Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

Sandi Toksvig is someone we've wanted to have on Rosebud for a long time... so we're really delighted that she's today's guest! Sandi talks to Gyles about her amazing father, the most famous man in Denmark; she tells Gyles about her fascinating childhood, spent in Africa, the USA and the UK. She talks about playing hooky from school, about getting found out and being sent to boarding school, where she spent four miserable years. She shocks Gyles with her description of the prejudice she discovered was still alive and well when she was at university. This is as witty, wise and entertaining as you would expect, but it's also moving and profound. Sandi's new book, Friends of Dorothy, is out now, from Virago Books, and Sandi is on a UK tour - tickets at www.sanditoksvig.com. Sandi is also doing two special "One Night Only" shows at the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane on 13 and 14 November 2024 - tickets are on sale now via www.lwtheatres.co.uk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a very special conversation, recorded in March 2022, between Gyles and two great stars, who were also great friends: Dame Maggie Smith and Kathleen Turner. Maggie and Kathleen talk about how they met, at the stage door in a back alley in the West End, how they started out as actresses, about their breakthrough roles, and about the guardian angels who helped them along the way... and about much more besides. This is one of Maggie Smith's last interviews, and was produced and recorded by Fane Productions. We're delighted to be able to share this with you now - enjoy this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gyles's guest this week is Tom Parker Bowles, food writer, critic, son of Queen Camilla and step-son of King Charles III. Tom tells Gyles about his idyllic country childhood, being stung by wasps, eating sweets and messing about with friends. He talks about the terrible food at his prep school and the much more delicious things on offer in the tuck shop at Eton, where he went next. He tells Gyles about his new book - Cooking and the Crown - and explains how his family have managed to stay normal, despite their fame... and he tells Gyles what a brilliant grandfather King Charles is. Enjoy this!Tom's new book is out now, published by Octopus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rochelle Humes: popstar, business woman, TV personality, wife and mother. Gyles and Rochelle know each other from This Morning, but in this chat Gyles finds out much more about the person behind the success story. Rochelle tells him about her childhood, growing up in a single parent family in Essex. She tells him about her early experiences on stage in the West End, and how she auditioned for S Club Juniors and became famous as a tweenager. She talks about her time in The Saturdays and tells Gyles how she met and married Marvin Humes, who was at that time in the boyband JLS. And she talks about her success since The Saturdays and setting up her own business. In amongst all this, she and Gyles share their love of manifesting and realise they have more in common than they thought. Many thanks to Rochelle for her time and positive Rosebud energy - enjoy this! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a big moment for Rosebud, because in this episode Gyles talks to Stephen Fry about his first memories. As you can imagine, this is a brilliant conversation, as Stephen tells Gyles about his parents and their remarkable marriage, his childhood, schooldays, how he went slightly "off the rails" as a teenager and then got things back on track at Cambridge. There are various detours, via Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare and Derek Nimmo's nose. Thank you to Stephen for his warmth and generosity in this chat. Stephen is doing a special one-off performance at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday September 24, to celebrate the final instalment of his Greek myth series, Odyssey. Tickets are on sale now. Enjoy another fantastic edition of Rosebud! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 8th September 2024, it is the second anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. In memory of that day, and of the Queen, our guest today is Terry Pendry. Terry worked with Queen Elizabeth II for over 28 years, as her Stud Groom and Manager at Windsor Castle. Terry's relationship with the Queen was unique, because he rode with her every morning when she was at Windsor. This is when the Queen was able to relax, and talk about her passions - for horses, dogs, animals and the countryside. And so, this interview with Terry - which we recorded in the Royal Mews at Windsor - gives an unusual level of insight into what it was like to spend time with the Queen, and tells us all about her love and knowledge of horses. And we meet her favourite pony, Emma, who she rode for the last few years of her life. Our thanks to Terry for this wonderful conversation, for introducing us to Noble and Emma, and to Sue Pendry for her hospitality and cake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rosebud is a year old, so it's time for something a little bit different: to round off our first year, Gyles is talking to Professor Jon Simons - who is a world expert in memory, and the head of a specialist research lab at Cambridge University called The Cambridge Memory Lab. What is memory? Where are memories stored, and how are they formed? Why do we remember some things and not others? How far back is it posslble to remember? And what can we do to improve our memories as we age? These, and other, questions are addressed in this fascinating episode. Gyles and Jon look back at some of the guests we've had on Rosebud this year, talk about their own memories, and lots of other intriguing topics. The Cambridge Memory Lab are currently running a research project into people with exceptional memories. If you think you'd be an interesting subject for this experiment, you can volunteer yourself by following this link: http://tinyurl.com/memorysearchAnd the Memory Lab is at http://www.memlab.psychol.cam.ac.uk/ - have a look around and see the amazing research they're doing into our memories, how they work, and how we can help those whose memories start to deteriorate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Felicity Kendal's irresistible performance as Barbara in The Good Life made her a household name almost 50 years ago; but her life was unique and fascinating long before that. Her childhood was spent touring India and Asia with her parents' theatre company, performing in makeshift theatres, schools, jungles and palaces. Her first stage appearance was in Midsummer Night's Dream when she was nine months old. She tells Gyles all about this amazing travelling circus life - how she caught typhoid as a teenager, went to a different school every couple of months and only ever took one exam, and still speaks Hindi and thinks of India as home. Felicity also talks about returning to London as an unknown 17 year-old and how she made it as an actress. This episode is charming, funny, unusual and full of laughter. Felicity will star in Filumena at Theatre Royal Windsor from 4 October. Thank you to Felicity for this wonderful interview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Rosen is one of Britain's most popular poets - his poetry is loved by children all round the world, either through Michael's brilliant performances of them on YouTube and in primary schools, or because they are classics, like 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. Michael is also an old friend of Gyles's and a great storyteller, and this episode is slightly longer than our usual because it's full of such great stories. Michael takes Gyles from his childhood in Pinner, where he grew up up in a family full of jokes, mysterious Yiddish expressions and poetry, to his university days and how he narrowly avoided becoming a doctor, to the loss of his son, Eddie and his experience of being seriously ill with Covid. This episode is rich, entertaining, moving and fascinating - thank you to Michael for his time, energy and amazing stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aled Jones has been famous since he was only 13, when he was a choirboy at Bangor Cathedral in North Wales with a beautiful voice. In this interview he tells Gyles about his first ever public performance, in a village hall on Anglesey; about how he was discovered and asked to record an album, and about his incredible, and rapid, rise to fame. The next 4 years were a whirlwind - trips to London to be on Wogan, best-selling albums and Top of the Pops, a concert in the Hollywood Bowl in LA, singing at Paula Yates and Bob Geldof's wedding - Aled tells Gyles about all this, and about how his down-to-earth parents supported him and kept his feet on the ground. Thank you to Aled for bringing all these stories to life so vividly and for this charming interview. Enjoy this! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.