Show Notes
Singer-songwriter and West End actor Matt Cardle — winner of The X Factor in 2010, Whatonstage Award winner for his debut role in Memphis, and a man who was tricked into his first audition by his girlfriend — joins Scott and David to share the three stories that shaped who he became. His choices: George Orwell's 1984, Patrick Süskind's Perfume, and Steve Coogan's I, Partridge. Together they trace a journey from building bunkers in the Essex woods to winning in front of 20 million people, through rock bottom and out the other side — with Alan Partridge on audiobook the whole way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Once Upon a Time
Actor, writer and former Butlin’s Redcoat Sue Vincent joins us this week. Sue co-writes and stars in The Madame Blanc Mysteries with Sally Lindsay. She talks about finding her tribe among the Bluecoats at Pontins, getting thrown out of tap class at six and how a read-in for Pauline Collins turned into Mount Pleasant and eventually Madame Blanc.
This week the show heads to Brighton with author, journalist and screenwriter Juno Dawson. Juno talks about going from a Bradford childhood to the classroom to bestseller lists, almost making it onto Big Brother 4, and auditioning for Pop Idol even though she can’t sing. Her three book picks are Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin, the book that persuaded her to move to Brighton, Michelle Paver’s chilling ghost story Dark Matter, and Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman, which inspired her to start writing. She also tells the story behind Her Majesty’s Royal Coven.
Content warning: this episode includes discussion of childhood sexual abuse & addiction Season Two opens with a bumper episode. Gok Wan joins Scott as guest co-host, and they're talking to DJ Fat Tony. This week we swap books for music. Tony picks three tracks from the recovery playlist in his new book, Recover Me: No More Drama by Mary J. Blige, Together Again by Janet Jackson, and Believe by Soldiers of Twilight. Tony is honest about the abuse, the addiction and the people he lost to the AIDS crisis. He also shares wild stories, from blagging his way onto the decks at the Lyceum to partying with Andy Warhol in New York. He explains why music is the one thing that has never let him down. It's raw and funny, and Tony calls it one of his favourite podcasts ever. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
David and Scott look back at Season One of Once Upon a Time. They revisit six standout book picks from our guests, including Juno Dawson's Yesteryear, Sally Lindsay's A Taste of Honey, Matt Cardle's Perfume and Gok Wan's Prick Up Your Ears. They also share Season One highlights, a bit of bickering, and their dream guests for the future.
Something a bit different this week... our summer reads special before we take a break. We're joined by bestselling author Juno Dawson and Waterstones Brighton bookseller and podcaster Phil Adele, and asked everyone to recommend their summer reads for August. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.