RHLSTP Book Club #157 - One Minute Away - Richard talks to comedian Mark Watson about his latest novel about delivery drivers and social inequality and mad love affairs, One Minute Away. They chat about what attracted Mark to this subject, whether he was worried about telling a story from the perspective of a Croatian food deliverer, how modern society can be compared to the life of insects, how love or sexual attraction can come at you fast, even when (or especially when) you know it’s doomed or dangerous, whether it’s best to get your first draft out in one go or take your time over revisions, why you sometimes have to let your characters dictate the action and change your ending and the difficult job of building up tension and making sure the denouement justifies the journey.

Buy the book here - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/mark-watson-untitled-book-2-mark-watson/6411774

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RHLSTP #585 - What If They’re Chinese? - Stand 3 has been hit by protestors, but amazingly it’s not for Rich (though maybe after this show it will be) - should people be trying to get Edinburgh shows cancelled, often for very tangential reasons? Rich couldn’t possibly comment. But does anyway. His guest is the reigning Edinburgh Award Best Newcome Joe Kent-Walters aka Frankie Monroe. They chat about how his show seems to build on previous comedians work to create something useful, how Frankie ended up with Sudocrem on his face and what the consequences of that might be, whether Rich was bored during Joe’s show (he wasn’t - it was very exciting to witness), meeting Bobby Davro, why a lackadaisical attitude towards ventriloquism is the best, how a character on stage has a confidence that the performer might not have in real life, the Yorkshire mafia and what happens if you leave your Gammon hammer on the train.

See Joe as Frankie Monroe on tour https://frankiemonroelive.com/

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#410 Saggy-Faced Satsuma - Richard has narrowly avoided a dinosaur based disaster, but never mind because a RHLSTP favourite is returning - the incomparable Bob Mortimer. They talk about holding dominion over the animals, whether questions are necessary in an interview, what prompted Bob to write his first novel and whether satsumas are the best small orange fruit, the adoration for Bob and Paul that the team behind Gone Fishing clearly have, why a double act of two nice men works, what it’s like being below average height, aspiring to watch TV, the treatment centre for phone addiction and how to take down coniferous trees. Also how many Bob Mortimers might there be out there and why his book imagines an alternate world for him?

Bob has also brought along his joke book for emergencies.

Buy Bob’s excellent book here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audible-The-Satsuma-Complex/dp/B0B5YBZP5J

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RHLSTP Book Club #156 - Fires Which Burned Brightly - None of your tat this week on the book podcast with the genius that is Sebastian Faulks, but test one is how will he react to Richard’s alternative title for this collection of essays that form a loose autobiography! Once we’ve over that hill, it’s plain sailing as they discuss how much the world has changed in the last few decades, the ethics of sending an 8 year old to boarding school, the glory days of journalism and mental illness. Is Richard still in a dream that started 25 years ago? How much research goes into a book like Birdsong? What is the motivation for writing books continuing the stories of James Bond and Jeeves and Wooster (not in the same books!)? Plus a discussion of 20th century toilet paper.

Sebastian Faulks is the author of Fires Which Burned Brightly: A Life in Progress (Hutchinson Heinemann £20, out now). He is appearing at the Southbank London Literature Festival on 29 October.

Buy the book here - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/fires-which-burned-brightly-sebastian-faulks/7792168

Get tickets to Sebastian's South Bank show on 29th October here https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/sebastian-faulks-fires-which-burned-brightly/

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RHLSTP #584 - Eleven Holes? - It’s approaching the end of the Fringe (for Rich at least) and his guest is, I think we can all agree, at least his equal as a ventriloquist, Nina Conti. They talk about her fantastic new independent film, Sunlight, how it’s a dark love story about a suicidal man, a woman in a monkey suit and an attempt to dig up a grave to recover a $20,000 dollar watch, but so much more than that. How the idea and the real life love began in the middle of a 50 hour improv session, the dangers of going under water in a monkey suit, how the film might appeal to Furries, how it could never be written by AI and why you should definitely see it. Plus how Nina ended up in Spinal Tap 2 and a good indication of why Richard didn’t, how ventriloquist dummies become their own people (or monkeys), the dark past of ventriloquists and whether Nina resents her monkey.

Nina's directorial debut film 'Sunlight' will have a UK theatrical release from 18th October 2025 (screening details here), or you can pre-order it on Apple TV here (UK) and here (Ireland) - available digitally from 28th November 2025.

Nina Conti has a UK tour extension of her hit live show 'Whose Face Is It Anyway?' from 30th September - 30th October 2025. Tickets here.

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#409 Di and Dodi Threesome - Recorded in the week of a tragic loss, at least there is good news for one of the podcast’s favourite personalities. Richard’s guest is the brilliant actor and writer and also his ex-girlfriend, Sally Phillips. They talk about the girl who smelled of spam and Sally’s impressive performance in the film “How To Please A Woman”, but they can’t avoid the elephant in the room and discuss there somewhat different memories of the break up of their relationship (and at least one of hers confuses a sketch with reality, but what is truth?) and how this impacted on their Edinburgh shows (and lives).

Can they reach a place of forgiveness for their behaviour? Also Sally’s side of the Princess Diana love triangle, how being in a comedy gang in the 1990s gave us all too much confidence, how she got the job in Alan Partridge, what led to her working with Mr Tumble and speculation on why Hugh Grant doesn’t talk to her. Also the impact of disablist language (and an appearance from her son, Ol), grabbing the reins of power, being careful what you wish for, Dexter Fletcher and a tension that makes this one of the greatest and funniest RHLSTPs ever.

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Book Club #155 - Mad, Isn’t It? - Richard talks to stand up comedian Emma Doran about her fantastic and funny memoir about teenage pregnancy “Mad, Isn’t It?”. They chat about the difficulty of being on Last One Laughing, deciding to take up stand up during a maternity leave, how it’s rare to hear the story of teenage pregnancy from the perspective of someone who has actually experienced it, why it was necessary to be completely honest about her teenage years, the positive outcomes from something that seemed like a disaster at the time and the hopefully changing attitudes to this regular and fairly predictable event! Plus gaining an audience from social media and some excellent book recommends!

Buy the book here - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/mad-isn-t-it-emma-doran/7741276

See Emma on tour https://www.emmadorancomedy.com/

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RHLSTP #583 - Seeing God in a Cloud - Rich is three days into Edinburgh and is already shouting angrily at the Scotch people, but mainly because he’s had a claim to fame taken away from him. His guest is a man who has also done a whole Edinburgh show about missing parts of his genitals, Tom Rosenthal. They chat about how being a movie star makes you very conscious of how much your watch costs, whether the people stuff say about you is true, why we don’t accuse butchers of nepotism, a brand new idea for an Edinburgh show for babies, the scam that philosophers are perpetrating (it’s Henri Bergson that he couldn’t remember the name of, and Justin Lee Collins), playing Private Pike and whether Richard’s many failures are down to his refusal to embrace his spiritual side.

See Tom on tour - https://tomrosenthal.net/

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