Patricia McGinnis on Maven, Interior Design, Belfast Retail & BBC House of the Year

Ryan Dylan | From YouTube Sketches to BBC's Fun Boys | Wasted Creatives In this episode of Wasted Creatives, Michael Crilly sits down with Ryan Dylan, actor, screenwriter and co-creator of BBC comedy series Fun Boys, to discuss the unlikely journey from making homemade YouTube sketches with friends to creating their own television show. Ryan explains how he and his longtime collaborators spent years making comedy sketches with very little money, basic cameras and no industry connections. Their goal was simple: make something they found funny, put it online and keep going. That persistence eventually paid off when one of their sketches caught the attention of a BBC commissioner and was screened at the BBC Comedy Festival. Ryan talks through what happened next, from finding a producer and developing an early Fun Boys short to writing a pilot and eventually getting the call that the BBC wanted a full series. He also discusses the challenges of turning years of improvised sketch comedy into structured television episodes without losing the strange, naturalistic humour that made their work stand out. The conversation explores the writing process behind Fun Boys, the influence of rural Northern Ireland, surrealism and alternative comedy, and why playing absurd situations completely seriously often makes them even funnier. Ryan also discusses bringing Jamie Demetriou and Steve Coogan into the world of Fun Boys, why series two offered greater creative freedom and what the future might hold for a potential third series. Away from the show, Ryan reflects on his own journey into acting. Despite having no formal training, years of creating sketches helped him develop his performance skills, build characters and become comfortable on camera. He opens up about imposter syndrome, learning as he goes and his ambitions to develop more acting and writing projects outside Fun Boys. Ultimately, it's a conversation about creativity, persistence, collaboration and the importance of making things simply because you enjoy making them, even when nobody is watching. If you enjoyed this episode, please like, comment and subscribe to Wasted Creatives for more conversations with people working across comedy, film, music and the creative industries.

In this episode of Wasted Creatives, Michael Crilly sits down with musical comedian Emer Maguire ahead of her Perfectly Chaotic tour to talk about comedy, songwriting, social media, autism and the unexpected journey that eventually allowed her to make creativity her full-time career. Emer reflects on spending years performing without being widely known before finally deciding to take social media seriously. Within months, her audience began growing rapidly as songs and comedy clips reached people far beyond her existing crowd. She explains why giving away some of her actual material online has worked, how her “North of Ireland, Northern Ireland or Just Ireland” song connected with people, and what it feels like suddenly being recognised after years of quietly building a career. The conversation goes back to Emer’s original career in speech and language therapy, her lifelong ambition to be a singer-songwriter, considering medicine, and the communication competition that unexpectedly pushed her towards performing. What began with talks combining science, humour and music eventually led to someone offering to pay her for her first comedy gig — before she gradually reduced her clinical work and decided to give comedy a proper chance. Emer also opens up about experiencing extreme performance anxiety from childhood, later discovering that what she thought was stage fright was connected to OCD, and how treatment completely changed her experience of performing. She discusses being autistic, why standing on stage can actually feel more comfortable than everyday social interaction, and why she has never felt a need to change herself simply because other people found her different.

In this episode of Wasted Creatives, Michael Crilly sits down with Declan Lawn, the journalist-turned-screenwriter behind The Salisbury Poisonings, Rogue Agent and BBC’s Blue Lights, to talk about creativity, career change, rejection and what happens when you finally take the risk you’ve been thinking about for years. Declan reflects on growing up in Northern Ireland, becoming fascinated with journalism from a young age, and building a career across programmes including Spotlight and Panorama. But in his 30s, a handful of seemingly small conversations began to change the direction of his life and eventually pushed him towards screenwriting. He talks about starting to write alongside Adam Patterson, spending years developing scripts around their journalism careers, and why following a creative ambition doesn’t necessarily mean immediately quitting your job. Declan also opens up about leaving the BBC, being fired from what he thought was his first major break in screenwriting, and how that setback unexpectedly helped lead to The Salisbury Poisonings. The conversation then goes deep into Blue Lights. Declan talks about how the characters were created, the importance of research and collaboration, rewriting episodes more than 20 times, and why Gerry’s story eventually made him realise he had subconsciously been writing about the death of his own father. They also discuss the challenge of writing about contemporary Belfast, why different and opposing perspectives need space within drama, and the BAFTA win that completely caught the Blue Lights team by surprise. Declan reflects on the idea that creative careers don’t always follow a conventional timeline, and why many successful screenwriters only really find their stride in their 40s or 50s. Towards the end, they look ahead to D-Notice, Declan and Adam’s new political conspiracy thriller drawing on their experiences in investigative journalism. And the conversation returns to one of the biggest ideas running through the episode: sometimes a ten-minute conversation can completely change the trajectory of your life.

In this episode of Wasted Creatives, Michael Crilly sits down with historians and authors Professor Elaine Farrell and Professor Leanne McCormick, the researchers behind Bad Bridget, to explore the forgotten stories of Irish women who emigrated to North America in search of a better life. What began as an academic research project became the bestselling book Bad Bridget: Crime, Mayhem and the Lives of Irish Emigrant Women, a podcast and an exhibition. Elaine and Leanne explain how they uncovered thousands of women through historical court records, prison registers, newspapers and personal letters, revealing lives that rarely appear in traditional accounts of Irish emigration. The conversation explores the stories of Marion Canning, who received a seven-year prison sentence after being accused of stealing a watch, and Maud Merrill, whose life ended tragically after her family tried to persuade her to leave sex work. They also discuss why so many young Irish women travelled alone to America, the pressure to send money home, and how poverty, exploitation, pregnancy and social stigma shaped their experiences. Michael also asks about the extraordinary prison records showing that Irish women made up 86% of a female prison population in 1860s New York, the discrimination Irish immigrants faced, and the striking parallels between their experiences and conversations about immigration today.

In this episode of Wasted Creatives, Michael Crilly sits down with musician and broadcaster Taylor Johnson, host and producer of BBC Introducing, to talk about discovering new music, radio, social media, songwriting and building a life around the thing you love. Taylor explains what actually goes into BBC Introducing, from listening through huge numbers of submissions and scouting artists at gigs to working with the team to decide which new music makes it onto the show. He also shares why artists shouldn’t be put off by rough recordings, and why a brilliant song can still stand out even if it was recorded in a bedroom or on GarageBand. The conversation goes back to Taylor being 16, busking in Belfast and deciding to walk into the BBC pretending he had a meeting with Mike Edgar. That moment started a journey through different roles across BBC Northern Ireland, including work with Connor Phillips and Stephen Nolan, before eventually landing the BBC Introducing job he had wanted for years. Taylor also talks about his band Brand New Friend, making music alongside his brother and sister, and the bizarre story of Matty Healy from The 1975 reaching out with an offer to sign the band to Dirty Hit, only for things not to quite work out as expected. He also reveals that Brand New Friend recorded an unreleased third album before the band came to an end, while the members are now preparing to make music together under a new name. Michael and Taylor discuss how TikTok helped change Taylor’s career, why social media has become such an important tool for musicians, the strength of the current Northern Irish and Irish music scene, his opportunities at BBC Radio 6 Music, and why live music can turn someone into a lifelong fan. They also get into Taylor’s own songwriting process, his fascination with history and people, and why stories about overlooked figures can become the starting point for new songs. A conversation with someone whose life, as a musician, broadcaster and fan, revolves almost entirely around music, and who is now in the unique position of helping the next generation of artists get heard.