The Tooney & Russo Show - Inside Their Homes: Comforts, Cooking & Decor Secrets

Episode Date: June 23, 2025

Vick gets personal with Ella Toone and Alessia Russo, uncovering their home essentials, fridge must-haves, and signature dishes - including Tooney’s go-to meal. Vick also shares why her childhood teddy, ‘Snowy,’ still means so much to her.The trio reveals their very different approaches to home decor, plus a nostalgic look back at the time Ella and Alessia shared a house in Manchester - where Tooney's obsession with Eton Mess truly began!

BBC Sounds music radio podcasts. I've started to do eight minute double chin workouts. What do you do for your double chin workout? Like, oh. So hang on, you put your head back. I do that every night. I love having my face touched. I've done it once.

Oh, right. I was meant to do it every night, yeah, but I haven't had time, you know, I can't find eight minutes to myself these days. time, you know, I can't find eight minutes to myself these days. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Toonie and Russo show with me, Vic Hope. I'm here with two of football's most famous friends, Alessia Russo and Ella Toon. Oh, that was a fabulous clap. It was a click, a clap. Oh, this episode is all

about home comforts. Before we get into home comforts, I always think a great way to get a little peek behind the curtain of what someone's like is a glimpse into their emoji use. I like that. Yeah. I like that. So I want to see your top three used emojis before we do anything else. I know mine.

I'll have to have a look. It will be a red love heart. Oh yeah, classic. The laughing emoji where it's like on its side with the crying tears. Yeah, mine's on. It's that funny. It's not just crying tears upright,

it's gotta be on its side. Yeah, on its side. Shoo koo koo. And it will be the, you know, the little girl, not the little girl, the girl that's like that with her. That's so weird there, man. Shut up. But am I going to go down?

What's that? No idea how that's got there. What is it? It's like a clamp. I can't use that. It's X-rated. It's like what you use in D&T. Right, what are yours?

The Red Love Hearts in there. I've got two types of chicken, the full length chicken and the chicken head. Oh, is that talking about Smokey and... Oh my God. Etta, is it one called Etta? Yeah, we've got an Etta, a Smokey, a Diana, a Cathy, Aretha... Lionel, Gladys. There's a Gladys, yeah. They're all named after Sol Singh as our chickens and they're doing really well. I've actually got an olive in my most used emoji. I haven't, I don't think I've ever used the olive emoji. I actually use it quite a lot,

just to talk about good times, you know. This, the A-OK and the sign. I feel like in our jobs too, we use that a lot. Thumbs up. No. I hate that emoji. Whoa. With a passion.

She feels strongly. I hate it. You know what is so rude as well, have you ever been, have you ever been thumbs up? I have, I know what you mean. Right, have you ever been full stops? Have you ever been both together?

Wow, what's happened, who hurt you? I've been thumbs up. By who? Thumbs up, thumbs up. Full stop. It's happened loads of times, I'm like, who you talking to? I've been thumbs up, thumbs up, thumbs up, thumbs up. It's happened loads of times, I'm like, who are you talking to? Even worse if it's just, okay, full stop. Yeah, I don't like that.

I don't like the thumbs up emoji. My mum and dad are so bad for using that. Every time I text them, they just put a thumbs up back. But they don't mean it badly. No, they don't, they don't get it. Like older generations, like okay, message her. People know that it's rude and they use it. Yeah, I know what you mean, because I do it passive aggressively, often, I probably shouldn't say this, like work email, like not work, like work chats or estate agents.

Oh, yeah. They get a thumbs up. When you're getting a lot of a lot of spiel. Yeah. And you're like, okay. I like clapping hands. of a lot of spiel. Yeah. And you're like, okay. I like clapping hands. I love, I've got quite a few birthday celebration things on there. Summer, it's a lot of birthdays. I'm sending that a lot and I use the rocket a lot. Oh my god I've just noticed the chicken down there in the house. Oh, that's for you. When did that get there? Has that always been there? That's got to be new that, hasn't it? So for anyone listening, our studio, it changes quite a lot, I do admit, depending on what's available in the London area at the time of being able to record.

But we're just looking around, and I feel like things have changed, and we didn't even notice. There is a chicken just behind. I mean, don't know what camera's picking that up. Maybe no one's picking it up. Go and get it, Tune. Aw.

Aw. Look at that, it's like Gladys. Home comforts, like we're talking about. It's really soft. Yeah, it is, isn't it? And behind both the girls, we've got these little signs on the wall that say Mikasa, so Kasa, happy place.

How important is the home space? And your home comforts for both of you. Oh yeah, I love it. We spend a lot of time away as well, like in hotels. I love my bed at all. It's the comfiest bed ever in the world. Yeah, it's comfy. My bed?

Yeah. Oh yeah, you've stayed in my bed, haven't you? Yeah. It's comfy, isn't it? I've got a really thin quilt. Really thin quilt. Do you think that's comfy? So remember when I first bought my house, I didn't have a clue about togs.

Togs on quilts and stuff. No one's ever told me about that. Anyway, I just bought a random quilt. Not the same. Got in bed, it felt like someone was laying on me. It was that heavy. That's quite nice. I couldn't move, you know what I mean?

So I thought, no, no, that thin me. That's adulting when you get to the point where you're actually thinking about the tug of your quilt. Never been taught that, I never knew it was a thing, but mattresses, comfy, like yeah, your bed, my bed at home I love. I think because I stay in so many different beds all the time.

Yeah, mine's my pillows. I mean, I love my bed, but my pillows are so comfy. What, are they duck feathers? No, they make them. Are they duck feathers? They're chicken feathers. Chicken feathers. No, they make them. Are they dog feathers? They're chicken feathers. No, they make me sneeze, I'm allergic to that. Oh yeah, you're a bit of an allergic person, aren't you?

Yeah. Dogs, cats, feathers. Some dogs. Because I do want to get myself a dog at some point. Anyway, home comforts, yeah. I love being in my home and just the little things. I think just for me, my ideal evening is like having like a full shower, you know, like real deep cleanse and then getting in like a fresh pair of pajamas,

sat on the sofa, cup of tea, film or series on. And that's just me. That is my ideal evening. A dressing gown. Yeah. A really snuggly dressing gown in your own home, knowing that everything is done. Yeah. For the day. It's that knowledge.

It's tidy. Love a dressing gown. Oh, actually I got in last night and had like some work to do. And once I'd finished, once I closed my laptop, it was the knowledge that there was no more work I had to attend to. Put my dressing gown on and then watch some Netflix. I love films and series. I would like to think that I would be able

to give you a good recommendation. And I like watching things again with Toonie. Like I like to watch films that Toonie's not experienced before that I know is so good and she gets to experience it for the first time. So I introduced her to Pretty Woman, Love Actually. I mean these are classics.

Notting Hill. Yeah. Oh lovely. They don't make films like this anymore. No. They don't. I'm sure I watched Man on Fire with you. Yeah and what about Town?

You really like one of your favourite. I know it's Joel's favourite. Shawshank. If you think of like the classic films, she's barely seen them. Yeah. Really? What kind of film do you like?

Do you like a gangster film? I love a gangster film. My favorite film ever is Legend. Okay. With the Kray twins. Mm-hmm. What about the likes of like Snatch and Lockstock and Do Smoking Barrels?

Never seen. She ran a pad of any of them. Okay. I think you'd like them. No. No. What's your favourite film? Top three.

Top three? Oh my god. Talking of gangster films, something like Goodfellas is up there. This is just great. It's kind of cliché to say, but Forrest Gump. You've seen that? I'll never forget watching that for the first time. The guy who started to run.

He just runs. He just runs mainly. Ryan! forrest ryan. Yeah I remember that scene. I don't remember the rest. That's it really. I remember, did not watch a film with you where this little boy got stung by lords of bees. Oh yeah that's my girl is it? Yeah maybe it went with you. I don't think I've seen that. Is it Macaulay Culkin? Yeah, yeah, it is. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, well there's a film I've watched, yeah.

Yeah. You should watch that. Can you remember when we used to be really great, like teen high school movies, like She's All That, 10 Things I Hate About You? Oh, 10 Things I Hate About You is good. All of those were just so, they were so good, and I feel like they don't make them like that anymore.

Yeah, Freaky Friday. Yeah. All of those were just so, they were so good. And I feel like they don't make them like that anymore. They don't make comedies like these. Yeah, Freaky Friday. Yeah. Parent trap. Those are just like funny for the sake of being funny. Yeah. They've always gotta be like a superhero film that happens to be comedic.

Like I just want a funny film sometimes. I love a thingy film with the songs. You know like Mamma Mia. Yeah. I love the Bohemian Rhapsody one. Yeah. Have you seen Just Go with it? No.

Oh, it's so funny. Is it Rock Off? Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. Great. It's so good. It's on my list. You know what? This is actually turning into, just going to write down things to watch.

Film recommendations. Aside from telly, whether it's films, whether it's series, what do you do to relax? What is it when you get home after a long day that you know you can just have that sanctuary in your home? I've started to read. Have you? Mm-hmm. It takes me a long time to finish a book though because I get very distracted.

What are you into? I like to read autobiographies. I've read quite a few autobiographies. I've just finished Sir Chris Hoy's autobiography. A story like very close to like my family and him dealing with prostate cancer and stuff like that. So yeah, I've read that one. I read Jamie Vardy's, read Joe Thompson's. Like I love autobiographies, but Millie Turner's actually given me a book to read.

Maids. The Housemaid. The Housemaid. The Housemaid. Yeah, I told her to read that. Oh, right. So she's passed that on to me and now she's passed me the second one. Not even started the first one yet.

So this is fiction now. Yeah. So I'll see that. I go through phases as well. I like to do some coloring sometimes. Yeah, I find it so therapeutic. Yeah, I got a nice little coloring book. One of those adult coloring books.

Yeah. I like the kids ones. Oh, fine. a nice little colouring book. One of those adult colouring books. Yeah, I like the kids ones. Oh, fine. Big pictures. So you can stay inside the lines. Yeah, not the little tiny ones with the little patterns. Yeah. I like to read as well. I think that switches me off.

But yeah, just a nice, I like to cook like nice food. Yeah, just cup of tea, speak to family and friends. I've started to do eight minute double chin workouts. What do you do for your double chin workout? You're like, oh. So hang on, we put your head back. Yeah, there's loads of different sizes. All right, let's try it together.

Oh. Oh. I don't think that'll make that noise, but then you just do like, pull it away. It's like gua sha in your face. Yeah, why don't you get the gua sha thing? Gua sha? Gua sha.

I've got this thing where you drag. That's the gua sha. All right, yeah. Looks like a little pebble. Yeah, face, yeah. I've got one of them. So you're basically doing facial massage on yourself. Yeah.

It's good, I love a facial massage. You do that every night? I love having my face touched. I've done it once. All right. I was meant to do it every night, yeah, but haven't had time, you know, I can't find eight minutes to myself these days.

Do you have sort of evening and morning routines? Morning routine, absolutely not. Get up 10 minutes before I've got to leave. I've started to, at night, get my clothes out ready so I can just literally brush my teeth, put my clothes on and leave. No shower, no nothing? No, I'm out me. No point showering in the morning,

you can go and train anyway. Yeah, I always shower right before bed. I don't have much of a routine either, just brush my teeth, skincare. I like to make a cup of tea in the morning, that's it. Set off to training. Start the day. Yeah.

So do you prefer, if you've got time at home alone, you prefer the evening to the morning? Yeah. Yeah. I'm not a morning person, me. Yeah, I like having the evening. And do you get much time alone? Like, do you find that on a weekly basis, obviously you're traveling so much for work,

you're in hotels, like you said before, quite a lot. Do you find you get enough time at home, just you, just you time? I feel like I don't get any. No, I feel like we don't get a lot. Yeah, maybe like twice, three times a week max. I'm quite a doer person. I always want to be doing something, seeing someone, being somewhere, so I very rarely chill and just have me time.

Yeah, you don't. I should probably schedule that in a bit more. You're on the go a lot, aren't you? Yeah. But that's nice, that's what fuels you. Exactly, I like to see people and, you know, yeah, I don't really, I can't sit still me. That's my problem.

Now you've both lived together. You were in a house share in Manchester, Les, when you were playing up there. What were you like as housemates and general like levels of house pride that you have in your space? My biggest thing I remember of Toonie in that time, obviously it was locked down as well, so times were tough.

But for breakfast every morning... That's why I'm now doing the double chin workout. For breakfast every morning, she used to have it eat a mess. What? I had this really bad craving of meringues and cream and strawberries. But in the morning, we'd wake up and she'd have a bowl of... Eat a mess in the morning we'd wake up and she'd have a bowl of eat and mess in the morning. I couldn't believe it but it was, it was times were tough.

How long did this go on for? Quite a while actually. Months. Yeah, it was pretty bad. Eat and mess. I got a bit obsessed. Were you making the meringues each day? No, I'd just buy them and smack them up

and put them in the bowl. And then- I'd have them every morning and I'd have them every night. I'd have them like twice a day. I've got this like addictive, like sometimes I just get addictive to something. Like when I was younger, all I used to eat was chips and egg. I went on holiday, I had chips and egg twice a day, every day for two weeks. Like there's just something wrong with me. Like now- There's nothing wrong with that. That's like a habit, every day for two weeks. Like there's just something wrong with me. Like now.

That's like a habit, isn't it? Yeah, now I've started to become obsessed. I've got went through a phase of being obsessed with Doritos and dip. I used to have it all the time. Now I've started to make these. So Grace Clinton makes them and I tried them once and bearing in mind all the ingredients, I absolutely hate but when they're together there's something about it. Can't stop eating them. So I make

them rice cake, peanut butter, can you believe that? Peanut butter, hate it. Bit of honey on it, melted dark chocolate, salt, put it in the freezer. They're meant to be a snack. I get three out at once and eat them all. And let me just get this straight. You don't actually like the composite parts. You don't like- I hate rice cakes. I hate peanut butter and I hate dark chocolate.

Whack them all together, mint. But I wish it was phases of like fruit. But we used to have a great time living together. We just used to go to training, go to the shop, come home. Go on a walk. Go on a walk, yeah. Go to get coffee and tune you get an orange juice. But no, it was lovely.

I mean, we could live together. Yeah. Wherever. I was the worst cook. Million less did most of the cooking. Yeah. We played cards quite a bit then. Yeah. Scrabble. I was obsessed

with Scrabble for a while. Yeah. It's so great. It's just so great. We used to argue every time we played it though. But I think we were quite clean. We weren't really messy though were we, so. No. It was a great time. How domesticated would you each say the other is? You're a lot more domesticated than me. Does that mean like tidy?

Clean, tidy, yeah. Just good at like the homes. You moved out really young. I had everything done for me. I had like, I never had to do anything until I moved out and I was like, wow, I don't have a clue what's going on. I couldn't even do the washing machine. Yeah, just miles off.

But you're fine now. Yeah, I'm much better now. Yeah. And you were never dirty or like messy. No. No. You were always clean. No, but yeah, like I've really had to grow up.

Even when she lived with us, she still did all her washing at home. Right. Because my mum used to do it. Yeah, I mean, not gonna lie, my mum still comes and cleans my house. To be fair, my mum cleans to do it. I mean, not gonna lie, my mum still comes and cleans my house. To be fair, my mum cleans my house too. And she has been lately taking the whole basket home

and doing the washing herself. Ashing, Toonie. No, I know, but I know there's no excuse. I know, I know. Well, Toonie, you live with your boyfriend, Joe now. Was there anything that you felt like you had to get used to moving in with a partner? Because it's a different set up, different dynamic. Yeah, I think for me, I never actually lived on my own. When I moved out, I met him, so it was

straight away. So I've never actually had to live on my own. So I've been lucky that mum and dad, well mum did everything for me because mum did everything for dad as well. So, and then I moved in with Joe and I'm lucky that he knows what for dad as well. And then I moved in with Joe and I'm lucky that he knows what to do as well. He moved out quite quick and early, so he's really like, he's a really good court, knows everything, knows what he's doing. So yeah, I'm quite lucky in that aspect.

I think, yeah, nothing really bothers me. The only thing is that he doesn't fold the towels up, but that's it. You know what, I get it. I can take that. Yeah I can take that. I always look over at the towels and I'm like just fold it. Just fold it. It will take you half a second longer but no it's got to be stepped out. But it's fine I can take that because I love you. Yeah.

How do you think he would describe you to live with? Oh I think he would say that I should try and cook more and stuff. I do try, like I do watch him and he does explain stuff, but then I forget the day after. Like I'm not confident in the kitchen is my problem. You're good at making salads. Oh yeah, I'm good at that. What's an ideal salad? How's it built?

Chop it all really finely. Mixed leaf salad, chop it all really finely. Cucumbers, chop finely. Tomatoes and onions, all chopped finely. Finely. Finely is the key word there. What would you say, how domesticated are you? I'm a nester.

I always have been, ever since I moved out. Actually, even when I was living at home with my family, my room was a real, like, it's where I like to express myself artistically. So I'd always like paint the walls and lots of like fabrics draped around. And whenever I was traveling, I would buy cushions and poofs and like lampshades and stuff. So I was well into decor and the space. And so when I moved out and lived on my own, I'd like all through uni and then living with my mates and then living on my own,

I've been very house proud, I think. Yeah. So yeah, I like to keep it. It's not that it's tidy. Cause I think some people might walk into it and be like, oh, this is a bit cluttered, but it's like everything's where it should be. You know.

Organized clutter. Yeah. Yeah, there's a big difference. Totally. Do you like designing like your own house? Yeah. Do you? I really struggle without me.

I do, but I do struggle with it. I do find it hard, but I enjoy looking for things. Yeah. Mum did all mine. And I had the same cushions for ages and she was like, we need to go and get some new cushions and put a bit of colour in the living room and I was like, you do it, because I don't have a clue.

Do you not enjoy it? No. You're not that bothered by it? No, not at all. You can't make yourself be bothered by something like that. It's very personal. Yeah, and she loves it. She loves, every time I go around to her,

she's got new cushions in the living room. The themes change, the colors change. I don't know, it's just not for me. She loves B&M. You know them aisles in B&M? She's always on them. You can buy so much in there and you can go in with nothing.

And leave with everything. I love finding candles. I do love candles. Yeah, I think my mum was always like into like she'd make her own cushions and curtains and things and fine fabrics and very like frifty so lots of like charity shop finds and secondhand and that kind of thing antiques yeah bits like that what would you say your styles of decor are? Is there anything in your house that you're like really proud of that you've put there?

In my kitchen there's like cabinets and the ones where I keep my glasses and my mugs, I have like a little light at the back so it's like a little bit of a showpiece in the kitchen and I really love all my cups and like glassware and mugs and because I just thought I didn't want to have my boring matching mugs all the time so I've got lots of different ones that I like. I'm really struggling with my glasses at the minute. Like the glasses are nice but every time they come out of the dishwasher

they're disgusting. Maybe I need to put something in my dishwasher that helps. Washing by hand maybe? No, no, sorry. How could I suggest it? No bit. No bit. No, no, sorry. How could I, how could I suggest it? No, the nose is sweet. I think sometimes, I don't know if this is interesting for the pod, but I think sometimes when you put your glasses in the dishwasher, it's not so much the washing, but it's then

how they dry. Yeah, I just found like four out, so I was like, I can't even look at them anymore. I'm not even going to use them. So I need to get some new ones. And that was, I can't even look at them anymore. I'm not even gonna use them. So I need to get some new ones. That was the end of those glasses. Bye. Bit more about the kitchen. Oh, sorry, in the kitchen what I have is

a tin of Heinz beans that says Ella's beans. I've got Vicks beans. Yeah, so no one's allowed to touch them. They're my pride and joy. Will you ever eat them? No, never. No. Never.

I've got a Vicks Beans and a Coca-Cola bottle as well that's got my name on. Oh, yeah. It's called Diamante. Oh, nice. Yeah. Fancy girl. Yeah.

I don't know where it came from, but one of those things. So alongside the beans, what else is always in your cupboard or your fridge? Peranase. Obsessed. Yeah, peranase is always in my fridge too. Oh, I love peranase. It's always in the fridge. Sorry, it's the way you're saying that, but there's a chicken sitting right next to you. Like it's so ominous.

They're all smelly. You might be smothered in peranase too. Close your ears. Do chickens have ears? This guy doesn't on his head. I should know. I'm sure they do because they can hear. Yeah maybe like little ones here. Yeah, Peronais, I love it. I have it with everything. I always have grapes in my fridge. Like a pan it of grapes. Purple. Yeah, oh I like the the mixed ones. You know, you can get half green, half purple. Yeah, I don't like green ones. They're always, I always have grapes in my fridge. Are you more of a big shop once a week

or every few days is whatever you need? Every few days. I guess if you're traveling a lot, you can't know. I know, it's tough and it's annoying to have to go to the shop all the time, but. I do. And I can have a plan in advance, so say it's a Monday, I do not know what I'm feeling for tea on a Thursday. Yeah. What do you do?

Yeah, it's more every few days, to be honest. It's for a mixture of both of those reasons, because of work, and not knowing what the time is going to look like, but also not knowing how I'm going to feel. Yeah. What I've been trying to do, because I'm trying to eat obviously very nutritiously at the moment, is a bit of meal prep and like making my lunches to take to work, to take to radio one and putting them in a Tupperware. Nice. There's been some complaints against me apparently for bringing in fish.

You smell it out? Fish in a Tupperware. Yeah, that's a bit true. Is there anything you're missing missing? My mates were really missing steak and sushi. They weren't allowed to eat that, I don't think. I've been eating a lot of steak, but like cooked, as opposed to like, not like a tartare. But yeah, I miss sushi. When I was feeling sick for the first sort of trimester,

I didn't want to have any of the things that I shouldn't have. So it was almost like my body was going, oh, you're not supposed to have that. So I didn't want it anyway. So it was no problem to like not of the things that I shouldn't have. So it was almost like my body was going, oh, you're not supposed to have that. So I didn't want it anyway. So it was no problem to like not have the sushi or to not have the soft cheeses or like giving up alcohol, obviously coffee, that kind of thing. And then as I started to feel better and your body's feeling stronger. Yeah, I think recently I started to miss sushi a little bit. But

you know, it's not a huge sacrifice. What about anything that you're craving? Like a year? I honestly just, it's rather than a craving, it's just knowing exactly what meal I want any given time. So I'm like, I need a bacon butty. Like this morning, when I was on my way in, I had to text George, the producer, I was like, George, would it be possible, if possible, anywhere near, is there a bacon butsy about? Because I could really do with specifically that.

That's cool. What do you specifically want for lunch? Oh, I've been wanting a lot of things like pasta. I love salty things, olives and pickles, which I think are normal. Just wanting loads of meat and fish. I just want to eat loads. I just want to eat a lot of things. You're eating for more than you now.

Yeah, you're feeding two. Yeah. And they say rather than it being eating for two, as in twice as much, it's more just eating with the fact that you're trying to nourish and grow than anyone else in mind. So I feel like I've been pretty nutritious. Nice. Well, you look great. Oh, thanks, guys. Thanks. Yeah've been in- Well, you look great.

Oh, thanks. Yeah. Thanks. Yeah, it's a bit of meal prep. Yeah. Trying to make nice lunches to take into work. Unless you're like, you're a proper whiz in the kitchen. You love cooking for others and hosting

and that kind of thing. Yeah. And you've done, I mean, you've done condim with me. We did, yeah. Well. We did do well. We were part of it. Your version of it.

Yeah. So if you were hosting for the three of us, what could we expect on the menu? What do you like to cook to entertain? I would start with brusch nice pasta dish and for dessert I would probably buy something. Yeah, I bet. Well if you want to know what I can make. If you want to know what I can make. I can make eat and mess. Like a meringue cream strawberry.

That's easy enough to mix up. Yeah, that's good. What would yours be? Three course? Well, it's obviously got to be something that I'm good at, which is there's not many things that I'm really good at making. But you made eating mess every morning and night for the zombie of time. The real eating mess and my eating mess is very different.

Mine was literally smacks of meringue, pouring cream and chopped some strawberries. For me, I would probably make them chicken kebabs. Yeah. They're like literally pitters, finely chopped salad. Chicken, cheese, perinase, shock. What would your starter be? I don't know. I'm going back to that because I don't think I've ever made a starter. So you could just make a small version of a vein. To be fair, I can make a prawn cocktail.

Ah, nice. Great, perfect. I like a prawn cocktail. I've never tried it, but it can't be that hard. You can imagine that it's doable. Dessert. You could refine your eating mess, so it's a little less messy. I'll just do my rice cakes, healthy desserts.

Yeah. What would yours be? Start a main dessert. Yours would be something that they're good now. Okay, well, if I can eat raw fish again, I love like a ceviche starter. Oh, nice. Like, just fish, but like marinated in the citrus, loads of zesty, tangy flavors, the chili, the coriander, the lime, all that

kind of stuff. Can you make a good one of them? I used to make a lot of, yeah, that used to be my go-to when I had friends coming around. And I'd serve it, each little portion would be in its own baby gem lettuce leaf. Oh, nice. Yeah. That was my party piece. For mains, I love a taco. I think Mexican food always goes down well.

Yeah, tacos go down well. Yeah, nachos, burritos, that kind of thing. Fajitas. Oh yes. Yeah, if you've got people around, it's like fun. Yeah, it's easy. It's easy. Yeah, we used to make that a lot. Yeah.

And then I don't feel like it goes with the menu, but my favourite dessert to cook is a crumble. I love making making apple crumble with ice cream or custard or cream or rhubarb if it's in season. That's a great shout. It's one of my worst desserts. You know that. Because it's got fruit in it. No, I just think it's a bad dessert really.

It's not like a crumble. On England Camp and like when you're away with football, like before a game, you usually have like a dessert, but the desserts are always like apple crumble. Rice pudding. Or rice pudding. You hate them both? Oh my god, they are the worst two desserts in the world. Rice pudding, I can't even look at it.

These are all noted for when I invite you around for dinner. Salmon ceviche. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not making the crumble anymore. I feel like we're ending. Oh, you kissing that chicken. Do you sleep with a teddy?

Yes. Do you? I've got Snowy. Yeah, actually Snowy is like my biggest home comfort. I've had Snowy since I was born, so she's the same age as me. She was like a gift. Are you going to pass? I don't know. She's probably really covered in bacteria. Maybe it's an eagle. Yeah, that's an excellent toy. It's really soft. What animal is Snowy? Snowy is a bear. She was white, but she's kind toy. It's really soft. It is. What animal is Snowy?

Snowy's a bear. She was white, but she's kind of a brownie colour nail. Chewing on white. Yeah. My school shirts went chewing on white. She'll never be white. If you lift up her little tail, there's a bit underneath where it's still kind of white.

She's got a bow, and then I knitted her a little scarf when I must've been like 12 or something. And she's gone everywhere with me. I remember when I went to uni, my mum coming to pick me up after the first year and going, did you not bring Snowy? And I was like, mum, don't talk about Snowy. Because everyone's like, who's Snowy? And after that, I just had no shame and I brought her with me.

But yeah, Snowy, so for a while, Snowy had to stop living in my bed when I started dating. Where did she live? She was like on the sofa. Oh, okay. And then gradually, she was pushed out. Snowy made her way back into the bed. Nice.

Yeah. So I do, she's like, I just couldn't imagine a life without her. Oh, that is cute. That's really home comfort, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah, the ultimate. God, no, there's been a few times I've thought I've lost it

and honestly, I've acted insane. Like I've been like, I don't, I actually shouldn't admit but it's been drastic. You've always found her. Always, yeah. Like she always comes back. You know, you like take the duvet cover off to wash it. She'll be in the box.

That's what happens with my retainer sometimes. Ugh. Like, honestly, I go to sleep with my retainer and I wake up and it's not in my mouth. I don't know where it is and I'm like, oh my God, no, I've lost it. My teeth are gonna be wonky again. I'm gonna be goofy.

And then it's just at the bottom of the bed somewhere. Yeah. It's gonna get stuck in there. How does that come out of your mouth? I must flick it out when I'm asleep or take it out and leave it somewhere in the bed. The things we do when we're asleep, I tend to sleep naked because I can't wear pajamas. The few times that I've tried, I've woken up in the morning and they're folded at the bottom of the bed. What the hell?

Folded though. I've taken them off, folded them up in my sleep. Just put them down nicely. I'm like, not for me. I've taken them off in the night before when I've got like really hot, but not folded. That's impressive. You don't remember though.

No. Now, isn't it mad that we go to sleep? Yeah, and your brain like shuts down. That we just, as human beings, we can- Hours. We just go like this. Yeah. We just power down.

I know it is a bit mad when you think deeply about it. Yeah, it is. Yeah, not that efficient. No. Anyway, I feel like the note to leave on is that I've learned, as I do every episode, there's always a lesson, but this one is chop it finely always.

And I actually have some information for you about what the emojis could mean, what they could say about you. This has just been sent through to me. Thumbs up for millennials, a thumbs up emoji means quite literally, good job, well done. That's when our parents are using it.

Gen Z, however, either uses it as a very passive aggressive way to punctuate a statement. Told you. Like I'm saying. It is definitely passive aggressive. And then the cowboy, little left field. I should have said the cowboy. The cowboy emoji shows putting on a happy face even when you're down in the dumps.

I feel like you didn't like that. You didn't like that one. No, I just use it as if I would only ever use that if I'm talking about a cowboy. Am I just not thinking right? How often do you talk about cowboy? Never. That's why I've never thinking right. How often do you talk about cowboy? Never, that's why I've never used it. And on that note, thank you for listening and for watching. We've got new episodes on BBC Sounds.

I'm boring her again. She's on camera, that's why. No, we need to go home. We'll see you next time. On BBC Sounds, this is Sports Strangers Crimes from the man who tried to buy crickets. See you next time. changing F1 forever. It will haunt the people involved for as long as they live. A trillion dollar takeover which never took off. Broadsters of this level, they will never stop. The mysterious death of a superstar cyclist. Entering the world of professional cycling was like joining the mafia.

And teammates becoming bitter enemies at one of the biggest football clubs in the world. Betrayal, plots, we've gone beyond women's football in France. Sports, Strangest Crimes. Listen on BBC Sounds.