Lockdown. Doc Brown. The only guest to have an Early Work section on his wikipedia. How do you go from samosa dealing in your youth to playing a drug dealer in the Inbetweeners? From beatboxing in school talent shows to Jump Off champion and features on David Brent tracks? The extraordinary career of Ben Bailey Smith is no accident. He put in the work early doors, with raps about Mr Sheen, Neighbours and Rosa Parks. Not to mention the bizarre quantity of drawings of elephants in an A Team...

World's most interesting man, anecdote champion of the universe and low-hairlined Australian-raised Hong Kongese British citizen Dan Schreiber bowls into the Early Work Zoom sessions. A quarantine special. A lockdown exclusive. Story upon story of his parents hugely successful hairdressing and karaoke careers, Dan's own teenage bands, cult like schools and potentially libellous teacher insights. Then comes the early work. A musical about a student who was expelled just days before the...

Non-driving son-of-a-chemistry-teacher Mark Watson is the most precocious guest so far. He wrote novels age 5 and had his own newspaper by 7, frequently publishing adverts for things you'd never anticipate a child being interested in (anyone need roofing?). The typical Watson modesty we've come to adore has been there since day one as even is his own written fantasies he's performing only quite well in international cricket fixtures and getting overwhelmed to the point of losing consciousness...

Rhys's Norwegian mother Kerry BOSHliman steps into Early Work quarantine to give us a selection of her life before she developed her no-nonsense nature. A peek into the nonsense days. Drama schools called EGYPT where she made safe sex videos. Long letters to Philip Seymour Hoffman in the pre-twitter era. Rhys clearly pretending to know who Hanif Kureishi is as she reads a short story about him. The Early Work is deep, poetic and beautiful, which is not great news for the Teen Horniness...

British comedy acting royalty Mathew Horne remembers nothing from his childhood... except his first funny character, his love of human geography, a choreographed dance for the football lads and earning his dad's approval immediately. Thankfully Rhys is on hand to analyse his early work's deeper meanings further than the "good lad" feedback from his teachers. Poems about pies, hair, football and bins. A menu Heston Blumenthal would be envious of. And finally some fair feedback for Rhys's...

Shankings, arson, asthma. A mixed bag at school for Jayde Adams. So it’s no wonder she turned to writing. First of all, a novel longer than The Hobbit that she just up and deleted one day, failing to predict the inception of Early Work podcast where it would’ve been finally put to use. Then undeleted poetry about flu jabs, pets she’s allergic to one that inadvertently invents John Lewis christmas adverts. Plus, Rhys reads a super horny poem from his salad days and someone receives the first...

Joel’s got weird knees. He’s also got weird habits, like inventing a new kind of walking, getting absolutely punk’d by the Wombles, making Stephen Mulhern uncomfortable and writing plays with his mum. Enlisting the acting talents of Rhys to help bring it to life, Joel brings to Early Work mansions his prize-winning murder mystery set it an old people’s home and Rhys responds with some Linkin Park inspired poetry about ‘time’. Drivel. Follow Early Work on Twitter @EarlyWorkPod Rhys is on...

Precocious Pleb Tom Rosenthal has been making #content for decades. Fans of his adolescent youtube channel will be familiar with Pimp My Toaster, long time followers will be well aware of his scouse accent in public speaking contests. Here, he ups the ante with an Early Work first: some Actual Recordings™ of things. Those things just so happen to be raps. Raps about cricket, sure, but also a diss track in an attempt to quash some beef at his middle-class school in Reading. Inspired by all...

Walking back-catalogue Nick Helm enters Early Work mansions with a supercomputer of content. Whether you're stuck in a well, your heads in an oven or you've just got your eyes closed, everything's dark in Nick's world, and what an honour it is to delve into. Plus, Rhys reads a poem he wrote on halloween about a girl he'd had an argument with. Boy oh boy. Follow Nick on Twitter @thenickhelm Follow Early Work on Twitter @EarlyWorkPod Rhys is on tour - all dates on his website. Or you can...

'School comedian' Tom Lucy is so precocious he's already started wearing gym clothes before his midlife crisis. He started stand-up when he was just 16 and labelled his childhood band "defenders of rock" age 10. This sort of confidence is exactly what you'd expect from someone who considers themselves 100% American. Tom's baffling, propaganda-laden song lyrics can only be rivalled by Rhys's hideous attempt at a Fire in The Booth style rap, grinding the podcast to a halt due to 'creative...

Undisputed comedy champion John Kearns brings his blend of wistful, considered genius to the Early Work theatre - and you better believe Blair's in the audience. War scripts, a novella set in a zoo, a thousand titles for books that'll never exist; John always believed in buying the billboard before you've created the product. Plus, Rhys reads a poem about a street that can talk. Christ. Sorry. Follow John on Twitter @johnsfurcoat Follow Early Work on Twitter @EarlyWorkPod Rhys is on tour -...

Fresh from every panel show, comedian Maisie Adam cross-country jogs into the Early Work playground to prove that for her, it's not just about art, it's about business. It always has been. She's been charging for love poems since she way 10 years old and even with inflation the value for money is exceptional. To level the playing field, Rhys reads a poem you should be paid to sit through, and Maisie doesn't hold back in her reaction to it. Follow Maisie on Twitter @MaisieAdam Follow Early...

Big shot "female actor" and the podcast's second Taskmaster loser, Lolly Adefope, slides into the Early Work ball-pool with some red hot teenage fan fiction, before showing some unwarranted support for Rhys's poetic plagiarism. It's a confident, unapologetic performance, but what else would expect from the coolest, smartest, funniest girl in school? Follow Lolly on Twitter @lollyadefope Follow Early Work on Twitter @EarlyWorkPod Rhys is on tour - all dates on his website. Or you can follow...

Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner and Taskmaster not-winner Rose Matafeo is the first to step up to the podium and deliver her incredibly versatile early work, before being quite forgiving of Rhys's tragic offering. Things start edgy and end up spooky, so consider this a trigger warning. Follow Rose on Twitter @rose_matafeo Follow Early Work on Twitter @EarlyWorkPod Rhys is on tour - all dates on his website. Or you can follow him @rhysjamesy

Early Work with Rhys James, episode 1 coming 13th January.