The MarshyCast

Paul Marsh

Dive into the fascinating world of entertainment, gain valuable insights into mental and physical wellness, explore the latest technological innovations, and indulge in the lighter side of life with our comedic discussions.

  1. 21h ago

    Anthea Turner on Looking After Your Future Self, Kilimanjaro and Finally Getting Her Gold Blue Peter Badge

    Send us Fan Mail If you could do one thing today to make life easier for yourself in ten or twenty years, what would it be? It's a question more of us are beginning to consider as we think about our “future selves”, and it's something I discussed with renowned Blue Peter presenter Anthea Turner when she joined me on The MarshyCast. Although before we got to the sensible stuff, there was an important injustice to address. Anthea finally has her Gold Blue Peter badge! Given everything Anthea did during her time on Blue Peter, you might assume a Gold badge had been safely tucked away somewhere for years. Apparently not. Anthea told me she eventually received one, not necessarily because somebody looked back at her achievements and decided the time had come, but because she moaned that she didn't have one. Sometimes asking really does work. And Anthea certainly hasn't stopped taking on challenges since her Blue Peter days. She recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for charity, which led us onto the increasingly adventurous things some of us seem to do as we get older. You'd think age might encourage a quieter life. Instead, Anthea has climbed Kilimanjaro and previously found herself jumping out of a plane on Celebrity SAS. Looking after the person you'll become Behind the adventures was a more serious conversation about planning for later life. Looking after your future self isn't just about putting money aside. It's also about staying on top of your health and making decisions now that could make life easier further down the road. We talked about the financial side too, including smart meters and how having a clearer picture of the energy you're using can help households understand their usage. Although Anthea identified another potential benefit. They can help you win arguments. If someone insists they're definitely not responsible for the energy bill, having the numbers in front of you may suddenly turn domestic debate into a particularly low-budget episode of CSI. We also talked about attitudes towards money among younger generations. Being sensible with money and knowing how to save might not sound like the most romantic qualities on a dating profile, but financial habits can matter when people think about building a future together. Ultimately, whether it's health, finances or simply continuing to challenge yourself, the conversation comes back to one question: What can you do now that your future self will be grateful for? Although if that future self fancies climbing another mountain or jumping out of an aeroplane, Anthea might be setting the bar slightly high. 🎧 Hear my full conversation with Anthea Turner now on The MarshyCast, available on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.  Find me on all social media @paulswampymarsh

  2. 1d ago

    Laura Lexx on Marriage, Getting Older and Why Life Is a Yo-Yo

    Send us Fan Mail There comes a moment in life when you realise you might not be cool anymore. For comedian Laura Lexx and me, it appears that moment involves standing in a playground collecting conkers for your children. How did this happen? Laura joined me on The MarshyCast to talk about her show Yo-Yo, which looks at life, love and what happens when a marriage reaches the point where your partner has pretty much seen everything you've got. As Laura and I have both been married for 11 years, our conversation inevitably became a minor investigation into one of life's great mysteries: How do men and women actually manage to live together? Because there's something peculiar about a long-term relationship. You spend years fighting against whatever life throws at you. You're building careers, sorting out homes, raising families and generally trying to get yourselves to a place where everything feels reasonably settled. Then one day you realise things are actually... good. Excellent. Now you can start arguing with each other about something completely ridiculous. It's that up-and-down nature of relationships that helps explain the title Yo-Yo. Laura describes it as a metaphor not just for marriage, but for life itself. Things go up, things go down and just when you think you've got everything under control, off it goes again. Of course, turning your marriage and family into comedy raises another question. Does Laura's husband get veto power? I asked whether she needs permission before putting jokes about him into a show. It turns out she does run material past him, and he's not the only member of the family with potential editorial influence. Dad gets consulted too. There must be something slightly terrifying about discovering that an embarrassing family moment hasn't just been remembered, it's now got a lighting cue. We also talked about getting older and that strange moment when you look at your life and wonder when exactly the transition happened. Once you were cool. Now you're collecting conkers. And because discussing 11 years of marriage wasn't risky enough, we finished with a game that could cause considerably more trouble: Marriage: Keep It or Bin It? A selection of the little things that come with married life, with Laura deciding whether they're worth keeping or need to go straight in the marital skip. No relationships were harmed in the making of the podcast. Probably. 🎧 Hear my full conversation with Laura Lexx now on The MarshyCast, available on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.  Find me on all social media @paulswampymarsh

  3. 2d ago

    First Time Flyers on Coming Home, Their 2027 Tour and Four Solo Artists Becoming One

    Send us Fan Mail Sometimes you're so focused on where you're going that you forget to look back at how far you've already travelled. That's something Poppy and Vicki from First Time Flyers reflected on when they joined me for the latest episode of The MarshyCast. There's plenty to look forward to for the band, including their single and album Coming Home and a UK tour in 2027, but our conversation also gave us a chance to rewind to where First Time Flyers began. Before becoming a band, all four members were independent artists with careers and musical identities of their own. On paper, there's an obvious question: if four solo artists can come together and make it work, why don't more people do it? As Poppy and Vicki explain, it's not quite that simple. Becoming a band means finding a shared identity while still bringing four individual personalities, voices and experiences to the table. We talked about how that relationship has developed and whether they ever sit down to write a song with a particular member of First Time Flyers in mind. Then there's Coming Home. With new music, an album and a tour ahead, I asked whether this feels like the beginning of a new era for First Time Flyers. We also talked about the importance of occasionally stopping to recognise what you've achieved. Music can be a world where the next single, next gig and next milestone are always demanding attention, so how good are they at actually enjoying the moment? And there are going to be plenty more moments to enjoy when First Time Flyers head out across the UK in 2027. Poppy and Vicki gave me a taste of what fans can expect from the tour, before we abandoned the sensible questions altogether for some First Time Flyers Quickfire Questions. Four solo artists walked into a band... It turns out that's where the adventure really started. 🎧 Hear my full conversation with Poppy and Vicki from First Time Flyers now on The MarshyCast, available on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.  Find me on all social media @paulswampymarsh

  4. 5d ago

    Amanda Ross on Agatha Christie, the Return of the Whodunit and Between The Covers Live

    Send us Fan Mail When you're reading a murder mystery, are you trying to beat the detective to the killer, or are you perfectly happy being fooled until the final page? It's a question I put to TV executive Amanda Ross when she joined me on The MarshyCast to talk about Between The Covers Live: Celebrating Agatha Christie. The live show brings together Amanda with author, actor and director Ben Miller, bestselling crime writer Lucy Foley and barrister, broadcaster and bestselling author Rob Rinder to celebrate the enduring appeal of Agatha Christie. Lucy also has a particularly fascinating connection to Christie's world, having been trusted by Agatha Christie Limited to write a brand new Miss Marple novel, Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel, 50 years after Christie's final Marple adventure was published. One of the things that struck me while preparing for the interview was simply the sheer amount of work Christie produced. How do you keep coming up with new characters, crimes, motives and twists without the creative well eventually running dry? Amanda and I talked about that extraordinary creativity and why, decades later, audiences are still fascinated by Christie's stories. It also feels like the whodunit is having another moment. Crime novels remain hugely popular, while murder mysteries have found enthusiastic audiences across books, television and film. Part of the fun is that they can be enjoyed in completely different ways. Some of us mentally pin photographs to an imaginary evidence board, suspicious of anyone who enters the drawing room carrying a cup of tea. Others haven't got a clue who did it and are having a marvellous time anyway. We also talked about what happens when you take the experience of discussing books and put it in front of a live audience. For Amanda, one of the joys of Between The Covers Live is bringing people together who share that enthusiasm for stories, characters and, in this case, the Queen of Crime. With Ben Miller, Lucy Foley and Rob Rinder joining her, I also wanted to know whether Amanda had secretly vetted everyone beforehand. After all, you don't want to discover halfway through an Agatha Christie celebration that one of your guests thinks Poirot is a French restaurant. And what about the audience? Do you need an encyclopaedic knowledge of Christie before taking your seat, or can complete newcomers turn up without doing any homework? Thankfully, Amanda explains exactly what audiences can expect. No magnifying glass required. 🔎 🎧 Hear the full conversation with Amanda Ross now on The MarshyCast, available on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.  Find me on all social media @paulswampymarsh

  5. 6d ago

    Sally-Anne Hayward: Why Ageing Isn’t a Crisis, It’s an Upgrade

    Send us Fan Mail Getting older gets a pretty terrible marketing campaign. Grey hairs, aching knees and suddenly making noises every time you get out of a chair. But comedian Sally-Anne Hayward thinks there’s another side to it. Ageing isn’t a crisis, it’s an upgrade. That’s the theme of Sally-Anne’s new comedy show and, when she joined me on The MarshyCast, I wanted to know what actually gets better with age. One of the biggest changes is becoming more comfortable in your own skin. There can be something liberating about reaching the point where other people’s opinions don't carry quite as much weight as they once did. We talked about whether that confidence simply arrives with age or comes from years of discovering who you actually are. But is getting older the same experience for everyone? Sally-Anne and I discussed the differences between ageing as a man and as a woman, and whether women potentially face greater pressure around appearance and expectations as they get older. There's another part of ageing that doesn't get discussed quite as much: friendships changing. People who were hugely important in your twenties might no longer be part of your everyday life years later. Careers change, relationships happen, families arrive and people move in completely different directions. Sometimes there isn't an argument or dramatic falling out. Life simply changes and people drift apart. Sally-Anne also told me that getting more experienced as a comedian doesn't mean you stop learning. She still watches other performers and notices the little things that make them particularly good at what they do. Sometimes it's something on stage, but often it's what audiences don't see: preparation, discipline and sheer work ethic. And after discussing all the wisdom that supposedly arrives with age, there was only one sensible way to finish. A game of Getting Older: Upgrade or Downgrade? Because some parts of ageing might genuinely improve your life. Others? Well... your knees may wish to lodge an appeal. 🎧 Hear the full conversation with Sally-Anne Hayward now on The MarshyCast, available on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.  Find me on all social media @paulswampymarsh

  6. Sep 30

    Michael Ball on Glow, Willy Wonka and Why the Fear Never Completely Goes Away

    Send us Fan Mail Michael Ball has spent more than four decades performing on some of the biggest stages in musical theatre. But despite all that experience and success, there's still a voice in his head asking: Am I good enough? It's something Michael spoke remarkably openly about when he joined me on the latest episode of The MarshyCast. Michael is heading back out on the road with his new show, Glow, including a date at Portsmouth Guildhall, and we talked about what audiences can expect and, perhaps more importantly, how he wants people to feel when they walk out afterwards. We also talked venues. Portsmouth Guildhall has welcomed some extraordinary performers over the years, but life backstage isn't always quite as glamorous as audiences might imagine. Michael recalled one particular venue where the facilities included a shower... in a hallway. Nothing says showbusiness quite like trying to wash your hair while somebody wanders past looking for the dressing room. Our conversation also turned to Michael's latest theatrical challenge: playing Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Taking on such an iconic character might be daunting for any performer, but Michael admitted that even after everything he's achieved, he can still be plagued by the fear that he isn't good enough for a role. It was fascinating to hear someone with his experience talk so candidly about self-doubt and how it hasn't simply vanished with success. We also discovered some common ground through radio. Michael has spent plenty of time behind the microphone himself, and we talked about the best interviews being the ones that stop feeling like interviews altogether. Rather than mechanically working through a list of questions, they become two people having a conversation. Which, appropriately enough, is exactly where our own chat ended up. Before Michael escaped, I had one final question. Across a career containing so many memorable characters, if he could perform just one of his previous roles again, which would he choose? His answer gives us a lovely look back at an extraordinary stage career while Glow and Willy Wonka point towards what's still to come. 🎧 Hear my full conversation with Michael Ball now on The MarshyCast, available on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.  Find me on all social media @paulswampymarsh

  7. Sep 29

    Judi Love on Why We're Better at Helping Others Than Asking for Help Ourselves

    Send us Fan Mail If a friend told you they were struggling financially, you'd probably tell them not to suffer in silence. But would you take the same advice yourself? That's something comedian Judi Love and I discussed on the latest episode of The MarshyCast, after research found that 70% of people are more comfortable talking about other people's problems than their own. Before getting into the serious stuff, Judi told me about her recent trip to the London Podcast Festival and what a brilliant experience she'd had. But our conversation soon turned to something affecting households across the country: the difficulty many people have admitting they're struggling financially. And that struggle doesn't necessarily look the way we might expect. We talked about how earning a decent wage doesn't automatically mean somebody is financially comfortable. Rising household costs and individual circumstances can leave people struggling to pay bills, including some of the people we rely on every day. The fact that members of our emergency services can find themselves struggling financially despite working on the front line is particularly sobering. The problem is that asking for help can feel incredibly difficult. Judi and I talked about the strange contradiction between being willing to listen to somebody else's problems, offer advice and tell them there's no shame in seeking support, while finding it much harder to admit when we need that support ourselves. Social media can add another layer. When we're constantly seeing snapshots of other people's holidays, meals, homes and apparently perfect lives, it can become easy to believe everybody else is doing brilliantly. Of course, we're usually seeing the highlights rather than the bank balance. We also discussed support available through the British Gas Energy Trust, including grants that may be available to people struggling with energy costs. Perhaps the most important part of the conversation, though, is much simpler: being good at helping other people shouldn't stop us asking for help when we're the ones who need it. 🎧 Hear my full conversation with Judi Love now on The MarshyCast, available on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.  Find me on all social media @paulswampymarsh

  8. Sep 23

    Mike Brewer & Elvis Priestley Take Wheeler Dealers Back Around the World

    Send us Fan Mail Buying a Honda NSX in Japan sounds like the sort of assignment most petrolheads would accept before you've even finished asking the question.  But this is Wheeler Dealers, so naturally things don't go entirely to plan.  On the latest episode of The MarshyCast, I caught up with Mike Brewer and Marc 'Elvis' Priestley to talk about Season 3 of Wheeler Dealers World Tour, which once again takes the pair around the globe in search of incredible cars and the people who love them.  The new series begins in Japan with one particularly exciting target: the legendary Honda NSX.  It's a car with a huge following around the world, and buying one in its homeland should have been a dream start to the new adventure.  Then came the gearbox.  A problem with the car suddenly meant Mike and Elvis weren't simply enjoying the sights and sounds of Japan. Instead, they found themselves spending days working in a garage, with the trip even involving sleeping on floors.  Perhaps not quite the five-star international television experience you might imagine!  However, their Japanese adventure also takes them somewhere very special: Suzuka Circuit.  The famous race track has an enormous place in motorsport history, and Mike and Elvis had the opportunity to visit the circuit and meet fellow NSX enthusiasts who share their passion for one of Japan's most celebrated performance cars.  During our conversation, we talked about what happened when their plans started to unravel, the work needed to get the NSX sorted and what it was like experiencing the car culture surrounding it in Japan.  And Japan is only the beginning.  I also asked Mike and Elvis about where the rest of Season 3 takes them as Wheeler Dealers World Tour once again goes hunting for cars, stories and automotive adventures around the globe.  Because apparently travelling the world making a television programme about incredible cars isn't quite challenging enough without the occasional broken gearbox thrown in.  🎧 Hear my full conversation with Mike Brewer and Marc 'Elvis' Priestley now on The MarshyCast, available on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.  Wheeler Dealers World Tour Season 3 airs Wednesdays at 9pm on Discovery UK.  Find me on all social media @paulswampymarsh

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Dive into the fascinating world of entertainment, gain valuable insights into mental and physical wellness, explore the latest technological innovations, and indulge in the lighter side of life with our comedic discussions.