“In its heyday this podcast was a ray of light during the depths of lockdown. I loved tuning in every week and hearing genuinely funny and intimate feeling stories from Alison and Fern’s relatively small and dedicated core audience. It was also very clear that it was a podcast borne out of a warm and genuine friendship between its hosts. I feel like the pod should have ended when Fern had to leave because as much as the format lends itself to endless rinsing and repeating - it was as much about Alison and Fern’s natural chemistry and banter as it was about the stories from listeners. The downfall began when Fern left - the rotating guest co-host format semi-worked but it all fell asunder when Kerry Katona joined as a regular. Alison and Kerry’s relationship, though cordial definitely feels like a colleague kind of vibe rather than real friends. You can tell that they really don’t have the touchstones that Alison and Fern shared from being real life friends and years of having their professional paths cross as working comedians. The original show was about celebrating the lighter side of deeply embarrassing or shameful experiences. These days there are a lot of fairly crass guests sharing stories that firstly aren’t funny, and secondly the speakers don’t even seem to feel vaguely shameful or embarrassed about (e.g. MAFS’ Nikita Jasmine’s recent guest spot). Kerry also spends a lot of time dominating the conversation, talking over Alison and sharing pretty dull and drawn out anecdotes that aren’t funny. And lastly, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE EDIT OUT KERRY’S HACKING, WHEEZING, DEATH RATTLE OF A LAUGH. IT’S HEINOUS.”
LucyBruce via Apple Podcasts ·
Sweden ·
03/29/23