How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

I loved interviewing Richard Osman and can’t stop thinking about our conversation. I think it’s because his brain works at warp speed: I genuinely felt he was three steps ahead of every question I was about to ask. It became something of a personal challenge to ask a question he couldn’t guess beforehand and I *think* I managed it when I asked if he’d ever written to Jim’ll Fix It (he had, by the way). His mind was formed by an early passion for television and the stories it created. He became an expert producer of winning formats and then, in his 40s, transferred his skill for knowing what people wanted to books. His debut, The Thursday Murder Club, became the fastest-selling crime novel of all time. The following three in the same series have sold over 10 million copies globally. He joins me to talk about professional failure, his lifelong struggle with food addiction and his Fear Of Joining In (FOJI). Plus: cats and why being tall is a successful c**t radar. Richard’s new novel - We Solve Murders is published on 12 September 2024. As always, I’d LOVE to hear about your failures. Every week, my guest and I choose a selection to read out and answer on our special subscription offering, Failing with Friends. We’ll endeavour to give you advice, wisdom, some laughs and much, much more. Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Manager: Lily Hambly Studio and Mix Engineer: Josh Gibbs Senior Producer: Selina Ream Executive Producer: Carly Maile Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TW: infant loss and birth trauma Dr Jen Gunter is an obstetrician-gynaecologist, pain medicine physician and bestselling author. She’s most well-known to many of us as Twitter’s resident OB-GYN, the woman who took on Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop with claims of medical misinformation and one of the fiercest advocates for women’s health the world over. She had premature triplet boys in 2003 and tragically, one of her sons died at birth. To this day, Dr Gunter says her two boys ‘keep me so honest it hurts’. We discuss everything from first periods, failed marriages, failure to exercise to a failure to say no - sound familiar?! As always, I’d LOVE to hear about your failures. Every week, my guest and I choose a selection to read out and answer on our special subscription offering, Failing with Friends. We’ll endeavour to give you advice, wisdom, some laughs and much, much more. Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Manager: Lily Hambly Studio and Mix Engineer: Josh Gibbs Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Carly Maile Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My guest today has a nickname in showbiz circles: he’s called ‘Ideal Actor’ because of his scene-stealing talent and his ability to get under the skin of what it is to be human. If you’ve watched Netflix’s monster hit, Fool Me Once,  or seen Sherwood or Back To Life or The Night Manager or if you’ve watched the movies Four Lions or Murder Mystery 2, the chances are you will remember his performances. He’s a brilliant actor, but he’s also, as it happens, a wonderful guest - funny, moving and a deep thinker. He joins me to talk about his acting failures, his failure to work hard at school, an upbringing where he was forced to question the nature of his own identity and his failure to keep things in perspective. Also: karaoke. As always, I’d LOVE to hear about your failures. Every week, my guest and I choose a selection to read out and answer on our special subscription offering, Failing with Friends. We’ll endeavour to give you advice, wisdom, some laughs and much, much more. Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Manager: Lily Hambly Studio Engineer: Gulli Lawrence-Tickle Mix Engineer: Josh Gibbs Senior Producer: Selina Ream Executive Producer: Carly Maile Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TW: this episode contains discussion of sexual assault and suicide. In the 90s you might have known Katie Price as ‘Jordan’ - featured on page three, known for her succession of plastic surgeries and her complicated personal life. But, in reality, she is so much more than the cartoon character the media created for her. Today, Katie is a mother of five and her disabled son, Harvey, is - she tells me - the only person who ‘never judges’ her. Her life has been scarred by trauma and she has survived horrendous, and repeated, sexual abuse. And yet she refuses to let these experiences define her. The woman I met was warm, down-to-earth, funny and smart. I felt I could ask her anything and that she’d tell me the truth without thinking. She joins me to talk about her failed marriages, her failure to look after her mental health and her failure to be taken seriously as a singer. I’m so grateful to Katie for her extraordinary honesty. It meant that this wasn’t always an easy chat, but it was a conversation that left me in awe of her resilience and courage. As always, I’d LOVE to hear about your failures. Every week, my guest and I choose a selection to read out and answer on our special subscription offering, Failing with Friends. We’ll endeavour to give you advice, wisdom, some laughs and much, much more. Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Manager: Lily Hambly Studio Engineer: Josh Gibbs Mix Engineer: Josh Gibbs Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Carly Maile Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nicole Scherzinger became famous as part of The Pussycat Dolls - one of the biggest selling female groups of all time - but it almost didn’t work out that way. For years, she was a jobbing singer and dancer who learned how to deal with rejection from a succession of failed auditions. Yet her resilience - and her work ethic - shone through. Now, after a highly acclaimed run in London,  Nicole is set to storm Broadway as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. We spoke about the curse of perfectionism and her struggles with being in the present; how she stayed for too long in past romantic relationships and how her role as a judge on X Factor helped form One Direction, which means Nicole is, in fact, indirectly responsible for Harry Styles. And for that, we can thank her forever… As always, I’d LOVE to hear about your failures. Every week, my guest and I choose a selection to read out and answer on our special subscription offering, Failing with Friends. We’ll endeavour to give you advice, wisdom, some laughs and much, much more. Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Manager: Lily Hambly Studio Engineer: Gulli Lawrence-Tickle Mix Engineer: Josh Gibbs Senior Producer: Selina Ream Executive Producer: Carly Maile Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jon Ronson is a journalistic hero of mine, as he is to many. He was one of the first people to write about the culture wars, well before the phrase became commonplace in our news cycles. His two audio series exploring real-life origin stories from these everyday battles ‘Things Fell Apart' (BBC Sounds) have been a huge commercial and critical success. Ronson has written a handful of fascinating works of non-fiction including ‘Them: Adventures with Extremists’; ‘The Psychopath Test’ and ‘So You’Ve Been Publicly Shamed’ and his book ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats’ was made into a feature film starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor and Jeff Bridges. We explore Jon’s love of storytelling, what being bullied at school taught him, why truth-telling is vital and whether he will ever regret his solitary nature. Plus: why (according to him) he sucks at screenwriting despite having been portrayed by two Star Wars actors. Oh, and his deadly professional rivalry with Louis Theroux… Season 2 of Things Fell Apart is available now on BBC Sounds And as always, I’d LOVE to hear about your failures. Every week, my guest and I choose a selection to read out and answer on our special subscription offering, Failing with Friends. We’ll endeavour to give you advice, wisdom, some laughs and much, much more. Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Manager: Lily Hambly Studio Engineer: Gulli Lawrence-Tickle Mix Engineer: Josh Gibbs Senior Producer: Selina Ream Executive Producer: Carly Maile Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Big Brother host, Strictly Come Dancing finalist and the woman who, by her own admission, ‘puts black into Blackburn’, AJ Odudu is a force to be reckoned with. Growing up in Lancashire, no one ever knew how to pronounce her name and she was questioned constantly on why she was different. But as an adult, she has turned these early experiences into inner strength - resilience that has served her well throughout personal and professional failures. Now she’s best known for being the host of the recently rebooted Big Brother but a decade earlier, she lost her presenting job a decade earlier on Big Brother’s Bit On The Side and hit rock bottom. She joins me to explain how she built her life back, how her past relationships continue to shape (and sometimes haunt) her, how she is learning to say no and - the first time I’ve ever discussed this on the pod - her failure to stop biting her nails. What. A. Woman. And as always, I’d LOVE to hear about your failures. Every week, my guest and I will choose a selection to read out and answer on our special subscription offering, Failing with Friends. We’ll endeavour to give you advice, wisdom, some laughs and much, much more. Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Manager: Lily Hambly Studio Engineer: Gulli Lawrence-Tickle Mix Engineer: Josh Gibbs Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Carly Maile Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TW: coercive / controlling relationships Mel B has a story that everyone needs to hear. It’s a story of resilience in the face of severe adversity - and how we can conquer our biggest fears if we put our minds to it. Melanie was in a coercively controlling and abusive relationship for a decade. After finding the courage to leave, she dealt with years of isolation, post-traumatic stress disorder and a loss of confidence. She also had to build her way back from bankruptcy to financial independence. In this - her most open interview yet - Melanie tells the story of how a mixed-race kid from a council estate in Leeds who was once rejected from a Sound of Music audition for being ‘too Black’ became a global superstar, lost it all, then worked to gain it all back. I am so incredibly grateful to Melanie for speaking with such honesty and sheer courage about what she went through. It will help countless other survivors. And as always, I’d LOVE to hear about your failures. Every week, my guest and I will choose a selection to read out and answer on our special subscription offering, Failing with Friends. We’ll endeavour to give you advice, wisdom, some laughs and much, much more. Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Manager: Lily Hambly Studio Engineer: Gulli Lawrence-Tickle Mix Engineer: Josh Gibbs Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Carly Maile Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spoiler alert: I’m low-key obsessed with this woman. Sabrina Dhowre Elba is a UN Goodwill ambassador, a skincare maven, an actor, producer and all-round good egg. She is, then, *so* much more than some bloke’s wife, but given that the bloke in question is Idris Elba, she’s incredibly understanding when asked questions about how she copes with the attention. She joins me to talk about the boxes we put women in, her failure to work a regular nine-to-five, her struggles with confidence and physical health and her rampant sugar addiction (no, really). We also talk about her feelings of failure around not yet having children, despite familial and societal pressure. It was a really fascinating conversation and I’m so grateful to her for opening up about something that I’m sure many listeners will relate to. As always, I’d LOVE to hear about your failures, no matter how profound, minor or funny they might be. Every week, my guest and I will choose a selection to read out and answer on our special subscription offering, Failing with Friends. We’ll endeavour to give you advice, wisdom, some laughs and much, much more. Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Manager: Lily Hambly Studio Engineer: Gulli Lawrence-Tickle Mix Engineer: Josh Gibbs Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Carly Maile Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TW: miscarriage Paloma Faith’s teachers used to ask her why she ‘acted stupid’, which is ironic given that she’s now one of the smartest, sharpest guests I’ve ever had on this podcast. A global singing sensation, as well as an acclaimed actor, she’s got a totally unique perspective on the world - and a refreshingly frank way of expressing it. Her failures included being thrown out of ballet school aged 10(!) for being ‘too curvy’, her self-perceived failure to conceive her daughters naturally and inability to have a healthy work-life balance. We dive deep into Paloma’s world, and I hope you get as much out of our conversation as I did. As always, I’d LOVE to hear about your failures, no matter how profound, minor or funny they might be. Every week, my guest and I will choose a selection to read out and answer on our special subscription offering, Failing with Friends. We’ll endeavour to give you advice, wisdom, some laughs and much, much more. Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Manager: Lily Hambly Studio Engineer: Matias Torres Sole Mix Engineer: John Scott Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Carly Maile Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Full disclosure - Sathnam is a dear friend of mine. He was a guest on the first ever season of How To Fail and there’s a very good reason why I’m chatting to him again. A lot has shifted in both our lives. Since he was last on here, Sathnam has written Empireland and more recently Empireworld, two bestselling books which have garnered him critical acclaim, a Channel 4 documentary and which - even more crucially - have changed the national discourse around our colonial past. Without necessarily meaning to, Sathnam has become a historian. But his success has not been uncomplicated: he’s suffered horrendous racist abuse which has changed the way he goes out into the world (sometimes). We talk about why Sathnam avoids joining in, the importance of saying thank you and why the best teachers can make a lifelong impact. Plus: why nuance in discussion is often ignored but absolutely vital.  Talking of nuance…I’d LOVE to hear about your failures, no matter how profound, minor or funny they might be. Every week, my fantastic guest and I choose a selection to read out and answer on our special subscription offering Failing with Friends. We’ll endeavour to give you advice, wisdom, laughter and much, much more.  Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Post Production & Production Manager: Lily Hambly  Studio Engineer: Gulliver Tickell Mix Engineer: Gulliver Tickell Senior Producer: Selina Ream Executive Producer: Carly Maile Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.   Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TW: addiction The popularity of Joe Wicks’s online workouts and meal plans as ‘The Body Coach’ catapulted him into fame during lockdown. He’s a source of endless positive energy for the rest of us, but he had a challenging childhood. Growing up on a council estate, his father had a debilitating heroin addiction and his mother lived with severe OCD. His escape was physical exercise.     Joe’s  failures include learning to become more compassionate with his father’s addiction, being more patient with his kids and learning to stay focused and be consistent in life. He was so emotional, honest and self-aware in this interview and  I just adored talking to him - thank you, Joe. But it’s not just about us!  I’d LOVE to hear about your failures, no matter how profound, minor or funny they might be. Every week, my fantastic guest and I will choose a selection to read out and answer on our special subscription offering, Failing with Friends. We’ll endeavour to give you advice, wisdom, some laughs and much, much more.  Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Manager: Lily Hambly   Studio Engineer: Matias Torres Sole Mix Engineer: John Scott Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Carly Maile Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.   Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We bonded over eyebrows, amongst other things. You’ll know Dan Levy as David Rose in the widely adored TV show Schitt’s Creek, which he co-wrote and created with his father Eugene Levy. If ever there was a story of failure leading to success, it’s this, as Dan tells me how his multi-award winning and critically acclaimed show was (initially) turned down by every single network in the USA. We also chat about relationship failures and a particular childhood incident involving birthday cake. Plus, we explore his fantastic new film ‘Good Grief’ - a beautiful gay love story for the modern age - and his personal influences behind it. Good Grief and Schitt’s Creek are available to stream on Netflix. And I’d LOVE to hear about your failures, no matter how profound, minor or funny they might be. Every week, my fantastic guest and I choose a selection to read out and answer on our special subscription offering Failing with Friends. We’ll endeavour to give you advice, wisdom and much, much more. Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com  And stay tuned next week for more info on how to subscribe! Production & Post Manager: Lily Hambly Studio Engineer: Matias Torres Sole Mix Engineer: Gulliver Tickell Senior Producer: Selina Ream Executive Producer: Carly Maile Head of Marketing: Kieran Lancini How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Surprise! Here’s a little Christmas present for you… For this very special episode, a group of my favourite podcasters and I got together to share the microphone and spread the love we feel for each other - and for our listeners. What a joy to chat with legit podcasting royalty - Fearne Cotton (Happy Place), Rangan Chatterjee (Feel Better, Live More) and Jake Humphrey and Damian Hughes (High Performance). As well as dominating the podcast charts, these creators could not be nicer people. Part of what I love about the podcasting community - which includes you, our amazing listeners - is that it is so supportive compared to other industries. The five of us talk about what podcasting means to us. We speak about some of our most memorable interviews and most profound listener interactions. We chat about how podcasting encourages deep conversation and active listening and how we really believe it has the capacity to change the world. In this very special episode, which is being released on all our feeds simultaneously, you will hear from Holocaust survivors, Hollywood superstars and happiness experts. And if all that sounds a bit serious, fear not - there are a lot of laughs and some sweary bits too. I hope you enjoy - and wherever you are in the world, we wish you a happy and peaceful Christmas. How To Fail will be back in the New Year and, trust me, I have some extremely exciting things up my sleeve… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I LOVE CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN. There. That's it. That's your shownotes. Well ok then... Claudia Winkleman is a broadcaster who feels like your best friend - whether she's co-hosting Strictly Come Dancing, fronting her Saturday morning BBC Radio 2 show or sending shivers down your spine as the presenter of The Traitors. And now, for our season finale, she joins me to talk about her hatred of perfect, her distaste for exercise, her introversion and her failure to live in the present. Plus: struggles with sleep, the invaluable lessons her parents' taught her and why Rembrandt (as seen with minus 15 eyesight) might be her forever style icon. *Please note: this episode was recorded before the recent horrific events in Israel and Gaza* -- Claudia's new range of CBD beauty and wellness products with Cannaray is available to purchase here. -- You can book tickets for my March 2024 UK tour, An Audience With Elizabeth Day (lol), here. -- How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com -- Social Media: Elizabeth Day @elizabday How To Fail @howtofailpod Claudia Winkleman @claudiawinkle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TW: image-based sexual abuseGeorgia Harrison is a reality TV star turned activist - a woman who has used her own pain to change the law for other survivors of sexual assault. In 2020, her former boyfriend, Stephen Bear, shared intimate video footage of her online - filmed on his own CCTV cameras - without her consent. He posted it onto his OnlyFans page, charging viewers for access. From there it went viral. Georgia fought for two years to bring the case to court. In March, Bear was jailed for 21 months, required to sign the sex offenders register and ordered to pay Harrison over £200,000 - the highest ever sum awarded in an image abuse case. Harrison went on to campaign successfully for a change in the law to help other victims.In this very special bonus episode, Georgia joins me to talk about all of this, as well as her journey with ADHD (which was left undiagnosed for years) and her grief over what Bear stole from her - not just her privacy, but her agency to make her own decisions. Plus...wait for it...her failure to be a puppeteer (no, really).--Georgia Harrison's book, Taking Back My Power, is out today and available to order here.--If you've been affected by any of the issues discussed, you can get in touch with the Revenge Porn Helpline here.--I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024.--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com--Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpodGeorgia Harrison @georgialouiseharrison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CW: miscarriage Maggie Aderin Pocock MBE is a space scientist, educator and broadcaster - and quite possibly the first How To Fail guest who has her own Barbie doll. Fascinated with space from an early age, she even built her own telescope as a teenager. Nowadays, she's the co-presenter of the long-running TV programme The Sky at Night, as well as being Chancellor of the University of Leicester and the first Black woman ever to win a gold medal in the Physics News Award. Her achievements are all the more admirable when you consider her upbringing: the child of divorced parents who found herself at the centre of a difficult custody battle, she changed schools 13 times in 14 years and struggled with lessons because of undiagnosed dyslexia. From an early age, she found refuge in the night sky, viewed from the rooftop of her council flat. She joins me to talk about her extraordinary life, as well as her failures in tidiness and punctuality - and what being a mother in her 40s has taught her. Plus: how difficult is it really to build a telescope? -- The Art of Stargazing by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, is published on 2nd Novemer and is available to order here. -- I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024. -- How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com -- Social Media: Elizabeth Day @elizabday How To Fail @howtofailpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CW: suicide; infertility I know, I know, we don't normally release episodes on a Friday but when you're offered DAWN FRENCH, you release an episode on whatever blimmin' day of the week you can (and preferably all seven of them). I am so delighted to welcome the actor, comedian and bestselling author Dawn French to the podcast. She joins me to talk about being - in her words - 'a bit of a twat', anti-perfectionism, why so many comedians come from military families, how friendship doesn't mean you don't feel jealous and, of course, her lifelong professional and platonic partnership with Jennifer Sauders. We also talk about the death of her father by suicide and what this taught Dawn about grief and survival. And she opens up movingly about years of infertility followed by the decision to adopt her daughter, Billie. An amazing conversation with an amazing person. Thank you so much, Dawn. -- The Twat Files by Dawn French is out now and available to buy here. Dawn French Is A Huge Twat (the live show) is touring the UK through the rest of the year. Book your tickets here. -- I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024. -- How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com -- Social Media: Elizabeth Day @elizabday How To Fail @howtofailpod Dawn French @dawnrfrench Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Continuing this season's line-up of ICONIC AND INCREDIBLE WOMEN, I am veritably trembling with delight to bring you today's guest: the extraordinary Gillian Anderson. Her 30-plus year career has taken her from playing FBI Special Agent Scully in The X Files to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Crown. She’s been a dogged detective in The Fall and an unembarrassable sex therapist in the Netflix hit show Sex Education. On stage, she has been everything from Blanche duBois in A Streetcar Named Desire to Margo Channing in All About Eve. It’s almost easier to list the roles she hasn’t played than the ones she has. Owing to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors strike, we don't talk about any of her acting roles. Instead, this liberates us to have a fascinating chat about life, fame, womanhood and everything in between. We talk about her failures to look after herself, her addiction to work, how she coped with global celebrity in her 20s and how this affected the way that she saw herself. Plus: why she thinks wellness culture is making us ill and why her natural instinct when someone tells her what to do is to say 'F** off.' -- Gillian's healthy soft-drink range, G-Spot, is available to buy here. (Not an ad but it tastes EXCELLENT). -- I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024. -- How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com -- Social Media: Elizabeth Day @elizabday How To Fail @howtofailpod Gillian Anderson @gilliana Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CW: addictionLook, most of you know I love reality TV. And some of you might know that I love Below Deck so much I snuck in a mention of it in my latest novel. So when I was offered the chance to meet the legend that is Captain Sandra Yawn, of Below Deck Med fame, I jumped at it. (Luckily, not overboard).Even if you've never watched a single episode of Below Deck, Capt. Sandy's story is a riveting tale of resilience and courage. As a teenager, she struggled with alcoholism and almost ended up in jail. Instead, she started working on boats - and saved her own life in the process. She rose through the ranks of the maritime industry to become one of the only female superyacht captains in a field dominated by men.She joins me to talk about this, as well as failing to realise her early potential, growing up gay but not feeling able to live her truth, surviving both cancer and an attack by pirates, as well as what she's learned about herself from reality TV. And yes, I ask some niche Below Deck questions because WHY WOULDN'T I?(This chat was recorded before the new season started, btw, and obviously I'm slavishly watching each episode as soon as it drops).--The new season of Below Deck Mediterranean is available to watch on Hayu.--I'm going on tour! To AUSTRALIA, mate! You can now purchase tickets to see me live at Sydney Opera House on 26th February 2024 or the Arts Centre Melbourne on 28th February 2024.--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com--Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpodCapt. Sandy @captainsandrayawnHayu @hayusocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices