Reign with Josh Smith

HAPPY NEW YEAR BABES! I am back with a brand new series which hopefully will inspire you to start the new year by looking after yourself and your mental health, and in this episode Emily In Paris star Lucas Bravo joins me to motivate you. Lucas Bravo first got pulses racing when he landed on our screens playing Gabriel in the hit Netflix show back in 2020. In case you aren’t familiar with the show - FIRSTLY, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! - it follows social media exec Emily (played by the first ever queen to join Reign, Lily Collins) who moves to Paris to chase likes, love and sample some french delicacies namely, Gabriel and his dishes - wink wink! Now it’s back for a second season and it’s better than ever as it serves us the escapism we need so badly right now. If you have already binged the entire second season and you are missing Lucas already, don’t worry he’s going to be back on the big screen ASAP. This year he will star alongside Julia Roberts and George Clooney in Ticket to Paradise, Borat star, Maria Bakalova in The Honeymoon, AND Isabelle Huppert in Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. In this episode Lucas joins us from Australia where he is currently filming. He shares some wild stories from the set of Emily in Pairs - we all need a big night out out Ashley Park style (clearly) - and he also opens up about the life changing solo trip he took during a dark period of his life, where he travelled to Alaska and lived alone in the famous camper van from Into The Wild. Lucas also discusses how overnight fame and being ‘objectified’ has affected his body image and wellbeing. I always think it’s so incredible to hear a man in the public eye talk so honestly about his mental health - these are the kind of chats I have needed in my life for a long time. I truly think there couldn’t be a better way to kick off this series which celebrates looking after ourselves and our wellbeing so I hope you love this episode as much as I do. I hope you continue to listen and find the power to Reign in your own lives, too. And if you love this episode, please get in touch (follow me across social media @joshsmithhosts), I love hearing from you. Love, Josh xxx Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I am beside myself because we are joined by real life royalty… well almost… on this special episode, it’s the OG queen from Netflix’s The Crown, Claire Foy! I have been OBSESSED with Claire since she played my all-time favourite queen, Anne Boleyn in the BBC adaption of Wolf Hall but it was her iconic turn as Elizabeth II in The Crown that made her an international star. After starring in the first two seasons alongside previous Reign guest, Vanessa Kirby, Claire went on to win two Emmys, two SAG awards and a Golden Globe before turning her attention to the big screen, where she later won the prestigious Critics Choice ‘See Her’ award for pushing boundaries for women on screen. Now, after a three year break from the spotlight, Claire returns with the BBC Drama, A Very British Scandal which follows the 1950s divorce of Ian, the Duke of Argyll and Margaret, the Duchess of Argyll which became one of the brutal legal cases of the 20th century. During the case a double sexual standard was seen between the Duke and Duchess. Despite the Duke having numerous affairs, Margaret was vilified - in court and in the press - for her sexual appetite. And after the Duke forcefully accessed the Duchess’ private papers, he used an image of Margaret performing a sex act on a ‘headless man’ against her- becoming one of the first examples of modern day ‘slut shaming.’ The story is FASCINATING and if, like me, you wanted to know more immediately after watching the first episode, you can read about Margaret’s fascinating life here: https://www.tatler.com/article/mary-killen-on-the-duchess-of-argyll. Claire is also about to star in the new movie, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain which follows the life and mental health of Victorian cat artist, Louis, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Claire plays Emily Richardson who enters Louis’ life as the governess to his five sisters before they fall in love and marry, defying society standards at the time. What may seem like a cute biopic is anything but, it’s a beautiful and at times dark look at our mental health. Plus, Reign favourite, Aimee Lou-Wood also stars in the movie, so I thoroughly recommend you go and see it! I loved talking to Claire so much about her two latest projects in this episode, Claire opens up about her own mental health journey and how therapy helped her following a breakdown in her mid twenties. Claire also reflects on how becoming ill as a teenager - she had an operation to remove a tumour from her eye, and also suffered with arthritis meaning she spent long periods of time on crutches - has shaped the person she has become today. Plus Claire shares a very relatable sexist experience involving removal men and how she felt like she didn’t deserve the success she received for The Crown. I love what Claire has to say about the power of opening up to those around you and being your true self in front of friends (including the good, the bad and the ugly) so I hope this inspires you to talk honestly with the people you care about, because we all need each other more than ever, right?!? I really hope you continue to listen and find the power to Reign in your own lives, too. We will be back in the new year with a new season celebrating all things wellness! And if you love this episode, please get in touch (follow me across social media @joshsmithhosts), I love hearing from you. Love, Josh xxx Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Don’t say I don’t treat you to an audience with real life queens on this podcast because this week I have dropped three special episodes of Reign with the finalists of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK 2021! And for our final special episode we are joined by the fashion queen with the name to match, Krystal Versace! Krystal started doing drag at just 17 years-old, and now at still only 19, she finds herself as a finalist in Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK. And what a series it’s been for Krystal after multiple Ru Peter Badge wins and looks to make Naomi Campbell quake on the runway! In this episode Krystal opens up about the reverse ageism she has faced for being a queen at 19 and how the bullies who tormented her at school have ultimately empowered her to be the fierce queen who stands before us today. As someone who was bullied at school for my sexuality, so much of what Krystal said really stuck with me so if you are being bullied or have experienced bullying in your past I hope this episode helps you feel less alone, too. I really hope you continue to listen and find the power to Reign in your own lives, too. If you love this episode get in touch (follow me across social media @joshsmithhosts), I love hearing from you. Love, Josh xxx P.S Make sure you tune into the final of Ru Paul’s Drag Race this Thursday. May the best drag queen win! P.P.S Make sure you sashay to my Instagram page @joshsmithhosts to see the FIERCE look Krystal served while we recorded this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

(Drag) QUEENS your engines must be well and truly revved this week because I am dropping three special episodes with the finalists of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK 2021! And for our second helping of camp we are joined by the drag beast from the east, it's Ella Vaday. Ella Vaday is the desperate housewife of Dagenham and your local yummy mummy who was created by West End star Nick Collier just over two years ago after he featured in The Book of Morman and Wicked. Now Ella finds herself as a finalist in Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK after a snatch game playing the queen of the microwave Nigella Lawson and roasting judge Alan Carr like a Christmas turkey with her now infamous line, ‘Alan your teeth are so gappy it’s like your tongue is in prison.” On. The. Floor. In this episode amongst a heavy helping of ‘dirty, dirty dishes’ Ella opens up about how drag has allowed them to embrace their ‘feminine’ side after years of repressing it to appear more ‘masculine’ in order to be accepted and what drag has taught them about gender. I hope you love this episode as much as I did - I totally related to what Ella said about the pressures to ‘act’ masculine - and I really hope you continue to listen and find the power to Reign in your own lives, too. If you love this episode get in touch (follow me across social media @joshsmithhosts), I love hearing from you. Love, Josh xxx P.S Make sure you tune into the final of Ru Paul’s Drag Race this Thursday. May the best drag queen win! P.P.S Make sure you sashay to my Instagram page @joshsmithhosts to see the boobtastic look Ella served while we recorded this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

(Drag) QUEENS start your engines because I am dropping three special episodes with the finalists of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK 2021 today and we are starting with the queen of the huns, Kitty Scott-Claus! And this queen has a ‘alot alot’ of impressions SO get ready to hear the GC, Cilla Black and even a bit of Princess Diana. Honestly my face ached from laughing after recording this episode!Kitty’s drag journey kicked off when she was growing up in Birmingham, and after going to Drama School to study musical theatre she wasn’t interested in doing the ‘boy parts’ she wanted to be sassy with the costumes to match! Cue a career playing a pantomime dame up and down the country before Kitty met fellow Drag Race alumni, Cheryl Hole and was invited to be part of their drag group, Gals Aloud. Now Kitty finds herself as a finalist in Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK after a snatch game playing Gemma Collins, winning the ‘Fugly but Fashionable’ runway and as a girl band goddess she has even got to perform in front of the likes of Emma Bunton, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and got to meet Steps (minus her heroine Lisa Scott Lee)! In amongst a LOT of laughter in this episode Kitty opens up about how drag has helped her mental health, changed her relationship with herself and asks WHY is everyone so interested in her body image! Why shouldn’t she be the body confident queen she is?!?I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did - and laugh along the way too - and I really hope you continue to listen and find the power to Reign in your own lives, too. If you loved this podcast, get in touch (follow me across social media @joshsmithhosts), I love hearing from you. Love, Josh xxx P.S Make sure you tune into the final of Ru Paul’s Drag Race this Thursday - may the best drag queen win! P.P.S Make sure you sashay to my Instagram page @joshsmithhosts to see the high hair and high end look Kitty served while we recorded this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People of the world! Spice Up Your Life! Because Melanie C is the today's guest on Reign! We celebrate 25 years of the Spice Girls, and I think I have been her number one fan for that long! I can still remember my playground Spice Girls renditions with my other four spices - unfortunately I didn’t quite have the vocal range. The Spice Girls not only sold over 100 million records worldwide with they huge hits, but in a world where men still dominated our culture - especially in music - their message of ‘Girl Power’ taught an entire generation about feminism and kicked the patriachy in the balls - right where it needed it! Melanie went on to have a hugely successful solo career with bangers like I Turn To You, Never Be the Same Again, and When You’re Gone with Bryan Adams, selling 23 million records in the process. 2021 saw Melanie hitting the top ten with her self-titled album, showing that after three decades in the music business she is showing no signs of stopping, thank you very much! After recently appearing on Dancing With The Stars in the USA, Melanie joins me for a chat that has tears, laughter and a whole lot more. We talk about the sexism that Spice Girls dealt with during their career, the allegations surrounding Melanie’s sexuality after she cut her hair short when launching her solo career, and just how classy a night out with the Spice Girls was. Plot spoiler it involved a lot of cheap alcohol - that’s our kinda gals! Melanie also opens up about the body image issues that have affected her life and how her mental health left her contemplating whether life would be easier if she wasn’t around. PLUS get ready to join our campaign because Melanie reveals that Glastonbury would be the ONE event that would get all five of the Spice Girls back together. Get those placards and those wellies and let’s make this happen queens! I hope you love this episode as much as I do - it’s a real honour to be joined by such an ICON and I really hope you continue to listen and find the power to Reign in your own lives, too. If you love this episode get in touch (follow me across social media @joshsmithhosts), I love hearing from you. Love, Josh xxx P.S If you have been affected or would like more information about the issues raised in this podcast please visit anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk or mind.org.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Liar, Downton Abbey and Angela Black star, Joanne Froggatt joins me for this episode of Reign! Is there a TV show we haven’t been obsessed with which stars Joanne? The answer is NO! Since her breakout role playing the troubled teen Zoe in Coronation Street back in the late 90s, Joanne has become one of the most in demand TV actresses. The game changer in her career? Starring as Anna in Downton Abbey for six seasons and two movies, which made her a Golden Globe award winner and three-time Emmy nominee for her heartbreaking portrayal of the servant who is a victim of rape. Joanne went on to star in the TV thriller that EVERYONE talked about: Liar, which followed her character, Laura who goes on a blind date with Andrew (Ioan Gruffudd) and after being the victim of assault is not believed. If you haven’t watched it already, what ensues is not only edge of your seat drama but a close look at the way we approach victims of sexual assault in our society. From the same writers behind Liar, Joanne takes on the title role in a new ITV drama, Angela Black. It’s the story of a woman who looks like she has everything, but her huge house is in fact a prison, where she suffers domestic abuse. It’s a brutal portrayal of domestic violence that will, like the rest of Joanne’s roles, have everyone talking. In this episode Joanne talks about the harrowing accounts of domestic violence she heard whilst preparing for the role and how she looks after her own mental health whilst taking on such demanding roles. She also calls BS on the sexist questions people continuously ask women about age, when they are going to have children, and as a society we still judge women on ‘how their ovaries are doing’ - to quote Joanne herself. Isn’t it time we just minded our own business?!I really hope you continue to listen and find the power to Reign in your own lives, too. If you love this episode get in touch (follow me across social media @joshsmithhosts), I love hearing from you. Love, Josh xxxP.S If you have been affected or would like more information about the issues raised in this podcast please visit womensaid.org.uk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get ready to have Ellie Goulding’s vast array of bangers stuck in your head because the pop queen herself joins me for the latest episode of Reign! Ellie first burst onto the music scene back in 2009 and since then she’s released such hits as Burn, How Long Will I Love You and Love me Like You Do, which hit the number one spot in 70 countries. And because we love FACTS on this podcast - strap yourself in for more - Ellie has also secured three UK number one singles, three UK number one albums, sold 15 million albums and 102 million singles worldwide, AND has the most entrances on the Billboard Hot 100 chart by a female British solo artist this century. She’s been booked and she’s been busy, our Ellie. But achieving so much in the public eye can have it’s downsides as we talk about the mental health impact Ellie’s career has had - at different stages it left her ‘chasing extremes’ - and how away from the stage she's learnt to change the relationship she had with herself. Something we can all learn a lot from, and something Ellie also talks about in her new wellness book, Fitter, Calmer, Stronger - which, just like this episode - is full of epic advice. It even includes a HANGOVER CURE. FINALLY! One relationship that has certainly changed Ellie’s life is the one with her husband, which Ellie gets candid about. Ellie got married to Caspar Jopling in 2019 and in May this year gave birth to their son, Arthur. In this episode we also talk about how motherhood has affected her relationship with her body image. I really hope you continue to listen and find the power to Reign in your own lives, too. If you love this episode get in touch (follow me across social media @joshsmithhosts), I love hearing from you. Love, Josh xxx Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get ready for some screaming (literally) because Queen Addison Rae joins me for the latest episode of Reign! Last week I had the pleasure of sitting down with Addison Rae in front of a live audience in the middle of an incredible event with Pandora ME - which Addison is the face of. It was such an epic night and it was a 'pinch me' moment to chat to Addison in front of hundreds of people. I am so excited to be able to bring you this episode from the event - it was LIVELY!If you aren’t familiar with Addison already, she is a social media sensation who has gone from being a competitive dancer and studying at college to 84.8 million Tik Tok followers, 40.1 million Instagram followers and 4.8 million Twitter followers in just under TWO YEARS. Addison has since seen her take on acting, starring in the world wide Netflix smash He’s All That - she’s just signed a multi film deal with the streaming service, too - and launching her own beauty brand, Item Beauty. We talked about everything from identity to social media, and Addison addressed those rumours about being permanently banned from TikTok - turns out she may have manifested the ban herself! Addison also opens up about therapy, looking after her mental health, and how she deals with internal and external criticism. I love what Addison says about being her own best friend and ally, and I am definitely taking a leaf out of her book and learning to talk to myself more kindly after listening to her. There is so much epic life advice in this - so much so that my friend even CRIED in the audience listening to us chat, so get ready to wear that crown with pride. I really hope you continue to listen and find the power to Reign in your own lives, too. If you love this episode get in touch (follow me across social media @joshsmithhosts), I love hearing from you. Love, Josh xxxP.S I am so proud that this episode of Reign with Josh Smith is brought to you thanks to my friends at Pandora because their new collection, Pandora Me, is all about embracing who you are and celebrating self expression - just like this very podcast!There are NO RULES when it comes to expressing who you are and how you feel as Pandora Me is a completely customisable collection which features rings that can be connected together, mix’n’match links to create unique bracelets, and pendants that can be added to necklaces or earrings. With prices ranging from £15-£200 it’s affordable luxury at its best.The new Pandora Me collection is available to shop now – just head over to uk.pandora.net to check it out or pop into your nearest store. I have my eye on a silver chain necklace and a stunning link spelling out FREEDOM that feels VERY me - so I’ll see you there! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s getting HORNY - literally - as Lucifer star Tom Ellis joins me for the latest episode of Reign. We have a king in the realm! Tom first hit our screens playing Gary in Miranda (who else was absolutely obsessed with the show?) before he made people across the world thirsty AF playing the title character in Lucifer.If you aren’t familiar with the show - then get yourself on Netflix pronto - as it follows Lucifer, who after getting a touch bored in hell, abandons his throne and retires to Los Angeles to indulge in everything from sex to murder mysteries. Think of Murder She Wrote gets horny - niche, but great! After running for six seasons the show smashed Netflix records when its final series was watched for a massive 1.3 billion minutes in a WEEK - not even Stranger Things can compete with those stats. As Tom gets ready to hang up his horns following the sixth and final season he opens up in this episode about how filming Lucifer’s risqué sex scenes, and the intense workouts affected his body image, detailing how he got to the stage of a “dangerous tipping point when you get really into that space of getting too body conscious.” Tom also talks about Lucifer’s sexuality, saying the character is “open to having sex with anybody,” and we talk about his allyship to women as a male actor in the post me-too era. Tom also powerfully opens up for the very first time about his relationship with his mental health and why he turned to therapy. It was incredible to hear a man in the public eye talk so honestly about his mental wellbeing, so I hope you find this episode as inspiring as I do, that it encourages more men to open up and for you to talk openly with the men in your lives. I really hope you continue to listen and find the power to Reign in your own lives, too. Until next time, WEAR THOSE CROWNS WITH PRIDE and get in touch (follow me across social media @joshsmithhosts), I love hearing from you. Love, Josh xxxP.S I am so proud that this episode of Reign with Josh Smith is brought to you thanks to my friends at Pandora because their new collection, Pandora Me, is all about embracing who you are and celebrating self expression - just like this very podcast! There are NO RULES when it comes to expressing who you are and how you feel as Pandora Me is a completely customisable collection which features rings that can be connected together, mix’n’match links to create unique bracelets, and pendants that can be added to necklaces or earrings. With prices ranging from £15-£200 it’s affordable luxury at its best. The new Pandora Me collection is available to shop now – just head over to uk.pandora.net to check it out or pop into your nearest store. I have my eye on a silver chain necklace and a stunning link spelling out FREEDOM that feels VERY me - so I’ll see you there! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices