I DON’T WANT TO BE AN IRRITANT
The all-round entertainer talks Paul Mccartney and how to answer the big Gavin & Stacey question, with Boyd Hilton
Rob Brydon has a brilliant set-up for our Google Hangout virtual meet. He’s sitting at his desk in his home office with a free-standing microphone next to his computer, so he can sit back and relax while holding court with heat.
It was this arrangement that he used when he launched his own Youtube channel last year during lockdown, filming a series of delightful chats with stars like Will Ferrell, Sir Kenneth Branagh and Dawn French. Then Spotify came along and suggested he did longer interviews with the same set-up and turn them into a podcast. The result is Brydon &, a weekly series in which Rob has freewheeling, intimate conversations with showbiz friends, including his best mate David Walliams, Sheridan Smith, Sharleen Spiteri and John Bishop.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Rob, 55, has shown off his interviewing skills. He did have his own chat show on BBC2 from 2010 to 2013, and part of his unique position in the industry is that he’s proven he can pretty much turn his hand to anything – from acting on stage opposite Ken Branagh and bouncing off Steve Coogan to superb effect in four gloriously funny series of The Trip, to playing the iconic Bryn in Gavin & Stacey and hosting TV’S finest panel show, Would I Lie To You?. Soon, he’ll also be going on tour with his show A Night Of Songs And Laughter, in which, as the title suggests, he’ll be singing as well as doing stand-up.
Most of all, though, he’s brilliant company, full of anecdotes and impressions (he’s not quite as swift to drop a scarily accurate celeb impersonation as his alter-ego in The Trip, but not far off), which is perhaps why he has made so many friends in show business. Which brings us back to his podcast…
So, Rob, it’s about time you had a podcast, isn’t it? [Laughs.] Well, there aren’t many people doing them, are there? This one grew out of my Youtube channel and it was suggested to me. I would never have thought to do it myself. I never think of anything, really – I’m happy just being. I got a nice response to the chats I did on Youtube, but people did say they wanted them to be longer. Then Spotify came along, asking if I’d do longer ones, and it seemed like a good idea. Do you prepare much or let it flow naturally? I prepare a little but not a lot. This is my preparation for the last one I did yesterday [holds up small piece of paper with a handwritten list on it]. It’s not even a page – more of an envelope, really. But I wouldn’t want to grind to a halt and run out of things to say.
We weren’t expecting to hear you and John Bishop discussing your sex lives and doing it “doggy style” on his episode… Well, John brought up the topic of positioning. I think I was talking about the act in the far more theoretical sense. But it was nice to chat to John, because we are very similar ages, so we’re going through similar physical niggles. Were you a fan of podcasts before you got your own? Yes, the one that really caught my attention was Alec Baldwin’s Here’s The Thing. I love Alec, anyway – as a man, as well as an actor. I love watching him on talk shows. And the thing about him is he often absolutely loves the person he’s interviewing, and I see a bit of myself in that. If I like someone, I really do like them and I’m not bothered about keeping a cool detachment.
Yes, you clearly love the likes of Sheridan Smith and David Walliams… Yes, well, there are some legal issues to clear up with David, but I’m confident we’ll sort it out. We had a tearful conversation last night, and we agreed we don’t want to line the pockets of the lawyers and it’s got a bit unpleasant, but I’m sure it’s going to be sorted… Please say, “Brydon jested” there.[laughs.] Did you mind that Sheridan Smith called your brilliant comedy panel show Would
You Lie To Me? Ha! No, it was funny, and you’d be surprised how many people get these titles wrong. I get people asking if there’ll be more “Kevin & Tracey”, and The Trip gets called “The Road Trip”, and Would I Lie To You? is often known as “Am I Lying?” Did you hear that Paul Mccartney said Would You Lie To Me?… sorry, Would I Lie To You?, is his favourite show on all of TV? Yes, I did. It was just a thrill. It’s mind-boggling to think of him, as a Beatle, watching it. I mean, at the end of the day, we’re all just people, but he is a Beatle person, and he seems to have done rather well since The Beatles, too, so it was fantastic. I’ve met him a few times and he’s very good at putting you at ease. Part of me thinks I should ask him to do my podcast, but I can’t stand the thought of being an irritant. Imagine him getting that request from me and thinking [impersonating Paul Mccartney], “Oh no, I really like him on the telly, but what does he want me to do now?” That would crush me. Have you asked Steve Coogan to do it? Not yet. Steve is a genius and I’d love to have him on, but the truth is, I’m slightly holding back on people who I work with a lot, for fear of it seeming a bit obvious. But, of course, I will ask Steve. Do you think there’s any chance you’ll ever bring back The Trip? Oh, I think there’s a real chance we will. Personally, I just felt we should have a break from it, because I was worried about keeping up the quality, but I do think, in the end, The Trip
‘There’s nothing manufactured about Sheridan Smith’s struggles’
To Greece was fantastic. So, in about ten years’ time, if Steve is still alive, I’d love us to do it again. I think we’re praying that happens. Will you ask James Corden on the podcast? Oh, I will do James, I’m sure. Now, that will be a very interesting one. I’m very much looking forward to talking to James. I knew him years ago, when he would ask me for advice. When he was with David Walliams and I in Istanbul when we were filming Cruise Of The Gods, I vividly remember sitting with James in a taverna and him asking about how to get into writing, and my wisdom was to say, “Just get on with it and do it.” Now, he’s moving in some pretty swish circles out there in LA, and I don’t see how he could get any bigger as a phenomenon, really. So, I do particularly want to talk to James, yes. Do you want to do more Gavin & Stacey? Well, this is where I have to be very careful, because in my interview with Sheridan on the podcast, I said the harmless line, “Oh, I imagine they’ll make another one [Gavin & Stacey], I mean they left it hanging…” and while I don’t want to exaggerate things, all the news services and papers picked up on it, and the headline was, “Gavin & Stacey star teases new episode” or whatever, and they started calling up Ruth Jones for comment and you feel like you’ve done something wrong by even mentioning it. The truth is, I honestly don’t know. In the past, I’d say, “Let’s leave it at that,” because we can go out on a high. But if you say that, people think you’re being bloody miserable and that there’s something wrong with you, so I changed that approach to, “Oh, I hope so! I’d be surprised if they didn’t.” But whatever you say, you can’t win. Do you think you’ll stick to talking to close friends or will you try to get other big stars on the podcast? Yes, so far it has just been friends, and all the better for it I think, because you do get an intimacy when you’re talking to a friend, especially when you’re both doing it from your own homes. It makes you more relaxed without even thinking about it. Like with Sheridan, who we know has had a bumpy ride emotionally. I’d worked with her on Gavin & Stacey and then the film The Huntsmen, and when I got to know her more, I kind of fell in love with her, in the broadest possible sense, because it’s so clear there is nothing manufactured about her struggles – she’s not doing it for attention. She’s so talented, but she does have doubts about herself that are very human and real. What are your favourite moments on Would I Lie To You?… Well, I love Bob Mortimer and that’s not stating it too strongly. If you ever watch an episode with
Bob, look at me and you’ll see I’m gazing at him. He’s such a likeable person and then you add his talent on top, so most of my favourite moments would involve Bob. I was talking to him the other day and I was telling him how much I love having him on the show. And your favourite lies? There was the time when they slipped in a question without my knowledge, where Lee Mack said that he’d been invited to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding and he couldn’t go, because we were filming the show. David Mitchell and I were thrown by it and I slightly ramped up my annoyance, but not very much! It was annoying. And they did a thing they’d never done before, where Lee pretended that it was true and so, for a moment, David Mitchell and I are thinking, “He really did get invited to Prince Harry’s wedding!” But it was fine, because he hadn’t. But Would I Lie To You? is a very happy show. Sheridan says on my Spotify exclusive podcast that her mum watches it every night before she goes to sleep. It’s that kind of show, it puts you in a good mood. n
Brydon & is a Spotify exclusive podcast, with new episodes airing every Thursday