Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

If you love British comedy, you'll know and admire our guest this week: Dame Penelope Keith. The characters she played - Margo Leadbetter and Audrey Fforbes-Hamilton - are two of the best-known and most distinctive characters in sit-com. And this is a rare chance to hear an interview with Dame Penelope. Gyles talks to her about her childhood, growing up without a father, the daughter of a hard-working and talented mother who worked in hotels and took the young Penelope along with her. Penelope talks about her school days - when she was taught by Frence nuns - and how she got into drama school and got her first job in weekly rep. This is fun and unusual conversation with a much-loved actress. Enjoy this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you're an avid Rosebud listener, you may remember a listener email we read out back in episode 5 of Gyles's diaries, from Harry Scoble. Harry wrote in to say that he'd left a coat in a taxi with Gyles back in 2002 and that he'd wished he had come to collect it from Gyles's house all those years ago, but had never got round to it. Gyles had then told Harriet that he thought he might still have the coat, on a clothes rail in his Jumper Room. In this episode, Harry comes to Gyles's house, and we solve the mystery once and for all. And have tea and an interesting chat in the process. This episode features Harry, Gyles, Michele Brandreth (Gyles's wife) and Harriet. And it features an extended chat between Harriet and Gyles before and after the recording of Harry looking at the coat and having tea. This is a slightly unusual episode, and a little bit more chaotic than our usual - but we hope you enjoy it!We'd love to hear about your Rosebud objects - do you have a treasured possession which sums up your life and is more precious than anything else? Email us at hello@rosebudpodcast.com and tell us - and we may feature you on the podcast. Gyles also mentions the Rosebud Live interview with Jeffrey Holland at the Sarah Thorne Theatre in Broadstairs on July 19th 2025. Please come along! Tickets will be available soon from the Sarah Thorne Theatre Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The great actor Sir David Suchet is Gyles's guest today: and this conversation gets behind Hercule Poirot - Sir David's most famous role - and delves into David's childhood, his schooldays and his early acting career at the National Youth Theatre and the RSC. Gyles finds out about David's difficult relationship with his father, the great doctor, Jack Suchet. He finds out about his close relationship with his mother and his grandparents, and the influence they had on him. He finds out about David's schooldays, his prowess on the rugby pitch, and how a teacher at school spotted his acting talent. Gyles also hears about how David's work ethic and attention to detail has sometimes led to tricky moments in rehearsals. The episode ends with a surprise which you won't want to miss!This is a fascinating, candid and sometimes very touching interview - thank you very much to Sir David for your time and for your honesty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This edition of Gyles's diary takes us up to the end of Gyles's final year at Bedales in the summer of 1966; so this really is the end of an era. And Gyles finds it very moving to look back at these closing moments of his schooldays. He says farewell to the 101 year-old founder of the school, Mr Badley, and makes plans for his university years and the future with his headmaster, Mr Slack. There is the usual whirlwind of activity - somehow, while revising for his A-levels, Gyles manages to fit in two school plays, some research on the French prison system, and a trip to Paris. Plus Gyles and Harriet discuss relics, cloning and piano playing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest today is Rachael Stirling: the brilliant theatrical actress and one of the stars of BBC comedy Detectorists, who is currently on stage in London in Giant, about the writer Roald Dahl. Gyles and Rachael begin by talking about a memorable conversation Gyles had with Rachael's mother, the great actress Dame Diana Rigg, when he interviewed her 25 years ago. And this interview with Rachael is no less memorable: it's a fascinating discussion of her childhood, her complex relationship with her mother, and her parents' divorce. It's a frank discussion of her first sexual experiences and her boarding school days (NB this episode is more graphic than our usual, with sexual refs and some swearing). And, finally, it's a moving discussion of Rachael's experiences as her mother's carer in the final months of her life. This is a special and very touching episode, thank you so much to Rachael. Rachael Stirling is currently playing Felicity Crosland in Giant, about the writer Roald Dahl, at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London. It's on for the rest of the summer and tickets are available here. Enjoy this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lynda La Plante - the writer, producer and creator of landmark dramas Widows and Prime Suspect - is Gyles's guest today. Lynda is the powerhouse behind some of the UK's most watched television, and she's also the powerhouse behind this episode of Rosebud - which is full of brilliant stories to make you gasp, laugh and cry. From her childhood growing up on the outskirts of Merseyside in a family tainted by tragedy, to her days at Rada and her first career as an actress, to her experiences trying to conceive and finally adopting her son - Gyles hears the full story of Lynda's remarkable life. Lynda's memoirs, Getting Away With Murder, are out in paperback, and the audiobook is also out now - with star turns from Dawn French and Helen Mirren. Her new novel, Crucified, is also just out. Thank you to Lynda for this wonderful interview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the week of William Shakespeare's birthday, so Gyles has poetry on his mind... and we thought we'd celebrate with a special conversation recorded with Simon Armitage, who has been Poet Laureate since 2019. Gyles finds out about Simon's childhood and early days, when he played out on the moors with his friends, watched TV and read comics... long before he became turned on to poetry by reading Ted Hughes. Gyles hears about Simon's parents, his love of indy music, and his first career as a probation officer. Gyles and Simon talk about poetry, about Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney. We hope you enjoy this episode, and that it inspires you to read some poetry today - Simon's most recent book, Blossomise, it out now - it's a celebration of blossom and is well worth reading this springtime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We begin this episode of Gyles's diary in Switzerland, where he's spending the summer as an au pair to the family of the Head of the Swiss Army. He beats the President of Switzerland at cards and attends an underwhelming 'son et lumiere'. Back in England, Gyles returns to another busy term at Bedales, in which he carries on his relationship with Sally and tries to reconcile that with his endless school projects: this term he's arranging activities for the children in the younger years, to involve them more in the life of the school. Plus, Gyles's sisters have an argument and we find out more about his friendship with Simon Cadell. Enjoy this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sir Tim Rice, lyricist extraordinaire, is Gyles's guest today. Tim is one of the few people in the entertainment world to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award, and his songs for shows like Joseph, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Chess and the Lion King are known and loved all around the world. And yet Sir Tim remains modest and charming, as you'll hear in this conversation - perhaps thanks to the good manners he inherited from his father. Tim tells Gyles about his childhood, his schooldays at Lancing College and how, despite his lack of ambition, he moved to London and got a job with EMI. Much of this conversation, not surprisingly, is about music: the records Tim listened to as a teenager, the band he played with at school, and the first songs he wrote and which helped him to get noticed. We find out how he met Andrew Lloyd Webber and started to make musical history. Thank you Sir Tim Rice for your warmth, wit and wonderful stories. Tim Rice is on a nationwide tour telling his brilliant stories and featuring some of his best-known songs until the end of May, tickets available here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wayne Sleep was once called "the finest virtuoso ballet dancer the Royal Ballet has ever produced" by the founder of the company, Ninette de Valois. In this episode, Wayne tells Gyles his remarkable story - raised by his single mother in Plymouth and Hartlepool, Wayne overcame poverty and his short stature to become one of the most well known and successful British ballet dancers of all time. It's a fairytale that includes David Hockney, Rudolph Nureyev and Princess Diana, and much more besides. Thank you to Wayne for your time, wit and energy. Enjoy this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.