Comedians

TV Review: Big School, Series 2

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Big School is a British Sitcom that began last year and was highly successful and incredibly popular. It has a common set up, being set in a regular secondary school, but the two main roles are filled by the nation’s sweethearts, and comedy legends, Catherine Tate and David Walliams. The double act is striking because it blends two of the biggest comic actors from when I was very young, and I wouldn’t necessarily have thought they could work so well together. But, God, do they.

We all know that Walliams is a brilliant character actor from his memorable performances in Little Britain, but here he plays a character I have never seen him attempt before. Socially inept and shockingly childish, Mr Church is a Chemistry teacher at Greybridge School. Upon the arrival of the new French teacher, Miss Postern (Tate), Church falls head over heels in love and makes it his mission to sweep her off her feet.

Tate and Walliams’ personalities bounce off each other fluently and with great ease. They compliment one another with their quick, abrasive dialogue and clearly find each other utterly hilarious. Their obvious compatibility makes this programme a very easy and enjoyable one to watch, with the help of Philip Glenister’s role of PE teacher, Mr Gunn. Trevor Gunn is painfully dense but also very likeable. He has a fantastic screen presence, and a certain vulnerability that makes him very endearing.

Another stand out performance is that of Frances de la Tour, who plays the role of Ms Baron, the abhorrent but hysterically funny headmistress of Greybridge. Her character is similar to that of Michelle Gomez’s Sue White in Green Wing but a little less insane, and significantly more hateful. Morgana Robinson pleasantly surprised us all with a guest appearance in one episode as Miss Postern’s school ‘friend’ turned novelist who seems somewhat more successful than the French teacher herself, much to Postern’s disgust.

The only criticism I have of this show regards a very minor detail, and that is the role of the school children at Greybridge. Individually they are all wonderful actors, of course, they wouldn’t be there otherwise, but the way the school acts as a collective seems abnormal to me- though this may be because I spend most of my life at school. And then again, Greybridge isn’t an entirely normal school, so maybe that’s just me being too rational: something that Big School definitely is not! You will have to make your own judgements in that case, and that can only be done by catching up with the whole series on BBC iPlayer.

Stand & Deliver

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In June 2014, a proposed magazine finally became a confirmed project as Stand & Deliver’s KickStarter campaign proved to be a huge success. Enough people (including myself) had pledged a donation towards the printing of the magazine’s first edition so the making and distributing of this beautiful product could get underway.

Stand & Deliver aims to fill the gap in the market for the comedy nerds of the world. It combines comedy, journalism, art and photography into one stunning package and I’m sure (well, I hope) that that is an exciting prospect for any reader of this site. One of the main reasons I supported this project was because the sheer amount of care, love and passion gone into it was painfully apparent. Seeing another person’s passion for what is most important to them in life will always, in turn, spark interest from me: I’m a big fan of hard work and effort.

stand & deliver

A page dedicated to all of Stand & Deliver’s supporters

As well as this, the magazine promises contributions from many of my favourite comedians and artists including Tony Law and Dave Brown in the first edition. I even spotted an article from last month’s Comedian Of The Month, Gavin Webster. That article in particular was of great interest to me, and really summed up what Stand & Deliver Magazine seems to be about: doing things for the love of doing them, namely: for the love of comedy.

Not only is the content of Stand & Deliver magazine made with care and innovation, the physicality of it is also of magnificent quality. The paper is strong and there’s so much of it that it’s more of a book than a magazine, and who doesn’t love a good book? Having read the first edition from cover to cover, I have already learned so much about obscure things like foreign comedy circuits, opinions on hecklers and my favourite: the Machynlleth Comedy Festival.

And finally, I would like to applaud the people at Stand & Deliver for their insanely hard work and can’t wait for next month’s copy to arrive! You can pick up your copy of the magazine here.

TV Review: Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy, Series 2

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I wrote a post towards the end of July reflecting on the first episode of Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy: Tales from Painted Hawaii (series two) but this series has been so dense with artistic talent and clear passion, that I couldn’t possibly not revisit it after all five episodes.

It’s no secret that I am a massive fan of Noel Fielding and his work, so was obviously hugely excited that the long-anticipated second series had finally arrived. These episodes have taken a long time to produce because they are one of a kind; the process of making them seems to be more rigorous than that of various other Sitcom style shows. Love Luxury Comedy or hate it, it is impossible to deny that the makers of this show have presented their audience with great innovation: with the bright and complex animation from Nigel Coan; an eccentric soundtrack from Fielding and Kasabian‘s Serge Pizzorno; along with brilliantly intricate set and costume design from James Dillon and Ameena Kara Callender.

As well as the obvious beauty and detail involved in the visuals of Luxury Comedy, the stories are also packed full of references to art and literary culture such as Andy Warhol (of course), George Orwell and Yoko Ono. This alone is proof for me that the makers of Luxury Comedy have not been lazy during the creative process: every scene is punchy, a little bit mad, but also intelligent.

Reality Man

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Watchers of series one who weren’t impressed may be pleased to know that this series is a lot more relatable for audiences, with occasional cynical statements that can catch you off guard.

Smooth: “What do you do to escape?”

Reality Man: “Panel shows. What’s funnier than five men in shiny shirts taking a side-ways look at the week’s news?”

In this way, I think this series is a lot more self-aware, in fact, one episode even focuses on the idea of the show only having one viewer (a Brummie named Terry, played by Steve Oram) and the fact that they must save him from certain death.

In addition to the lovely Noel, the show is full of immense comedic talents such as his Mighty Boosh co-stars (Dave Brown, Rich Fulcher, Richard Ayoade, Simon Farnaby and Tom Meeten) and of course, the delightful star of Doll & Em: Dolly Wells and Tom Meeten’s partner-in-crime: Steve Oram (Sightseers).

I would have to say that this programme is probably one of my favourites to ever appear on television, particularly this new series. It appeals to all of my interests: comedy, music and art (and Noel Fielding of course) but most importantly of all: Luxury Comedy is a source of inspiration to me. Every aspect screams quality and I sincerely hope the show and its creators flourish in the coming months as a result.

The whole of Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy: Tales From Painted Hawaii is available on 4OD.

Seven Questions With… Angela Barnes

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Angela Barnes is a brilliant comedian who takes usually unnoticed everyday situations and effortlessly turns them on their head; she is unique, quick-witted and most importantly: brave. With appearances on Russell Howard’s Good News and, more recently, Mock The Week, Angela has shown an array of strong and diverse material to fit any occasion (maybe not a funeral, but we can’t have it all). Her comedy is relatable, silly, and therefore, absolutely wonderful.
To learn a little more about the person behind the comedy, I asked Angela these seven questions…

1) What inanimate object best describes you?

I think a 4-colour biro best describes me. I always use a 4 colour-biro, so my writing will match my mood.  So, maybe I am a biro with just 4 colours: Red – happy, black – sad, blue – angry, green-mental.

Yep, that about covers it.

2) What is the first thing you notice about new people?

Whether they have a face. Or, at least, I reckon I’d definitely notice if they didn’t, so…

3) Is there a certain subject that you would never write material about?

At the moment, I won’t do any material about my previous working life. That’s mainly because I am a pessimist, and am certain that this comedy lark will almost certainly go tits up, and I will have to go back to doing what I used to do. I’m not going to risk my chances of getting a job by writing gags about it.

4) What’s the most recent thing you’ve done that was really stupid?

I was walking through town the other day, and a homeless gentleman was approaching me. I tried to work out how to get away from him, what excuse to give him for not giving him any money. I avoided eye contact and barged past him, but he followed me. I sped up, so did he, I was feeling uncomfortable. Then he caught up, tapped me on shoulder and said “sorry love, your flies are undone, thought you’d want to know”.  He was just being nice. i gave him a fiver and berated myself for being a self-important twat.

5) Which season of the year is your least favourite?

I think my least favourite season is whichever season I am currently in. I always think I love summer, but then I remember hay fever and sunburn. I burn stupidly easy. I was complaining to my Mum about having to plaster myself in F50, she said  “well you redheads do burn easily don’t you”.  Might surprise you, but this is not my natural hair colour. It is nobody’s natural hair colour. I said, “yes Mum, you’re right, when I got my hair dyed, it was a mistake getting the matching skin graft”.

My hay fever starts in February and lasts til October. My doctor gave me a new nasal spray, it works, but it genuinely smells of flowers. Thanks for that Doc, if I had a peanut allergy, I’d want my lifesaving adrenaline shot to smell of sun pat wouldn’t I?

Then I think I like winter, Christmas lights, mulled wine, woolly tights. Then I remember that being cold sucks, and that in my job, I often have to stand on train platforms at silly times of night in the middle of nowhere. I remember how much I miss light, how much I hate snow, and then winter loses its appeal too.

I used to think I had Seasonal Affective Disorder, but now I think I might just be a miserable arse. Yes that’s it.

6) What animal would you most like to be?

angela barnesI’d most like to be a donkey. There are not many people who don’t like donkeys. Apparently, so many old people leave money to donkey sanctuaries in their wills, that they don’t know how to spend it all. Spend my days grazing on a sweet pasture, with top of the range hay and a pimped up stable, thanks to some spinster who hated her family. That sounds like a good life to me.

Also, donkeys know what’s what. In Animal Farm (not that one, the Orwell), Benjamin the donkey gets what’s going on before any of the other animals.  Eeyore in Winnie The Pooh knows that life is essentially shit, and you have to make the best of it.

I guess I’m just a good old fashioned pessimist. I wouldn’t have it any other way, when you always expect the worst, you can’t be disappointed.

7) What is the best thing that has come out of being a comedian for you?

I’m going to try really hard not to sound wanky here, but no promises.  I wanted to be a comedian for as long as I remember, but I thought it was something that the cool, confident kids did. The realisation that comedy is a perfect creative outlet for those of us that have never felt like we belonged properly was an immense thing.

I can be me, albeit a sometimes exaggerated version of me, and it doesn’t matter that I’m not the prettiest girl, or the thinnest girl, or the coolest girl, people still want to hear what I say (sometimes). And finding that out was the best feeling in the world.

I can’t believe that someone like me is allowed to do this. And get paid for it.

For more information on Angela’s latest shows check out her website, or her Twitter at @AngelaBarnes.

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

August: Comedian Of The Month #7, Gavin Webster

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Each Comedian of the Month on MoodyComedy is a comic who has never previously featured on the website. Reasons for selection can include various current projects the comedian is involved with, or perhaps recent appearances on television programmes or podcasts. There is no strict criteria however, as Comedian of the Month simply stands as a collection of recommendations, highlighting interesting and original aspects of certain comedians and their work.

With August being the month of the Edinburgh Festival, even those of us stuck at home have been introduced to many new comedians through various television and radio shows covering events there. This month’s favourite comedian discovery, Gavin Webster, was one of those who was lucky enough to be able to perform on the TV show, Edinburgh Nights with Sue Perkins, and he did a very good job of it too.

What I liked about watching Gavin Webster’s short set on this Edinburgh variety-style show was the way it had elements to suggest imminent derailment. Webster showed an interesting blend of comfort and mild danger, with a deceptively nonchalant delivery and carefree nature.

In this way, his style is similar to that of Tony Law: he gives the appearance of chaos whilst remaining entirely in control. The audience is lead to believe that he has run out of ideas or that the show hasn’t gone to plan. A mere few minutes into his Edinburgh Nights set, he announced: “I’m beginning to run out of material now,” which is the kind of thing that gets a big laugh but leaves an intriguing sense of anxiety in the air.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGEngpLiQ6g

Webster is automatically likeable; he is a Geordie man of the people. His accent is wonderful (his own, and his impersonations) and he seems like a genuinely nice guy on stage: relatable and approachable.

Coincidentally, upon deciding that Gavin Webster was to be this month’s Comedian of the Month, my copy of the first edition of Stand & Deliver Mag (a post about of that will be up in the coming weeks) arrived with an article written by him within it. He wrote a brilliant piece about the roles within stand up comedy in today’s society and talked with true passion about a subject close to many of our hearts: genuine, clever comedy. Here, in 2014, we are surrounded by countless comedians: on television, in pubs, at art centres. Some, we follow on Twitter and others we pass in the street. They are everywhere and that is a fantastic thing but it is important that the passion and care for comedy by performers and audiences alike is kept alive.

For more information, visit Gavin Webster’s website and follow him on Twitter.

JULY COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

TV Review: Green Wing

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I know I’m late to the party with this one, with Green Wing having first been broadcast in September 2004 (though you could say I’ve chosen the best time to watch it: on its ten year anniversary).

IMDB describes the show as a “funny hospital-based sketch-comedy-drama type show,” which I think is very accurate, but if I had to describe Green Wing in just one word, I would probably say it is ‘dense’. This is neither a negative nor positive judgement of the show, though I do like it very much. I think my feelings stems from a few core values it holds throughout: firstly, the episodes are physically very long (each around 50 minutes) and there are nine of them in the series. As well as this, however, I think this feeling of density comes from the vast amount of quality acting, writing and directing throughout.

The cast is thriving with young (therefore not so young and very well known now) British comedy talent, including Tamsin Greig, Mark Heap, Stephen Mangan, Michelle Gomez and Olivia Colman (a few of my favourites, though there are more than ten big roles). I admire the cast of this programme because they aren’t afraid to look foolish: the writers make it clear that this is not a serious drama from the offset by scripting in surreal situations along with extremely childish behaviour.

green wing

There is a great deal of slapstick comedy with an almost Mr Bean-like quality to add to the entirely strange experience of watching Green Wing. The use of camera and soundtrack will often accentuate this in cases where everything will speed up at times and then slow right down to less-than-natural levels.

A stand-out performance for me would have to be that of Michelle Gomez, who plays Sue White, an actress who recently appeared in a recent episode of Doctor Who: Deep Breath and is also recognised as Bad Education‘s Isobel Pickwell. She captures the insanity of Green Wing effortlessly with her deadpan delivery of lines like: “I could put a spell on you” in the middle of a mature conversation.

Although Gomez is a particular favourite of mine, it would be impossible to pick an overall ‘best’ performance because they are all incredible and devoted actors. The insanity of Pippa Haywood and Tamsin Greig’s characters teamed with the typical almost-character-tropes of Stephen Mangan, Olivia Colman and Karl Theobald’s roles makes for truly excellent viewing.

This is obviously a show for every comedy-lover out there and I regret being so late to the party.

July: Comedian Of The Month #6, Noel James

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Each Comedian of the Month on MoodyComedy is a comic who has never previously featured on the website. Reasons for selection can include various current projects the comedian is involved with, or perhaps recent appearances on television programmes or podcasts. There is no strict criteria however, as Comedian of the Month simply stands as a collection of recommendations, highlighting interesting and original aspects of certain comedians and their work.

The stand out comedian for me this month is Welsh funny man: Noel James. I heard of him through a recent episode of Stuart Goldsmith’s Comedian’s Comedian Podcast in which Noel presented himself as a very thoughtful and self aware individual, and one that I was interested to find out some more about.

Throughout the episode, Noel discussed his use of wordplay and metaphors amongst many surreal one-liners. These often tie together to form mad little stories and frequently feature songs too: his comedy is clearly something of a variety act within a one-man show. He’s obviously a very intelligent guy, which is made even more clear when we hear that he can speak (and perform in) Welsh as well as English and in the words of the man himself: “I heard ‘sorry’ is the hardest word, but not compared to Welsh, I heard”.

What I like most about Noel is the way his natural sense of humour really comes through while he is performing. He is able to ad-lib, or appear to be ad-libbing, without hesitation and that is a very important factor in a live comedy experience for me because it makes the show feel unique and tailored to an audience. And it’s clear that Noel’s audiences do adore him; when watching clips of his stand up on YouTube, the laughs are constant and genuine and this is down to his wonderfully confident delivery and hints of absolute insanity.

Watching Noel James’ material and listening to him analyse it on Goldsmith’s podcast was a real breath of comedy fresh air for me (and not only due to his soothing Welsh accent). He brings an honesty to his work but also carries that hint of mystery that comes with surrealist comedy and I think that makes a lovely combination.

You can listen to Episode 86 of The Comedian’s Comedian Podcast at a price of your choosing here or download it from iTunes.

JUNE COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

TV Review: Mock The Week, Series 13

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On the 9th of February this year, the BBC made an announcement that lead me to write this post because it made me feel so disheartened. The announcement concerned the number of female comedians that are present on panel shows broadcast by the BBC and proposed that all new episodes of programmes like Mock The Week, Have I Got News For You and QI will have at least one woman each. The statement given by Danny Cohen, Director of Television at the BBC, that contained the proposal, was not taken well by comedians and the general public alike. As I explained in my post at the time, this was mainly because of the patronising nature of the new rule and I worried immensely about the effect this will have on female comedians and their audiences.

It is now five months later and the first half of Mock The Week series thirteen has been and gone. As promised, there has been one female comic on each of the six episodes so far and, as a result, I personally think it’s been one of the best series yet. This is because many wonderful comedians have been given the chance to appear on the show where they may not have been able to before, and many of them have been women. Now, I completely stand by the concerns I expressed in my previous post and still fear they are just as valid: I am very uncomfortable with the idea of a ‘token woman’ on such programmes and it’s always going to be an issue because of Cohen’s statement.

However, despite my worries, when I focus purely on the entertainment; when I pretend I don’t know why there are suddenly more women on Mock The Week, I thoroughly enjoyed the series. It made me incredibly happy to see some of my favourite female comedians make their Mock The Week debut, such as Angela Barnes and Sara Pascoe, and to see the wonderful Katherine Ryan make her fourth appearance on the show (an impressive achievement, looking at the statistics for such a programme). Not only were there many new female faces (also including Susan Calman and Tiff Stevenson), but I was also delighted to see one of my favourite male comedians appear on his second, third, fourth AND fifth episode: the hilarious Romesh Ranganathan.

So there have been six episodes in this half of the series and that means there have been six female comedians who got some screen time who may not have got it otherwise, and this has to be a good thing. I did some research and discovered that series eleven had five different female comedians throughout the whole of the twelve episodes: Jo Caulfield, Zoe Lyons, Ava Vidal, Andi Osho and Katherine Ryan. Likewise, series twelve only showed three on all eleven episodes and they were Ava Vidal, Katherine Ryan and Holly Walsh. Despite the humiliation of the extremely concentrated ‘positive discrimination’ that women (including the public as well as comedians) are being force-fed with, it is undeniable that Mock The Week is a better show because of it, I just wish it hadn’t been done so blatantly, before everyone’s eyes.

In February, I was made to feel embarrassed for being a girl. I felt like female comedians were being held up under a spotlight and examined; pitied. And it made me feel really helpless because if this is the only way for women to get an equal amount of time on panel shows, there is something very wrong with the world. But the effects seem to be wearing off and hopefully many people haven’t even noticed the change, which shows how unnatural it was to have so little female comedians on Mock The Week in the past.

Anyway, I don’t want this to be a negative post because I think the nation’s memory of Danny Cohen’s statement has faded considerably since February and I’d like to hope it stays like that. In general, the changes that have been made to the running of Mock The Week seem to be extremely positive and I hope this signals the start of some kind of panel-show-revolution.

PS. Another thing I noticed was that the female comic was always in the middle chair on Andy Parson’s team and that has intrigued me as I can’t think of a reason for that being so. If anyone can enlighten me as to why, that would be much appreciated.

Seven Questions With… Lost Voice Guy

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Lee Ridley, aka Lost Voice Guy, is a funny man with a unique comic voice: being that he literally has none. Lee relies on an iPad to communicate with his audiences, due to losing his speech as a child, which allows a completely different style of comedy gig to take place, and one that everybody should experience. With his light-hearted attitude towards his disability, Lee is working to end the stigma that is attached to such physical conditions while being a right laugh as he does so.
In order to find out a bit more about Lee, I asked him these seven questions…

1) Describe the strangest dream you’ve ever had?

I have strange dreams quite often actually. I’m not sure why. I can hardly remember any of them though. The only ones I can recall are the ones when I talk in my sleep and wake up with a load of random shit written on my iPad. I woke up once and found that I had written ‘but the Queen told me to do it’ so I’m guessing that was quite a weird dream.

2) In your opinion, what is the biggest disgrace to humanity?

Mrs Brown’s Boys, without doubt. I mean why? Why? WHY?! Why does it exist? What is it’s purpose? Is it supposed to be funny? Why does everyone seem to like it? Why does it make loads of money? It’s shit, isn’t it? Isn’t it?!!!!!!

3) Worst on-stage experience you’ve ever had?

A lot of comics suffer from stage fright but I’m not one of those. I’m more likely to suffer from a dead battery or the electricity going off. I suppose one of the worst on stage experiences was in Halifax when this woman stormed out of the room as I got on stage and said ‘oh I can’t watch this!’ I didn’t even think I was that ugly!

4) Three bands/artists in your perfect festival lineup?

Just three?! That’s really hard! Ash would be my first choice. I’ve always loved Ash since their 1977 album. I’d probably have the Manic Street Preachers as well but I’d make it clear to them that they had to only play their classics. Then I’d bring Michael Jackson back because he still owes me a gig from his London shows that got cancelled. Selfish bastard.

5) What ice cream flavour doesn’t exist, but should?

Monkey flavour ice cream. Because then you could ask for monkey’s blood to get put on top of it and it’d be so much more realistic as an experience. I doubt monkeys taste good though. I’ve never tried.

6) Other than humans, what is the most irritating animal on the planet?

Sheep. They’re constantly ruining my train journeys to gigs by standing on the train line. I meaLost Voice Guyn I don’t know why we can’t just run them over?! Maybe they’re trying to commit suicide anyway. They’re probably wondering why they never succeed.

7) Who is your comedy hero?

I always say Ross Noble so, for a change, I’m going to say The League Of Gentlemen. For everything they have made. I just love how dark and twisted they can get. It’s definitely my sort of humour. I just seem to adore everything they do. And I still want to go to the actual town which was made into Royston Vasey. I’d just go around shouting catchphrases from the show.

TICKETS ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR LEE RIDLEY’S 2014 EDINBURGH SHOW

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

TV Review: 24 Hours To Go Broke

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24 Hours To Go Broke is another exciting new show from the channel Dave, that I was gutted to only catch the last two episodes of (though I will be catching up with the others online). The concept of this show is interesting: a celebrity pairing are shipped off to a foreign country and given £10,000 (or that country’s equivalent) to spend in 24 hours (with the catch that all money must be spent on experiences so they can’t have anything to show for their money once the time is up and they can’t spend more than £1000 on one experience). If they fail to spend the entire sum of cash, they will be forced to do a humiliating forfeit. But they are not completely without help: each pair is given a few contacts who live nearby and who are willing to give advice on how to spend the money but also give suggestions of memorable ways there may be to get rid of the money.

Episode Four was a particularly strong episode as it followed a couple of television personalities that I really like: Countdown‘s Rachel Riley and comedian Joe Wilkinson. They regularly work together on 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown so I was intrigued to see how their friendship had formed and also knew that they were very funny together. I wasn’t disappointed. Rachel and Joe were sent to Thessaloniki in Greece to spend their money and I absolutely adored seeing the couple’s friendship develop even further as they shared these completely wacky experiences. Rachel and Joe had many quirky tasks that they had set themselves, such as Joe paying for pole-dancing lessons and the two of them running an electoral campaign so they can put on an annual vegetable festival (I said it was weird). There were moments in this episode that made me laugh out loud, for example when Joe Wilkinson was attempting to pole dance and he exclaimed: “I’m like a dainty horse!”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AriXb76TAoQ

Not only was what I saw of this series entertaining, it also taught a fair amount about the cultures of the people the celebrities met. For instance, in Greece it became apparent that they did not like to be overpaid for things as it was, in fact, rude in their culture: it was clear that the celebrities learned a lot. We also got to see many beautiful sights such as in Episode Five with Susan Calman and Phil Tufnell’s trek up a glacier in Reykjavik, Iceland (this was after a spot of elf therapy of course).

The money obviously came from the company at Dave but the concept still troubled me somewhat as it did seem terribly wasteful. However, when I thought about it further, it became clear to me that all television shows cost money to create, its just that the money had a different destination in this case. I personally don’t know how much the making of the series cost Dave but would expect it can’t have been too much more than that of your average show, especially as Dave isn’t as big as many other channels. This made me worry less about the ethics of the programme although I still wouldn’t say I was comfortable with it.

The nature of 24 Hours To Go Broke clearly allowed the contestants to create wonderful memories for themselves and have experiences that pretty much nobody else would ever have and for that, I think this programme is entirely unique. The bizarre events of the show actually really inspired me due to their surreal but achievable nature. At the end of Joe Wilkinson and Rachel Riley’s trip, Joe confirmed: “I’m definitely going to be less miserable for about forty five minutes”.

Catch up with this wonderful programme here and let me know what you think!