Second Helpings - Rob Brydon

Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware

In this final episode of Second Helpings, comedians Jessie and Lennie Ware welcome Rob Brydon for a heartfelt and humorous conversation over a Thanksgiving-themed meal featuring spatchcock

Key takeaways

Rob Brydon's career was shaped by early experiences as a radio DJ in Wales before transitioning into acting and comedy.
The Trip series, while appearing spontaneous, is meticulously crafted with multiple takes for each course to create authenticity.

Main topics

Rob Brydon's upbringing in Wales
Comedy inspiration and career journey

Notable quotes

'Mucus can't have lovely connotations. Moist can.'

'I'm avoiding chocolate while I'm singing. Don't you find it creates mucus?'

Conclusion

The episode closes on a joyful note with an extended sing-along, celebrating Rob Brydon's charm

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:03) Hello and welcome to Second Helpings, our final instalment for you before we're back with you for more Table Manners Season 19. So we're going to finish with Rob Ryden, who came on the podcast in December 2021. It was another season finale. And Speaker 2 (0:20) he kept it a secret what happened in Gavin and Stacey on that fishing trip. I was desperate to find out. Will we ever really find out what went on? You made Speaker 3 (0:32) spiced spatchcock chicken, bejeweled rice, pecan pie, and he was midway through a huge UK tour. It was his memoir, but through music. It was also really special to have Rob on because obviously him and Steve Coogan did The Trip, which was my inspiration on creating Table Manners. So thanks, Rob. We spoke to Rob about growing up in Wales, eating his grandma's custard tarts, his heroes. Uncle Bryn. Uncle Bryn, the trip and life Speaker 2 (1:02) with five children. Rob Brydon coming up on table and the second helpings. Speaker 3 (1:08) We have Rob Brydon here. Thank you so much. You are, you came in, I told you that I'd been using a whip today and I feel very inappropriate about that, but that's another conversation. And we're so thrilled to have you. Speaker 1 (1:22) Well, thank you for having me. I've been looking forward to this because I listened, I've heard three of those. You've done a lot. I can't hear every one of them, but I love them. And as I was listening to them, I thought, oh, I'm going to be doing this. Speaker 3 (1:36) Oh, how sweet. Who told you to listen to them? Speaker 1 (1:41) Well, you want the honest answer? Yeah, because they do. But I'll give you the honest truth, right, is that you do stuff to promote what you're doing. So I'm promoting a tour. So you look in your phone, you look at the, what am I doing? Oh, I'm going to do table manners. Oh, I've heard of that. I've heard of table manners. Yes, I've heard of it, but I've never heard it. And then I would be flicking to my diary and I would see Clapham of an evening. And I Speaker 2 (2:04) went, oh. oh boy, Clapham, food, Speaker 1 (2:09) I've Speaker 2 (2:09) got Speaker 1 (2:09) to eat. So I thought, well, I'm going to, so I was on tour. So I listened to it and I went, the first one was Stanley Tucci and I love Stanley Tucci. Yes, lovely. Who doesn't? And I really liked it. And then I listened to the Schwimmer one, David Schwimmer, and then the Tom Jones one. So by the end, I went from, oh, I've got to go to Clapham to, ooh, I'm going to Clapham. Oh, Speaker 3 (2:31) good. It was a journey. Where do you usually reside? Speaker 1 (2:36) Well, not in Clapham. Where? Strawberry Hill in between Twickenham and Teddington. Oh, Speaker 2 (2:41) lovely. Speaker 1 (2:41) Yeah, it's nice. It's lovely there. Not far from here, but just in terms of getting here, you know, it's that classic London thing of it takes forever. So Speaker 3 (2:50) tell us about the tour. Are you halfway through? Speaker 1 (2:54) Quarter Speaker 3 (2:54) of a Speaker 1 (2:55) way? Maybe a quarter. It's a tour with a band and it's very old-fashioned. We just did two nights at the Palladium in London and one of the reviews said it's hard to imagine any show more suited to the London Palladium. Oh, Speaker 3 (3:12) wow! Speaker 1 (3:12) Well, it is a compliment, but because it is an old-fashioned, you know, sort of one-man variety show. I tell stories, I sing songs. Some of them are serious, some of them are funny. It's an incredibly talented band. Did you Speaker 2 (3:25) start as a comedian, an actor or a singer? Speaker 1 (3:29) Well, I went to drama school. So you'd say, well, you're going to be an actor. But it was always comedy that I wanted to do. And then I left drama school early because I got offered a job as a DJ on the radio in Wales. So I did that. You do have a Speaker 3 (3:45) beautiful voice. You have got a gorgeous voice. Thank you very much. I mean, our listeners are purring into their ears right now. Speaker 1 (3:52) You and Tom. Well, exactly. That's right. Speaker 2 (3:56) It was 1949, Speaker 1 (3:59) quarter to six on the 2nd of June. Speaker 2 (4:02) It Speaker 1 (4:03) was a full moon. What a memory that man has. I Speaker 2 (4:05) know. It's astonishing, Speaker 1 (4:07) isn't it? Yes. Speaker 2 (4:07) Wow. When he arrived, it was really funny because I thought I'd do something Welsh for him, like a home-cooked meal. So I don't think lamb shanks. He's someone really disappointed. I thought I was going to get a Jewish meal. Oh, Speaker 3 (4:18) really? And Speaker 2 (4:19) then when he brought out the pudge, flipping heck. Oh, no chocolate. Speaker 1 (4:24) He doesn't eat chocolate. No, but he loves it. He loves chocolate. What Speaker 2 (4:26) did I do? I think I did one of my... Bess, my roulade or something. I think you did a beautiful passion fruit Speaker 3 (4:33) roulade with lemon curd. Speaker 1 (4:34) But old Tom just wanted a square of Speaker 3 (4:37) chocolate. Speaker 1 (4:37) So he'd have chocolate with you because I find chocolate, I'm avoiding chocolate while I'm singing. Don't you find it creates, I'm going to introduce an unwelcome word here. Speaker 2 (4:46) What? Speaker 1 (4:47) Mucus. Speaker 2 (4:48) Oh my God. Speaker 1 (4:49) Nobody wants that. That's less Speaker 2 (4:50) moist. No, Speaker 1 (4:52) moist can have lovely connotations. Mucus can't. We Speaker 2 (4:55) had Rick Astley on and we talked about moist Speaker 3 (4:57) a lot. And Speaker 1 (4:58) he Speaker 3 (4:58) said he was moist. Because I'd done a moist cake. Why wouldn't you? And he said, God, moist. He said, God, it's a bad word, isn't it? I was like, yeah, it's not a very nice word, is it? And then he said something like, yeah, I once... He said he was in a gig and he was playing and it was really going well and he went, are you moist? No. Speaker 1 (5:20) What, did he mean sweaty and stuff? I Speaker 3 (5:22) don't Speaker 1 (5:22) know Speaker 3 (5:22) what he meant. Oh, it was raining, right. And he's never forgotten it. And the regret of asking a room full of very middle-aged women if they were moist. Oh, my God. Speaker 1 (5:33) Yeah, but I would say of moist and mucus, I would say, as I say, moist can have a positive connotation. Yeah, Speaker 2 (5:39) it can Speaker 1 (5:39) have a positive connotation. Of course it can. Things are looking up. Whereas mucus has no redeeming qualities. I Speaker 3 (5:47) need to speak to you about the trip. Because I have to say... It did kind of inspire this podcast. Really? Speaker 2 (5:54) It Speaker 3 (5:54) did. Initially. You haven't told me that, darling. No, but I, well, more. I was so jealous of you going out to wonderful dinners. And I thought, I want to do that. Oh, really? But I'm not a comedian and I'm not Steve Coogan or, you know, Rob. And so it started at a point where I was like, God, wouldn't it be nice just like chat in restaurants? I mean, you don't just do that. It's in. beautiful thing that you do, but you do eat good food. And I wanted in on it. And I thought, well, I can get good dins at Mum's house. So I thought, well, sod it, we'll do something like that. But who thought of that idea? Speaker 1 (6:30) Michael Winterbottom. He's the director and he writes the whole story and, you know, a fair bit of the dialogue as well. And then Steve and I sort of colour it in and invent stuff. But the meals that you like, they're always lunches. Speaker 1 (6:48) it looks like when you watch it as if you're just eavesdropping on us, but of course you're not. It's constructed. And with the lunches, we eat every course three times. Speaker 2 (6:59) So we have a starter and Speaker 1 (7:01) we shoot whatever we're going to shoot. Then we go, okay, cut, bring in another starter. We start again. And then we'll cut and then they bring in another starter. You're just trying Speaker 3 (7:09) to Speaker 2 (7:09) make me feel less jealous, aren't you? Well, because Speaker 1 (7:11) that's the reality of it. And then three mains and three puddings. Speaker 3 (7:15) So which has been your most cherished meal out of those kind of, you know, multiple starters, mains and puddings? Speaker 1 (7:24) Italy, Italy, particularly when we got down to the Amalfi Coast. And especially on Capri, there's this very fancy hotel called the Capri Palace, I believe. And it's twinned with a restaurant called Il Riccio, which is the one that you see in the trip when we're on Capri. But it was just, it was also the environment. It was, it was a beautiful, I've been back with my wife and the weather wasn't as good. When we were there in the early summer, it was perfect. Speaker 3 (7:51) But you're gazing at... Steve Coogan. Now, I wouldn't mind gazing at Steve Coogan, but did you kind of look at Steve and you thought, I'd really like my wife to be right here right now? Well, she actually, Speaker 1 (7:58) oddly enough, she did come out for that weekend as well. And then we went back out. I took her back. It was her birthday in September, but the weather had kind of turned. So that was one of the meals that I really remember. But, you know, the truth is, because we are improvising a lot of stuff. I'm not really thinking too much about the food because I'm thinking, what am I going to say next? And we're trying to be funny. So I almost remember the meals we had in the evening off camera more than the ones we did on camera. Do you Speaker 2 (8:35) find it hard being funny? Speaker 1 (8:38) Or do you just give that impression? No, I just Speaker 2 (8:41) wonder because we're doing two nights at the London Palladium. Good for Speaker 1 (8:45) you. But Speaker 2 (8:46) I'm just... I am relying on the guests being funny, not me. Speaker 1 (8:51) No, no, all you've got to do is just be yourself. Speaker 2 (8:53) Is that what you think? Yes. That's what sold out the first one already, Mum. Exactly. Thank God, darling. Speaker 1 (8:57) Well, you've got a cast-iron formula, format, so just don't change. Just be yourself. Do you think we Speaker 2 (9:04) should add... Jessie singing a song? No. Just to keep things going? No, Speaker 1 (9:08) because Speaker 2 (9:08) that's not in the format. I think people like to join in. I'm hoping that we're going to have Islands in the Stream all together at the end. I think it's almost inevitable. I think it is too. It is one Speaker 3 (9:18) of Speaker 2 (9:18) my favourite songs. There's Speaker 3 (9:19) a Speaker 1 (9:19) horrible sense of impending doom and I think it's shaped like Islands in the Stream. Well, Speaker 3 (9:24) I know that you do a Guys and Dolls cover. Speaker 1 (9:26) Yes, that's right. Which Speaker 3 (9:27) one do you do? Speaker 1 (9:27) Well, two actually. I do all of Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat. Wow. Speaker 2 (9:32) Wow, that one. It's a Speaker 1 (9:34) big song. That's Speaker 2 (9:35) a Speaker 1 (9:35) big song. Showstopper. And then a bit of I've never been in love before. Because I tell the story about being at school. It's where I met Ruth Jones, because she was at the same school, you see. Nessa. Nessa, so I should explain to people. And Speaker 2 (9:48) you never married her. Speaker 1 (9:50) No, Speaker 2 (9:50) she was there together. No, that's a different note. Oh, right, sorry. But I never married Speaker 1 (9:54) Ruth in real life. No, well, I always say she's like the sister I never wanted. No, Ruth is... probably my closest female friend, I would say. I've known her for, well, since I was about 14. And we were both in Guys and Dolls. Who Speaker 3 (10:10) was she? Speaker 1 (10:10) She was Miss Adelaide. Oh, Speaker 3 (10:12) Jessie was Miss Adelaide. I knew me and Ruth had an affinity somewhere. Speaker 1 (10:15) Were you, were you, were you? Only at Speaker 3 (10:17) school. Speaker 1 (10:17) It's Speaker 3 (10:17) a Speaker 1 (10:17) great part, isn't it? Well, yeah, I was only at school as well. And I played Sky Masterson. Speaker 2 (10:22) Oh, my God, the handsome Sky. No, not of course at all. Speaker 1 (10:25) You know, I say this in the show, I say, no, it's a bit of a shock. You know, what was Uncle Bryn doing playing the Marlon Brando role? But I played that part. And in fact, my wife went to an all... Girls' School, and they did Guys and Dolls, and she played Skye Masterson as well. Speaker 2 (10:42) Oh, lovely. Speaker 1 (10:43) When we first met, the day we met, Speaker 2 (10:45) we Speaker 1 (10:45) did. We sang in the back of a taxi because we'd both played this same role. Were you drunk? Yes. Speaker 3 (10:53) I love that. Speaker 1 (10:55) Yeah. Speaker 3 (10:55) Was it your first dance? Speaker 1 (10:57) No, no. What was your first dance? It Speaker 3 (11:00) wasn't Jack Johnson. Oh, sweet. Better together. Oh, God, that reminds me of going travelling in Thailand. Does it? And wearing a lot of fisherman trousers. Fisherman's pants. Yeah. Yes, yes, yes. It was very popular then. Oh, I love, Speaker 1 (11:11) yeah. Speaker 3 (11:11) It's Speaker 1 (11:11) a Speaker 3 (11:11) lovely song. It is lovely. So, Rob, where did you grow up? Speaker 1 (11:17) I grew up in South Wales. I could Speaker 3 (11:19) listen to your voice. Speaker 2 (11:21) It's Speaker 3 (11:21) his gorgeous... And your wife is Welsh as well. No, Speaker 1 (11:24) no, both of my wives, Lenny, because I've Speaker 2 (11:27) known Speaker 1 (11:28) the heartbreak of divorce. You're polygamous. Speaker 2 (11:29) Oh, right. What Speaker 1 (11:30) did you say, polygamous? Polygamous. Yes. I'm going to announce it on your show. I am a polygaman. Yes, both my wives have been and remain English. Speaker 2 (11:46) OK. Speaker 1 (11:46) Yeah. I mean, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against... Can Speaker 2 (11:49) I just say something very personal? Oh, Speaker 1 (11:52) God, what? Speaker 2 (11:52) Is Uncle Bryn supposed to be gay? Speaker 1 (11:55) I... In Gavin and Stacey, I've always wondered. Yeah. Or just Speaker 2 (11:59) a bit androgynous? Speaker 1 (12:00) No. Well, there's a part of me that doesn't want to say anything because I think it should be in the mind of the audience, you know? Because obviously they've written it. Well, it's not ambiguous, is it? I mean... Speaker 2 (12:12) He did. Speaker 1 (12:13) I mean, I'd be surprised if he wasn't. Speaker 2 (12:15) Okay. Speaker 1 (12:16) But I wonder perhaps... Because I have Speaker 2 (12:19) no gay doll whatsoever. But I wonder if he's just never acted Speaker 1 (12:23) on it. I mean, they've never said to me, you know, it's just what's there in the script. But, I mean, you know... the way he gazes at Larry Lamb, you know, at Mick. Speaker 3 (12:37) I'd gaze at Speaker 1 (12:38) Larry Lamb, to be honest. Well, he's a lovely looking boy. But they've never