EP.236 - KIELL SMITH BYNOE

Adam waffles with actor, comedian and writer Kiel Smith Bynoe, star of Ghosts, Stath Lets Flats, Man Like Mobeen and Taskmaster, about the secret to getting ahead in the entertainment industry, Kiell's father and his unorthodox approach to family life, Junior Spesh good times as a young grime star, and the reason we won't be seeing Kiell on Sewing Bee anymore. Conversation recorded face-to-face in London on December 9th, 2024. Thanks to Séamus Murphy-Mitchell for production support and conversation editing and to Frank Buxton for additional editing. Podcast illustration by Helen Green https://helengreenillustration.com/ THE CHRISTMAS WISH-TRASTROPHE https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-christmas-wish-tastrophe/cariad-lloyd/ma-pe/9781444971484?sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=626889&awc=3787_1734278432_66a3075e9b6d40938129703c7acf562f&utm_source=626889&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=adstrong by Cariad Lloyd - 2024 (WATERSTONES) EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/buxton Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! RELATED LINKS KIELL ON INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/klayzeflaymz/ BOSSKI (KIELL SMITH BYNOE) DAY ONE MANDEM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfpTLwMAyh8 - 2020 (YOUTUBE) RED HOT ENTERTAINMENT - JUNIOR SPESH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6pbZLiLt30(ft. Jaxor, Klayze Flaymz, Terra & Ray) - 2007 (YOUTUBE) THE FRIED CHICKEN SHOP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F46Lq9hRB_E - JUNIOR SPESH VISIT ROOSTERS - 2012 (YOUTUBE) CHEEKY NANDOS - PERI BOYS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOjG5usM_y4(Vuj, Mim, Klayze) - 2015 (YOUTUBE) GRACIOUS K - MIGRAINE SKANK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR3gfLa5c50 (OFFICIAL VIDEO) - 2009 (YOUTUBE) RED FLAG https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auOVYojYvTk (KIELL'S COMEDY BLAP) - 2022 (YOUTUBE) KIELL'S UPLIFTING MOVIE PICK MOONRISE KINGDOM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eOI3AamSm8 (TRAILER) Directed by Wes Anderson - 2012 (YOUTUBE) CARIAD LLOYD'S UPLIFTING MOVIE PICK MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaLISMAGdOE (ENGLISH TRAILER) Directed by Hayao Miyazaki - 1988 (YOUTUBE) STUDIO GHIBLI NATURE LOOP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9Ug-3qhrwY - 2020 (YOUTUBE) Relax with these peaceful visuals from Studio Ghibli. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Adam Buxton?

  I added one more podcast to the giant podcast bin. Now you have plucked that podcast out and started listening. I took my microphone and found some human folk. Then I recorded all the noises while we spoke. My name is Adam Buckston, I'm a man. I want you to enjoy this, that's the plan.

• 0:32Adam Buxton?

  Hey, how you doing, podcats? It's Adam Buckston here. I'm here where I belong, stomping up a farm track in East Anglia with my best dog friend Rosie. She's joined me, I would have to say reluctantly. She's always reluctant at the beginning of the walks these days. But by the time we're about halfway round the circuit, which usually takes us about an hour in total, it's a good long walk. Then she's much more into the whole idea. But this initial stage, she tends to be a bit reticent.

• 1:15Adam Buxton?

  Yeah. Now we're out on the top stretch of field in the open, exposed to the wind blowing quite hard from the west as the last deep orange rays of sunshine fade on the horizon beneath a dark canopy of cloud moving above us. It's only 4.15 and yet in another quarter of an hour, it'll be dark. This isn't even the shortest day of the year. That's next weekend, 21st of December. But from then on... We'll be journeying together out of the dark and towards the light.

• 1:58Adam Buxton?

  Speaking of which, let me tell you a bit about podcast number 236, which features a rambling conversation with British actor, comedian and writer, Kyle Smith-Bynoe. Bynoe facts, born in 1989, Kyle grew up in East Ham in the London borough of Newham. He attended an all-boys school in Forest Gate where his contemporaries included a number of aspiring musicians, working within the electronic dance and hip-hop sub-genre grime, which was blowing up at the time. Kyle himself was a grime MC, known as Clay's Flames.

• 2:43Adam Buxton?

  And in 2007, Red Hot Entertainment, one of the crews that Kyle was a part of, enjoyed a viral hit with their song Junior Spesh, an homage to the £1.50 Junior Special Meal served at Canning Town's Southern Fried Chicken Outlet, a favourite eatery near the £20 an hour studio, where Red Hot Entertainment would record their grime tracks. Here's a quick blast of Junior Spesh for you.

• 3:30Adam Buxton?

  Junior Spesh by Red Hot Entertainment. In 2009, Kyle's friend and sometime collaborator Gracious K had a hit with his track Migraine Skank. And as you'll hear in our conversation, Kyle joined him on the road to promote it.

• 3:54Adam Buxton?

  Bit of Migraine Skank by Gracious K there for you. Meanwhile, Kyle was working hard to realise his acting ambitions. Having started young, attending a Saturday drama school, then after-school drama, summer school drama, and then the Theatre Royal Stratford East Youth Theatre, and then East 15 Drama School. One of the skills Kyle picked up in those years was for comedy improv, which continues to be a central part of his life. In the form of his improv shows, Cool Story Bro, cool with a K, KSB, you see, Kyle Smith-Bynoe. In these shows, a hit this year at Edinburgh, Kyle and a cast of comedian friends that includes the likes of Emma Sidde and Lola Rose Maxwell,

• 4:37Adam Buxton?

  plus special guests, improvise recreations of embarrassing recollections supplied by the audience. Scripted roles for Kyle started coming slowly in the early 2010s. He was also making comedy YouTube videos, some with friend of the podcast Kay Van Novak. But it was towards the end of the decade, around 2018, when it seemed as though Kyle was appearing in one hit TV comedy show after another, with recurring roles in Gus Khan's Man Like Mobeen, Jamie Demetrius's Staff Lets Flats, and the horrible history gang's Ghosts. And let's not forget that well-loved turn in the 2023 season of Taskmaster.

• 5:18Adam Buxton?

  My conversation with Kyle was recorded face-to-face in London earlier this month, December 2024, and we discussed the secret to getting ahead in the entertainment industry, Kyle's father and his unorthodox approach to family life, good times as a young grime star, and the reason we won't be seeing Kyle on British reality show Sewing Bee anymore. But we began, as you'll hear from the backup recording that was running when Kyle arrived for our podcast chat, by fixing ourselves a festive drink. I actually forgot to set the main recorder running after fixing myself a festive drink, but only for a couple of minutes, in case you're wondering at the top

• 6:01Adam Buxton?

  why it carries on sounding a bit roomy, it's not for long. I'll be back at the end for a couple of uplifting movie recommendations from Kyle himself and another from friend of the podcast, actor, comedian, author and grief caster, Cariad Lloyd. But right now, with Kyle Smith-Bynoe.

• 6:21Adam Buxton?

  Here we go.

• 7:01Adam Buxton?

  Now, look, I've got water here for you. Would you like anything else? I've got beers, I've got Pepsi, Max. I can offer you extra virgin olive oil.

• 7:15Speaker 01

  I'm trying to crack that one up.

• 7:16Adam Buxton?

  Lemonade, gin, vodka, Captain Morgan rum.

• 7:20Speaker 01

  Hmm, Captain Morgan and Pepsi, it sounds interesting.

• 7:23Adam Buxton?

  Oh, yeah?

• 7:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 7:24Adam Buxton?

  Wow.

• 7:24Speaker 01

  I mean, I don't usually drink Captain Morgans, but...

• 7:27Adam Buxton?

  That's if you don't want a tea or a...

• 7:29Speaker 01

  No.

• 7:30Adam Buxton?

  Alright.

• 7:30Speaker 01

  I'd love a drink, actually.

• 7:32Adam Buxton?

  Okay. Look, I've even got some ice cubes.

• 7:39Adam Buxton?

  Pingu.

• 7:40Speaker 01

  Pingu, actually?

• 7:41Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 7:42Speaker 01

  I actually love dropping a bag of ice on the table.

• 7:44Adam Buxton?

  It's pretty good, isn't it?

• 7:45Speaker 01

  It is great. Lil Wayne's got a lyric. Um, "Dropping like a bag of ice."

• 7:51Adam Buxton?

  It's very satisfying. Okay, so we're doing Captain Morgan.

• 7:57Adam Buxton?

  Spice gold.

• 7:58Speaker 01

  Spice gold. It does smell good.

• 8:00Adam Buxton?

  That smells delicious. That smells vanillary.

• 8:03Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:04Adam Buxton?

  Is that right?

• 8:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:05Adam Buxton?

  I'm gonna leave it to you to...

• 8:08Speaker 01

  Are you joking me?

• 8:09Adam Buxton?

  Well...

• 8:10Speaker 01

  Ooh, he's thinking about it.

• 8:12Adam Buxton?

  Well, it's coming up for Christmas, so...

• 8:13Speaker 01

  Exactly. This is our work Christmas drink.

• 8:17Adam Buxton?

  What the hell? Exactly. Okay.

• 8:20Adam Buxton?

  Now, you have just come from the headquarters of Netflix in the UK, is that right?

• 8:27Speaker 01

  That's right, yeah.

• 8:28Adam Buxton?

  And what were you doing there?

• 8:30Speaker 01

  Um, well, they give out free snacks there.

• 8:32Adam Buxton?

  Oh, yeah.

• 8:33Speaker 01

  So you can just sort of hang around.

• 8:34Adam Buxton?

  Nice.

• 8:36Speaker 01

  Um, I had a meeting there. I'm working on a project with Ben Will Bond.

• 8:40Adam Buxton?

  Oh, really?

• 8:41Speaker 01

  And that's not a secret.

• 8:42Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 8:43Speaker 01

  We're working on a project together.

• 8:44Adam Buxton?

  He's a ghost's man, right?

• 8:45Speaker 01

  He's a ghostman.

• 8:45Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 8:46Speaker 01

  And we have been pitching that and this is the fourth place that we've pitched it.

• 8:52Adam Buxton?

  Hmm.

• 8:53Speaker 01

  Um, currently, we've had one offer to take things further.

• 8:56Adam Buxton?

  Mm hmm. How are you in a pitch meeting?

• 8:59Speaker 01

  Um, I'm quite, I'm very conversational, quite unorthodox, I'd say. Like this, I'm just doing this. I just don't feel like, you know, when I came into the industry, I thought, I was like, oh my gosh, when you go to these places and you've got my suit, I've got, what did he wear suit? And you realise that like you're having meetings with people that are in their gym clothes. They don't care. You don't have to, um, yeah, you don't have to dress up for it. You just sort of turn up. You come from football or whatever. So. Yeah, I realised that you can just chill and sort of be yourself. And I learned that quite quickly.

• 9:32Adam Buxton?

  Well, it's all about confidence at the end of the day, isn't it?

• 9:34Speaker 01

  Yes, it is.

• 9:35Adam Buxton?

  So if you go in and you look relaxed.

• 9:37Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 9:38Adam Buxton?

  Then they're gonna feel that.

• 9:39Speaker 01

  I mean, your idea's probably got to be good, too.

• 9:41Adam Buxton?

  Does it, though? I think that confidence carries the day. I really do.

• 9:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 9:47Adam Buxton?

  My friend Garth is telling me about this big studio head that he works with. And, uh, this guy was having a meeting with a big star and in this guy came with his manager, I think. And the manager came into the studio head's office, put his feet up on the table of the studio boss. Got a little packet of raisins that was in the bowl, emptied it into his mouth, scrunched up the packet and threw the packet at the face of the studio boss. And then said, all right, what are we doing?

• 10:25Adam Buxton?

  And apparently the studio boss is a nice guy and knew what to expect from this character.

• 10:31Speaker 01

  Right.

• 10:32Adam Buxton?

  Didn't like totally lose his rag.

• 10:33Speaker 01

  Right.

• 10:34Adam Buxton?

  But, I mean.

• 10:37Speaker 01

  I wish you'd told me that before I went to Netflix.

• 10:40Adam Buxton?

  You could have thrown some fruit at them and they would have loved it.

• 10:43Speaker 01

  Yeah, especially if it was from their canteen.

• 10:46Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 10:47Speaker 02

  I just had this incredible meeting with Kyle Smith-Pino. He threw a banana at my face. Give him a three series deal because no one's ever done that before. I was just absolutely fucking gobsmacked by the confidence of the guy.

• 11:00Speaker 01

  Who is that voice? What is that voice?

• 11:03Adam Buxton?

  That's by Netflix executive.

• 11:04Speaker 01

  That's really good. It's really believable.

• 11:10Adam Buxton?

  But, that's, that's it, man. That's what they're doing. Everyone's, it's just, especially in the entertainment industry. It's personality led, isn't it?

• 11:18Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 11:18Adam Buxton?

  I'm reading quite a good book at the moment by a film critic called Tim Robey. And it's called Box Office Poison and it's a, an account of like some of the biggest box office flops in movie history.

• 11:33Speaker 01

  Like Super Mario Brothers?

• 11:35Adam Buxton?

  I don't know if Super Mario Brothers is in there, actually. I'm sort of in the middle. I'm in the eighties at the moment.

• 11:39Speaker 01

  Right.

• 11:40Adam Buxton?

  Actually, no, I'm getting beyond that. They've just done Gilly, Jiggly. Ben Affleck and.

• 11:45Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 11:46Adam Buxton?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Catwoman is in there.

• 11:51Speaker 01

  That's a horrible film.

• 11:52Adam Buxton?

  Yeah. Have you seen it?

• 11:53Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:54Adam Buxton?

  Wow.

• 11:55Speaker 01

  That is a really bad film.

• 11:57Adam Buxton?

  See that film?

• 11:57Speaker 01

  I saw it on ITV two once, one afternoon.

• 12:00Adam Buxton?

  And you didn't switch it off?

• 12:02Speaker 01

  No, I was really intrigued. Also, there's Halle Berry in it, but I was really intrigued at like where it's going. And I was like, oh, it's just getting worse.

• 12:10Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 12:11Speaker 01

  And it keeps getting worse and it's sort of like interesting to watch how bad it was.

• 12:16Adam Buxton?

  Yeah, there's some funny stories in this book.

• 12:18Speaker 01

  Right.

• 12:18Adam Buxton?

  But what keeps coming through again and again is that people haven't got a clue. Like, no one knows what they're doing. The only thing they know is what the last thing was that did well.

• 12:29Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:29Adam Buxton?

  That's why everything is the same as the last thing that did well. They just keep on doing that for a while.

• 12:35Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:36Adam Buxton?

  Suddenly, you know, they're all geniuses after the fact.

• 12:39Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 12:39Adam Buxton?

  But they've got no clue what's gonna actually work. So they're sitting there in their Netflix offices or wherever else, not just Netflix.

• 12:47Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 12:48Adam Buxton?

  And they're acting like, yeah, we know what we're doing.

• 12:51Speaker 01

  That's a different guy, right?

• 12:52Adam Buxton?

  Tell me your pitch, this is his boss. And they don't know, they have, they've got no idea. So all they've got to go on is, what kind of fruit are you gonna throw at them?

• 13:02Speaker 01

  Yeah. Oh, jackfruit, wow.

• 13:08Speaker 01

  Well, I mean, I didn't, I didn't go too personality. I didn't, I wasn't um, as if I was kicking about a football with my mates.

• 13:16Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 13:16Speaker 01

  Do you remember in school when teachers used to say that, you're not kicking around a football with your mates, as if like you talk during football?

• 13:22Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 13:25Adam Buxton?

  I'm saying, yeah, even though no teacher ever said that to me, because I don't think I ever went anywhere near a football.

• 13:30Speaker 01

  Really?

• 13:31Adam Buxton?

  Yes, it was obvious to them that I was not someone who was gonna understand or respond to football metaphors.

• 13:37Speaker 01

  I can imagine you as a sportsman.

• 13:39Adam Buxton?

  Really?

• 13:40Speaker 01

  Not football, but like.

• 13:41Adam Buxton?

  Rugby, maybe. No, nothing, no sport.

• 13:44Speaker 01

  Really?

• 13:45Adam Buxton?

  Yeah, what about you?

• 13:47Speaker 01

  No, but my dad wanted me to do sports.

• 13:49Adam Buxton?

  He was a cricketer?

• 13:50Speaker 01

  He was a cricketer, and he wanted me to be a cricketer.

• 13:52Adam Buxton?

  Right. This is Fitzburn.

• 13:55Speaker 01

  Fitzburn Isaiah Smith.

• 13:57Adam Buxton?

  Fitzburn, that's a good name.

• 13:59Speaker 01

  It's a good name, isn't it?

• 14:00Adam Buxton?

  Where did he get that name?

• 14:01Speaker 01

  His dad, I reckon.

• 14:03Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 14:03Speaker 01

  Uh, his dad Nathaniel.

• 14:05Adam Buxton?

  Okay, I've got a Nathaniel.

• 14:07Speaker 01

  Have you?

• 14:08Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 14:09Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 14:10Adam Buxton?

  It's a nice name, too.

• 14:11Speaker 01

  Yeah, I only met my granddad three times.

• 14:14Adam Buxton?

  Okay.

• 14:14Speaker 01

  Cause he lived in Jamaica.

• 14:16Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 14:17Speaker 01

  And by the third time I saw him, he was pretty blind.

• 14:20Adam Buxton?

  Uh huh.

• 14:21Speaker 01

  But he lived to ninety nine.

• 14:22Adam Buxton?

  Whoa, good genes.

• 14:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:24Adam Buxton?

  What about your pa? How long did he live?

• 14:26Speaker 01

  My dad died one year after my granddad.

• 14:29Adam Buxton?

  Oh, really?

• 14:30Speaker 01

  Yeah. My granddad lived to ninety nine and my, my dad, my dad was eighty one.

• 14:35Adam Buxton?

  That's not bad.

• 14:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, one year after. So we were all meant to go to Jamaica for my granddad's hundredth. So we were sort of planning that. When I say we all, I mean, all of my dad's children and their children and their children.

• 14:47Adam Buxton?

  Right, so there, there are lots of them.

• 14:50Speaker 01

  But I'd had twelve.

• 14:51Adam Buxton?

  Okay.

• 14:52Speaker 01

  Apparently.

• 14:54Adam Buxton?

  Twelve that you know of.

• 14:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, my grandad had said that there were more. And then my dad was like, he's old, he doesn't know, he's talking about.

• 15:03Speaker 01

  So.

• 15:03Adam Buxton?

  And were these, were they all from relationships that were, that went on for a while or were they just sort of random?

• 15:11Speaker 01

  I bet both.

• 15:12Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 15:13Speaker 01

  There are, there are twelve of us, uh, allegedly, and there are three boys, nine girls. And there are eight mothers involved.

• 15:26Adam Buxton?

  Okay.

• 15:26Speaker 01

  I believe.

• 15:27Adam Buxton?

  And just one.

• 15:28Speaker 01

  Done the maths properly.

• 15:29Adam Buxton?

  And you're, are you the only child from his union with your mother?

• 15:33Speaker 01

  Yes. Yeah, I'm my mum's only child, um, and I grew up as an only child. But when I was fourteen, my dad said to me, we're going to Birmingham to meet your sister. And I was like, my, what? And I went to, we got on a coach from Victoria and we went to Birmingham. And I went to meet my sister Elaine. And when I got there, and she introduced me to her kids and we, we had a lovely dinner. And then we watched TV and my dad went to bed and my sister said to me. So how many of us have you met?

• 16:11Adam Buxton?

  How old were you at this point?

• 16:12Speaker 01

  I was fourteen.

• 16:13Adam Buxton?

  Right, right.

• 16:15Speaker 01

  I said, what? And I remember her going, oh, Kyle. And I know that that meant that she realised that my dad had brought me there so that she could do the work.

• 16:26Adam Buxton?

  Okay, but you all knew about each other and your dad was keen to sort of introduce you all.

• 16:34Speaker 01

  Yes, my dad wanted us all to know each other.

• 16:36Adam Buxton?

  So he was a family man?

• 16:37Speaker 01

  He was a family man and on his deathbed, he was surrounded by all of his children.

• 16:43Adam Buxton?

  Really?

• 16:43Speaker 01

  On Father's Day.

• 16:45Adam Buxton?

  Wow.

• 16:46Speaker 01

  On Father's Day twenty eighteen.

• 16:49Speaker 01

  We were all there. I'm not sure if we were all there at the same time, but we were all there that day.

• 16:55Adam Buxton?

  Yeah. Did you get to say anything meaningful to him?

• 16:58Speaker 01

  We spoke about it. I mean, he couldn't. He didn't really have the energy to speak a lot. He would sort of nod or shake his head.

• 17:03Adam Buxton?

  Yeah. So he got to spend a good amount of time with you when you were growing up. Is that right?

• 17:08Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, I didn't realize it. You know, when I was a teenager, there was a part of me that was like, oh, my dad's never around, duh duh. And I think I just wanted to, because my dad never lived with us, it sort of felt like he didn't, he wasn't around. But when I look back, after he died, and when I look back at all the pictures, he was there for everything that was important in my life.

• 17:28Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 17:29Speaker 01

  All the um, plays and all the graduation stuff and he hired a car to drive me to my graduation, my GCSE results, all of those things, he was there. And the maddest thing is that all of my siblings say the same thing.

• 17:46Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 17:47Speaker 01

  Everyone says, I just remember him being there. I remember waking up on a Saturday morning, random Saturday morning, and he'd be there. I remember he was at Christmas. I remember he was at Mother's Day. He was there on my birthday. All of us. And that's insane.

• 18:01Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 18:02Speaker 01

  Because there's one in Birmingham, there's like five in South London, there's three in Brighton, there's a.

• 18:08Speaker 01

  And yeah, everyone remembers him being like around in those pivotal moments. I sort of say in everyone, and when I say everyone, I'm sort of good. I mean, like nine's enough to to say everyone. That's seventy five percent. But um, yeah, there were some that had like other sort of difficult relationships because their parents hadn't let him. There's one of my sisters whose mum, I don't think she'd mind me saying this, and also she's not gonna listen. Um, but Elaine told me that her mum was walking, I think it was down like Penj High Street, and she was pushing the pram that Elaine was in. And her mum said she saw the way that my dad looked at another woman and realized that this man will never be faithful to her. And broke up with him right there.

• 18:52Adam Buxton?

  Huh.

• 18:53Speaker 01

  And I think like, he was, he, that is what he was like.

• 18:59Adam Buxton?

  And he just, yeah.

• 19:00Speaker 01

  His head would just turn.

• 19:02Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 19:02Speaker 01

  And he'd be like, right, next thing.

• 19:04Adam Buxton?

  So he didn't protest too much when she wanted to break up?

• 19:06Speaker 01

  No.

• 19:07Adam Buxton?

  He was just like, yeah, you got me.

• 19:08Speaker 01

  Yeah. I think he was just like in love with women.

• 19:14Speaker 01

  Like couldn't really understand the concept of being in love with one woman.

• 19:18Adam Buxton?

  Yeah, yeah. What do you like in that way?

• 19:22Speaker 01

  I think I used to be like that.

• 19:23Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 19:24Speaker 01

  I think I inherited that for a while. But I've also seen how it can affect the children and relationships and and just life. And it's a it's a difficult way to live. Um, he must have been exhausted, the boy.

• 19:37Adam Buxton?

  Well, exactly.

• 19:38Speaker 01

  How's he playing cricket after all that?

• 19:40Adam Buxton?

  I mean, that is for someone who in in one way is not good at committing.

• 19:43Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 19:44Adam Buxton?

  He has also taken on a big wide raft of commitments in another way.

• 19:50Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 19:51Adam Buxton?

  That are far more complicated and stressful, you would imagine, than just having one relationship. I mean, that's that's kind of the point of being married. At least that's part of the point.

• 20:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 20:00Adam Buxton?

  Is that it simplifies a lot of things.

• 20:02Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 20:03Adam Buxton?

  I mean, it complicates things in lots of ways as well, but the longer you're married. Well, this is my experience. It's not the same for everyone. But the longer I've been married, the simpler things have got emotionally in some ways.

• 20:17Speaker 01

  Right.

• 20:18Adam Buxton?

  And you're I feel grateful for that.

• 20:21Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 20:21Adam Buxton?

  Especially as when I was younger, like in my twenties, it was just nonstop emotional drama and it was exhausting.

• 20:29Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 20:30Adam Buxton?

  I don't miss that.

• 20:31Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 20:32Adam Buxton?

  I sort of miss the adventure of going and meeting people, I suppose, and discovering new people and falling in love and those those sort of extreme feelings. But I don't miss all the stuff around it.

• 20:45Speaker 01

  Right, yeah.

• 20:46Adam Buxton?

  I don't miss it going wrong. I don't I don't miss the long stretches between relationships when I would feel quite lonely.

• 20:52Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 20:53Adam Buxton?

  You know, like that that feeling was hard.

• 20:56Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 20:56Adam Buxton?

  Of just sort of thinking, ah, I'd rather be with someone.

• 21:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 21:01Adam Buxton?

  But then, you know, some people are like, ah, they're fine.

• 21:04Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 21:05Adam Buxton?

  It's nice just to be on their own and do their own thing.

• 21:09Speaker 01

  Hmm hmm. My dad asked my mom to marry him twice.

• 21:12Adam Buxton?

  Oh, really?

• 21:13Speaker 01

  And she said, obviously not.

• 21:17Adam Buxton?

  But you know, it sounds like when he was actually with you, he was a perfectly serviceable and.

• 21:23Speaker 01

  He was great.

• 21:24Adam Buxton?

  And good dad, yeah.

• 21:25Speaker 01

  I remember, I remember going on this date with this girl and it was one of those Saturdays that he was home, falling asleep on the sofa or something. And I came down ready saying that I was about to go out. And he asked me where I was going. I said, oh, I've got a date. He said, oh, where's the, where are you meeting her? And I said, oh, I'm gonna go to a house restaurant. He's like, yeah, yeah, come. I'll ju- I'll drop you. And he drove me there. And when we got there, I told him where it was and we got there. Then he said, oh, where are, where are you going? I said, I'll. I've got this restaurant in Shoreditch. He was like, oh, yeah, I'll drop you. Get in the back. I was like, what do you mean, get in the back? He's like, yeah, I'll drive you guys there, but you're not gonna sit in the front if she sits in the back. Get her back. And then he drove us there like a chauffeur.

• 22:08Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 22:11Speaker 01

  And dropped us off. And it was lovely.

• 22:13Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 22:14Speaker 01

  But you know, just little things like that, you know, like doing dad stuff.

• 22:18Adam Buxton?

  Hmm.

• 22:18Speaker 01

  There was a lot of that and he like enjoyed doing that, even though he didn't get the cricketer that he wanted. But I still think that I'm sort of like continuing a legacy. You know, like you get to choose your name when you leave drama school. And I kept both of mine. And I'm really leaning into it now. I didn't like, before I was just Kyle and I guess now now I've really sort of leant into the K S B thing.

• 22:39Adam Buxton?

  Yeah. Did your dad see you when you were in your grime M C mode?

• 22:45Speaker 01

  Yeah. Oh, in that mode, like actually like performing.

• 22:48Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 22:49Speaker 01

  I doubt it. He saw me around that time when I was like constantly out the house, just going to like radio, pirate radio or. Studio or mu- music video shoots.

• 23:01Adam Buxton?

  Was that your first performance passion then, being an M C?

• 23:05Speaker 01

  I always wanted to be an actor from, from really young. But then when I got to school, everyone was either a footballer. A fighter or an M C.

• 23:15Adam Buxton?

  A fighter?

• 23:16Speaker 01

  Fighter.

• 23:17Adam Buxton?

  What kind of fighter?

• 23:18Speaker 01

  Just people just fight. Like I went to all boys school in first grade, people just fight, having fights. So, oh yeah, I beat that boy up. So, why? Fight, innit?

• 23:32Speaker 01

  Um, and that's the sort of, that was how you got any kind of status. You're either a footballer, a fighter or an emcee. And we had the rare, the rare superstars that were all three.

• 23:44Adam Buxton?

  It wasn't like that at my school.

• 23:50Adam Buxton?

  And what, how did you make the transition from wanting to be an actor to being an emcee?

• 23:54Speaker 01

  I guess I would just, I still wanted to perform in some way. Um, that's what was happening in the playground. I was useless of football.

• 24:01Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 24:01Speaker 01

  So in the playground, I had to do something and I always had an interest in music. My uncle was an emcee. My uncle was a drum and bass emcee.

• 24:10Adam Buxton?

  Oh, yeah.

• 24:11Speaker 01

  MC Fats.

• 24:13Adam Buxton?

  Yes, I saw your lovely tribute to him when he died on your Instagram page.

• 24:17Speaker 01

  Yeah, he died this, no, last year. And um, he, he was an emcee, he was a emcee slash singer. And he was quite big in the drum and bass scene. I was not interested. I didn't give a heck about drum and bass.

• 24:35Adam Buxton?

  Um. And he was your uncle on your?

• 24:37Speaker 01

  Mum's side.

• 24:38Adam Buxton?

  Mum's side, okay.

• 24:40Speaker 01

  Yeah, so my mum would work quite late. So I would go to school and then go from school to my nan's. And then I'd stay at my nan's until my mum came and picked me up in the evening. And um, yeah, my uncle would come in sort of twice a week with all these stories about like being on tour in Japan or in Canada or Australia.

• 25:02Adam Buxton?

  So he was pretty successful.

• 25:04Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, he went around the world. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He did loads. He um, he used to make music with Goldie.

• 25:11Adam Buxton?

  Did he?

• 25:11Speaker 01

  Yeah. And what's that crew called? Heavy? I can't remember.

• 25:15Adam Buxton?

  Bassheads? No, metalheads.

• 25:17Speaker 01

  Metalheads, that sounds more familiar, yeah. But he'd make music with them. He did, he had music with Jason Statham. He has like.

• 25:24Adam Buxton?

  Right, okay.

• 25:25Speaker 01

  Yeah, he was a.

• 25:26Adam Buxton?

  He was the real deal.

• 25:27Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he'd always come back with like gifts from these places or stories about eating bear in Tokyo or something like that, you know, just like.

• 25:38Speaker 01

  I tried snake here and all that stuff. I mean, most of the stories revolved around food.

• 25:43Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 25:45Speaker 01

  Um, which ultimately was his demise.

• 25:47Adam Buxton?

  Hmm.

• 25:48Speaker 01

  But um, yeah, he travelled and he lived well and he went everywhere and saw the world and really enjoyed himself and had a great time.

• 25:55Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 25:56Speaker 01

  But I think he never shook that lifestyle despite the diabetes.

• 25:59Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 26:01Speaker 01

  He didn't listen to the doctors when they told him to take care of what you're eating and all that stuff. And then he lost one foot. And then then the second one.

• 26:11Adam Buxton?

  Oh, mate.

• 26:12Speaker 01

  He had both amputated.

• 26:13Adam Buxton?

  Ah, yeah.

• 26:14Speaker 01

  Yeah. And it's like.

• 26:17Speaker 01

  You know, you've got to pay attention to these things, man. You like you, he got, he got warned. He was like that your lifestyle, obviously, is the lifestyle of a musician, of a musician on the road.

• 26:26Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 26:27Speaker 01

  And like travelling and living out of suitcases and eating out of kebab shops at min- after midnight, three A M, all that stuff. But you know, when you've got, when you've got those kind of health conditions, you have to think about that stuff. And I guess he didn't. He sort of just pretended they didn't exist.

• 26:45Adam Buxton?

  Hang on to your feet as far as possible.

• 26:47Speaker 01

  Got to. You need those. But um, yeah, he was a huge influence in my life.

• 26:53Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 26:54Speaker 01

  And he would come and tell these stories and I wanted to, I wanted to travel the world. I wanted to see stuff. I wanted to eat there. I wanted to.

• 27:00Adam Buxton?

  And were you thinking at that point that you would do it as an actor?

• 27:03Speaker 01

  No, I guess I was like, if that doesn't work out, this will.

• 27:07Adam Buxton?

  Right, okay.

• 27:08Speaker 01

  I never saw, one, I never saw the two together. And two, I never really. I didn't know it could be a career.

• 27:16Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 27:17Speaker 01

  I knew acting could be a career.

• 27:18Adam Buxton?

  And what had got you into acting? Why, why were you so passionate about that?

• 27:22Speaker 01

  I just loved the feeling. I did the Nativity play when I was four years old. I played innkeeper. And it was the best moment of my life at that stage. I guess I've been chasing that high ever since.

• 27:31Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 27:32Speaker 01

  But um, yeah, I loved it. I just loved being on stage. I loved the applause. I loved the laughter. I loved the response from an audience. I love people sort of listening. What was I gonna say next? When I'd done that, when I'd done those performances to a very small audience, I thought, I'd love to do this to a bigger audience. And then when I got, when I was eleven, I joined uh Theatre Royal Stratford East. And I started doing those shows, the youth theatre showcase and those sort of things. But I was also like emceeing a lot and I was going on prior radio. And I was.

• 28:05Speaker 01

  Doing like grime sets.

• 28:08Adam Buxton?

  How did you get into that then? How do you end up on pirate radio? You just meet the right people?

• 28:13Speaker 01

  Yeah, you just know people that did it. Like, I had some other MCs in my school. Tinchy Strider went to my school.

• 28:18Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 28:18Speaker 01

  Um, and there were loads of MCs in my school and like, you just know that that's what you do because everyone's sort of plan was to perform at grime raves. So the grime raves, like Young Man Standing, Stratford Wrexham, all those places, that's where like, that was the big show. And everyone wanted to sort of get to that, but you have to, you go through sort of pirate radio first and, but first of all, you have to like, start off at a crazy uh set time, which was maybe like four till six P M on a Monday.

• 28:48Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 28:49Speaker 01

  And really, you wanna be on like eight till ten on a Wednesday or Thursday or something like that. So you'd move around a lot, you'd change crews, you'd be in a different crew from last week or you'd be in two maybe, but you'd be on radio, then you'd do music videos. Channel U came out, so everyone was trying to make it onto Channel U with their music videos. We did that with a with a few tracks.

• 29:12Adam Buxton?

  Where was Channel U?

• 29:12Speaker 01

  Channel U was um was a television channel on Sky.

• 29:16Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 29:16Speaker 01

  Where you could send in your videos. And if you're getting played on Channel U, that's like the problem, that's the thing. That's what like the big MCs were doing. That's what Tinchy Strider was doing, Tiny Tempo was doing, all of those guys. So everyone wanted to be on Channel U.

• 29:29Adam Buxton?

  So this is around the time that Red Hot Entertainment was formed.

• 29:33Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 29:34Adam Buxton?

  And that is your MC gang.

• 29:36Speaker 01

  That's where I met, yeah, Terror and who else was in it? I mean, we changed a lot of crews between year seven and year eleven, when Red Hot really formed. Uh, Red Hot was sort of like at its peak when I was in first year of sixth form. That's when Gina Spesh came out, that's when Baby Girl came out, which was the video that was on Channel U. That was a few years before Migraines Gang came out, which was also a member of Red Hot who went to my school.

• 30:01Adam Buxton?

  And was it supposed to be funny, Red Hot?

• 30:04Speaker 01

  No, that was our only, that was our only like funny song. No, that wasn't our only funny song, but that was like the main funny song.

• 30:11Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 30:11Speaker 01

  Cause we were sort of like funny people, but grime wasn't a funny thing. No one was making funny grime apart from there was a boy called African Boy that made a song called uh about going to Lidl. That was a funny song.

• 30:22Adam Buxton?

  Uh huh.

• 30:23Speaker 01

  And then we also had Gina's special, but like it wasn't really a thing like funny grime. And then I guess it sort of became a thing after that. And Gina's special was a hit. I mean, it's only got a million views on YouTube, but it's only got that because in two thousand and eight, no one was running to YouTube to be like, oh, let's look at this thing.

• 30:43Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 30:44Speaker 01

  It was being sent around Bluetooth. It was being sent around on MSN. So that's where most of our like, I don't know, that's where our numbers would be.

• 30:51Adam Buxton?

  Were you at all worried that it was inappropriate to be doing?

• 30:55Speaker 01

  A hundred percent. I didn't want to do it. And that's why I refused to pay for the video.

• 31:01Adam Buxton?

  Cause you wanted to be taken seriously. You didn't wanna be a novelty band.

• 31:04Speaker 01

  Because Jax was like, all right, cool. We're gonna shoot a video for it. I said, we're gonna what? It's a joke. I said, this joke's getting out of hand. He's like, no, no, we'll just do a video and then like, then we can try and get it on channel U. And I was like, why do we want to do that? That's not the kind of music we make. Anyway.

• 31:17Adam Buxton?

  So you needed a video if you wanted to be on there?

• 31:20Speaker 01

  Yeah, but I refused to pay for it because I didn't want it to happen. I said, I'll turn up, but I'm not paying.

• 31:27Speaker 01

  And then, um, and then it was just like one thing led to another. And then we're doing shows. We got booked for some birthday girls party at in chalk farm, which was our first sort of booking for that song, which was so weird. And I actually had an interview with a guardian, a guy from the, I said the guardian or the independent, I can't remember. One of those. And he told me that he was at that party.

• 31:48Adam Buxton?

  Oh, really?

• 31:48Speaker 01

  Blew my mind.

• 31:52Adam Buxton?

  What, what did you have to do at the party? It was all like sixteen year old girls and stuff.

• 31:56Speaker 01

  I think they were a bit older than us. I think they might have even been like sort of uni age.

• 31:59Adam Buxton?

  Okay.

• 32:00Speaker 01

  Cause we were sixteen.

• 32:01Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 32:02Speaker 01

  I think they were like eighteen, nineteen. It was just great. This mad house, massive house in Chor. It was probably the biggest house I'd been to. But I imagine it was like, I bet I could book them for my party.

• 32:13Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 32:14Speaker 01

  So you could not, you could not get those guys.

• 32:18Speaker 01

  And then she did. And then we did it. And they paid us.

• 32:21Adam Buxton?

  Yeah. And was there a stage? I guess it was a tent in a garden or something.

• 32:25Speaker 01

  No, it was like a, a little like, the decks had been set up in a front room.

• 32:29Adam Buxton?

  Ah.

• 32:31Speaker 01

  Mad. And then I was like, oh yeah, I guess we sort of do this now. And we did that for a bit. We would do a few shows and whatever. But then migraine skank happened and that was. That was next level. That was like.

• 32:42Adam Buxton?

  Migraine skank was not a comedy song.

• 32:44Speaker 01

  That was not a comedy. I mean, it's sort of, I mean, it's not serious, but it's um, it was more of a dance track.

• 32:50Adam Buxton?

  Okay.

• 32:51Speaker 01

  And um, gracious was a member of Red Hot and he got that. And that's when funky house blew up.

• 32:56Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 32:56Speaker 01

  And then instead of just doing like gigs in chalk farm, so fifty drunk uni students, he was doing like. Three thousand people at like.

• 33:08Speaker 01

  O two Arena Manchester or something like that. And we went, we went around the world doing that.

• 33:14Adam Buxton?

  Literally around the world.

• 33:15Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 33:16Adam Buxton?

  Whereabouts did you go?

• 33:18Speaker 01

  We went to, well, I say around the world, I guess around Europe. We went to, we did all the party islands. We were doing like Malia, Napa, Zanti, Cos, Magaluf, all of that stuff, Greek islands. Um.

• 33:32Adam Buxton?

  And they pay for your flights?

• 33:33Speaker 01

  They pay for your flights, they pay for your hotel. They like, if you decide that you wanna extend it, they were like, yeah, yeah, I'll move your flights.

• 33:39Adam Buxton?

  What a laugh.

• 33:40Speaker 01

  Yeah. So I was doing that. I was going to drama school.

• 33:43Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 33:43Speaker 01

  I mean, before we were doing the holidays, um, when we were doing it in the UK, because the song was so big that he would, he would have like maybe three bookings a night. So I would.

• 33:51Adam Buxton?

  This is all from Junior Spesh?

• 33:53Speaker 01

  This is from migraine skank.

• 33:55Adam Buxton?

  Oh, this is migraine skank. I apologize.

• 33:57Speaker 01

  So I'd leave, I finished drama school at six.

• 34:00Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 34:01Speaker 01

  Charles would pick me up. Then we'd pick up gracious and we'd go to like Bournemouth, Bolton, Winchester, not in that order, that would be mental. But like, we'd do three gigs and then I'd come home. I did get home about one AM and then be up at eight to go to drama school again.

• 34:19Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 34:20Speaker 01

  And I'd do that four nights a week.

• 34:22Adam Buxton?

  Wow.

• 34:23Speaker 01

  Yeah. And then on the weekend, you might do a quick. Uh Amsterdam or somewhere like that for like a uni freshers party or you know like.

• 34:33Adam Buxton?

  So what do you do? You, how many songs do you play?

• 34:36Speaker 01

  Just that one.

• 34:37Adam Buxton?

  Just that one?

• 34:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, well sometime, I mean, Grace has had some new, some other songs come out, but like everyone was there for migrant's game. So you do the the first, the opening stuff.

• 34:44Adam Buxton?

  So you're part of a bill on a night and the M C will say.

• 34:49Speaker 01

  Well, it was, it wasn't really a bill. It was just sort of like a club night with an appearance.

• 34:52Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 34:53Speaker 01

  A special guest P A.

• 34:54Adam Buxton?

  And did you have to do any banter around it or you just come on stage? Sing over the backing track?

• 35:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 35:00Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 35:01Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 35:02Adam Buxton?

  Was it fun?

• 35:03Speaker 01

  It was great. It was great.

• 35:04Adam Buxton?

  And you all got on well?

• 35:06Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was some of the best, some of my best times.

• 35:09Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 35:10Speaker 01

  I remember one booking in in Warrington where um I think it was Halloween. And I remember this bunch of girls who were all dressed in, you know, sort of like whatever Halloween stuff, like basically nothing. And there was this one girl who had, she bought a star costume from Asda. And it's like one of the worst star you've ever seen. It looks like someone's cut it out, like in their kitchen.

• 35:37Speaker 01

  It's just like, all these not wanted to get to wear nothing, but I'm just as a star. I got this for six quid in the Asda.

• 35:47Speaker 01

  Why?

• 35:50Speaker 01

  Um, but I'm like, you know, stuff like that, stories like that. We went to Wolverhampton and um. Like in this Jamaican club and they were like, come upstairs, eat first. And we went upstairs and we just like, it was like something out of a film where this guy sort of had his back to us and you could just see him like raising a a meat cleaver. And he's slamming it down on something that you don't really know what it is. And then he turns around and it's like the nicest looking jerk chicken you've ever seen. And they just lay it out for us and gave us a bottle of cava sié each. And we're like, yeah, yeah, enjoy.

• 36:26Adam Buxton?

  My god.

• 36:27Speaker 01

  You know, stuff like that. But also like sort of the other end of of the thing, which is like doing like kids parties for like rich people. And um yeah, it was great. And we did but we used to do but we used to Skegness and did like funky house and and these were the times like Tiny Temper was around those times where we were doing shows of Tiny Temper, we did shows of N Dubs. We were like doing all the festivals with them. It was great.

• 36:55Adam Buxton?

  That's amazing. And that's all off the back of sort of one or two hits.

• 36:59Speaker 01

  Yeah, but then I was, you know, all that whole time I was heavily invested in being an actor and I would never wanted to miss something I had to do at drama school. I never wanted to miss a show or miss a rehearsal or anything like that for that.

• 37:12Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 37:13Speaker 01

  It was very much like doing two things at a time. But they were both equally as important to me. Maybe the acting slightly, slightly more.

• 37:22Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 38:03Adam Buxton?

  What do you think your dad would have made of you on Sewing Bee?

• 38:10Speaker 01

  Um, I don't think he would have understood what the hell I was doing.

• 38:13Adam Buxton?

  Was he? Because you're always well dressed whenever I see you. Like you you care about what you look like.

• 38:18Speaker 01

  Do actually, maybe too much. I'm quite late a lot of the time.

• 38:22Adam Buxton?

  But was your dad nicely turned out? Is your mom your mom cares about what she looks like?

• 38:27Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 38:27Adam Buxton?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 38:28Speaker 01

  I mean, my dad, my dad was modeling when he first came to.

• 38:31Adam Buxton?

  Was he?

• 38:32Speaker 01

  To England, yeah.

• 38:33Adam Buxton?

  Well, there you go. He would have been impressed.

• 38:34Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, I think so.

• 38:36Adam Buxton?

  You've done the one series, is that right?

• 38:38Speaker 01

  I did the one series, yeah.

• 38:39Adam Buxton?

  Are you gonna do, are you doing more?

• 38:41Speaker 01

  Nah, finished.

• 38:45Speaker 01

  Done. No, we um.

• 38:47Adam Buxton?

  Is that because you got into a Greg Wallace style?

• 38:50Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's because of that.

• 38:52Adam Buxton?

  Toxic situation.

• 38:53Speaker 01

  Got to go.

• 38:54Adam Buxton?

  You're out, mate.

• 38:57Speaker 01

  Or you know, all BBC, eventually it will come out about all BBC presenters.

• 39:01Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 39:02Speaker 01

  And I have been a BBC presenter.

• 39:03Adam Buxton?

  I'm not laughing, by the way, listeners, at the concept of uh creating a toxic environment or a toxic workplace. There's a bit of Christmasy Bynoe, I apologize.

• 39:14Speaker 01

  Christmasy Bynoe?

• 39:15Adam Buxton?

  I'm gonna leave now. I should never have mentioned Wallace.

• 39:21Speaker 01

  But yeah, I mean, I sort of, do I wanna be a presenter? Not really.

• 39:25Adam Buxton?

  Yeah, okay. Well, I was gonna ask actually because, yes, you're an actor and it must, for some casting people, it must have an impact, right? It must, it must have a bearing on

• 39:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:38Adam Buxton?

  how they see you. As an actor, you want to be sort of a blank slate.

• 39:42Speaker 01

  Yeah. And instead I gave way too much of myself.

• 39:47Speaker 01

  Telling every contestant my whole life story.

• 39:50Adam Buxton?

  But it was, was it fun?

• 39:51Speaker 01

  Hmm, there were parts of it that were fun.

• 39:53Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 39:54Speaker 01

  I just don't want to be a presenter. It's not a stress that I want. There's stress that you, there's good stress, like when I do my improv shows and I'm like, oh, right, right, I've got to mention that and I've got, yeah, got to remember to, and the housekeeping stuff and all of that stuff is good stress because I love the outcome.

• 40:10Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 40:11Speaker 01

  Whereas with So and Bi, I was sort of like, I'm very, I'm flattered to have been asked and um I think they definitely took a risk with me because I didn't know what I was gonna, I didn't know what I was gonna do. They definitely didn't know what I was gonna do. And I think it paid off because people said that, people have said very nice things. But I'm not hoping for a future in presenting.

• 40:35Adam Buxton?

  Yeah, no, it's good to have done it and uh I imagine it was a nice environment.

• 40:40Speaker 01

  It was, yeah. I mean, well, Esme created a little bit of a toxic.

• 40:48Adam Buxton?

  She had.

• 40:49Speaker 01

  Um, I love her so much. I think she's great and she's so unapologetically herself.

• 40:55Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 40:56Speaker 01

  Which is like, it's also what you need. They're really good at their jobs, both Patrick and Esme. And like, it was, yeah, that was, that was the highlight. It was a real pleasure to be part of, watch their process.

• 41:09Speaker 01

  And learn a thing or two.

• 41:10Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 41:11Speaker 01

  Cross stitch?

• 41:12Adam Buxton?

  Sure.

• 41:12Speaker 01

  That sound like I know what I'm talking about?

• 41:14Adam Buxton?

  That's very good now. That's great jargon.

• 41:16Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 41:16Adam Buxton?

  Uh, I thought it would be nice to get you to do a monologue.

• 41:21Speaker 01

  Jumper.

• 41:21Adam Buxton?

  One of your voiceover monologues I've transcribed. And I want you to make the transition from being a presenter back to being an actor.

• 41:31Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 41:31Adam Buxton?

  By throwing all the drama you can.

• 41:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 41:35Adam Buxton?

  Into this sewing bee monologue from episode ten.

• 41:39Speaker 01

  From episode ten?

• 41:39Adam Buxton?

  About um opera gloves, about how to construct an opera glove.

• 41:45Speaker 01

  From episode, I actually remember doing this in the voiceover booth and not having a clue what I'm talking about. Despite looking at the diagram as I'm saying.

• 41:54Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 41:55Speaker 01

  Okay, I would do it in this sort of voice as well. Each opera glove, see.

• 42:01Adam Buxton?

  I don't want you to do just the voiceover that you did on sewing bee.

• 42:04Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 42:04Adam Buxton?

  This is, no, this is, this is a play. This is you, this is you reinventing this monologue. In any character you prefer, but it can't be yourself. This has got to be, this is a dramatic portrayal.

• 42:17Speaker 01

  Right. And do you want me to remain in that character throughout or?

• 42:20Adam Buxton?

  Whatever you're feeling. This is an exercise. We're back at drama school.

• 42:24Speaker 01

  Right, okay.

• 42:25Adam Buxton?

  And this is, this has got to be an intense monologue.

• 42:29Speaker 01

  Okay, great. I've got you.

• 42:31Adam Buxton?

  At the climax of the production.

• 42:34Speaker 01

  Each opera glove is made from just three pattern pieces. First, the fun pieces are assembled and inserted into a circular opening in the glove pieces. Creating a mirrored pair. Next, the gusset pieces are sewn into one side of each glove, starting from the little fingers, curving up and down, and finishing at the index fingers. Then the gloves are folded right sides together and the gusset pieces are stitched to the other side of the fingers. The tops of the index fingers are stitched closed. Then starting at the top of the little fingers, the side seams are sewn shut. The gloves are then turned right side out.

• 43:16Speaker 01

  Elastic is attached to the ends and top stitched in place for a snug fit.

• 43:22Adam Buxton?

  That's like a Guy Ritchie film and you're playing the tailor.

• 43:26Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 43:27Adam Buxton?

  And the tailor makes opera gloves out of the skin of nonsense.

• 43:36Adam Buxton?

  He's the fucking tailor.

• 43:42Speaker 01

  I'll play that, I'll play that any day.

• 44:24Speaker 03

  Convention?

• 44:25Adam Buxton?

  Was it this year that you went to your first convention?

• 44:28Speaker 01

  I did, yeah, this year.

• 44:30Adam Buxton?

  How was that?

• 44:30Speaker 01

  I went to MCON in Nottingham.

• 44:32Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 44:33Speaker 01

  It's a weird thing, isn't it? I liked it and I would do it again.

• 44:37Adam Buxton?

  What's MCON? What does it stand for, MCON?

• 44:41Speaker 01

  Electromagnetic. I don't know. I don't know. I didn't ask any questions.

• 44:47Adam Buxton?

  E M Con?

• 44:48Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 44:48Adam Buxton?

  Oh, okay.

• 44:49Speaker 01

  I didn't ask anything. I sort of turned up and someone, you get assigned an assistant.

• 44:56Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 44:57Speaker 01

  Just for the day, a volunteer actually. And they ask you how much you want to charge and I was like, I have no idea. But the way he asked me is like, oh, I must have done loads of these before. And it was my first one. It was like, right, so what do you want to charge?

• 45:09Adam Buxton?

  Selfie, handshake, full sex.

• 45:16Speaker 01

  And I said, I'm not doing selfies or handshakes, just full sex.

• 45:21Speaker 01

  Um, let's just get to it. And, um, I, I ended up charging twenty pound for autographs and twenty five pound for selfies.

• 45:29Adam Buxton?

  Wow.

• 45:30Speaker 01

  Or forty for the combo.

• 45:32Adam Buxton?

  Oh, my God.

• 45:35Speaker 01

  Forty if you want the combo. Um.

• 45:39Adam Buxton?

  But what if someone stops you in the street? Are you gonna say that's gonna be forty quid, mate?

• 45:44Speaker 01

  No, never. And I've never considered it, but apparently some people do that.

• 45:48Adam Buxton?

  Oh, really? Well, just for a bit of consistency in their lives. But doesn't it feel weird to suddenly be in a convention centre and charging people?

• 45:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, it feels very weird. I've been on YouTube for a long time doing skits and skits? Sketches and skits.

• 46:03Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 46:04Speaker 01

  Skits and sketches.

• 46:06Adam Buxton?

  So it's not scats, you don't wanna be doing that.

• 46:08Speaker 01

  Skits and scats. And, um, you know, schoolchildren have been asking me for pictures for years.

• 46:13Adam Buxton?

  Mm hmm.

• 46:14Speaker 01

  For over ten years, I've been, and I've, I never once thought to charge anyone until I went to MCon and I was told that you have to.

• 46:22Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 46:23Speaker 01

  You have to charge people. Um, and you sit there all day for two days.

• 46:27Adam Buxton?

  Because it's gonna completely discombobulate the whole system if someone goes around giving away free.

• 46:33Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 46:34Adam Buxton?

  Selfies, isn't it?

• 46:34Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 46:35Adam Buxton?

  That's like throwing a grenade into the heart of capitalism.

• 46:38Speaker 01

  But what I was, what I was warned about was that some people find out where you're staying and they wait outside the, um, your hotel and ask you to sign stuff. And then they sell that to people who are going to the convention.

• 46:55Speaker 01

  Weasels. Touts.

• 46:58Adam Buxton?

  That's not playing fair.

• 46:59Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:00Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 47:01Speaker 01

  Um, I really enjoyed it. I was sat next to Tom Rosenthor, we had a laugh all day, all day for two days.

• 47:06Adam Buxton?

  So you were there in your capacity as Ghosts cast members?

• 47:09Speaker 01

  Yeah, but, but some people didn't know me from that at all.

• 47:13Adam Buxton?

  Okay.

• 47:14Speaker 01

  People knew me from like, things like Death in Paradise, which I was in one episode of.

• 47:17Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 47:18Speaker 01

  Or, um, Horrible Histories.

• 47:20Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 47:21Speaker 01

  Which I was surprised by. Someone said that I was their favourite in Friday Night Dinner.

• 47:27Speaker 01

  What? I was in that for forty seconds. I was in one episode, uh, playing, playing, um, Tom Rosenthal's boss.

• 47:35Adam Buxton?

  Yeah, but you smashed it.

• 47:36Speaker 01

  So, you know, you don't really know where people know you from or why they're coming, but they, um, they pay for this stuff.

• 47:42Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 47:43Speaker 01

  They're worldwide. You can go to Sydney and do it. You can go to New York and do it. I'd like to do that. International ones.

• 47:51Adam Buxton?

  Yeah, would they fly you out for those? Really?

• 47:54Speaker 01

  Well, the one at MCon, there were, there was, uh, what's her? I don't know her real name, but Hillary from Fresh Prince.

• 48:01Adam Buxton?

  Uh huh.

• 48:02Speaker 01

  The dad from Sister Sister.

• 48:05Speaker 01

  The Aunt Viv from Fresh Prince. All of those have been flown out.

• 48:09Adam Buxton?

  Wow.

• 48:10Speaker 01

  And their queues were not as long as mine.

• 48:12Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 48:13Speaker 01

  And mine was not as long as Tom Rosenthal's.

• 48:17Adam Buxton?

  God, I'm, I wonder if I could, what could I get from having been killed in hot fuzz, I wonder?

• 48:22Speaker 01

  You could definitely sign some stuff.

• 48:24Adam Buxton?

  Get a fiver, surely.

• 48:25Speaker 01

  No, I reckon, I reckon you could go fifty pound combo.

• 48:32Adam Buxton?

  Fifty pound combo, and that is selfie, handshake, full sex and dinner.

• 48:40Adam Buxton?

  And you can bring up my children.

• 48:53Adam Buxton?

  Wait. This is an ad for Squarespace.

• 48:57Adam Buxton?

  Okay, we'll return to the AI apocalypse in just a wee wee moment, but first I wanted to talk about Squarespace. Do you know about Squarespace, Steve? Uh, yes, Monty. I think I might even be a little bit more tuned into modern tech, websites, et cetera, than you. I don't know, just guessing. Oh, Steve, I love this dynamic. I'm old and conservative and you're young and progressive, and that's what makes the Newswind podcast such great listening. But yes, you're right. I must admit, I didn't know much about Squarespace, but because my new grumble book, Hell in a Handcart, is out this month. And I look forward to getting enraged by that. So I should hope. Em, em, em. Anyway, the publishers, Bluestar and Dogwhistle, made a beautiful website for the book using Squarespace. I know, I got the newsletter that you sent out using Squarespace, and the website does look great. Videos of you airing your views, members' areas for your mad fans. You've even got a merch store, I see.

• 49:42Adam Buxton?

  That's right. The Union Jack top hat is a big seller, but they constructed it all so fast with Squarespace. They did most of it over one lunchtime, Steve. Well, you wouldn't want to spend much longer on it, would you? Shut up, Steve. But here's the thing, anyone listening to this can start a free trial right now at Squarespace. Squarespace.com/boxton and see how easy and versatile Squarespace is. And when they're ready to launch a new website or domain, they can save 10% off their first purchase by using the offer code BOXTON at checkout. Right, well, maybe I'll visit Squarespace.com/boxton and start a new website just to refute all the nonsense in your new book. Oh, don't do that, Steve. I will. Oh, shut up, Steve. Er, shut up. Now, back to more depressing matters on News Went.

• 50:21Adam Buxton?

  Continue.

• 50:31Adam Buxton?

  Hey, welcome back, podcasts. That was Kyle Smith-Bino. We're going to hear from him again in a couple of minutes when he gives us an uplifting movie recommendation. But I'd like to take this opportunity just to say, thanks very much, Kyle, for giving up your time to come and talk to me. It was lovely to see him. And I've posted a few Kyle-related links in the description of this podcast. There's his Instagram page, you can see a bit about what he's up to there. And there's some videos from his grime days. You've got Junior Spesh there, there's Gracious K with migraine skank. There's Kyle's comedy blap, which he did in 2022, Red Flag.

• 51:16Adam Buxton?

  Well worth checking out, lots of funny bits in there. And you'll also find trailers for this week's selection of uplifting movies there, too. Speaking of which, here is a voice note from friend of the podcast, actor, comedian, writer, and host of Griefcast, of course, Cariad Lloyd.

• 51:35Speaker 03

  Hi, Dr Buckles. My most uplifting film that I love watching again and again is My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki. If you haven't seen it before, it's a beautiful animation about two little girls set in Japan, and they have to move back to the countryside to be nearer their mum, who's not very well. And then one of them meets a woodland creature, sort of like a rabbit, but sort of not a rabbit. And it's sort of like Alice in Wonderland, but not Alice in Wonderland. Some Wonderland and it's an extremely magical cartoon where they just have this incredible adventure. And it's so simple and it's really hard to describe because not a lot happens.

• 52:18Speaker 03

  But it's just the most beautiful gentle storytelling. And at the end, everything kind of works out. But there is this like undercurrent of maybe life isn't going to be as simple as we think it is as a kid. And I really like films, especially if you have kids and you have to watch a lot of kids films that don't just tell them everything's fine. And there's little totteros and big totteros and they do a big dance that makes plants grow. And there's a cat that's a bus. I don't want to spoil anything, but it is a cat bus. I've watched it so many times with my kids and it's just a reminder, like kids do get obsessed with films. But if you can get them obsessed with a really good film, you can also enjoy it. And if you haven't seen it, I can't recommend it enough. It's really, really beautiful. Thank you.

• 53:03Adam Buxton?

  There we are. Cariad Lloyd recommending my neighbour Totoro. Totoro? John Totoro? Totoro? Anyway, I'm not sure if I've ever seen that one. Thank you very much Cariad for that recommendation. And by the way, Cariad has written a book, a Christmasy book. It is called The Christmas Wish-Trastrophe. It's aimed at kind of nine to 12 year olds, set in Jane Austen slash Regency times. And this is Cariad's description. It's all about a little girl called Lydia Marmalade and her best pal Colin, who's a sausage dog. And the mad adventures they have with a winter fire sprite called Belle.

• 53:45Adam Buxton?

  It's very silly and stupid. This is still Cariad describing her book, by the way. A bit griefy, she says, couldn't help myself, and mostly very heartfelt. The Christmas Wish-Trastrophe by Cariad Lloyd. There's a link in the description. Rosie. Ah, she's up there. I let her off the lead. So she's doing a bit of gambolling in the dusk, aren't you, Doglegs?

• 54:14Adam Buxton?

  Mad Max out there behind me, heading into Norwich to dispense some country justice. But right now, before I say goodbye, back to Kyle Smith-Bynoe. I've been asking my guests for recommendations for movies that are uplifting. Like if they want to watch a film that they know is gonna, not necessarily cheer them up or make them laugh. It's just a film that's gonna pick up their spirits and take them to a good place. Like, some people recommended horror films and really grim films, but they just-

• 54:46Speaker 01

  Something wrong with them?

• 54:47Adam Buxton?

  Yeah, but they just like those films. They make them feel good.

• 54:51Speaker 01

  Moonrise Kingdom.

• 54:52Adam Buxton?

  Moonrise Kingdom, the Wes Anderson one?

• 54:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:54Adam Buxton?

  I've not seen that one.

• 54:55Speaker 01

  You've got to see it.

• 54:56Adam Buxton?

  Really?

• 54:56Speaker 01

  Will you watch it this week?

• 54:58Adam Buxton?

  Okay, but-

• 54:59Speaker 01

  Can you?

• 55:00Adam Buxton?

  Yes.

• 55:01Speaker 01

  You can?

• 55:01Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 55:01Speaker 01

  You've got the time?

• 55:02Adam Buxton?

  Yes. Moonrise Kingdom, okay. I will let you know how I get on with Moonrise Kingdom. But do you love all Wes Anderson or-

• 55:09Speaker 01

  Mostly, yeah.

• 55:10Adam Buxton?

  Yeah.

• 55:10Speaker 01

  I'm not crazy about Fantastic Mr. Fox.

• 55:12Adam Buxton?

  Right.

• 55:13Speaker 01

  Well, that's something to do with the way that those puppets are moving and it makes me feel uncomfortable.

• 55:16Adam Buxton?

  Okay. I like some of his stuff more than other bits.

• 55:20Speaker 01

  Right.

• 55:20Adam Buxton?

  Like, I really like the Grand Budapest Hotel.

• 55:23Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 55:24Adam Buxton?

  I think that's brilliant.

• 55:25Speaker 01

  That is great.

• 55:26Adam Buxton?

  So, given that, but I, but I'm not so keen on-

• 55:30Speaker 01

  Royal Tenenbaums?

• 55:32Adam Buxton?

  That's okay, but I didn't lose my mind when it came out, the way that lots of people did.

• 55:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 55:37Adam Buxton?

  Um, but Moonrise Kingdom. I haven't heard people really championing that one.

• 55:42Speaker 01

  That's one of my favorite films.

• 55:43Adam Buxton?

  Why do you like that one?

• 55:44Speaker 01

  It's just so nice. It's nice and it's funny and it's like, you're really rooting for them kids. Um, I haven't watched it in, in quite a while, but I remember when it came out, really loving it.

• 55:58Adam Buxton?

  Okay, cool. How about any others?

• 56:00Speaker 01

  Any others? Little Miss Sunshine?

• 56:02Adam Buxton?

  Oh, yeah, I haven't seen that for a while. How about Christmas Day movies?

• 56:06Speaker 01

  Nah.

• 56:06Adam Buxton?

  No?

• 56:07Speaker 01

  Not interested. Literally the only Christmas film that I can think of, Jingle All The Way.

• 56:12Adam Buxton?

  With Arnold Schwarzenegger.

• 56:16Adam Buxton?

  That's the only Christmas film you can think of.

• 56:19Speaker 01

  That's all I've got.

• 56:22Adam Buxton?

  There we are, Jingle All the Way. I think I've seen it. Don't think it's my favourite Arnie movie and I'm gonna stick my neck out and say that there are better Christmas films. I mean Elf? For a start. Die Hard? I'd take both of those before I took Jingle All the Way. Moonrise Kingdom though. I watched it the night after I spoke to Kyle. Very much enjoyed it.

• 56:51Adam Buxton?

  I think I watched a bit of it before and tuned out a little bit because I thought it seemed like a a parody of a Wes Anderson film. But this time, it's funny how just a recommendation from a friend and a bit of a personal investment in something changes how you look at it. I went in with a different attitude and I really liked it and I found it quite touching and luxuriated in the nerdy precision of the visuals and the design. And by the end of it, I was uplifted. So thanks very much Kyle, job done.

• 57:29Adam Buxton?

  Alright, that's it for this week. Thank you so much once again to Kyle, thanks to Kariad. Thanks to Seamus Murphy Mitchell for his invaluable production support and conversation editing. There was also some additional conversation editing on this episode from my son Frank, thank you very much Frank. Thanks to Helen Green. She does the artwork for this podcast. Thank you to everyone at Acast for all their help keeping the show on the road, but thanks most of all to you podcats. I'm so glad that you are still listening. Now it's windy. I'm heading home now back on the top track. And uh it's not too cold tonight.

• 58:11Adam Buxton?

  Recently it's been Arctic. But tonight it's a bit milder. Still, I think it would be nice if we had a hug. What do you think? Come over here.

• 58:24Adam Buxton?

  Good to see you. Go carefully out there, don't get too stressed, I hope you're doing alright. And, for what it's worth, bear in mind... I love you. Bye!