Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

It's another interesting, and touching, episode of Gyles's diary, today from the second half of 1981. Gyles's life is still busy - with his debut appearance on Just a Minute, public-speaking events, and showbiz parties... but behind the scenes, serious and sad things are happening, as his darling Pa returns from America with a grave illness and quickly deteriorates.

Gyles and Harriet also talk some more about Sooty, Sweep and Soo, and read out a brilliant email. We chat about saying final goodbyes to the dying, Punch and Judy, and how to live a fulfilling 100-year life.

We hope you enjoy the show! If you have any fun messages for us, please email into hello@rosebudpodcast.com. And if you want to be eligible to come to our Christmas Party, please join the Rosebud Family at www.patreon.com/rosebud.
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We're in luck and so are you, Rosebud Family: because the brilliant Bill Bailey is our guest today. And this is an entertaining and enlightening episode which will surprise and delight you. Bill talks to Gyles about his childhood in Keynsham, where he grew up in a busy house which was also a doctor's surgery; he talks about being musically gifted and how annoying it can be to be able to work out the note your hoover is playing, and he talks about how he came to be nicknamed Bill. Bill talks about being in a band at school, how he got fluent in French, and how he met his wife on a flight of stairs. He talks about the joys of caravan holidays, the fun of parlour games, and the sadness of losing his mum.

Bill is touring his new show, "Vaudevillean" nationwide until December 2026, and then is at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in London from December until February. There are further dates in Europe in the spring of 2027. Tickets are available from his website, here.

Huge thanks to Bill for his brilliant conversation, company and conviviality.
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At this spooky time of year we are celebrating the new film "Ghosts: The Possession of Button House", and our guests are Jim Howick, who plays Pat Butcher, and Kiell Smith-Bynoe, who plays Mike. If you love the brilliant BBC series, Ghosts, then you'll enjoy this episode, and you'll enjoy the film, which is in cinemas now. In this fun conversation, Gyles talks to Jim and Kiell about their childhoods and how they both got into performing after early success in their school nativity plays. Gyles talks to them about the making of Ghosts, about what they've learnt about each other from working together so closely, and about whether they've ever been to a seance.

Our thanks to Jim and Kiell for this entertaining and insightful chat.

Ghosts: the Possession of Button House is in cinemas throughout the UK.
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Gary Kemp is the lead guitarist of the legendary 80s band Spandau Ballet, and the author of all of their greatest hits, including True, Gold, Through The Barricades and To Cut a Long Story Short. He is also a successful movie star, in films as diverse as The Bodyguard and The Krays. In this brilliant and wide-ranging conversation with Gyles, Gary talks about his working class boyhood in Islington, north London, sharing an outside toilet with two other families. He talks about getting his first guitar and impressing his dad with his songwriting skills. He talks about the importance of mentors, and the key roles Bishop Trevor Huddleston and the drama teacher Anna Scher played in his life. He talks about the beginnings of Spandau Ballet, the Blitz club and still living at home well into his twenties. Gary talks about the court case between him and the rest of the band, and he talks about Live Aid and meeting David Bowie. And he talks about his unbreakable bond with his brother, Martin, and the deaths of their parents within four days of each other.

This is a really in-depth, sensitive and humane discussion which will impress you, inform you and inspire you.

Gary's book, 1967, is out now and tells the story of Brian Epstein's final address book - it is a fascinating cultural history of Britain in the sixties. It's available here.

Our heartfelt thanks to Gary for this brilliant chat.
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Another classic episode of Gyles's diaries for you today. Gyles has been keeping a daily diary since he was ten years old, and in these episodes (released on alternate Tuesdays), he reads selected extracts aloud to Harriet, the Rosebud producer, and they chat about them. We've now reached 1981. If you want to go back to the very beginning, the episodes are in chronological order in our back catalogue.

Today's edition opens with Gyles and Harriet chatting about leaf blowers, and then we play in a really very special, and exclusive, voice note from one of our celebrity listeners... you won't believe who it is - make sure you listen, as it will surprise and delight you. And transport you back to your childhood days. Then we read out some of the autobiographical poetry we were sent by listeners, inspired by our conversation with the great Larry Lamb. Thank you Zoe Grace Couzens and Liam Dugan for your excellent poetical contributions to Rosebud.

Gyles's 1981 diaries feature Liberace, Christopher Biggins, John Schlesinger, Kenneth Williams, Bonnie Langford and Melvyn Bragg. Yes, all human life is here! (Well particularly if they're famous...)
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