Due to scheduling issues we are unable to bring you a new episode this week so instead we have delved into the archives to bring you a Classic Blank episode with Gary Lineker. Gary is in the new this week after being suspended by Match of the Day for refusing to apologise for tweeting his political views. Gary spoke to us way back in 2018 about his twitter usage and you can hear him talk about that at 50:05 in this episode. Gary Lineker is a former professional footballer and current sports...

Kimberly Hart-Simpson is an actor best know for appearing in Hollyoaks and Coronation Street. She spoke to Giles and Jim about auditions, growing closer to her mum, Naked Attraction, making up new phrases and loads more. Massive thanks to our Patrons: Mary Catherine Byrnes, Victoria Nielsen, Manya Kay, Alex Williams, Joel Piveteau, Richard Astill, Samantha Beaton, Claudia McKelvey, John Holland, Katherine Keen, Lynn Robinson, It's Coming Home 2022, Alice Chrystall, Maddie Lightfoot, Alex...

Happy 200th podcast to us! To celebrate reaching this massive milestone we picked some clips from our favourite episodes and chatted about some of the stories behind them. Thanks so much to everyone who has listened to us over the past four and a half years. Sponsored by Gousto. Head to gousto.co.uk and use code BLANK for 60% off your first box + 25% off all boxes for two months. Full episodes: John Motson https://audioboom.com/posts/7927595-john-motson Jon...

Tom Chapman is an award winning barber, author, public speaker, global barber director and international educator. We talk to Tom about his love of WWE, his journey into hairdressing via being a musician and founding The Lions Barber Collective, which started as a group of international barbers raising awareness for suicide prevention. PLUS Ad free, extra content with Tom for our patrons at patreon.com/blankpodcast Massive thanks to our Patrons: Mary Catherine Byrnes, Victoria Nielsen,...

John Simpson CBE is an English foreign correspondent and world affairs editor of BBC News. He has spent all his working life with the BBC, and has reported from more than 120 countries, including thirty war zones, and interviewed many world leaders. We talk to John about his 50-plus years at the BBC, the scary moments when his life was in danger, reporting from the frontlines and trying to find the humanity in such a troubled world. PLUS Ad free, extra content with John for our patrons at...

Andrew Gower is an actor and musician. Best known for his role as "Bonnie Prince" Charles Edward Stuart in "Outlander" and for playing Nick Cutler, the vampire solicitor in season 4 of "Being Human, he's also appeared in Carnival Row and Black Mirror. Andrew is also lead singer of The Gustaffsons. We talked to Andrew about his love of football and how it often compares to acting, going through drama school and how we need to reframe failure. PLUS Ad free, extra content with Andrew for our...

Martin O'Neill OBE is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. His distinguished playing career included winning two European cups with Nottingham Forest and was capped 64 times for Northern Ireland. As a manager he has won two league cups with Leicester, he was the most successful Celtic manager since Jock Stein, winning 213 games in his time there. He has also managed Wycombe Wanderers, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest. We...

Bonnie Langford is an icon of British stage and screen. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series Just William and went on to play companion Mel Bush in Doctor Who and Carmel Kazemi on EastEnders, for which she won the 2016 British Soap Award for Best Newcomer. She has also appeared in various musicals in the West End and on Broadway, including Peter Pan, Cats, The Pirates of Penzance and Chicago. Bonnie chatted to Giles and Jim about...

Martin Owen is a British Film director and Producer. Martin's film directing credits include The Loneliest Boy in the World, Twist, Killers Anonymous and Exec producer on Save the Cinema. We talk to Martin about growing up in the North East, his love of football and 80's film and TV and we find out what it's like for a director on set. PLUS extra content with Martin for our patrons at patreon.com/blankpodcast Tickets to Jim's February show here:...

Richard Makin, AKA School Night Vegan, is a vegan food expert, author and influencer. We talked to Richard about his vegan journey, food trucks, San Francisco, Finders Keepers, Regina Blitz, and lots more randomness. Pre-order Richard's book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anything-You-Can-Cook-Vegan/dp/152663841X PLUS extra content with Richard for our patrons at patreon.com/blankpodcast Massive thanks to our Patrons: Mary Catherine Byrnes, Victoria Nielsen, Manya Kay, Alex Williams,...

Kimberley Burrows is a blind, abstract expressionist artist. Using painting as a form of therapy, Kimberley’s eclectic prints capture emotions, moods and movement through vibrant colours and brushstroke technique. Kimberley's work has recently been adapted into a range of garments for high-street fashion retailer Warehouse.  We talked to Kimberley about the many challenges she has faced, from the age of four years old she has had multiple surgeries on her eyes and how art has provided...

Sponsored by Babbel. Language learning that works. Go to babbel.com/podcast22, and use promo code BLANK for an extra three months free. Chanel Cresswell is an English actress, best known for playing Kelly Jenkins in the film This Is England, Katie in Sky One's Trollied and as Coleen Rooney in the upcoming Channel 4 drama, Vardy Vs Rooney. We talked to Chanel about growing up in a busy family in Derby, breaking into acting and her process for getting into roles based on real people. PLUS...

This episode is sponsored by Aquila. Visit Aquila.co.uk/blankpod for 20 % off Aquila childrens' magazines. Larsen Thompson is an actor, model, dancer and musician. She has appeared in music videos for Sia and Pink and is currently starting in The Midnight Club on Netflix. She spoke to Giles and Jim about her experiences in the modelling and dancing world, moving into making her own music and how to embrace our imperfections. PLUS extra content with Larsen for our patrons at...

This week Giles and Jim have a conversation about life and dealing with difficult moments in creativity, they also answer some listeners questions about all things Blank. Massive thanks to our Patrons: Mary Catherine Byrnes, Victoria Nielsen, Manya Kay, Alex Williams, Joel Piveteau, Richard Astill, Samantha Beaton, Claudia McKelvey, John Holland, Katherine Keen, Lynn Robinson, It's Coming Home 2022, Alice Chrystall, Maddie Lightfoot, Alex Collis, Martin Grimm, Vicki, Julianna Williams,...

Sponsored by Typology. Go to uk.typology.com/blank and you’ll receive a free lip & cheek balm worth £16 when you make a purchase. Natalie is an actor and musical theatre star, well known for her roles in BBC's The Capture, Sandylands, The Great and Roadkill starring Hugh Laurie. She has also starred in the West End Musical adaptation of Bend it Like Beckham. We talked to Natalie about live performance and having to learn how to play football, having acting as an outlet in difficult...

Sponsored by 50 Coffee Breaks. Visit www.amazon.co.uk/50coffeebreaks to learn more about 50 Coffee Breaks and pick the language that’s right for you. George Webster is an actor, writer and director who is currently playing Hugo Delaney in Disney+'s Wedding Season. He has also appeared in E4's Tripped, Irish independent film My Name Is Emily and Simon Mirren's French-Canadian period series, Versailles. He chatted to Giles and Jim about Seaford, non-league football, writing, directing and...

Amrita Acharia is a Norwegian actress of Nepalese–Ukrainian origins. She is best known for her roles as Irri in the HBO series Game of Thrones, Aabis in The Serpent Queen and as Dr. Ruby Walker in the ITV series The Good Karma Hospital. We talk to Amrita about the various school systems she experienced throughout her childhood, her love of performance and leaning in to tricky moments and finding the love for what you do PLUS extra content with Amrita for our patrons at...

Rob Rinder MBE, also know as Judge Rinder is a British criminal barrister, writer and broadcaster. Well known for his ITV show Judge Rinder, Rob is also the author of several books and has made several documentaries about his family and the Holocaust. We talked to Rob about his early life growing up in a working class area of London, the feelings around not fitting in and the emotional baggage that comes with working on intense court cases. Sponsored by 50 Coffee Breaks. Visit...

Sponsored by Typology. Go to uk.typology.com/blank and you’ll receive a free lip & cheek balm worth £16 when you make a purchase. Bronagh Waugh is an actress from Northern Ireland. She played Cheryl Brady in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks from 2009 to 2013 where she was nominated for Best Newcomer, Best Actress and Best Comedy Performance at the 2010 British Soap Awards. She has also appeared in The Fall, Unforgotten and Ridley, which is available to watch on ITV Hub now. She spoke...

Andrew Bustamante is a former CIA covert intelligence officer, US Air Force combat veteran, Fortune 10 corporate advisor, author and podcaster.  We talk to Andrew about his time in the CIA, what it means to be a modern-day spy, and why he is opening up about his experiences. You can find out more about Andrew and the work he does at: www.everydayspy.com  PLUS extra content with Andrew for our patrons at patreon.com/blankpodcast Massive thanks to our Patrons: Mary Catherine Byrnes,...

Paul Chowdhry, is an English comedian and actor. He has been a guest panelist on 8 out of 10 Cats, Comedy World Cup, and Sorry, I Didn't Know and has appeared on Live at the Apollo twice. He was the first British Asian stand-up comic to sell out Wembley Arena and host the Channel 4 comedy series Stand Up for the Week. Paul chatted to Giles and Jim about his writing process, overcoming racism in the industry and 'The Queue'.   Plus extra content with Paul over at...

Lawrence Prestidge is an author, podcaster and actor. Lawrence is the writer and star of Amazon Prime's British comedy series Keep Calm and Carry On, as well as the host of The Shapes of Stories podcast. We talk to Lawrence about writing and starring in a sitcom, his creative process and playing Burt the chimney sweep at Disney Land Paris. PLUS extra content with Lawrence for our patrons at patreon.com/blankpodcast Massive thanks to our Patrons: Mary Catherine Byrnes, Victoria Nielsen,...

Emma Forrest is a film director, screenwriter and novelist from London who moved to LA to write screenplays for Hollywood movies.  She has written four Novels; Namedropper (1998), Thin Skin (2002), Cherries in the Snow (2005), and Royals, and two memoirs; Your Voice in My Head (2011) and her new memoir Busy Being Free, which is out now: https://www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/emma-forrest/busy-being-free/9781474620659/ She spoke to Giles and Jim about selling out, solitude and...

Omar Baroud is an actor and musical theatre star. Best known for his portrayal as Jackson in Disney Plus' Wedding Season and his roles in Baptiste and The Innocents. For more information on Wedding Season have a look here: https://whatsondisneyplus.com/first-look-at-first-british-original-series-wedding-season/ Omar is currently starring in the West End in Cabaret in the role of Clifford Bradshaw. We discuss with Omar his discovery of performing arts, the process of moving from one theatre...

A special episode to the announcement to let you guys know that we have written a book! It's called Blank: Why it's Fine to Falter and Fail, And How To Pick Yourself Up Again and it's OUT NOW!!! We are joined by Celine Hughes, our fantastic Senior Commissioning Editor from Quadrille Publishing, who has published the book to talk about why they acquired the book and the process of how a book goes from an idea to a fully-formed thing. Our book explores many of the themes that crop up on the...