Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

Ben Elton was instrumental in the transformation of British comedy that took place in the 1980s. His scripts for The Young Ones and Blackadder were fresh, anarchic, rude, clever and hilarious. The people that worked alongside Ben - Richard Curtis, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Rik Mayall, Ade Edmondson, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders - to name but a few - are legendary. In this episode of Rosebud, Ben talks to Gyles about his parents, his father's family story - they had escaped persecution in Germany at the start of the war - and how he became interested in comedy as a young boy. He talks about the process of writing Blackadder, which was sometimes tortuous, and what it felt like to be slated by the critics when We Will Rock You first opened in the West End.Ben's autobiography, "What Have I Done?" is out now and available here. Rosebud has a new website www.rosebudpodcast.co.uk and a new Facebook group - just search "Rosebud Reflections". Enjoy this! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've got a very special guest joining Gyles and Harriet in this episode of the diaries - and this is a really fun edition of the podcast as a result. Stay tuned to find out who it is... Gyles starts his third year at Oxford, and puts on a debate at the Union with Fanny Craddock. Meanwhile, he is stood up by Barry Humphries, gets a new history tutor who is fond of red wine, and tries to help his father through a financial crisis. Enjoy this, diary fans! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're excited to present the multi-million selling author and creator of Jack Reacher, Lee Child, as our guest today. And this is a brilliant episode. Lee is a master storyteller - painting a vivid picture of his childhood in Birmingham, his well-meaning but cold parents, his early forays into relationships with girls, and his days working at Granada Television. He also tells Gyles about his writing routine. This is a funny, fascinating and evocative episode with one of the best selling writers of all time.If you're a Rosebud fan, you can join our new Facebook community: just search Rosebud Reflections on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/782397874458836. You can also follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/therosebudpodcast/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A moving and important true story is the subject of More Rosebud today, featuring the writer and social justice campaigner Lee Lawrence. Lee's mother, Cherry Groce, was wrongfully shot by a police officer in a dawn raid on their house in Brixton, south London, on the 28 September 1985 - 40 years ago this weekend. Cherry was paralysed in the incident, and spent the rest of her life in a wheelchair, until her death in 2011. Her son, Lee, was just 11 at the time, and witnessed everything. Lee then spent the rest of his teenage years caring for his mum, and most of his adult life fighting for a proper investigation into what went wrong during the planning and execution of the raid, and for an apology and some accountability from the metropolitan police. This is a gripping, shocking and sobering story.Lee's books 'The Louder I Will Sing' and 'The Colour of Injustice' are highly recommended, and 'The Colour of Injustice' is available here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sir John Major, British Prime Minister from 1992 - 1997, is our guest today. In this deeply interesting, personal and touching conversation, Sir John talks to Gyles about his childhood in South London and about his unusual and inspiring family. Sir John's background is unconventional. His father had been a successful music hall artiste, and was a great storyteller, much older than the fathers of John's friends. His mother had been a balletic dancer, and was an extremely kind and selfless wife and parent. Both of them were role models to John; his love and admiration for them shine through in this conversation, and will move you. Sir John talks about their extremely humble home and lifestyle - the family fell into hard times and were poor - and about the anger he felt at his family becoming a subject of ridicule by the press in later years. Sir John talks about how he got into politics, about what he believes is missing from today's Westminster scene, and about how he met and married Norma. We're extremely grateful to Sir John for speaking to us with such candour, and for his delightful company, and hope you enjoy this. It really is worth your time. Sir John Major's book, My Old Man, which Gyles mentions, is available here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us for the further adventures of the young Gyles Brandreth, as he continues his impressive career at Oxford - in this episode Gyles finally has the success he's been hoping for in the Union elections - but finds it strangely unsatisfying. He also carries on seeing Michele, despite the fact she has now left university and is starting her first job. Gyles makes his first appearance on Women's Hour, and meets the outrageous writer Beverley Nicholls. Plus Gyles and Harriet have a fun chat which will make you laugh (we hope - it's not intended to be taken seriously!). Cue the music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're honoured to have Jung Chang, the celebrated author of the international bestseller Wild Swans, as our Rosebud guest today - and her story will astonish you. In this remarkable episode, Jung tells Gyles the story of her family - and through that, the story of China over the past 100 years. This episode takes us from the tale of her grandmother, who grew up in pre-Communist China and was subjected to the cruel custom of foot binding, to her mother and father, who were committed Communists but who were eventually denounced and imprisoned by the Party, and eventually to Jung's own story, her move to the UK, and her fears for the future - which she tells brilliantly in her new book 'Fly Wild Swans: My Mother, Myself and China'.Jung's latest book is out now and available now from here. It is riveting, and highly recommended.For this week only, Rosebud are collaborating with Project Everyone as part of the "Be Hope" movement - and we've asked Jung a special question about hope at the end of the episode. And you'll definitely want to listen to to the end of this one! Cue the music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julia Bradbury talks to Gyles about her life, upbringing and her new book "Hack Yourself Healthy". As Gyles finds out in this conversation, from the moment she began working her way up through the TV industry, Julia had led a stressful, action-packed and "high cortisol" life. Was this one of the contributing factors in her breast cancer diagnosis of 2021? Understandably, the discovery of her cancer led Julia to reassess her lifestyle, and ultimately to research and write the book she's talking about today. She tells Gyles about the things we can all do to increase our health and longevity: from simple steps such as making sure we spend time in the open air to breathing more deeply, to more radical ideas like walking backwards and using a copper tongue scraper.This is also a Rosebud chat - so we also hear about Julia's early memories, her family, and her schooldays.We hope you enjoy this fascinating chat. Julia's book, "Hack Yourself Healthy", is available to buy here.Rosebud's new Facebook group "Rosebud Reflections" is up and running, you can find it here. It's a place to meet, discuss and digest all things Rosebud. Have fun!Rosebud's new website is also live and is a thing of beauty - it's www.rosebudpodcast.co.uk - click here to go straight there! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You might notice that this episode of Rosebud is slightly longer than usual - and that's because this story is so powerful. This conversation with the stand-up, writer, actor and TV star Alan Davies is virtually unedited - because it's unmissable. In it, Alan tells Gyles about the two most significant, and devastating, events of his childhood: the death of his mother when he was only six years old, and the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his father after she died. And he tells Gyles about how he has healed and gone on to have his own family, and experience unconditional love with his own children. This is a very sad, at times upsetting, episode, but also one full of hope, laughter and insight. It is well worth your time, and please get in touch with hello@rosebudpodcast.com with any thoughts you have on the themes Alan and Gyles discuss here. Alan Davies is on tour in the UK, Australia and elsewhere - get tickets here. His new book, White Male Stand-Up is also available now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yes, we know it's secretly your favourite part of Rosebud... it's Gyles's diary! And we know we say this every time, but it's another corker. Gyles does something unspeakable on Edward Heath's shoes. He has to chaperone an out of control drunk Irish poet. He meets Sir Gerald Nabarro, Malcolm Muggeridge and Leonard Woolf. We hear his sister Hester's fascinating account of working as a psychiatric nurse, and we hear Gyles's thoughts on turning 21 (clue: he's underwhelmed). Plus Gyles and Harriet discuss how to tell a good anecdote, childhood bereavement, and swearing. NB this episode, unusually, does contain a few swearwords, apologies. Enjoy this, diary fans... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.