show episodes
 
From comedy legend Nigel Planer, the inner thoughts of award-winning actor Nicholas Craig, author of 'I, An Actor'. Written by Nigel Planer and Christopher Douglas. Music: 'City in the Summer' by Nigel Planer. Arranged by Andrew Holdsworth, with Tom Walsh on trumpet. Produced by Joel Morris for Cheese & Pickle Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Build creative confidence and grow your writing world with Dr Rachel Knightley and Emily Inkpen. Every episode, we’ll discuss key writing topics while exploring the goals, exercises, tools and techniques necessary to discover what you really want from your writing — and what your writing really needs from you.
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Artwork
 
The smash-hit interview podcast Out To Lunch is out now, with a sparkly new host on dining duty: the much loved British actor, comedian and writer Ade Edmondson. Ade takes guests such as Chrissie Hynde, Reece Shearsmith, Tony Visconti, Daisy Haggard and Ed Byrne to a top restaurant whilst you get to hear the witty and wonderous conversation. It’s like you’re sat at the table next to us. After breaking into the comedy circuit in the 1980s, Edmondson starred in countless British films and TV s ...
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show series
 
In this special episode of the podcast Rachel and Emily are in conversation with multi-disciplined writer Rhianna Pratchett about her work in video games, comics, TV, radio and books. To find out more about Rhianna and her work please visit her website at https://rhiannapratchett.com/ and you can follow her on X here https://x.com/rhipratchett Join…
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In this episode Dr Rachel Knightley and Emily Inkpen look at the ways in which writers use time in their storytelling. From linear narratives following a traditional chronology to fractured, repeating and circular narratives we compare them and look at the advantages of playing around with time in your work. Join the Writers’ Gym and book your next…
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In this ep Dona Di Stefano, the Assistant Floor Manager on Filthy Rich & Catflap, chats with Jeffers about the show to share nifty anecdotes, reveal production processes and patiently respond to his increasingly obscure questions. Dona enjoyed a 48-year career in TV and Theatre, becoming part of the Paul Jackson teams that worked on Happy Families,…
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Join Genevieve as she picks out some memorable celebrity guest moments from Season 6 of Celebrity Catch Up. Hear a rare interview with Peter Ostrum - better known as Charlie Bucket in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - as he reminisces about making the classic film with Gene Wilder. For TV lovers Blue Peter's Yvette Fielding, The Young Ones' N…
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Dropping hints about events to come in your stories can raise tension and add depth and interest to your work. In this episode we look at the art and technique of foreshadowing and ask why should writers consider it an important tool in their skillset. Join the Writers’ Gym and book your next writing workout at https://www.rachelknightley.com/the-w…
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In this week's episode we'll look at short fiction and the skills and techniques you'll need to master concise storytelling. We discuss the pros and cons of writing short fiction and some of the drawbacks and limitations of the form. As usual we end with a writing challenge from Rachel. Join the Writers’ Gym and book your next writing workout at ht…
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In this episode we talk about relationships in your fiction and how they can mould and shape your stories and the arcs of your characters. We explore the ways in which characters interact and consider sources of conflict and interest in these interactions. From dysfunctional families to romantic attachments via warring parties and long-held feuds w…
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In this episode we look at the challenges of making time for your writing and how best to use time when you have it. As usual we have tips advice and experience from Dr Rachel Knightley and Emily Inkpen and a writing challenge from Rachel. Join the Writers’ Gym and book your next writing workout at https://www.rachelknightley.com/the-writers-gym/ T…
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Jon Auty from Behind the Stunts chats with Jeffers about Filthy Rich & Catflap's stunt pieces and stunt performers, including Nick Gillard, Denise Ryan, Peter Diamond, Gareth Milne, Paul Heasman and Spencer Collins. Here's Jon's LINKTREE to check out more Behind The Stunts! The cover image of Nigel Planer in rehearsal is thanks to Dona Di Stefano (…
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In this edition Rachel, Emily and Chris each share pieces of writing advice which we hope you'll find useful. Join the Writers’ Gym and book your next writing workout at https://www.rachelknightley.com/the-writers-gym/ The Writers Gym Podcast is an Alternative Stories production for The Writers' Gym. Find out more about The Writers' Gym and Rachel …
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In this episode of the Writers' Gym Podcast we're joined by actor, comedian, novelist and poet Nigel Planer for a discussion about his writing life and the challenges of working on a memoir. To find out more about Nigel Planer and to purchase copies of his books as discussed in today's podcast please follow the links below Website www.nigelplaner.c…
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In this episode of the Writers' Gym Podcast with Dr Rachel Knightley and Emily Inkpen we're looking at inspiration and perspiration and whether one or other of them is the predominant force in the lives of our presenters. As usual we have advice, anecdotes, ideas and a writing challenge that listeners can participate in Join the Writers’ Gym and bo…
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In this edition of the Writers' Gym podcast we are joined by the award-winning novelist Gareth L Powell to talk about his work across several genres. Known primarily as a science-fiction author, Gareth has also written thrillers and fantasy. His guide for writers "About Writing : A Field Guide for Aspiring Authors" (Gollancz 2022) was described as …
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In this edition of the Writers' Gym Podcast with Rachel Knightley and Emily Inkpen we'll look at the relationship between music and writing. We'll explore music as inspiration and motivation, music as a creator of moods and as an accompaniment to your work and books inspired by or suggested by music. Artists mentioned in this podcast include Thomas…
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To mark the one-year anniversary of Jerry's passing, listen again to what turned out to be the last broadcast interview he recorded before he died a few weeks later on 27 April 2023. ===== Jerry joins Genevieve to reminisce about the beginnings of The Jerry Springer Show and how it became one of the most popular, outrageous and controversial talk s…
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In this episode of the podcast we’ll be looking at the art of generating characters for your fiction. We’ll look at the secrets of creating believable and authentic characters that can drive your story forward. Emily and Rachel will talk about their own characters, the inspiration behind them and the ways in which they have shaped events in their f…
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In this episode of the Writers’ Gym Podcast we will be thinking about starting to write. Writing the opening page of your story needn’t be a battle against that glaring white first page and all the psychological demons it implies. Rachel and Emily offer tips, advice and hacks for starting to write and share examples and anecdotes from their own wri…
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In this edition of the Writers’ Gym Podcast with Dr Rachel Knightley and Emily Inkpen we take a look at one of the most common pieces of advice offered to writers: “Write what you know” We examine this advice to consider what it means for our writing and consider how it works in the worlds of science fiction and fantasy as well as in general fictio…
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In this episode Rachel and Emily look at unreliable narrators and how to create and use them in your writing. With examples from literature we look at the ways in which unreliable narrators can give your stories depth, authenticity and a plot-twist or two to keep your readers guessing. The references in today’s episode include Pale Fire by Vladimir…
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Jeffers chats to Goon Pod's Tyler Adams about 16 guest stars of Filthy Rich & Catflap, as they re-enact the 'Best Catflap Guest Role' tournament of January 2024. Performers discussed include: Helen Lederer, Chris Barrie, Mel Smith, Lee Cornes, Polly Highton , Hugh Laurie, Cheryl Taylor, Arthur Smith, Stephen Fry, John Bird, Ken Parry, Harry Enfield…
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Andi Oliver, TV presenter extraordinaire, beloved cook and restauranteur. On screen, you will see her presenting Great British Menu, the Sky Arts Book Club and an array of acclaimed documentaries, including The Caribbean with Andi and Miquita. Andi came to How To Fail with a total willingness to be vulnerable. She discussed her failure to crack the…
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In this episode we look at the art and science of laying out and formatting your writing. We ask when you should begin to format your work, how you should go about doing it and explore a few good reasons for starting the process early …or indeed later. We look at some of the formatting skills and techniques you’ll need for getting your manuscript r…
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In this episode Rachel Knightley and Emily Inkpen look at the process of worldbuilding for fiction writers. Normally associated with science fiction and fantasy writers, world building skills can also be applied to real places adapted for fiction. In our conversation we mentioned the map creation services of Dewi Hargreaves who you can follow on tw…
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In this episode Rachel Knightley and Emily Inkpen look at the role and influence of place in creative writing. We look at the ways in which setting can influence you as writers and affect your characters. As usual, we offer creative writing challenges to help you consider the influence of place in your own work. In this episode Rachel references “T…
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In this podcast we’ll talk about the art and techniques of editing. We’ll discuss approaches to editing, what you should take out and keep in and some of the best and worst editing advice we’ve received. Subscribe to The Writers’ Gym in your favourite podcast app to be notified of all new episodes as they are released. New episodes will appear ever…
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In this episode Rachel Knightley and Emily Inkpen discuss the art of giving and receiving feedback. We’ll have advice on how and who to ask for feedback, when feedback will be useful and how you should use feedback as part of your creative process. Subscribe to The Writers’ Gym in your favourite podcast app to be notified of all new episodes as the…
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This is our trailer for The Writers' Gym Podcast. We'll be releasing episodes weekly each Wednesday from 6th March and we'll cover topics such as How not to give feedback Editing 101 Unreliable narrators World building "What's Your Wessex" : A guide to place in fiction Layout "Write what you know" : A discussion Each episode features Rachel Knightl…
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Season 6 finale! '90s dance legend Rozalla joins Genevieve to reminisce about the success of her smash hit Everybody's Free (To Feel Good). She talks about her proud legacy of the song, foam parties, '90s fashion and reveals why Michael Jackson ran away from her on tour... Rozalla also talks about dancing with Al Pacino, training as a beauty therap…
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A chat with Diana Mather, who played Dingo Wucka's secretary in ep 6 of Filthy Rich & Catflap and also had plenty of TV experience as a presenter & newsreader for the BBC, ATV and more, including a few continuity links just like Richie Rich! Diana shares nifty anecdotes about her television career and becoming a prolific author and etiquette expert…
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Peter joins Genevieve to reminisce about making classic movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and his starring role as Charlie Bucket. He talks about working with Gene Wilder, the problem with everlasting gobstoppers, his burping double and the amazing legacy of the film. Pete explains why he decided to quit acting after making the movie and …
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A long lost Rik Mayall live gig audio recording surfaced in Western Australia in January 2024, taken from a Rik & Ben Elton gig on 17 May 1986 in Perth. Podcasto Catflappo got the scoop and is making Dingo Wucker proud by breaking the story and giving you exclusive access to this 45-minute audio treat before it gets released to the world at RikMaya…
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Richie Rich is the star around whom Filthy Rich & Catflap revolves, so Jeffers & Dave talk about Richie for 3 hours, plus segments with guests! We ask the question: What do we actually KNOW about Gertrude Richard Rich? As it turns out, we know loads but plenty of it is contradictory! We document all the Richie-related evidence from on-screen events…
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Acclaimed actor, poet and novelist Nigel Planer joins Dr Rachel Knightley for a very special, between-series episode of The Writers’ Gym podcast. From writers’ geographical landscapes to the love of flares and the influence of Pratchett on their lives and works, this is a sneak preview of Nigel Planer and Friends, featuring Nigel, Rachel and filmma…
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Well-known upholsterer and TV identity Craig Hughes joins us for a chat about seeing the recording of Filthy Rich & Catflap in 1986, and then Red Dwarf, while living in Manchester. Craig was also a sound engineer and promoter in the Madchester music scene, balancing that with his restoration work which later saw him become a specialist regular on T…
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Genevieve stops by to wish everyone a happy new year and reflect on an unbelieveable 2023 for Celebrity Catch Up - filled with award wins, #1 chart positions around the world and more. The pod will return in the new year to continue Season 6 with more nostalgia and more guests talking about how their lives unfolded after that thing they did! ===== …
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Paul Jackson, producer and director of Filthy Rich & Catflap, is our special guest for the Xmas 2023 edition of the podcast. Paul chats about the show's genesis, gives his take on the series nearly 40 years later, and recalls some of the great folks who worked on the series but are no longer with us. It's a very special interview so dive on in! Tha…
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Nigel Planer – comedy star of The Young Ones, Filthy Rich and Catflap and creator of 1984 hit single ‘Hole in my Shoe’ – joins Ade for lunch as they discuss being stuntmen on set, the invention of Nigel’s character, Nicholas Craig, and the time Nigel got sent to A and E by a 10-foot chocolate éclair. Nigel and Ade lunched at BiBo in Shoreditch: htt…
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Deniece joins Genevieve to reminisce about her rise to fame in the '80s alongside her siblings in smash hit pop group Five Star. She talks about growing up in the public eye as a teenager, massive shoulder pads, making history winning a Brit Award and the infamous Going Live! phone-in incident. Deniece also opens up about the backlash the group fac…
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Katherine Parkinson - star of Here We Go, The IT Crowd and Doc Martin – joins Ade for lunch as she shares her secret to getting through panel shows in the early days, admits the majority ‘The IT Crowd’ was unscripted, and why her brothers are convinced she worked for MI5. Please note: there is some particularly strong language in this episode. Kath…
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Actor, comedian and co-writer of ‘Inside No.9’ Reece Shearsmith recollects the terrifying time he had to deliver an original monologue to his comedy hero - Victoria Wood and admits that he and comedy friends Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer and Matt Berry have a lunch club where they gossip about other comedians. Ade and Reece had a delicious meal at Medit…
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Omri joins Genevieve to reminisce about his rise to fame first in Dallas and then cult mystery Eerie Indiana. He chats about Larry Hagman, preserving himself in tupperware (who could forget THAT episode!) and explains why Eerie was the most fun set he's worked on. Omri also reveals how he feels about seeing his 15-year-old self on TV every day ever…
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Lead vocalist and founding member of The Selecter, Pauline Black retells a very awkward moment with Vanessa Redgrave, the reason behind changing her surname and interviewing on of her heroes, Jesse Jackson. Ade and Pauline loved eating at the seafood restaurant, Prawn on the Lawn: https://prawnonthelawn.com/ Listen to The Selecter’s latest release …
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