Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

It's time for episode two of Gyles's childhood diaries. It's 1960, he's eleven going on twelve, and still a pupil at boarding school in Kent. We hear about how Gyles met T.S. Eliot and got the Archbishop of Canterbury's autograph. We hear about his hatred of games and his sudden attack of appendicitis. We also hear about Gyles's English teacher, whose behaviour towards Gyles becomes increasingly inappropriate. Listeners should be aware that there is some discussion of issues relating to the sexual abuse of minors in this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rick Stein is one of Britain's best-loved chefs. He's also a highly successful businessman, restaurateur, writer and TV presenter, who has single-handedly put Padstow on the map. HIs warm, down-to-earth manner and infectious curiosity about food have made him a star. What you may not know is that, surprise surprise, he and Gyles know each other - they were actually at Oxford University together in the 60s. But Rick's route to Oxford was highly unconventional, and in this conversation he tells Gyles about his lack of academic success, the death of his father, his two years spent travelling and "running away to sea" and his eventual return to university and subsequent start in the restaurant trade. Rick's new book, Rick Stein's Food Stories, is out now, published by BBC Books. It's inspired by Rick's travels around the UK and is a very nice Christmas present! Thank you to Rick for this great conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve got a very different kind of guest this week. It’s Lisa Squire, the mother of Libby Squire, who was born on the 1st January 1998 and tragically lost her life on the 1st February 2019 in Hull, when she was a student at university. She was missing for seven agonising weeks, and her body was eventually washed up in the Humber estuary in March of 2019. It was later found that she had been raped and murdered.In this conversation, Lisa and Gyles remember Libby, and tell her story in full: the happy times, the unhappy times, and the tragic end of the story. Lisa is spearheading a campaign to highlight the importance of reporting non-contact sexual offences such as flashing and voyeurism, called ‘It Does Matter’, in partnership with Thames Valley Police. https://www.itdoesmatter.org.uk/There are some references to self-harm and to some sexual offences in this conversation with Lisa. Many thanks to Lisa for this wonderful conversation and for the memories of Libby. We dedicate this episode of Rosebud to the memory of Liberty Anna Squire, 1/1/98 - 1/2/2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dame Harriet Walter is one of the UK's most distinguished stage actresses, and an award-winning star of Ted Lasso and Succession. In this candid interview, she talks to Gyles about her parents' divorce, her teenage struggles with mental health, and her famous uncle, Christopher Lee. She describes her first experiences of acting at school, and how her headteacher spotted her talent and encouraged it. Make sure you listen to the end, to hear Harriet amaze Gyles with some Shakespeare. Harriet's brilliant book, 'She Speaks' is a daring and inventive collection of speeches for Shakespeare's female characters, imagining what they might have said if they'd had the chance. It's out now, published by Little, Brown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the first of our episodes in which Gyles reads from his childhood diaries, and Gyles and Harriet discuss the events therein. In this episode, Gyles starts reading from the beginning: Tuesday 28th April 1959, his first day at Betteshanger School in Kent, and ends on 31st December 1959. How did Gyles settle into school? Did he get a part in the school play, Tom Sawyer? Did he like his teachers? And what were his top 10 TV shows of 1959? Listen to find out about all this and more. We'll continue with Gyles's diary in a couple of weeks' time, so you'll be able to follow the story along if you listen to the episodes in order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get ready for a really wonderful edition of Rosebud, with the poet and performer Pam Ayres. Pam makes Gyles laugh and cry with the stories from her fascinating life. Pam paints vivid pictures of her childhood, growing up in relative poverty in a big family in an insular village in rural Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). All the family's food was grown in the back garden, there was no hot water, the family shared beds and the toilet was a bucket. She tells Gyles about the games she played, the first boyfriend she had, and about her first job. She tells Gyles about the joining the RAF, and how, through that, she began performing, and eventually got posted to Singapore. And she tells Gyles about being discovered and winning Opportunity Knocks. Pam's is a truly unique life, and in this interview she paints a compelling picture of a forgotten time. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this. With huge thanks to Pam for this wonderful conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest on this episode of More Rosebud is Petroc Trelawney, the broadcaster and writer who is best known as a presenter on BBC Radio 3. Petroc is also an author who is talking to Gyles about his new book 'Trelawney's Cornwall' and about his childhood, growing up on the remote Lizard peninsula. This a moving and open interview, in which Petroc talks about the death of his mother from cancer when he was 12, about the way life in his family of boys changed after that, about the difficulties of coming of age as a gay man in the 80s, about being arrested in Zimbabwe, and about how to cheat in piano lessons. 'Trelawney's Cornwall: A Journey Through Western Lands' by Petroc Trelawny is published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson and is out now. Thank you to Petroc for such a wonderful conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.