Jenny Bede

[00:00:02] Hi, I just wanted to let you know about this podcast. It's about voice notes on my phone. You can hear my wholesome family chats. Why am I not an admin? You've made dad an admin? Not me. This is a nightmare. Some excellent flirting. You know, it's really hard being your girlfriend sometimes. Or my deep and meaningful conversations. Do you really see yourself with someone who has such different values to you?

[00:00:30] And other bits and pieces from my totally normal friends. Quick Wes, is it normal to shoot yourself as an adult? These are, well this is, voice notes on my phone. Find us on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

[00:01:02] Hello and welcome to Out Of Character, a podcast about sketch and character comedy. My name is Alex Lynch. In this show, I chat to writers and performers from the world of sketch and character comedy. Find out what made them venture into it. Talk about their characters. Maybe meet some of their characters. And generally just shoot the breeze and more importantly, have a laugh. My special guest for episode 87 is the writer-performer Jenny Bede. Hello. Hello. Can I just say, thank you for having me first of all.

[00:01:31] Secondly, that's such a good introduction. I have just started my own podcast, not out yet. I find the introductions so difficult. I have to do it like four or five times in a row to get there. I just like coming crazy. I'm like, hi, hi, hello. Hi everyone. Like, it's just, I go higher and higher. Um, you're a pro. Do you write it down? Is that a script? I did write it down when I started, but I mean, I've been doing it for 87 episodes and that's, uh, over five years now that I've kind of managed to get it down to a T.

[00:02:01] It is kind of a, it's sort of a rob for your own bat because it means you have to do it every single time. Yeah. But, um, yeah. Oh, well, thank you. Yeah, really. I've realized, I think the key is to as low as you can, if you keep your voice low, you sound a bit chill. Whereas, yeah, I sort of tend to start it in, in places where only dogs might be able to hear it. And the people around me have to go, and again, and again. And I just, yeah, it's hard. And the side, I'm all right with signing off.

[00:02:30] Although it's, I also find that slightly difficult. It's just getting into it and the getting out of it. Right. It's kind of, oh yeah. I mean, I'm going to warn you in advance, the signing off of this is probably going to be really awkward. I can't wait because I, uh, I know that's the one thing I never, I don't have like a sort of signature sign off. Catchphrase. Yeah. That's the, that's the word. Yeah. Um, yeah. What about just lynch out and then just. Lynch out. Yeah. We'll try it if you want to try it. We'll try it. Yeah.

[00:02:59] So what is this podcast that you're doing? Can you talk about that? When does this go out? Uh, this will go out probably, oh God. I mean, it'll probably be like October by the time it comes out. Yes. Hopefully it might be out by now. It's called the comedy chorus and it's with comedian Will Duggan. Yes. And we think we are the only podcast that records in a karaoke booth. Um, which is, it's called so it's comedy chorus. It's basically, we're recruiting members for a choir and we're starting with comedians.

[00:03:28] So we get people come on to audition live. Um, and I say audition, it's more of like a vibe check. Um, and I'll be honest, we've done like 12 records. I think we've accepted everyone so far. Um, but yeah, it's really fun. We just have a chat and a sing talk about like, cause I joined a choir in real life not long ago because I just missed singing. Um, and the joy in group singing, I think it's so good for you. So good for everyone that, um, yeah, we thought we'd make it into a podcast and we're having

[00:03:57] a lot of fun with it. So hopefully by the time this is out, that will be out. That's brilliant. So like, did that, did that stem purely from you just doing choir and like, I want to do something to do with singing. Like where did the idea for that sort of come about? So Will and I had an idea about doing like a sort of musical podcast a while ago cause he's, he plays lots of instruments as well as being a standup, great standup. Yeah.

[00:04:21] And then I think I was watching a chicken shop date clip and I'm like, God, Amelia de Maldenberg's really nailed it. She just gets to eat nuggets all the time whilst, you know, chatting to great people. Paul McCartney. Yeah. Yeah. And I was like, what would my version of that be? I'd be like, I just get drunk in a karaoke booth with people and have a chat. And then I was like, wait a minute, what's stopping me? And then I, and so Will and I both have children. So we'd sort of put the idea down for a while and I called him and I was like, look, I've

[00:04:50] got a slightly different idea, but what do you think? And he was up for it. And because of PRS and various rights things, we can't use the tracks. Of course. So Will is there with his piano. Oh, wow. Okay. Live music. Live music in a karaoke booth. They look at us very strangely. And then we can have actual karaoke tracks behind the Patreon.

[00:05:14] So just to tease it, I actually think that Ed Gamble and I have done the best ever duet of Bat Out of Hell. I think it would be worth getting behind the Patreon for. So yeah, it's been a lot of fun. But apart from the intros, it's absolutely awful. Yeah. How are you currently introducing that? So we did a load of records on Tuesday and by the end I was like, I'm going to try something new. And I was like, oh, what's that? Hi. This is a podcast. It was just like, I just was trying.

[00:05:42] It's supposed to just be, hi, I'm JDB. This is Will Duggan. And this is a comedy chorus. I mean, that's a pretty good start. Thank you. Yeah. That was better than any I've actually done on the podcast so far. Well, now you've got a recording of it. Just copy and paste. That sounds really cool though. Thank you. Come on in one day. Hell yeah. That would be great. If people, Ed came in saying he wasn't going to sing and I said, sure, we're not going to pressure you. But we did a little bit. But it's, yeah, I think it's just fun.

[00:06:13] And I think most people have got there and been like, God, why don't I go to karaoke more often? It's so much fun. And it really is. Well, that's it. And as you say, like, you know, singing doesn't have to be, like a good scene doesn't have to be essential. It's karaoke. Exactly. People who do karaoke don't necessarily have the best voice. No. No. But they give it your all. Oh, people do. I love it. Do you know what I love? Is that, you know, we've been sort of, we tend to, we have to start recording quite late

[00:06:42] in the day at five because karaoke rooms aren't always open during the day. And you just get a mix of like, sometimes you'll have someone just like with an amazing voice just having an hour of singing to themselves. And then you'll have like just people that are so drunk already by 5pm. And like you stand in the middle and you can hear it all come from these different rooms and it's just like this absolute cacophony. And I think if you work there, you must feel like you're losing your mind. But it's a lot of fun. That's great. I'm looking forward to hearing that. Thank you.

[00:07:11] And we do think, well, we hope so. And we hope that people will like it and that it will, it's the sort of thing that can be a really fun live event as well. I was literally just about to say, you're going to do a live show with that. Oh, that sounds big time. Ideal. Yes. Oh, thank you. Ideal. That's a really nice, that's nice. Yeah, I'm hoping so. So, but maybe it will even have been announced by the time this is out. Who knows? Watch the space. Nice. So you've been doing that.

[00:07:37] And then I saw that you've been doing more of a character podcast. Like the Nana, is it the Nana Sphere? That was a sketch. That's a sketch. Oh. Is it actually? We tricked you. Oh, that's funny. We tricked you. You did trick me. Was that? Oh. So that. That's good. Thank you. That was a sketch I did with Amy Hoggart, BT Evanson and Suze Kempner.

[00:08:05] Some of my fave girls and fave comedians. Basically, I watched the Manosphere, that Louis Theroux documentary. And all these guys thinking they're saying really edgy things. And I'm like, they just sound like a bunch of old racist nans. And then I was like, do you know what? I think I'm just going to do a little sketch, like a little parody of the Nana Sphere. And it's just that basically I got a bunch of things that actual Manosphere men had said.

[00:08:34] And then we did it in, we did it as old nans. And it's kind of quite hard to tell. Like there's a lot of stuff that's written, but a lot of it is from the mouth of babes. Oh, wow. That's deeply worrying. Yeah. You genuinely can't tell the difference. And I just think it's funny. I think like from what I took from that documentary, so many of them are so like, they're so pleased with themselves. And they really genuinely think they're being edgy.

[00:09:01] And it's like, no, we've all heard these things before. You're not original. Like, and I just, I like to think that likening someone that thinks they're very edgy to a nan might just bring them down a tiny peg. But I love that you think it was an actual podcast. I thought it was going to become like a sort of character podcast that you guys... Could be. I just, I don't think I want to put out that many negative things into the world because they're not nice these nans. No, no, no.

[00:09:30] And I suppose after a while, like the joke could wear a little bit thin. Exactly. That's, uh, that's very funny. I feel a bit stupid now. No, don't. We had a lot of fun recording it and we did lots of improv. And actually there was a whole thing about we all fancy Prince Andrew. Um, and it was, it was really funny. And actually I kept meaning to say, oh, I'm going to release these as separate things. So maybe you may have just reminded me that I should do that. It's, it's, I mean, I didn't see that Manosphere documentary. The Louis Theroux one.

[00:09:59] Yeah. But I mean, what I've heard is just like, but there was some news story the other day, which was really, um, really quite amazing. Was it was, I don't know if she was a presenter, maybe you saw it, but she was getting these death threats and rape threats from these, from these men. And then she did some digging and found that these were coming from teenage boys and she got in touch with their parents and sent them the, isn't that great? It's so great.

[00:10:28] And do you know how many, do you know how often I know that people, you know, even at this age, but you know, certainly throughout my twenties and thirties, anytime I know that if, if I know, you know, some, a friend of mine had been in a relationship with a man and they've really fucked up that man. They've almost always told their mum. Like it just, it just, it just sort of suddenly makes them go, oh shit. Like, I don't know. I think, I don't know how much they do respect their mums, but you know, they go back to being little boys quite quickly.

[00:10:58] But when it actually is little boys, that is, that's really scary, isn't it? Well, yeah. But it's that thing again of the sort of, they think they're, you know, they're hiding behind their keyboards because they probably wouldn't say it to anyone in real life. And so it's like, but yeah, I love that she, she actually like found out who, who they were, who their parents were and then. Grounded for months, I hope. Well, it's like, again, it's like consequences, you know? Yeah. Because a lot of these people think they, there are no consequences to what they're doing. So it's, yeah.

[00:11:27] And you just hope that their parents were on the whole surprised as opposed to like, yeah, no, I know we did it together. You never know. Collaborative effort. Yeah. Oh God. The, yeah. Yeah. Because you did, you did a really funny song sketch about, not quite about that, but it was the, the, the love song to a catcaller. Oh, oi tits. Oi tits. Yeah. That's it. That's 10 years old, you know. Shut up. Is it? Yeah.

[00:11:54] We made the video 10 years ago and I think I'd written it the year before that. Yeah. It was just a sort of like, what are these people expecting? Um, so it was like a sort of, I can't remember. I think I wove it into my first, uh, Edinburgh hour being like, this is how I met my partner. Um, and yeah, it just turns into love and it's like, I mean, it's, it's silly. Actually, do you know what? Funnily enough, I've recently been thinking, cause I think with Edinburgh shows, you get rid of material so quickly.

[00:12:24] Sometimes I think I really liked that song. Is it still relevant 10 years later? Well, newsflash it is. Yeah. You're still thinking about it. I love that. Yeah. Cause there's a lot of that. Cause yeah. And then when you actually, cause when you confront them, they will become completely silent. Yeah. That's it. If you're like, let's go. Come on. They'll be like, oh, didn't mean it. Didn't mean it. Not allowed.

[00:12:53] These songs that, um, that you've done, like the Oye Titsney Emoji, Emoji song and. Going back a long time. Oh yes. Yeah. I mean, I'm going back to even like the Lana Del Rey Princess Peach. I think that was 15 years ago. Wow. So, I mean, did you kind of, what sort of. What sort of comes first? Is it like the, the sketch idea or the song idea? How do you sort of like put it together as it were? I think, so actually in those days.

[00:13:23] Um, so I did news review. Um, so I, I, I wanted to do musical theater and then I did news review and then that's when I sort of went into comedy. And I put it in because of the musical side of things. That's where I sort of started writing my stuff. And, and it was always, I'd always, I just would think of someone that people were talking about a lot. And I think, and I'd go, okay, what, what song would fit that in some way? Yeah. And then I'd, I'd work it out.

[00:13:53] So I think, God, I can't remember it was so long ago, but I remember being like, I remember around the Royal Wedding being like, I want to do something with Kate Middleton and I wanted to, you know, make it relevant to the, to the wedding. And, and at the time I wasn't writing my own songs. So it was a question of, you know, parodying an existing song. And, and then I just, and I was very much into Jay-Z at the time. Um, and I remember just going, ah, I've got 99 problems, but a Prince ain't one. That's a nice sort of hook. Yeah.

[00:14:23] And so then I went, I just went with that. And I actually think I did minimal character work in those videos. They weren't deep explorations into the characters. They were very much like a sort of, this is what we see. And I, I would layer the writing so that, you know, it's like, hopefully I'd like to think that it was kind of, if you didn't know who it was I was talking about, it was funny still. Um, if you did know, um, then you'd like, there was a bit more, you go, ah, yes, I remember

[00:14:53] when Cheryl Cole got malaria or whatever. And then I like to put stuff in for like the big fans where there was like little things that only they would get as well. So in that respect, there was depth in maybe the writing that there wasn't in the, in the character design. You were doing the Marvel thing. Yeah. Of hiding all the. Sorry. I think we're giving, I don't know. I just recently watched the new, um, Captain America and I say that I watched half of it. I can't believe how bad the script's got.

[00:15:18] But so, um, to say, to say that there are, there are, there are depths in that these days. I'm not so sure. That's why I love those. Um, oh, it's not considered part of the Marvel universe, but the into the spider verse films. Great. Yeah. They're so good. And they've just got the right level of everything. Yeah. Yeah. I'm just actually trying to bring, I'm trying to get my daughter to watch the first one. Really? I think she's the right level. She's five. I think that's fine. Isn't it?

[00:15:48] It's not like super violent. No. She'll like spider ham. Exactly. Wait a minute. I haven't seen that. He's in the first one. You know, the sort of porky pig spider man. No, I don't, I don't, I don't think we're talking about the same thing. I'm talking about the, um, the one that's animated in the really, um, really ridiculous way. And it's Marlboro Alice. Really ridiculous way. But it's like a little, a young kid. Yeah. What is porky? Have I just, I might have just had a brain fart or? There's, there's, um, there's a character called spider ham. Who is, uh, funny. How do I know?

[00:16:16] Like a spider man pig and your daughter will love, will love that. I'm not sure. I've watched all of it now. Uh, I really confidently was like, yeah, absolutely great. I don't think that I've ever seen that in my life. I think, do you know what this could have been? I think this is going to be, I started watching it, really enjoyed it and then just stopped and never carried on. Which happens a lot when you're a parent. You should finish it and watch the next one. Cause they're, it's really good. What's the next one called? Uh, across the spider verse.

[00:16:43] See, I thought I, I'm very tired. Across the spider. Yeah, no, I haven't seen that. Okay. Yeah, no, it's, it's great. But, um, uh, go, go back to comedy. That's all right. No. Um, you said before that you, um, you did it differently than how you would write songs and come up. So how do you do it now? So then I was just like, what's a bit fun?

[00:17:10] Um, now it's more, I guess I try and think about things that are genuinely. So again, I'm going to have to go back a bit. So before I had children and I would do my shows, I was very much like, okay, what's the things that I actually want to talk about? What are things I care about? What are things that I think I could make a decent point about while being funny? And so it was things, you know, like catcalling and, and, um, I did a song about the, the pay,

[00:17:38] um, the gender pay gap. Um, and, you know, just sort of a lot of, I guess, gender politics stuff. Um, and that, yeah, that came from a sort of feeling of, um, well, I want, you know, I want to, I want to feel like I'm saying something. I really love, I love silliness for silliness's sake, but I also like it mixed with, if you're like, you think I'm being silly, but actually I'm saying a teeny tiny something.

[00:18:08] But then since having children, I feel like I have absolutely nothing interesting to say. And the only songs I've written since then have been, um, well, your white woman with a buggy. Yeah. Yes. Thank you for that. Which I had a little cameo in. Starring Parton. I was like, all right, Nicky obsessed with Alex. Like there was someone that you barely saw, but we saw a lot of you. No, you were great. Thank you for that. Um, yeah. So that's obviously just comes from total, just experience. And I guess, yeah, you do, you do see the funny in it and you go, that could be funny.

[00:18:37] You know, a lot of people have seen themselves in that. Out of the way, find another route. I've a baby, therefore I am more important than you. Get out my way, cause I've reproduced. I'm a woman with a brand new bugaboo. And I'm coming through. Excuse me. White woman with a buggy. But yeah, when I think back to some of the other songs that I've written since, it's not,

[00:19:03] it's just, um, actually, no, I did write one recently that I thought I had a point with, but I tried it live. It didn't land. So I need to work that one out. Um, but it's a song called Sneaky. And it was off the back of that terrible, um, CNN did this report about, off the back of Giselle Pellicott's case. Um, they looked into what they called an online rape academy, which was basically, um, a place where,

[00:19:32] it was a website where people could go for tips of how to, to drug, um, and rape your spouse. What? Yeah. I can't remember if you didn't hear about this. And it had something like 83 million hits one month or 63 or something incredibly high. Oh. Yeah. And so it was this thing of like, oh Jesus, like that is so, that is so many. And so I did a song off the back of that because again, cause I was like, okay, I can't believe these statistics.

[00:20:00] Um, and I still, I don't know. Like, so yeah, the idea, I did a song called Sneaky and it was talking about all the sneaky things that me and I asked some of my friends, what's some of the sneaky things you do behind your partner's back? And it's things like pretending things are from Vinted when they're not, or like, um, you know, putting, like I put makeup on the big shop and so therefore. Yeah. I think, I think I did see, you did this, you did this in a video, didn't you? Quite recently. Yeah. I did. Yes, I did see that. I did see that. I, I don't know how I missed the story. It was.

[00:20:30] Hey, I missed Spider-Ham. So maybe, um. You're right. Two culturally important stories. You, that's it. Very end. So it comes out of nowhere. It's all like, this is fun. And then it's all like, but here's what we don't do. And then it was like a link to the thingy and, and it's, yeah, I don't know. Totally. I kind of, I remember I used to think that I like people engaging with something they don't realize they're always engaging with,

[00:20:57] particularly like in comedy audiences when like in some clubs and I don't do loads of clubs at the moment, but you know, you'd be like, if you started talking, if you started talking about that, then people would be like, go a certain way. But if you kind of sneak it in. Yeah. Um, then it's, you know, it's kind of too late and it's potentially sometimes, you know, the sort of shock factor of it makes you think about it more. But I did try it live once and the very abrupt ending didn't work.

[00:21:26] And people are like, what are you doing? That's dark. Oh, I see. Okay. Like, so that's something that at the time, I guess I made it off the back of that. It could, it could, and it can exist as that still. But like, I think the majority of the song is just dumb shit that I, the lies I tell to my husband and partner that are all completely harmless. That could just be a standalone song now where it's just that, that it's just a song that doesn't mean anything necessarily.

[00:21:56] Sure. But it is, it's, it's great if you can sneak in. I think so. Like, especially something like that. People that might, people like me might not know about. Yeah. But you obviously didn't make it to the end. And look, no judgment. No judgment. I, I, what's it called? Into the Spider-Verse. I obviously didn't make it past the first 10 minutes of that, but yeah, I was still there confidently going, oh, those films are great. Those films are great. Yeah. But the difference is I don't have a, I don't have a kid. True. Yeah. What's your excuse?

[00:22:26] What are you doing? What is my excuse? Um, trying, trying, trying, trying to survive in, in London as a freelancer. Yeah. That's rough. Well done. You're doing it. So you've, you've started doing live, live comedy again. I've just started doing live comedy again, um, in the last couple of months really. And I've been like very, very slowly, slowly. Cause I just, I'm so sick of all my old stuff. I want to write new stuff.

[00:22:54] And the process of that is a bit tricky. Um, cause I don't play instruments. So I have to, I have to use someone else to make my tracks for me. And I've been using someone for 15 years who I love, who's brilliant, but he's very busy. So, um, yeah, just the process of writing them, having, getting the beat made so that I can make sure everything works over and then gigging them, working out what doesn't work, going back to my music, man.

[00:23:21] Um, you know, it, it takes a while, but the last, um, last weekend I did a few gigs. Do you do, have you been to angel comedy? That was where I did. That was where I did my first ever standup gig. Was it? Yeah. Oh, how was that? 2014. I mean, it was probably the best gig I've ever had. Um, I didn't even know you did stand up. I did like for a bit, for a little bit because I did angel and it went so unbelievably well. I was just like, Oh my God. And people coming up being like, it's like your first ever gig.

[00:23:50] Oh my God. And then I, because I was still living in Brighton at the time, it was like, I was commute, commute, commuting. I couldn't afford to do it every day. Like you pretty much have to with stand up. Yeah. And every gig I did afterwards, just, I don't know, I just didn't really vibe with it. And then I started moving into sketch and character and I vibed with that much more. And I felt that was a circuit I could kind of dip in and out of. Yeah. Yeah, totally.

[00:24:20] But angel comedy were brilliant. I really love their gigs. Um, and it's funny. And I remember I used to do them a lot, but I've, you know, I've just come back and on Saturday they, so they have like two minimum two gigs at the Bill Murray and then they have one or more at the Camden Head, which are down the road. So I had like seven o'clock at Bill Murray, eight o'clock at Camden Head and then nine o'clock at Bill Murray, three sets, just 10 minutes. Yeah. In one, in one evening. Yeah.

[00:24:48] It's only, they're only 10 minute sets, but they do that. They sort of get you to work basically. And it's really funny because you can do, so I did a slightly different set first with an old song and then I was like, I can't do this song anymore. So I went to the Camden Head and I was like, you know what? I'm going to do that. I don't think I've ever done before. I'm going to do a gig without a song. I'm just going to do stand up for 10 minutes. And it went really well. And a lot of it was like new, which I shouldn't say because you're not supposed to do new at these gigs. But a lot of it was like, it wasn't brand, brand new.

[00:25:14] Bits of it were brand new, but most of it was stuff that I'd done a cup, like a new material gig or whatever. And it was half there and it went really well. And I came back to the Bill Murray being like, this is going to be amazing because they film gigs at the Bill Murray. I was like, I'm going to have some lovely content here. And I went and I did the exact same material that had just done really well around the corner. And I died on my hole for 10 minutes. That's bizarre. It really is. It's very humbling. But it is.

[00:25:42] And everyone said, like the guy that was on before me, who's brilliant, he was like, I hated every second of that as well. Like you just, it's funny because when you're doing doubles or triples or, you know, and you're doing the same material and that happens, you just remember that it's all such a ridiculous gain that it's just, obviously you want to believe that the people that laughed are great audience members and know what they're talking about and the other ones aren't. But who's to say that's what the way around it is. That is so tricky. Yeah. But it's the same, I guess with any gigs, you know, you have like, particularly in Edinburgh

[00:26:11] when you're doing the same thing and some days it's brilliant and some days it's terrible. But when it's literally half an hour apart, you're like, what? Yeah, that, that is a bit, that is a bit of a head fog. And that was in Camden Head. Is that the, is that the L shaped? Yeah, kind of. It's like a corner stage. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And I've always, I'd always had better gigs at Bill Murray than there, but I had a really nice one there and then Bill Murray. Wow. I wanted to, I wanted to die. No, that's, that's funny. I walked in and I saw, do you know Tom Parry?

[00:26:42] Yes. Yeah. So I have, I used to work with Tom on and off bits. I feel like we did quite a lot, 10 years, you know, we'd bump into each other on jobs and things. Yeah. And I really like him and he was there and he's had such great time. He was on, you know, he's on SNL now. Yeah, of course. He's on the directors and, and I saw him and he was there for someone's gig afterwards that he was directing. And I was like, oh mate, I just had a really great gig around the corner. Watch because, you know, I think I'm going to have a good one. And then he just watched me eat shit for 10 minutes. Oh God.

[00:27:11] He was very kind about it, but you know, it's just. Well, he, he probably knows. No, not even probably. He knows what it could be like. Especially like, it's just such luck of the draw. It is. The one thing that's great about being a mum now is that I just don't care. Like, I think 20, you know, two years ago rather. No, not two. How old was my old? Five or six years ago, if I'd have had a gig like that, I'd have thought about it for weeks. Yeah.

[00:27:40] And now I only see it as kind of funny. So like, it's sort of like you just have to shake it all off and go home and get on with it. So in that respect, it's good. It's good perspective. Yeah. But yeah, like you say, you have to just keep doing it, don't you? With stand up and you can't. It's an evening gig and I find that's very hard to do with young children. Well, we, oh yeah. Especially when people seem to have to do it almost every day of the week. And then in the mornings they have to get up and edit all the content online. Oh yeah. Well, I mean, that's, yeah.

[00:28:10] I mean, it's the thing. Like, I don't, I, you seem to so much have to do everything but your own like one person camera crew. Exactly. And like little trailers and little teasers and it's exhausting. It's, it's such a lot of work. And I just, you know, you have to be at a point where you can either have someone to do it for you or you don't have anything else to do, which is great. But you know, hard. Yeah, that's it. Hard.

[00:28:55] To isolate with any TV comedy character, who would it be? Oh, Dwight Schrute. Okay. He is a practical man. I feel like I'd, I'd learn a lot. We'd be, he'd be able to get us out of there. He'd be able to, well, I guess it's more like he's, if we had to isolate, sorry. So what's the context? Why are we isolating?

[00:29:19] Um, well, I mean, at the time this, I was making this podcast in 2020, so it was definitely lockdown, but it's just stuck. It's just like, I like it. Yeah, I think I would like to go to shrewd farms and isolate with him. And I feel like, because then you've got a lot, you know, you've got a lot of outdoor space. Um, you've got animals, you know, so it doesn't feel like it's just you. And I feel like he would be, yeah, very practical and a lot of fun.

[00:29:49] And maybe he'd let me do intercourse on him. I'm not sure. But I feel like, um, I feel like, um, he was quite random. I mean, you are, you are like locked down for like, you know, the foreseeable. So, I mean, and he talks a lot about, you know, his seed and wanting to carry it forward. And yeah, I think you could do with worse people to breed with. I think, I think the thing is with his, I wouldn't expect much either.

[00:30:14] I think if you were like, if I was going to go for someone like Jim Halpert, who's like a nice guy, he would, he would start annoying you in ways you weren't expecting. Whereas I think with Dwight Street, you know what you're going to get. Um, and I think he'd be really happy if I was like, I just need some space. Can you not talk for a while? I think he'd be happy to just, if you literally said, can you just turn around and stare at that wall for 60 now? I think he'd do it. Um, so that is my answer without having thought about it at all. So that's a good one. And I think the fact that you, you know, you instinctively thought of that. Yeah.

[00:30:44] Sort of count for something. Yeah. I think that's a good, it's. Trust my instinct. You're not, you're not, you're not a country girl at heart, are you? Or are you? No, I'm not particularly. I was born in London, but in a more rural area of it. Um, but I think there's something very romantic about the idea of getting back to nature. Mucking out a pigsty. Um. Yeah. The good life. Yeah, exactly. Letting it all hang out.

[00:31:16] To go way back. You were one of the first people I met in live comedy because you may or may not remember we met at. At the BBC. Uh, Jonathan. Jonathan. Yeah, it was a Jonathan Creek audition. Is that what it was? Jonathan Creek? Yeah, it was Jonathan Creek. That's weird. I thought it was a BBC comedy thing. No, that's the funny thing. It wasn't. It was the, the two people who I kept in touch with from that, or from that, uh, day was you and Kieran Hodgson.

[00:31:46] How funny. Wait, was that when? Yeah. Because I only remember auditioning for Jonathan Creek once. Had I just had, I mean, you won't remember this. Had I just had a wisdom tooth out? I think you had. Yes, you did. Yes. Now you, now you mention it. Yeah. I remember the room. I remember the waiting room, which is why I thought it was, um, comedy. How funny. And I, I had to, my job was to look after the talent. And you did. And you still are.

[00:32:16] Yeah. That's so funny. Did you, did you work in casting for a while or? No, not at all. That was a one-off like job I did just because I've worked in production and development. It's been one of those, I go where the work is. Yeah. I've just kind of built up a CV of where at the, at the time people looked at my CV and they go, Oh, it looks like you don't really know what you want to do because you've done so much. And now it's more a case of like, Oh good. You can do all this stuff. It is useful. Yeah.

[00:32:45] But, uh, when we met, you told me that was where I first heard about News Review. Oh really? That I like, you know, try and write off to them and try and, you know, get some stuff and everything. Cause you, did you start out in News Review? Yeah. I guess so. Yeah. Yeah. I was still trying to make it a musical theatre before that. And I've told the story before. So, um, I may have told it to you, but I was, I used to date a guy. Did we live near there? No. No.

[00:33:11] For some reason we were having dinner in Morrick Avenue, uh, across from where News Review is. And he was like, Oh, there's a really funny show there. And I'm like, what is it? And he told me about it cause I hadn't heard of it. I was like, that sounds great. I'm going to do that. Like musical, but funny. He's like, don't be silly. You're not funny enough. And I was like, Oh nice. Okay. Um, and then I went and made sure I found an audition and got the job and then I broke up with him.

[00:33:36] Um, but, um, yeah, apparently people with ADHD, um, can be very motivated by spite. Oh, okay. How I know that. Yeah. It's apparently like if, if someone bets against you, it's one of the best ways to get you to actually do something. All right. So at the end of this, I've got to be really horrible to you. Bet your podcast isn't going to amount to shit, Jenny. That kind of thing. Lynch out. Yeah, exactly. Um, not really.

[00:34:07] Um, so yes, exactly. Um, that's, and that's where I start. And that's where I started. And because they have like the, it's topical. So it changes, changed all the time. And there was only so many writer submissions coming in that worked and we were kind of forced to write our own stuff. And that's the first time I'd ever written. And I was like, Oh, I could, I can do this a bit. That's fun. Wow. How did you deal with the topical, the topical elements? How did you deal with having to change it so much and so quickly? Fine. Cause I was in my twenties and my brain was really quick.

[00:34:36] If I could, I don't know if I'd be able to do it now. Um, I don't know. It's, it's, it's quite, I mean, a lot of it looking back was very distasteful. Like I think cause you're particularly cause you're new and you're doing that thing kind of that the manosphere boys do, I guess, where they think they're being all edgy. Um, and you're like actually just being offensive and not that funny. And, but you kind of think, uh, you know, you're still kind of developing your taste

[00:35:04] and your, you know, your ideas of what, what's funny. Um, and I kind of went with most things, but then I did it the year after in Edinburgh. And I remember being more outspoken and being like, I'm not saying that I'm not doing that. And I haven't seen it for years, but I think it's still going strong. Like it's great for like developing your comedy muscles, I guess. And, you know, and it's just a lot of fun. It's like, it's, it's very chaotic and silly. And, um, you know, I imagine like for a long time, my, my dream job was SNL.

[00:35:34] Um, and it was kind of like a, like a sort of teeny tiny version of that maybe with like 30 people in the audience and absolutely no stakes whatsoever. Who did you do it with? Who was in your team? So in, I did it a couple of times. And so I can't, I'm not sure if I remember the right way around, but I did it with Brendan Murphy. Is that how you both met? Yeah, that's how we met. We've been friends since. Yeah. Um, and a girl called Emily Murphy the same year who I, who is a really good improviser.

[00:36:02] I'm not sure if she still, um, does sketch and character. I don't think she does, but I think she improvises. She's great. And then the second time when I went back to Edinburgh, I did it with Oliver Izod, who is also became a best friend. Yeah. So, um, yeah, I make two really brilliant friends for me actually. That's great. Yeah. I mean, funnily enough, my, um, the first ever Edinburgh Fringe show I saw, I went up in 2014 and the first show I ever saw at the Fringe was you and Brendan.

[00:36:32] Uh, hello. Oh gosh. And it's, it's, it's funny. So Brendan's been on the podcast and we talked about that and he said, uh, he said, my understanding is that, um, it was hell for Jenny. Yeah. I hated that year so much. So, so much. It was so under worked. Brendan's the kind of guy that can just sort of be like, ah, it would be fine. It'd be fine.

[00:36:59] I need, well, particularly then I needed to know exactly what I was saying and doing. It was so bad. It was like these characters and it was the worst. We had a really terrible room for it. It was like a mobile phone shop. That was a mobile phone shop. I remember it was a weird, it was quite a weird space and you were doing like, it was a TV, a TV studio. Yeah. Yeah. And it was really, it was quite adventurous and it was just not the right end that we had these teeny little wing space to change in our wigs and things.

[00:37:29] And every time we went off to change and we came back, someone else had left. It was so bad. Oh no. It was like the audience were like, oh quick, they can't see us go, but you just see them coming. It was horrible. It was so horrible. And I remember just wanting to stop it because I wasn't having fun, but I liked Brendan so much. I didn't want to ruin our friendship. That was a rough year. Yeah. And he, I don't think he minds me saying that, but I do remember, and I hope he doesn't

[00:37:55] hate me for this, but because I'd had a decent year that I'd split an hour the year before with Jesse Cave. Um, and so I'd had some like people, nice people, a lot of industry had come into to watch that year. And I remember having some producers come in and I met them at the door and I said, please, please, can you not watch this? Oh God, really? Um, because I just, I just knew it wasn't, it would like, I think I couldn't fake it.

[00:38:23] I tried, I couldn't fake that I was having a nice time, which is kind of what you need to do with that kind of, you, if you're in the audience, if you know someone is having the worst time of their life, it's painful to watch. And I just, particularly by the end, I couldn't fake it because I would just be like, I remember going there being like, this is really fun. And then it started just going badly and it never got better and people kept leaving. And I think Brendan is a bit of an eternal optimist, bless him. And he was like, it's fine.

[00:38:50] Um, but I sort of get cold chills when I think about it. Oh God, what did, when did you get the idea to do a show together? Like was the rehearsal process and everything all like really fun or was it kind of tricky from the, from the off? No, we had a lot of fun together. I think that's why we, that's why we did it. We were like, we definitely, we really wanted to work with each other. We had loads of fun together. We made each other laugh, but I think both of us were quite, particularly then, like Brendan's incredible now the way he like does these sort of one man shows that are like so detailed

[00:39:17] and he like writes them all like he's brilliant and I'm so impressed by what he's done. But at the time, I think we were both like, oh yeah, these are our ideas. We don't know how to sit down and actually make them happen, but we're just going to talk about them. So it was like, we all, we, we probably needed a director is what we needed, I think. And then we'd have actually maybe had a nice time. And we did, and do you know what? We did have a nice time. I remember, you know, counting our money up at the end and then just spending it all on drinks. So it was fine, but it was.

[00:39:45] I really, I say I really, I really enjoyed it. Thank you. That's crazy. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, I remember there was, there was a, there was a bit we did, we tried to make it multimedia. So we had a screen, but again, it was like not the venue. So it was just like this teeny little projector. And there was a scene where one of them had to pretend to go. I had to pretend to go down. Like one of our characters, I had to pretend to go down on Brendan and Brendan always wanted, I always wanted the show to be cancelled because

[00:40:14] I just couldn't bear it because like, it was such low numbers and people coming on the whole didn't like it. And I remember once there was a day where it was just a family of four and there were two kids and they were like, is it suitable for children? I was like, not really. And Brendan was like, yeah, it's fine. He's like, there's only, it's only a bit of suggested something. And then I just remember, and it was, we just performed this to four,

[00:40:41] you know, a family of four. And then I remember just looking at the mother while she was watching that video. I don't think they left actually, but I did. So that's a plus. Yeah. I think there's something about leaving. I think if you're going to leave someone's show, have the guts to do it while they can see you. Don't try and sneak out when you think they're there otherwise. Like I might not notice, you know, there's only eight people

[00:41:08] in the audience. You're going to notice if two of them leave. Oh God. Yeah. That, oh, that is harsh. A long time ago now. Yeah. Well, um, if I'm not dredging up too much past and terrible times, um, I would like to talk about your sketch pilot. Oh my gosh. Okay. Is that something you're happy to talk about or is that, am I? No, it's actually something I'm happy to talk about. I think I've talked about it before on a podcast when I've talked about how I regret

[00:41:37] playing some of those roles. I, I played Nicki Minaj and at the time it's because I thought I did a really good vocal impression of her and we were like, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not changing my skin color. I am not, you know, I'm not making it about race. I'm just doing it as a sort of, this is me doing Nicki Minaj. Wasn't the right thing to do though. I realized that now and I apologize for that. Um, same with, I guess, Prince. I won't apologize for playing Peter Andre.

[00:42:03] That was brilliant. Um, I mean, did you, did you get first, how did it sort of come about? But also did you get total control over it being the star and the main writer and everything or where you sort of pulled in different directions by people and trying to remember? It was a really quick project. I, and I remember they had given, they'd had, God, this is such a long time ago,

[00:42:29] but they'd had a certain budget and then suddenly someone said, Oh, I don't like, you know how they would do like those eight or nine different pilots. And I think someone would go, Oh, you don't have any girls. And so they went, Oh shit. And so they'd maybe got me in last minute and I didn't get the full budget. So it was like, yeah. But I had a producer called Richard Webb, who was brilliant and director Al Campbell, who you might know as Barry Shippies. Um, and it was great. It was really fun. And they did, they did listen to me. I did, I get, you know, no one, I remember there was some,

[00:42:59] there was some, um, legal stuff. I couldn't, that they, that someone at BBC was like, we can't say this. You can't say that. You can't imply that Beyonce smoking meth. And I was like, that's a shame. It was quite a funny bit, but you know, I shouldn't have been playing Beyonce. Um, so, um, on the whole, it was kind of, I had pretty much free reign. I wasn't allowed a goat. I remember wanting a goat for a Mumford and Sons sketch. Oh, is that the one with Miley Cyrus and Mumford and Sons? I loved that.

[00:43:29] Gold milk's fermented, the bonfires are like, the bottle is ready to spin. The cocktails are blended, but it's nearly midnight. Someone should surely come in. Looks like I'm partying all on my own. No one to talk to but me.

[00:43:58] I thought nine will... Yeah, I think at the time it was, it was rushed. I remember being like, this isn't my best stuff. And I remember knowing that, but I still felt like, you know, I think at the time I thought we were doing, we did a decent job with what we had, but yeah, I wouldn't, I wouldn't play it to anyone now. I wouldn't be like, you want to see what I can do? Do you want to see me? You want to see me play Nicki Minaj? No, I don't. Did you map out like a series at the time? No. Or were you very much

[00:44:27] like, this is definitely a pilot? Definitely a pilot. I don't think we ever thought it would have to get a series. Really? But yeah, it was, you know, it was fun. I think it was fun to do. It was such a long time ago. It was fun to do. And yeah, it's the, you know, it's the first time I've had an only time in many ways where I've gone, I want to do this. And they're like, okay, well, let's see how we can make that work. You know, that's quite nice. I guess I didn't really know

[00:44:55] what I wanted to do then either. You know, I think so many great sketch people and sketch groups did it at university. You know, they'd been writing sketches since they were like 18 or something. Sure, sure. And I feel like I do love sketch and character and stuff, but it's not like cut me and I bleed character comedy. Like you, maybe. It's funny because I remember when I asked you to do this and you were quite reluctant. But yeah, when I, it's just because you've done so

[00:45:24] much sketch. I guess in the part, but I mean, we are going back. None of this, none of this is particularly topical at the moment, but that's fine. So leave me alone. Leave me alone. I just want to party alone. I have the music so deep up inside

[00:45:41] me. I don't need nobody. Oh no. We don't need nobody. No, no. Let's go back even further to when you were growing up. What was the comedy that you grew up with? And were you always like making little comedy songs? Like when you were, when you were a kid or anything? Um, yes I did. Uh, so I mainly would watch Vic and Bob and Shooting Stars. That was like my go-to.

[00:46:08] Nice. I just thought it was the funniest stuff in the world. So, um, and I still do really. Bob Morton was just the fun. Oh God, I love him so much. Um, so yeah, I guess I would make up. I was, I was always really into musical theatre. So I, you know, I was, there was a lot of singing and dancing. Um, it was funny actually. I, it's something that I do with my daughter a lot is like, obviously I just make up songs or I change the words to songs that she knows to be something, you know, about poos and farts or whatever. And she, she said to me, I said, she said, mommy,

[00:46:38] you're really good at making up songs. I was like, thank you so much. That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me. Um, and she goes, it's just, ah, I'm like, thanks. Because she doesn't understand. Like when I say I've got to go to work, she thinks, I don't know why she thinks that I work. Oh, it's because about four, three, four years ago, I did a bit of temping, um, for a private doctor. Cause I used to do a lot of private PA stuff, uh, medical secretary when I was, when I was doing things like Edinburgh and news review, I was mixing all that with, I worked

[00:47:07] for a brain, a bunch of brain surgeons as PA. Um, so she just thinks I work with a doctor now all the time and I don't bother correcting her because I just, I don't know how to describe that on what I do for a living, stand on stage and sing songs and tell jokes. Cause then she'd be like, go on, then tell me a joke. I'd be like, well, no, it doesn't work like that. I mean, I, I, it's not just, you know, you've got grown people that still do that. Yes. True. Fully grown adults that still do that. Like, yeah.

[00:47:35] So it's, it's, it's, it's funny actually. Like I don't, I remember so little of my childhood, particularly now that I'm living someone else's childhood, I guess, because it's just maybe, God, I don't remember if we did that. I don't remember if we did that, but it's, it is, parenting is so hard, but I guess, and I, one of the things that I know I am good at is, is silliness and yeah. Dicking about making up stupid songs and dances. And in some ways it's like, Oh great. This is, this is, you know, I am terrible at making sure all the laundry's done

[00:48:03] or that everyone's getting a nutritious dinner, but I can do, I can do the really stupid stuff. Um, and they like that, I guess. So yeah, I'm seeing it. I'm seeing it in her. She, she's always making up songs and stuff. And, and, um, my mom said that my mom said that we did. I remember I used to, we used to do dance routines more than anything, but that's, I think all teenage girls ever. Like, I don't know if, if, if you speak to someone my age

[00:48:31] and they tell you they didn't make up Spice Girls routines, they're lying. Um, so yeah, I think it's funny cause my kids are funny. Like they genuinely are funny. I know everyone thinks that, Oh my God, my child's so funny. They just, like they can tell if you laugh at something that, you know, I think it's quite a natural kid thing. They just go for more of it. But I think my partner and I, you know, one of the things that got us together and has kept us together is we, you know, make each other laugh. And so I think humor is quite

[00:48:59] a high currency in our household. So then I think the kids really aim for it. Um, it is, it is, I guess it is nice, but I wouldn't let them go near it for, I mean, it's not, it's not to me, it's up to them, but I would hate for them to get into it professionally in the future. Cause yeah, you hear that is really lovely. It's quite nice, but it's like, it's funny, isn't it? You hear those things from people like, Oh, they always knew that's what they wanted to do. But it's hard because I think kids are just natural show offs on the whole.

[00:49:28] So it's sort of like, how much is like that? Is it an actual calling and how much is it just a never growing up and how much is it stubbornness as well? Like if you say you want to do something, it's seven years old, then at some point, you know, you're like, well, no, I said I was going to be a singer and dancer. I still have to be. As you say, like the good thing is you're not like forcing them into anything. You're not saying like, so it's, if they do find that,

[00:49:54] then it's like, do you know, um, do you know, do you remember the beta males? Yeah. Yeah. So Richard and John Henry both have, uh, children. Um, and like John Henry's got three and Richard's got two with a third on the way. And, um, when the, when the L, when the oldest of each of them, because they were born around the same time, um, there's this kind of like running joke of like, yeah, they're going to form a sketch group together. Oh, what comes after beta Delta,

[00:50:24] the Delta dudes, the Delta dudes. I'll have to tell them that. Yeah. Seven pounds. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Um, but the, the last thing to talk about, and I never got to see this, but was it Jenny B the musical? Yeah. You took that to LA. I mean, that's a really great way of putting it. I did a couple of gigs in LA with it. Yeah. But I took it to LA sounds really impressive. I think, I think that is, you did the show in LA. You took it to LA. I think that is legit. And I took it to

[00:50:52] New York comedy festival as well. Wow. How did, how, how was all that? Do you know, that's the one show. That's the one thing that I'm like, I'm really proud of still. Like I think with lots of my other shows, I'm like, I can pick them to pieces. Jenny B the musical was the most fun show I ever did. And it's funny because I remember at the time I was, I really didn't like the fact I did music. I found it like I had this sort of real imposter thing that's like, Oh, I'm not a proper comedian because I do music and I'm constantly trying to be like other standups or this, that or the other. And suddenly

[00:51:20] I was just like, Oh, do you know what? I'm stuck with who I am. This is what I do. And why, what about if I, instead of working against it, I try and embrace it. So I was like, okay, I'm going to double down on this musical theater kid in me. And, um, I wrote this show called Jenny B the musical and it was, yeah, it's the most successful show I've done. I, Charlie Dinkin helped, uh, she directed it. Oh yes. He was brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. And I really stand by it and it went, it went really well at Edinburgh actually. And it was, things were starting to go, Ooh, this

[00:51:49] is, this might take off. And then, and then COVID hit. Um, Oh God, was it around that time? 2019 I took it. Um, and it was, yeah, but I was lucky cause I did like, yeah, I got to do it in the, I think the January, was it in LA or maybe the December? It was really fun cause it was, there were, there are a couple of characters in it actually. Um, but it was sort of talking about, talking about my time in a girl band at the same time as

[00:52:15] talking about like sort of parodying various musicals. Um, and you know, just weaving in anything else I wanted to talk about at the time. It was fun. It was a really fun one. Nice. Did you have a live, do you have a musician with you? No, I had tracks. Actually, that's one thing I'd love to do. Cause again, that's something that, um, cause when I actually, I got, by the time I got around to doing Soho, cause I was supposed to do it in 2019 and then, or 2020. And then I didn't. So by the time

[00:52:41] did it in Soho, it was like two years old and we had to update little bits of it. But I remember thinking, actually, this is one of those shows that is, that, that could be something that I could bring back. And yes, I would love to do it with a mini orchestra. Oh, wow. Do you think you will bring it back? Um, I feel like I could, you know, I don't know. I felt, uh, I think the structure of it was really fun and I actually think I could change the,

[00:53:07] so it was like structure around like eight or nine songs and with each song, most, a lot, some of them were written by themselves before I realized what I wanted to do with the format of the show. So yeah, I absolutely could. And I could change the songs around and do it. So yeah, that might be something that I revisit. I've all, I've said, I've, I definitely, it's annoying cause I feel like I've got a show in me at the moment, a new one, but I just, uh, Edinburgh is not financially possible with two small children.

[00:53:33] But I think also, I think a lot of acts have proven that you don't necessarily need, Edinburgh is no longer the be all and end all. No, I guess not. But then it's, but then you better be really good at socials and I'm not. Yeah, no, that's true. But I mean, I'm thinking of, um, I don't know, one woman show by Liz Kingsman that didn't go to Edinburgh. It did eventually. And then it won, I think, didn't it? Or it got nominated. But it had already done, it had already done runs elsewhere. That's true. Before it went to, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:54:03] Okay. I'll give her a call and say, how'd you do it? Tell me everything. But that's really cool. That would be cool though. Cause I mean, do you think that was your most ambitious show as well? Um, yeah, I guess so. I guess so. Is that there was a lot, there was a lot to cover and I think I did without it feeling like I was all over the place. So yeah. And I mean, yeah, a more ambitious version of it is with a band and I don't know, a choreographer.

[00:54:30] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, so yeah, let's see. All right. So this is the final section. It's called Chain-ja of Character. This name has been gifted to you by Jonathan Oldfield. Oh yes. And the name he has gifted you is David Tennant. And what do I have to do with that?

[00:54:59] So, um, tell me what, uh, what comes to mind when you hear the name David Tennant, who is not the David Tennant? Um, who is this character? I think David Tennant is a, is a man who's actually called David Smith and he knows he's got the most boring name in the world. So he's like, fuck this. I'm going to get it changed by deed poll to something a little more exciting. Um, and he absolutely lives for telling people his name is David Tennant. Not that one.

[00:55:31] Yeah. Does he, but does he not, um, I know I guess only equity would be a kind of, oh, you're not allowed to. Yeah. He's not an actor. Yeah. He's not an actor. What does he do? He sells bifocals. Okay. Yeah. He's actually, he's actually invented his own type of bifocals, um, where you can, you know how, when you, if you wear glasses, you have to have, um, you have to have your sun, if it's sunny outside and you have prescription sunglasses, you've got to have your other glasses

[00:55:57] on for when you go inside. He's, he's invented a kind of bifocal where it's sunglass at the top and normal glass at the bottom. So it's just an angle thing when you go into. Oh, I see. Yeah. Oh, so not like, it's not like you pull down one, uh, and lift up for another. That sounds better actually. I mean, you could do half, you could do half and half, but I think that might get a bit. Okay. Let's go maybe one eyes in the sun and one eyes not. Some might say that's a little reductive, but yeah.

[00:56:27] Yeah. No, you're right. No, your one was better. Let's do that. And, um, yeah. And they haven't taken off. He's been on Dragon's Den and look, what, what was it that got him there? The name thing. People took another look at his, his application. Oh dear. Because David Tennant's going to be on, wants to be on Dragon's Den. Um, but yeah, it's quite a boring man. Um, and he, um, he's, he's quite a big fan of David Tennant as well. Okay. Has he met David Tennant?

[00:56:55] Oh, has he met David Tennant? He has, um, he has. A cease and desist. It's not totally, it's not exactly that, but it's not far off. I'd say he tries to be like, so if, if, if they find out, cause he, he runs the David Tennant fan club. So if, if someone finds out that he's got, that David Tennant's in, what's he been in? Broadchurch. I was in

[00:57:21] Broadchurch. Um, and I can't remember where it was. I was there for a day. Maybe go with something a bit, uh, bit more recent. So rivals. Rivals. He's found out, where do they film rivals? Uh, Belfast. He's found out that David has been seen in a park in Belfast filming. He will go, he will go. Other, other people from the fan club will go as well, but he will kind of claim that he, uh, oh no, no, I'm

[00:57:48] not here just for that. It's just a coincidence. But you go, I'll say hello anyway, because oh, crazy story. You've got the same name, but it will happen one too many times that it's like clearly not an accident anymore. Yeah. And does David Tennant know that David Tennant is the head of the fan club? Uh, no, God, no, no, because he does that off. He does that under his original name. That's David Jones or David Smith. I can't remember who he said. Yeah, no, it was David Smith. Yeah. You, you know, you can't, I mean, it's a very,

[00:58:16] it's a very, very boring name. And I mean, if that, and so he's trying to trade off that. So with the bifocals thing, is he still trying to push that or is he just like, is he trying to invent something else? Like, is he trying to kind of, because at the moment it's like he is known for being David. If he is known, he's known for being David Tennant. Is he trying to make a name for himself with something else so that he can kind of stop having his

[00:58:43] thing be I'm David Tennant? No, because he chose that for himself. So really the bifocal thing is just a, it's it, look, it's a sunk costs thing at this point. He had the idea and he thought it was great and he put all his money into it. Um, and it hasn't worked out. So he's really just like, at this point, that's all I've got. I've got that at the fan club. The fan club he's never done for money. It's just been a thing for pleasure.

[00:59:05] So, um, really if he wants to, if he wants to avoid having to sell his house, um, and, and live, um, where would he live if he sold his house? With his mum and dad. Okay. His mum and dad are still around. They're very old. Um, but if he wants to avoid that, then he really needs to get the bifocal thing going, but he won't, he won't, he will move in with his mum

[00:59:34] and dad and then he'll just inherit their place when they go. So it's actually fine. It's fine. Happy ending. Happy ending. Um, but yeah, for David. And then when he dies, the obituary, um, will of course set off a scare to Dr. Who fans everywhere. People be like, I can't believe it. He was my favourite doctor. And then people go, Oh no, sorry. I've just seen it with the bifocal one. Yeah. The BBC news will, will put up the wrong

[00:59:59] picture. Yes. Exactly. Uh, quite the furore. Yeah. Right. So that is David Tennant. Thank you for that. Thank you, Jonathan Oldfield for that. So can you tell me the name you're going to pass on to my next guest? Yes. I'm it's big farmer Jake and I'm not telling you how to spell it. That's up to you guys. Great. So who is big farmer Jake? We shall find out on the next episode of out of character. In the meantime, Jenny, thank you so much.

[01:00:28] It's been lovely. Thanks so much. Pleasure. Thank you for bringing up the past. It has. It really has. Good luck in Edinburgh. Oh, what was it you're going to tell me? You were going to say something to me to motivate me? Oh yeah. Your podcast isn't going to amount to anything and really you should just stop doing comedy and, uh, and your hair is rubbish.

[01:00:51] Thank you so much. Okay, great. I can't wait to prove you wrong. See you in 10 years. Lynch out. Hello, this is Alex Lynch here. Thank you so much for listening to this episode and indeed

[01:01:20] other episodes if you have done. If you like the show, why not tell people about it? You could do this by either leaving a review on Apple, rating it on Spotify, shouting about it on social media, and then the old fashioned but probably most effective way of just telling people about it. Any support really does help push the show to more listeners and it also gives me a little less anxiety that I'm not wasting my life with my audio endeavours. Anyway, that's enough from me. Thanks again. Bye.