. Yeah. Everyone's an actor. Even the sound guy has an American accent.

It just feels like acting or the pursuit of it is woven into the fabric of LA life. Yeah, that... I mean, it's not deep stuff, but it's crazy stuff. They get it. What is happening? But it makes sense. It has the form. That's what AI is very, very good at

and getting better at every day. At approximating and recreating the form of something really beautifully, like the rhythm of it, even there's even a laugh in there. The kind of voices. The laugh is fascinating because obviously they've identified which bits like you know where where it's good trying to be funny yeah which is amazing I can't handle it I'm shaken but it's boring bollocks like it well though that that

that's your words they enjoyed the book but they you, do you think they listen to do you think they've listened to this podcast, you know, when they use their 10 seconds, are they going throughout the whole of the internet and getting all of the podcasts that have ever been podcast? I would imagine so. Yeah, yeah, they're thorough. They are munching. I don't know what is happening. But you know what they don't but they don't have there's no jingles

There's no dog in the countryside. There's no no no, there's no there's no humanities I thought jingles they'll soon be able to come to the market. Oh, yeah, I'm sure no definitely I'm not saying they were dogs. I think if you were to prompt these units to say, okay Make a podcast in the style of Adam Buxton. And these interviewing David Tennant, they would say, well, here you go, mate. And then even if you did have to say, come on, let's have some jingles in there. I think you'd have the podcast, wouldn't you? Yes. But I hope people would notice that it was slightly worse. I think some people wouldn't.

Some people would be fine. are you crying? Getting emotional again. Well, have you had tenants on would be a totally I'd get I'd get tenant in now just to sort of get him done. But I had another taste of this the other day when my editor book editor said, Look, there's another autobiography by you on Amazon. In fact, there's two. They look as if they've been generated by AI or at least someone has asked AI to generate one.

There are books about the Battle of Wallace Island on Amazon, actually. Are there? Yeah, like AI books. Are you joking? I saw that, yeah. And they're just pamphlets. All it does is it takes anything that, I guess they look at the numbers of the podcast or whatever and they go, oh yeah yeah some morons might buy this and it's a sort of

20 page pamphlet with an AI generated picture of someone that is supposed to look like me on the front yeah I did buy it have you got it here ah the green this yeah okay oh my god you'd bite their hand off to have that photo wouldn't you well exactly I look like the AI has made me look like Bradley Cooper. Hang on, how much are you paying this AI? And it's well, that's the thing is that it's all superficially because AI, unless you ask it to be mean, defaults to positivity and politeness. And so as far as I can tell in there, what you've got is just a mulch of bits of interviews

I've done and things that I've written or whatever. And so it's got a few accurate facts, but it's also got a lot of quotes and almost all the quotes are made up. Like I definitely didn't say them, but they are certainly the kind of things that I might say But the way it does them it's it sounds like someone taking the piss out of me It sounds like it's been written by someone that hates me. Is it worth me just read?

Yeah, okay daily routines and quirky family moments. This would be the reefer. Mm-hmm. Okay, let's say Life at the Buxton household revolves around simple pleasures, school runs, meal prep and endless dog walks. Rosie, the family dog, is practically a fourth child and according to Adam, the only one who truly appreciates his jokes. Rosie's my biggest fan, he says. She doesn't roll her eyes when I do my posh man ordering a kebab bit for the hundredth time. Where's that from? I've never my posh man ordering a kebab bit for the hundredth time. Where's that from? I've never done posh man ordering a kebab.

We'll do it now. Yeah, yeah, let's hear it. Um, yeah, um, could I have, like, I had a very spicy thing when I was in Morocco. I was wondering if you could do that to us, like, um, you know, the the special kind of herbs I don't want to save a name of the herbs because I might get the pronunciation wrong and I don't want to be offensive. Come on be the Turkish shirkabab. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no and style quirks. Weekend mornings might involve pancake making disasters, I mean, impromptu karaoke sessions or debates about which Star Wars character would make the best babysitter. It's obviously Chewbacca, Adam insists. Oh my god. Have you insisted? No. No debates about Star Wars characters.

But you can imagine it and I have written similar sorts of things. So how does this work? Could you sue them? Could you say that's... Who are you suing? You're suing what? You're suing... No, because there is a human intelligence attached to it somewhere along the line. Well, someone's making money out of it. They're selling it. The money's not going to a computer to do nothing with it. I don't think so. Well, it says it's by John Lucas Whitehead. Yes, who has written other titles as well, because I had about six hours of being consumed by paranoia that it wasn't AI, that it was actually a kind of series of books of takedowns, because there's another one about Miranda Hart and by the same person.

I suddenly thought maybe this is someone who is writing kind of spoof profiles a little bit like Craig Brown does in Private Eye, writes them in the voice of someone but actually they're parodies. It's like this is the kind of shit that Adam Buxton would say. It's actually called dropping out of Warwick. Yeah, which I did. Yeah, but what is in the book? I know. It was so weird.

Dropping out of Warwick. We have... Why did you drop out of Warwick? Actually, don't? I know. It was so weird. I had to... Drop it out of Warwick. We have... Why did you drop out of Warwick? Actually, don't worry about that. I'll read this.

I had to ring up my agent, who is also your agent, Tim. Yeah, Chig. Just to remind you. Good old Chig. And I said, look, I've got this book, it's slightly freaking me out. At first I thought it was AI, but now I'm thinking that it's someone that hates me and they're writing a parody of me and all the stupid things I say is there anything we can do about it? And she said oh you've gone mad Well, you haven't gone that mad because the book exists the big exit I'm not fussed though

It's not the the fact that it exists It's like if someone wants to waste their time doing that then good luck to them. You know what I mean? I'm not they've wasted five seconds I do know what you mean But I sort of feel like that I guess the way that you know the fight back is that people is people say That AI can't have access to the stuff that yeah, I've written or recorded because no one's asked me or paid me anything Absolutely. Well that horse is bolted. I mean this stuff is that all over what all the old stuff? I don't think you can retrospectively take all that stuff down and remove it from the

Algorithms or whatever but now like my new book There's a whole thing that says none of this can be used to train AI and all that sort of stuff So so going forward you can do should I've put that in my thing? Yeah, it should be in there It's not too late. This goes to print next Wednesday., you should make sure that's a stamp. Yeah part of the contract. Oh, okay. I'll look into that Well, I did an animation last year I did a voice for an animation and it was for Netflix and there's a thing in the contract that my agent spotted which said that if I Stopped wanting to do the show or died

if I stopped wanting to do the show or died, they could use AI to keep my voice going and then also use it for any other promotional or marketing things they wanted to use my voice for. Holy shit. And so she said, well, no. And they went, really no? Yeah, no, all right, yeah, all right, fine. And then their attitude was like,

oh, okay, yeah, don't worry, don't worry. But it's, because it's still the Wild West with this stuff and no one knows what the rules are. So people are trying stuff out to see if you're gonna just agree to it by mistake. The onus is on you to opt out rather than agreeing to it upfront, yeah. But as most people would say no, but then after a bit,

maybe the minority of people would be saying no because they don't wanna lose the job. And then eventually they'd just be like one person Well, I wish that everyone was saying no to this but I sort of have to say yes Yeah Yes, and maybe you get more money if you do let them use the AI to recreate your voice But it is because like what so what they could do they could make just like adverts they could do marketing things Yeah, just and I'd be just saying stuff. I haven't said yeah

They could do marketing things. Yeah, just and I'd be just saying stuff. I haven't said yeah Yeah, you could do that and it's within the last year that particular skill that the AI has to Recreate voices and stuff has got amazingly good. Yeah, like way way better this time last year Like I'll give you this Site and I won't say what the name of the site is, but there's lots of celebrity AI generating sites around and you... Oh, you're not going to give us the name just because you don't want to give them the oxygen of publicity? Yeah.

Yeah, exactly. Arseholes. But... Do you not think? What, the nerds? Yeah, bloody nerds. I knew they'd win in the end. They played the long game, didn't they, the nerds. I knew they'd win in the end. They played the long game, didn't they, the nerds?

Nerds didn't stand a chance in the time of Caden, did they? No. I don't think you heard much of them then. No, there wouldn't have been the... The hunters and the gatherers, it wasn't really the nerds. Evolution has brought us nerds. You're sort of, you're not a million miles away from being a nerd, are you Adam? Me, massive nerd. Yeah. I mean, I do feel? Me, massive nerd. Yeah. I mean, I do feel partly responsible for all this.

I kind of embrace all this stuff. I love technology, you know, and I am sort of fascinated by the possibilities of it. I bet this has been recorded, has it? Okay, Generating, you have to see if you can spot who this is Chatting about okay you guys are chatting about us Yes, it's amazing. What's he what is this nerd come up with here? It's excited to see the ballad of Wallace Island Love Tom Basden very funny handsome man Tim Key. He's a crazy guy. I love those poems Smart guy not a dummy.

Not bad. It's not bad at all. I can't cope. It's not bad at all. Can you make him say some more? Sure, what do you want him to say? Anything, just, you know, go a bit deeper. That's incredible. What about you? That was both. Okay. Yeah. That's why, what did you type in? Typed in that. Yeah. Oh, you typed in? Yeah. Yeah. Get Trump to have a go. Oh, you had to type in the words. Oh yeah. I typed in the words. Oh, I thought that was his thoughts. No, that was, I didn't just say. You typed in those exact words. I typed in those words. Oh, that's less fun. That was well scripted. That was good. Yes. Thank you very much.

Yeah. Not a doubt. He pronounced my name right, which most Americans don't manage. Oh yeah. Yeah. Good on him. Yeah. but you could use those same words and make a different person say it yes yeah who do we want I think why don't you go why don't you go more niche and see if he's alright who is like yeah like it like I'm just tell you who but like you know all right we're gonna ask him to go niche yeah yeah go then we're gay from hidey-eye okay well these are the same words these same words but different guy. And it's interesting, the selection of people...

Oh, there's a drop-down menu? Yeah. And all the people on the menu are internet, they're sort of massive personalities, particularly on the internet. And a lot of them are, I would say, relatively controversial, or at least have a controversial aspect to them. So here's another one saying the same thing. I'm excited to see the ballad of Wallace Island. Love Tom Basden. Very funny. Oh, this is Jordan B Peterson. Tim Key. He's a crazy guy. I love those poems. Smart guy, not a dummy.

Funnily enough, the same words sound quite appropriate for they really do Go on the drop down one more time All right one more sort of you want like so red holes with from coronation straights me They don't have red holes worth you want Laura Batty. Yeah, that's what you want They don't even have Melinda messenger They've got a lot catching up to do one more I'm excited to see the Ballad of Wallace Island. Love Tom Bastean. Very funny, handsome man. Tim Key. He's a crazy guy. I love those poems. Smart guy, not a dummy. I don't know who that is. Rogan.

That's Rogues. You see I've never listened to that. Right. It's big isn't it? I gather. It's the biggest. That's calling for you. This is crazy. right yeah it's big isn't it I gather it's the biggest is it that's calling for you this is crazy I mean it's nuts isn't it speaking of Trump did you guys watch the Zelensky conference yeah yeah yeah that was really hard did you have any kind of comedic response to that did you sort of just think like I just it's just so crazy to watch it just like they had a stooge in there just yeah pointing at Zelensky and saying where's your suit and it's like such a mad thing to stage manage that would will soften him up with this guy talking about I guess I guess the thing is

though that because Trump's sort of from the world of business a certain kind of business he's basically thought this is like when you give an employee a dressing down For not respecting the boss enough or sort of wearing trainers to the office and they should be wearing their smart shoes And so he's just thought well, that's what this meeting is and we're gonna do one of them But obviously most people watching it don't think it's that kind of meeting at all Yes, and it was it was like a scene from The Apprentice. Yeah. And that's how he thinks about it, because it was so extended. Normally, those things are so cursory. And it's just like

smile for the cameras, then you go and you have the actual chat behind the scenes. Yeah. But yeah, it's also just quite extraordinary to see, like a grown up telling off another grown up in any in any capacity. Yeah. You just don't really see that. You really don't? No. When was the last time you got told off? Good question.

Yeah, that's decent, isn't it? That's one of my, that's on my list of emergency questions. Is it? Is it really? Yeah, yeah. When was the last time you got told off? Yep. I think I got told off for cycling on the Heath on a path that isn't a designated cycling path.

Does that count? Yeah, of course it does. Yeah. because it's still being told off as an adult what was your response? sorry sorry yeah sorry sorry and then carrying on as soon as no fuck you! I did try that once and then I felt awful and it obviously escalated it you always feel awful after a fuck you yeah you have to be a certain kind of personality to pull that off

how would you describe that personality? it's not far off I don't I yeah, I don't you have to be a certain kind of personality to pull off I think in a car I've sort of got it in me in the car That's different everyone's got it in him in a car. Yeah, why is it different though? I don't know I guess because they've got their shell Pussy you're a pussy maybe yeah Possibly you tell me how about you do when When was the last time you told off? Oh God, I think I got told off by a taxi driver when I was riding my line bike erratically And actually he then he started a bit of a kind of you know I think he made his business to sort of track me for a bit. Did he yeah why because you were cheeky with him I

Hate to say it, but I think he made it his business to sort of track me for a bit. Did he? Yeah. Why? Because you were cheeky with him. I hate to say it, but I think I smiled. I didn't wink, but I did. I think I smiled in a, in a kind of like, fuck you way. In a kind of like, I don't care. Whatever. Yeah. I don't think I did anything. The thing was it started and I think I don't, I didn't do anything wrong.

After that, some of the stuff I did, I think was slightly wrong. When was the last time you got... Yeah, this morning. Was it? Yeah, on the bike. I think it happens so often because there's such a lot of... We were all on our bikes.

Yeah. We were all on our bikes in our stories. Because there's a load of terrible cyclists, it should be said, that are very dangerous and don't respect other road users. And that is stressful if you're in a car and you nearly kill a cyclist. I get that. But also sometimes you get people in cars who see someone like me, it's like a sort of silly middle-aged bloke with a beard and a high vis on and they think, oh, this guy's not going to kill me if I just lean out the window and yell abuse at him for getting

too close to my car. So that's what happened this morning. This person who just sort of was just randomly yelling something I couldn't quite understand and then pulled up next to them at the lights. I was like, What? What's your problem? And they were like, You're getting too close to my car. Too close to my car. I could have killed you. And I was like, At least it wasn't about the podcast. You didn't grill Ruth Jones enough!

Ruth Jones? When are you going to get Ruth Jones on? Mackenzie! Mackenzie Crook! When are you going you get him? The Detectress is amazing! Get her from the office! Have you had Mckenzie?

No! He'd be fantastic. He would be good. Oh brilliant. Well if he's listening you're welcome. Yeah please come on Mckenzie. I tell you one thing I want to know about you guys is will there be more Tim Key's late-night poetry program. Oh

Yeah, the will will that yeah. Yeah, there's been some movement in that direction Good, maybe they could next start up next year really I need to write it Have you not written any this could be a real case of come back AI always forgiven I don't know the bad word to say about it And that would be for radio for again, but it'll be for radio for and I believe it would be for radio for In late at night because the last series we had we did it at tea time. Did you yeah? They were keen to do it at tea time and but I quite like it when it's sort of you know Shuffled away into the yeah naughty would you swear they don't love that on

the radio for but they don't mind a bit of shit bags or something like that they're okay with that quite cute swearing yeah they don't mind a bit of that but they don't they don't really like the old sea bomb ideally well James Nockdy did it didn't I've had some very happy times listening to those compilations of broadcasters accidentally saying the C word. What's your favourite one? Victoria Derbyshire's is pretty good. Victoria Derbyshire. Which one's that?

That's the best one. Let's see if we can find that. Someone says it twice, don't they? I think Nicky Campbell has a couple of goes at it. You say that the man that you're backing, Jeremy Cunt, I'm so sorry, Jeremy Hunt, I've never said that before in my life, it's usually men who say that so I really, really want to apologise, I'm sorry. She really dwells on it.

I know. By the time you get to it, it's usually men who say it. It's like, no, no, no, just say sorry, just say sorry and move on. Don't do punditry on what just happened. Oh my god. But your career flashes before your eyes I guess if you're a newsreader and that happens. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often. I mean John Inverdels is really good. Have you heard this one? I don't know.

John Inverdels is absolutely fantastic. I don't know that one. You do know that one. Do I? This is world class. It's going to all come flooding back. You know, you get wet and you muck it out and it's hard work, but through all of that, you know, it's a way of life that most of them wouldn't swallow.

A lot of people go off and do other things then come back to it. Okay, this is looking at it through rose-cunted, rose-tinted glasses from the past. I apologize there for a What is this cunt talking about? Shut up, you stupid cunt. How's he got that? It's pretty basic stuff. I've never heard that one before. That's amazing. Wait. Continue.

So for you, our listener, thinking about Key's experience, what does it ultimately say about chasing creative dreams in a place like Hollywood? Yeah, does that whole idea of meritocracy, the cream rising really hold up there? Shhh, shhh, shut up. Hey, welcome back, Podcats. Tim Key and Tom Basden there with a bit of John Inverdale. Beautiful. I've put a link to that clip in the description of today's podcast where you will find lots of other useful links.

Link to my book, I Love You Biden, if you know I've got a book out. It's a hilarious and heartwarming memoir. There's also a link to the original short film that Tim and Tom made back in 2007, The One and Only Herb Maguire Plays Wallace Island, if you want to check out where it all came from. No Carey Mulligan in that one though. The film, The Ballad of Wallace Island, is out this week as I speak on the 30th of May 2025. See it at the movies! You've also got links to Tim's books, the new one LA Baby, which is out in July. He's going to be on tour doing a few book related shows where he goes on stage and chats to people, kind of the way he did with me last year. I haven't been invited this time

around. Well I don't think he's playing in Norwich, but anyway you can see details of where he is playing by clicking the link in the description which will take you to my website and there you will also find an excellent episode of Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme, Science it was called from 2014, also featuring Diane Morgan and there's other interesting bits and pieces there to peruse. Thank you so much to Tim and Tom for making the time, it was lovely to see them both. Thanks also to everyone who came along to the Intelligence Squared event at the Union Chapel last week. It was great, lovely and full.

Katlyn Moran was a wonderful host. We had a really good talk. I was expecting to show some videos that night and I'd spent a few days putting stuff together Only to arrive at the venue and discover that I'd got the wrong end of the stick and actually there was no screen Entirely my fault, but actually in the end it didn't matter. Katlin and I had a really good talk went to some stupid places Some more serious places, and then I got to meet some of you afterwards at the book signing, which I really enjoyed. Thank you very much to everyone who came along that night, asked questions, bought books and said kind things. Much appreciated. I was very nervous about

that evening. It was the first big live thing that I'd done related to the book, but I really enjoyed it. I've got another talk coming up this week in fact with friend of the podcast Samira Ahmed on Tuesday the 27th at the Hay Festival in Hay on Wye. So I don't know if you're over that way. Do come along, our session is at 4 p.m. and I guess it'll last about an hour or something. I hope to see some of you there. But there'll be other book related shows this year, I'll let you know about them as they come along. But I'm also on a comedy bill back at the Union Chapel on Monday, I think it is, July the 21st and that's a comedy bill back at the Union Chapel on Monday I think it is July the 21st and that's a good bill John Robbins is emceeing Ashlink B is

going to be there Rhea Leana Mike Wozniak and I think more people to be confirmed anyway I'm part of that line up, possibly even headlining. Link in the description for tickets. Lots of activity, I apologise if I'm overloading you. If you wish to be kept abreast of some of these things, then occasionally I'll send out a newsletter, which you can sign up for by clicking on the link in the description and going to my website. And if you scroll down on the homepage homepage you can sign up for the newsletter. I

just sent one out last week about the book. Before that I think I hadn't sent one out since 2023 so I don't really inundate people with newsletters. But I guess this year is unusually busy for me. I also have my album coming out. Buckle up! It's going to be released on September the 12th, 2025, and the first single from the album, Pizza Time, is coming out this week, I think. Unless I've got the wrong end of the stick entirely, which isn't totally impossible. But I think it's going to be played, my first single, on Craig Charles's sixth music show, maybe even on Tuesday. If you've got my book you will know that I write about making the album and particularly about how Pizza Time came together, and you will

read about how Johnny Greenwood played a crucial role in the creation of Pizza Time. You get to hear clips of the demo version and a little bit of the actual single version in the audiobook. It feels quite strange to think of it being played in the outside world, i.e. outside the universe of this podcast. But let's see how it goes. Number one with a bullet. How do people even buy singles anymore? I think the last single I bought was,

now that's a good question, what was it? Was it Gangnam Style? No, I think it was before Gangnam Style. Anyway, I'll probably send out a newsletter in the next week or so with a bit more info about the album, so if you'd like to receive that and infrequent blasts thereafter, sign up for the newsletter on my website. All right, that's enough plug-in. Thank you very much indeed once again to Tim and Tom Thanks to Seamus Murphy Mitchell for his invaluable production support and additional conversation editing on this episode. Thanks Seamus

Thanks to Helen Green so much for her beautiful artwork And she has been helping me with the artwork for the album too along with the brilliant artist Brian E Jackson In fact, you might see a picture of that if you sign up for the album too, along with the brilliant artist, Brian E. Jackson. In fact, you might see a picture of that if you sign up for the newsletter. Thanks to everyone at Acast for all their hard work liaising with my sponsors, but thanks most of all to you. I'm very grateful that you keep coming back and listening to the podcast,

and I wonder if there's any chance of a hug, like just a quick hug. Is that okay? Come here. Good to see you. And until the next time, please go carefully out there. It's all like terrible cyclists, chippy middle-aged men, AI impersonators, But if it makes any difference at all, I love you. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Like and Subscribe Like and Subscribe Like and Subscribe Please Like and Subscribe Give me like a smile and a thumbs up I stick a pant when my bum's up

Give me like a smile and a thumbs up I stick a pant when my bum's up Like and Subscribe Like and Subscribe Like and Subscribe Like and Subscribe Please Like and Subscribe Give me subscribe Please like and subscribe Give me like a smile and a thumbs up

Nice like a fan, wave me thumbs up Give me like a smile and a thumbs up Nice like a fan, wave me thumbs up Like and subscribe Like and subscribe Like and subscribe Like and subscribe Like and subscribe

Like and subscribe Like and subscribe I'm so bad, I'm so bad I'm so bad, I'm so bad I'm so bad, I'm so bad I'm so bad, I'm so bad I'm so bad, I'm so bad I'm so bad, I'm so bad I'm so bad, I'm so bad I'm so bad, I'm so bad I'm so bad, I'm so bad Thanks for watching! Subscribe to our channel for more videos!