Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

• Alison Steadman

  The brilliant actress Alison Steadman tells Gyles about her life and career. There are some really enchanting stories in this episode from her childhood in Liverpool - from the romantic way her parents met, to her adventures looking for buried treasure in the local recreation ground and her love for her pet rabbit, Skipper - this is an evocative listen. Alison tells Gyles about her childhood talent for impressions and how this led her to join Liverpool Youth Theatre and eventually go to drama school in Essex. While there, she met Mike Leigh, with whom she created many of her best-known characters, from Beverley in Abigail's Party to Candice-Marie in Life is Sweet. Alison also talks to Gyles about the Singing Detective and recites a poem she wrote during lockdown. This is a treat, enjoy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• More Rosebud - Rose Boyt

  Rose Boyt tells Gyles about her unconventional childhood, and about her experiences of being parented by - and painted by - her father Lucian Freud, the celebrated modern artist. This is an extraordinary story: even Gyles is bowled over by the twists and turns of Rose's childhood. Rose's parents were Lucian Freud and the artist Susie Boyt, with whom Freud had three other children. He also had many other children with other women - 14 children in all - and was never a conventional husband or father to any of them. But he was brilliant - dazzlingly entertaining, talented, intelligent and inspiring - and Rose experienced this at first hand when she was painted by him for a nude portrait which is the starting point for her book, Naked Portrait. Rose also spent a year living on a cargo ship in the Baltic, DJ'd with Neneh Cherry, and was briefly engaged to Andy Warhol. This is a fascinating interview about Rose, about Lucian Freud, about the artistic life, and about alternative ways of living and looking at the world.Rose Boyt's book, Naked Portrait is out in paperback, published by Picador. It is highly recommended.This episode was recorded at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  1:07:59
• JoJo Siwa

  JoJo Siwa is Rosebud's youngest ever guest - she's only 22 years old. But she's been famous since she was 9, and a megastar since she was 12, when her first single "Boomerang" went viral. The video for that song was viewed over 1 billion times. Now JoJo is all grown up and, fresh from her appearance in Celebrity Big Brother, she has a new record out: "Bulletproof". Gyles is fascinated by child stars: what drives them, and how do they cope? In this conversation - the only podcast interview JoJo is doing in the UK - JoJo talks about her early years, growing up in Nebraska and competing and winning dance competitions under the tutelage of her mom, and Abby-Lee Miller, her dance instructor. She talks about the fire she had to succeed, and about how it felt to become super famous at 12. She talks about discovering her sexuality, and tells Gyles an amazing story about falling in love with her first girlfriend on a cruise ship. And then she talks about now: about her recent experience in Celebrity Big Brother, and how she met and fell in love with the reality star Chris Hughes while she was in the house. JoJo shows Gyles her tattoos. And Gyles and JoJo talk about the origin of the word "serendipity".JoJo's single "Bulletproof" is available to stream now. This interview was recorded at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  1:05:53
• Gyles's diary, episode 16

  This is a fun episode of diaries, as we hear about the gap year travels not only of Gyles, but also of Harriet too. Because she has finally dug out an old diary, and shares a few entries with Gyles at the beginning of today's show - and they're from her gap year, which was partly spent travelling in India. Then we get stuck into Gyles's travels, which were in the U.S. We hear about his job, teaching in a school in Baltimore, his trip to New York City to stay with some relations, his Aunt Polly's funeral, and his money worries. This episode also features another brief appearance from Joan of Arc, who first appeared in the Beethoven show last week - and it features Harriet and Gyles testing out their American accents. Apologies to any genuine Americans listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  1:02:04
• Sir David Jason

  This week, Gyles is joined by very special guest Sir David Jason, who talks about memories of his career: how he started out in his local theatre group in north London, and progressed through amateur dramatics, to rep, and finally to the West End and television. There are, of course, a few cameos and helping hands along the way: Brian Epstein, Humphrey Barclay, Ronnie Barker and John Sullivan, to name but a few. You'll know Sir David's television work, because it's legendary: Only Fools and Horses, Open All Hours and Touch of Frost are classics which will be watched for many years to come. But you may not know about his early work on the stage, or his humble roots as a mechanic and then an electrician, or about the impressions he did of his teacher at school, or about the crucial role Ronnie Barker played in getting his career off the ground. This is a funny and touching conversation with one of the true legends of British stage and screen. Thank you to Sir David for your time, and wonderful stories. Sir David's book, This Time Next Year, is out now in paperback, published by Penguin. This episode was recorded at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House hotel in London, thank you to them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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