Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Comedian, BAFTA-winning broadcaster and writer, host of The Weakest Link, known for travelogues and stand-up.
On the island
Eight records
Second disc. Reminds guest of his dad's parties and drunken singing.
Third disc. Guest listened to it repeatedly after a terrible gig in Hornchurch.
Fourth disc. Guest compares it to his own 'through the wire' moment winning Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year.
Fifth disc. Guest admires SZA's ability to turn insecurities into poetry.
Back at OneFavourite
Sixth disc. Played at guest's wedding; he finds it saccharine but loves it.
Seventh disc. Now associated with wife's labour; guest needs a desert island to listen without triggering contractions.
Eighth disc. Guest inspired by Chuck D starting in his 30s.
The keepsakes
In conversation
Presenter asks
2:13You play the misanthrope on stage but strike me as someone who loves what they do. Talk me through those two personalities.
Basically, a lot of people say to me that they think I'm putting on an act when I'm on stage, but actually, I think I'm putting on an act when I'm off stage. And what what I mean by that is that when I'm doing stand-up, I am saying what I think unfiltered. And obviously, there's comic exaggeration, but actually, I'm not worried about the social repercussions of what I'm saying when I'm delivering it onstage. You know, the sweet spot for me has always been when you say something that you're slightly nervous to express.
Presenter asks
4:47You've described comedy as the family's love language. Tell me more about that.
What we do have in common is just this kind of dark mickey taking out of everything. There is no safe space, whatever, however sad something is, let's find the funny in it.
Presenter asks
8:15Your parents are Tamil from Sri Lanka. What was life like for Tamil people in Sri Lanka in the run up to them leaving?
There's lots of horrible stories of mistreatment of members of my family purely because of a Tamil. My dad's eldest brother was taken away by soldiers and we never saw him again. My auntie, my dad's sister's husband was shot dead on his doorstep by soldiers. I feel like that was all simmering, but my dad came over to England to finish his accountancy qualifications. And partly that I think it was a bit of push and a bit of pull in terms of what brought him over here.
The book
Yann Martel
The Life of Pie by Jan Martel. On the face of it the book is about a boy that gets trapped on a boat with a tiger, but I think it's a book about Life itself is a book about philosophy, it's a book about religion. And then it's sort of it's kind of an open ending and it's open to your interpretation as to what actually happened that whole time. I found reading that book such a great experience that as soon as I finished reading it, I went straight to the front and started reading it again.
The luxury
a large vacuum-packed container of my mum's aubergine curry
It's a large, vacuum packed. Hermetically sealed. Container of my mum's aubergine curry. I don't know if you can do this. I'd love it to be some sort of like bottomless brunch version of that, where it's like an unlimited supply.
Presenter asks
19:43Your dad was released from prison and came back to the family. How did his return affect things and how did you feel about it?
It was uh tricky because he'd been away for a bit. My mum would be looking after us, and also now he's trying to come back and be dad. And how did that go? Well, you know, I had one of my worst ever conversations I've ever had. I say conversation, it was a monologue for me, but basically, I was at university. And I come home for the weekend. So, obviously, your parents are excited to see you, and then gone out with friends from back home and then not said when I'm going to be back, and got back quite late. And then I walked in, and my dad said, You need to tell us when you're going to come back. And then I turned around and delivered a m monologue at my father. Basically it started with something along the lines of you have got some nerve telling me what I need to do in this house and then just went into one about what I thought about his behaviour, how I thought about how he treated mum, how I think about how he treated us, how he thinks he can just waltz back into the house and suddenly he's going to be back to normal. Proper, proper, disrespectful rant. And we never spoke about it again.
Presenter asks
25:55You've been honest about mental health problems. When did you first realize you were struggling?
When I was coming up to like doing my A levels, I wasn't in a headspace doing my A levels and I wasn't going to get the results I wanted. And I drafted my suicide note. I was like, I don't want to be here any like, you know, I don't want to be here anymore. I was just like, I used to think about how I'm going to do it. I went through a I've been through in my life a number of periods of suicide ideation which is where I'm fantasizing about it and I want to do it and every and the best way of describing it is for me personally is that when I thought about it I thought about it in the same way that you might think about going on holiday I'd be like that'd be so good I won't feel like this anymore and other people it would be better for other people you know like I just really would deep fantasize about about it and … As I speak to you now, I feel like I'm probably... This is running close to one of the best places I've ever been in my life mentally.
Presenter asks
41:21Is there a moment, a turning point, when you realized it was all starting to go right?
As soon as I was regularly paying for the big shop with comedy, it felt amazing and I thought this is probably going to be alright. And then ever since then, everything else has been an incredible bonus, to be honest with you. I have no you know, I know that people sort of say I'm busy and I'm always like trying to work and stuff. There is no strategy, there's no game plan, I have no end game, there's no vision board or anything like that. I just literally just doing whatever feels good.
“I think that the mental toll of that on my brother, me and my mum. In a my mum. Was the saddest I've ever seen her and I never want to see her that sad again.”
“I drafted my suicide note. I was like, I don't want to be here any like, you know, I don't want to be here anymore. I was just like, I used to think about how I'm going to do it.”
“There wasn't a single day of that job that I didn't feel completely fulfilled. I felt very stressed. It's the most stressed I've ever been in my life, actually. There's not been a single day of my comedy career that's even come close to the stress that I felt as a teacher.”
“I remember once walking out on stage, this is before I had any kind of profile, somebody shouted terrorist before I got the b picked up the microphone.”
“I think it would have to be despite me complaining about it being too saccharine. It's back at one Brian McKnight because it just reminds me of my wife so much.”