Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth Gyles Brandreth / Plain Jaine Productions / Keep It Light Media

This week's guest is the stand-up comedian, actor, marathon-runner and political activist Suzy Eddie Izzard. Suzy tells Gyles about her new name, and why she's relaxed about what people to choose to call her. She then takes Gyles back into her childhood, spent in Aden, Northern Ireland and South Wales, until the sudden death of her mother changed everything and Suzy and her brother were sent to boarding school.
Suzy talks about what made her want to perform, what gives her drive to take on new and greater challenges all the time; she and Gyles talk about street performing, and about Suzy's current, ground-breaking solo production of Hamlet (on at London's Riverside Studios in Hammersmith). Enjoy this fascinating episode of Rosebud.
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Gyles gets together with comedian Chris McCausland to record a really special episode of Rosebud. Chris takes Gyles back to his childhood days, playing football and messing about in the streets of West Derby Village in Liverpool, part of a close-knit family and friendship group. Chris talks about the beginnings of the problems with his sight, which started in childhood, how this affected his schooling and could, at times, make him feel self-conscious. He and Gyles also talk about whether Chris's sight problems affect his memories - which is fascinating. Chris tells Gyles about getting into stand-up, his best friend, how he met and married his wife and his experiences of being a dad. This is a life-affirming, inspiring, profound and at times, moving, episode of Rosebud - as Gyles demonstrates at the very end of the interview! Our huge thanks so Chris for giving his warmth, wit and wonderful reminiscences to us.
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Who is the cleverest person in Britain? When Gyles asked this question to readers of his columns last year, one name was mentioned more than any other; that of Martin Rees, Lord Rees of Ludlow, the Astronomer Royal. Lord Rees is one of the most distinguished scientists in the country, a former President of the Royal Society and a Cambridge fellow. He wrote the first papers on quasars (a type of black hole) and he, alongside other greats such as Dennis Sciama and Stephen Hawking, helped to develop our understanding of the origins of the universe. He is also, Gyles discovers, a man of incredible modesty who just got into science because "he wasn't much good at anything else".

This is a wide-ranging conversation which takes in not only Rees's childhood in Shropshire and early academic career, but also includes discussions of the big bang, the future of the earth, and what happens to scientists when they get old. Plus, there's a bombshell revelation about Sir Isaac Newton. This is one of our most profound and intelligent Rosebuds yet: which isn't surprising, given our guest. Thank you, Martin Rees.
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Gyles and Alexander Armstrong reminisce about Alexander's idyllic childhood in Northumberland, the son of a country GP. They talk about his school years, when he was an 'odd little boy' who sang in the school choir and was obsessed with Gilbert and Sullivan. They discuss the joy of Evensong, and the delights of PG Wodehouse, and Gyles finds out what it was like to live on Imogen Stubbs's barge in Chiswick. This episode was recorded on a sunny day in May, and we hope you can feel the sunshine as you listen to it - enjoy.
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Gyles meets the writer, clergyman and former member of the Communards Reverend Richard Coles. Together they talk about Richard's childhood, growing up as the musically gifted youngest son in a family of shoe manufacturers in Kettering, about how he discovered his sexuality and became part of London's gay scene in the 1980s, and about how he found his faith in the aftermath of the AIDS crisis. Gyles and Richard discuss the best way to pull a vicar, and whether a mental orgasm is better than a physical one. Thank you to Reverend Richard for his openness and for this wonderful conversation.

Our other big news is that this week is our sponsor Grosvenor House's 95th anniversary. To hear Gyles interview Stuart Bowery, the Manager of the hotel, all about Grosvenor House's fascinating history, go to https://grosvenorhousecasts.podbean.com/.
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Gyles has fun talking to Katherine Ryan about her early memories and formative experiences, with added discussions about the rights and wrongs of plastic surgery, whether you should tell anecdotes during sex, and what, exactly, is phallic swagger. This is a frank, open, revealing and sometimes inspiring conversation that's possibly slightly more adult than our usual episodes. Katherine tells Gyles about her childhood in a Canadian industrial town, about her parents and their divorce, and about her student job waitressing at Hooters. Thank you to Katherine for this brilliant conversation.
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