Pod Insights Happy Place Radio 1's Matt and Mollie: I’m finding my voice! Back yourself like you back your mate About this episode You wouldn’t talk to your best mate in the critical way you talk to yourself. For Radio One DJs Matt Edmondson and Mollie King, their friendship has made them both believe in themselves more.
In this chat with Fearne, Matt and Mollie talk about the insecurities they have, and how freeing it is to realise no one else thinks those things about you. For Mollie, having children has helped her be a lot kinder to herself too.
Fearne is less bothered about ruffling feathers in the workplace than she used to be, and shares advice on how to confidently speak your mind, and they all wonder why everyone’s trying to be ‘cool’. What does that even mean?!
Plus, was it Matt or Mollie who put Fearne and her Radio One show on their vision board back in the day...?
You can listen to Matt and Mollie’s new podcast, Novel Idea, now!
Get your tickets for Fearne’s book tour here https://www.fane.co.uk/fearne-cotton.
If you liked this episode of Happy Place, you might also like:
Matt’s first Happy Place chat https://pod.fo/e/101616
Nick Grimshaw https://pod.fo/e/1eceb4
Annie Mac https://pod.fo/e/f5f5d
Child on the line is a three-part documentary podcast series celebrating the Volunteer Counsellors of Childline, and the brave children & young people who contact the helpline service.
Listen here: https://www.childonthelinepodcast.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript 10,243 words · 8 speakers
Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:00 Speaker 00 Hi, I'm Natalie Dormer and I'm proud to be an ambassador for Childline. This year, Childline turns 40. To mark it, I've made Child on the Line, a three-part documentary podcast. We hear why children needed a helpline in 1986, how it was built against the odds and the challenges children face today, from abuse and mental health to social media and AI. Search Child on the Line and listen wherever you get your podcasts.
0:29 Fearne Cotton? Hello and welcome to Happy Place with me, Fern Cotton. This is the show that helps you talk to yourself like you talk to your best mate. Today, I'm chatting to Matt Edmondson and Mollie King.
0:41 Speaker 02 I think a lot of my life, I do go around just thinking, oh God, am I an idiot? And are people thinking that I am? And you do do that thing of sort of overcompensating because you want to sort of either prove a point or show that you're not the thing that you're worrying about. But I'm sort of judging myself.
0:59 Speaker 03 As Moll's best friend, it's really hard watching her have that internal dialogue with herself. The world loves you and the only person I see at the moment who doesn't is you.
1:13 Fearne Cotton? Do you know what is making me buzz with joy at the moment? It's the real obvious change of seasons. It's a very basic thing to say, but I think because we've had such an unbelievably wet start to the year, weather-wise, it's the relief at just seeing even a square of blue sky. And there was a particular day not long ago where it smelled like spring. I don't know what that smell is, an indescribable smell of hope. That's what it feels like. And just seeing magnolia trees blooming and white blossom on the trees.
1:54 Fearne Cotton? I feel so grateful that spring is blooming. It's just, it's the best, isn't it? It's like, oh my God, we can unfurl our tightly... Tensely woven bodies outwards and like stretch our arms wide and wear the odd t-shirt and it is really the simple things, isn't it? And I think we've really battled through this winter. If you're listening in the UK, that is, it's been shit. If you live in another country with better weather, I mean, good God, you lucky, lucky buggers. But now I think we're feeling that absolute gratitude. One of my friends who is originally from the States, who's moved here is like, how do you guys cope with this weather?
2:37 Fearne Cotton? But, but she said she found a new appreciation for the spring, just having been through that horrible, horrible winter. So let's talk about our guest today, who brought me so much happiness on the day of the recording of this. Now, look, obviously Matt Edmondson has been on Happy Place before. We chatted remotely a few years ago and we had a really deep chat about things like music, supporting his mental health, his cyclothymia diagnosis, and also his dad's suicide as well. He and Molly present a Radio One show together and they're also releasing a new podcast called Novel Idea. So it was really lovely to get to catch up with the two of them together.
3:22 Fearne Cotton? I mean, we lolled our heads off. It's a chaotic catch-up to an extent, in the best possible way. It was just so much fun. We dipped into some really interesting places. I am fascinated by Matt's mind and how Matt sees the world. We all need to be a bit more Matt. He has the confidence to just ask for what he wants in life and I love that. Also the insecurities that I think we all have, but probably no one else notices or colludes with. That's the interesting part and Molly talks brilliantly about that, debating what cool means and if we even give a toss about it. And also how to reach a place of being really comfortable in your own skin and essentially liking yourself.
4:11 Speaker 04 Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of The Best One Yet. Behind every episode, there's research, emails, spreadsheets, and our shared Google Doc, the headline hammer. With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs, and Sheets. No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work. That means less time on the work around the work and more time finding the stories worth talking about. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at go.o.gle/workspacewithGemini. That's go.o.gle/workspacewithGemini.
4:43 Speaker 05 Help I Sexed My Boss is the podcast where manners
4:46 Speaker 06 meets mayhem.
4:47 Speaker 05 I'm William Hanson.
4:48 Speaker 06 I'm Jordan North.
4:49 Speaker 05 And together we take on the hilarious challenges of modern life.
4:52 Speaker 06 William's the arbiter of etiquette.
4:54 Speaker 05 And Jordan's the chaotic yin to my perfectly polished yang.
4:58 Speaker 06 So if you want laugh-out-loud stories and brutally honest moments, then you'll love Help I Sexed My Boss.
5:04 Speaker 05 Watch and listen every Tuesday and Friday.
5:06 Speaker 06 On YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
5:09 Speaker 05 Just search Sexed It.
5:11 Speaker 06 Be what is a bit rude.
5:16 Fearne Cotton? Right, to the chat with Matt and Molly in just a tick, but I've got something exciting to tell you first. I'm going on a little book tour. My new book is called Likeable, and I'm really chuffed with this book. It's the most honest book I've written. It's out on March the 12th, and it's about how I am very much still learning to break free from the need to please everyone all of the time. My brilliant friend Paul Nabel, who you actually heard on the podcast just a few weeks ago, is going to be interviewing me for these little book tour sessions. We're basically just going to have a really good chat, and you can get involved in that conversation, too. And I'd love it if you came along. I will be gutted slash like well embarrassed if I turn up to these venues and there's four people there.
6:00 Fearne Cotton? I mean, I have sleepless nights about this shit. So even just to stop that from happening for me, if you could be so kind, come along if you're in these local areas. Please, God, I'll give you a hug if you come. We're in Edinburgh on the 10th of March, York on the 14th of March, and Guilford on the 15th of March. And actually, I think that Guilford day is Mother's Day. So if you want to treat your mum, that's a really good Mother's Day gift. Come along with your mum. There'll be a link to get your tickets in the show notes. I'll hopefully see you there. Now, you join us in the middle of Matt telling us about how he likes to generally live in total chaos.
7:02 Speaker 03 I've come up with a lot of bad ideas.
7:04 Fearne Cotton? Yeah, same.
7:05 Speaker 03 And actually, Moles are a fantastic barometer for quality.
7:07 Fearne Cotton? Okay.
7:08 Speaker 03 Because I must have pitched about 10 podcast ideas.
7:11 Fearne Cotton? What were some of the stinkers?
7:11 Speaker 03 Well, the one that I remember that it was an immediate no.
7:15 Fearne Cotton? I don't even remember this.
7:16 Speaker 03 Was, and it would be good, this, but she doesn't want to do it.
7:19 Fearne Cotton? Okay.
7:19 Speaker 03 I can see why. Molly's never seen a Marvel movie, ever.
7:22 Fearne Cotton? Okay.
7:23 Speaker 03 And I said, we should watch in chronological order, every Marvel movie. And then you can give your critique along the way. Because at the moment, she doesn't know who anyone is. Like, she couldn't identify Spider-Man out of a lineup.
7:34 Fearne Cotton? Right, got you.
7:35 Speaker 03 Of men or spiders.
7:36 Fearne Cotton? Got you.
7:38 Speaker 03 And I thought it'd be an amazing journey for Molly to have, like, as a person who's not even a hater, but like, indifferent.
7:44 Fearne Cotton? I feel like you've not got time for it.
7:45 Speaker 02 I've just never seen it.
7:46 Fearne Cotton? No.
7:46 Speaker 03 But we would watch it as part of the podcast.
7:49 Fearne Cotton? Well, so the listener has to sit through the whole film?
7:51 Speaker 03 No, no, no.
7:52 Fearne Cotton? No bits, okay.
7:52 Speaker 03 No, no, no.
7:53 Speaker 02 This was my reaction.
7:55 Speaker 03 Credits roll, we go, welcome to the podcast.
7:57 Fearne Cotton? Got you.
7:58 Speaker 03 We've just watched Iron Man 2.
8:01 Speaker 03 Tell, Molly, tell us what you thought of Robert Downey Jr.
8:03 Fearne Cotton? Fern, what do you think of this idea? Be honest. I mean, it's niche. It's a niche idea. And again, I love how your brain works. It's, it's an idea. I reckon there'd be a lot of Marvel fans out there that'd be very interested. Yeah, probably frustrated as well, because you don't know what you're talking about. I think they'd find that really annoying. Annoying, yeah. That's the flaw, maybe. I'm annoying enough as it is, anyway. You're absolutely not. Not at all. But this idea that you're doing is genius. So how did this idea come to you? Where were you? What happened?
8:33 Speaker 03 I can't quite remember. I mean, I, I, we were talking about doing something. We always want to spend more time together, right?
8:41 Speaker 02 Yeah.
8:41 Speaker 03 So what can we do? That's a project outside of all the stuff we already do, which is basically hang out all the time. Like, what else can we, uh, what other excuse can we have? And I, I got it into my head that it might be a fun thing to try and write a novel together. And I, I think it was maybe after doing, you know, like those drawings you do when you're a kid, where someone draws a head and then you hand it and someone else draws a body and then someone else draws the legs. And you unfurl it and go, okay, that is a weird looking thing.
9:10 Speaker 02 Yeah.
9:10 Speaker 03 I thought, what if we do that? It works.
9:12 Speaker 02 Yeah.
9:14 Speaker 03 And I pitched it to Moll and you were, well, you can say how you felt about it initially.
9:18 Speaker 02 I felt a bit anxious because I've got a weird relationship with books in that I immediately get that feeling in my tummy. It takes me back to school and I feel like a lot of anxiety of like, oh, I don't want to read out loud in front of my classmates. I can't read very well. I'm dyslexic. So any mention of like, you've got to read this and everyone's going to listen to you. I was like, oh, Matt, I was like, this thing, this book idea, I don't think I'm the person for this.
9:47 Speaker 03 Hmm. And I said, try, just try it. Try, we'll try one. And if you hate it, we don't have to do it again. But knowing Moll and knowing that she, everything she turns her hand to, she is annoyingly good at it.
10:00 Speaker 02 That's not true.
10:01 Speaker 03 She's gonna, she's gonna smash this. And I, and I sort of felt like, oh, maybe it's one of those things you can do to, to boost your confidence. Because you go, this is like worst nightmare territory. I'm going to write something. It's going to get read out. And then people are going to take the piss out of it, which is basically, you know, in any, in a lot of friendships, like it's built on a foundation of taking the mick out of each other.
10:23 Speaker 02 Yeah, yeah.
10:24 Speaker 03 But, but this had this extra sensitivity of like, oh, a kind of a deep vulnerability with you of, are people going to think I'm stupid? Are people going to think that my writing isn't as good as the writing that Matt's done? What happens if I make a joke and it doesn't land? What happens if I can't pick up a thread on this character? And actually, it transpired that you were annoyingly good at it.
10:47 Speaker 02 I wouldn't say that, but I did like the challenge. First of all, I was like, oh gosh, exactly what Matt said. I was really scared and. You know, every single point that you mentioned there, I was worried that I just wouldn't be able to do it and that I would look like an idiot. Cause I think a lot of my life, I do go around just thinking, oh God, am I an idiot? And are people thinking that I am? And that's all just come from my sort of life at school, I think really. But once we got stuck into the pod, we had so much fun, like proper belly laughing where you can't stop laughing. And you go home, you have to call each other afterwards and be like, I can't stop thinking about that ridiculous thing you said. It's just been so much fun, hasn't it?
11:29 Speaker 03 Yeah, it has. And it's been, I, we didn't know if it was going to work and we did the first episode. And so the format is that we're writing this novel, one chapter at a time, taking it in turns. So I'll do chapter one, Molly does chapter two, back to me for chapter three. So, um, as you'll hear, there's a sort of, um, is that a bit of tension at the beginning? Because my, my ideas for the book aren't necessarily what Molly thinks it should be. And then vice.
11:56 Speaker 02 And you've both got to be happy for it to be cohesive and to work.
11:59 Speaker 03 Well, I would say the first couple of chapters, we're, we're slightly at loggerheads. And, um, you don't like the main character of the novel.
12:06 Speaker 02 That feels like an issue. Can't stand him Fern. He feels like a show off to me and I think, I'm not getting on board with this guy. No. But he's the main character. It's quite annoying. Well, my first chapter, don't mention him.
12:17 Speaker 03 He doesn't get mentioned, which is, you know, if I was reading a book and the, the lead character disappeared for the entire second chapter, despite it being in the same scene, I would probably move on to a different book.
12:27 Speaker 02 But you have to cope with that. It's chapter three.
12:30 Speaker 03 Yeah. Well, I don't cope with it well in chapter two, because I, I genuinely thought like, when's he coming in? When's he coming? Like, was she going to do like a big reveal at the end? What's happening? And then it was, he's never mentioned.
12:41 Speaker 02 Great.
12:42 Speaker 03 So I, in chapter three, obviously I had to bring him back and I tried to merge our two worlds together. And then as the book progresses, you end up kind of writing each other into a bit of a corner sometimes. So you have to, you have to incorporate the other person's stuff. And I think by about episode four or five, we really find some synergy.
13:02 Speaker 02 We do, yeah. It takes about four or five chapters, but oh my goodness, we get so stuck into it Fern. Like we gave each other, we had to write it within a week. And it was, it's been so consuming. Like we're, as much as we're joking with it, we really want our chapters to be good. We really want to outdo the other one. Like that's the point of it. We, we are competitive, aren't we?
13:23 Speaker 03 Yeah.
13:23 Speaker 02 And it feels like, right, I need my chapter this time to be better than his one.
13:27 Speaker 03 Yeah, you're kind of looking to impress each other.
13:30 Speaker 02 Yeah.
13:31 Speaker 03 But also to maybe sort of throw a banana skin in their direction.
13:36 Fearne Cotton? See how they cope with this.
13:37 Speaker 03 See how they cope with that. There are a couple of times I left it on quite big cliffhangers, which were then immediately ignored.
13:43 Fearne Cotton? Brilliant.
13:43 Speaker 03 Um, so I then had to either.
13:46 Speaker 02 I had all the things, Fern. I had to sew all the ideas. All the ideas.
13:49 Speaker 03 Yeah, I had to, I had to deal with some of, some problems that I'd set up.
13:53 Fearne Cotton? Brilliant.
13:54 Speaker 03 Because I was like, well, she hasn't addressed it once.
13:56 Speaker 02 Shouldn't have set you up.
13:58 Speaker 03 Exactly.
13:59 Speaker 02 That'll teach them.
13:59 Fearne Cotton? Exactly. I just want to pick up on what you said a minute ago because I think especially with reading and writing, but with many areas of life and work, we have these ideas about ourselves and assumptions other people think things about us. And like you just said there, you've got this, you know, underlying assumption that people think you're stupid or people think that you're not going to be able to do that written task.
14:22 Speaker 02 Yeah.
14:22 Fearne Cotton? I would never have assumed that about you. I had no clue that you've ever thought like that or that that would be an insecurity. But I think most of us have that. I used to have one constantly and sometimes I still can, but to a much less degree, where I would assume sort of probably more in my thirties, people just think I'm like really weird. People think I'm odd and that they don't quite get me and they just think I'm a bit of a weirdo. And it used to crumble my confidence to a point where I couldn't show up and just be me and talk in a way that felt natural and relaxed. I would be acting like how, how, what do they want me to be? And then, and then that fear will go. And I think it's a really tricky one to override.
15:05 Fearne Cotton? I think certainly with age and experience, you just go, oh, I can't be bothered to worry about what anyone thinks about anything. I'm just going to be me and that's that. But I think when it's a fear that is actually like in this case, it's directly exposing, you're exposing that, that, that fear, that paranoia and you're challenging it.
15:22 Fearne Cotton? Is is a big deal and perhaps maybe even quite life changing for you in terms of how you move through the world with not having that insecurity there.
15:30 Speaker 02 Yeah, definitely. And I've definitely done that thing that you mentioned. I'm sorry, by the way, that you've felt like that as well.
15:36 Fearne Cotton? I think so. I think most of us have, haven't we?
15:37 Speaker 02 Yeah, definitely. And you do do that thing of sort of overcompensating because you want to sort of either prove a point or show that you're not the thing that you're worrying about. But it's definitely, I think, from school where I felt like, oh, I can't read these words. And you know where they would go around the class and it'd be like, right, we're going to take it in turn to each read the next paragraph. I remember sitting there, I remember it so clearly in year four, so I think I was about eight. And I would count how many people I had until it was my turn to read my paragraph. And I wasn't listening to a single word anyone was reading. I was just going, okay, seven, okay, one, two, three. And I would practise and practise and practise my paragraph.
16:17 Speaker 02 And I was always sat next to my friend Charlotte and I remember always saying to her, Charlotte, what does that word say for any big word? Because the fear of sort of that exposure of Molly's just read the words in the wrong order.
16:29 Fearne Cotton? Humiliated, essentially.
16:30 Speaker 02 Exactly. It was awful. And it's something that I found really hard to shake off. And like, Matt's been amazing on the radio. At first I was very worried of like, oh, I hope I read these texts out. Okay, I hope I don't read the words in the wrong order. And actually, you've told me so many times, it doesn't matter, even if you do. It doesn't, people aren't sitting here judging you. But I'm sort of judging myself and I want it to be good. I want to put my best foot forward every time. But I think sometimes if I could just like relax and go like, it's okay, Molly, and it's okay, even if you do make these mistakes, what's going to happen? And I think I have found a bit more strength since having my girls. There are parts of that where I have felt like. I've got a lot more strength and I'm like, do you know what?
17:15 Speaker 02 These are two amazing little girls and you're their mum, so you're you're a part of that. But I think definitely in my twenties and in my early thirties especially, I've I've always been really hard on myself with it.
17:28 Fearne Cotton? Yeah, oh my god, I think so many of us are, we're so hard on ourselves and constantly berating ourselves, making the tiniest slip up. I mean, what you guys do, you've just literally come from Radio One from doing your show. You're live on the radio every weekday, it's an immense pressure. I did it myself for six years, I think I did the the Daily Show for. And it does come at a cost, you know, it is extremely exhausting to not only have to think of things to say every single day, but also that hypervigilance of I mustn't mess up, and especially the BBC, you know, that you're sort of carrying that that around with you. It is it is a lot of pressure. How do you cope with that?
18:09 Speaker 03 I think, well, just to to what you were saying a second ago, as Moll's best friend, and we are like as close a closer friend as you could be.
18:20 Speaker 02 Yeah.
18:20 Speaker 03 It's really hard watching her have that internal dialogue with herself. And it was fascinating to me and and and sort of a bit of a sucker punch to the gut. Moll did the Comic Relief Challenge a couple of years back for Radio One and a thing you always like, she always says to me is like, what would what will people think about this? I'm like, well, we don't know, everyone's different. Some people might think this thing or that thing, we have no way of knowing. But there's like a little gremlin that lives in Molly that is is a is like a an inbuilt hater.
18:56 Fearne Cotton? I've got I've got that gremlin.
18:57 Speaker 03 Yeah, that's there and it's it's trying to put the worst spin on the most innocent thing at all times.
19:07 Fearne Cotton? Yeah.
19:07 Speaker 03 Oh, if I say that. Someone might think that, which might make them think that, which means, oh no, I've upset them. Oh, I can't do it. So you end up, you notice you sort of end up tying yourself in like, almost self censorship around stuff that no one would ever be upset by. And the time that I found it hardest was when you were doing the common relief challenge. So Moll cycled for five days straight, 10 hours a day.
19:30 Speaker 02 Amazing.
19:31 Speaker 03 Oh, thank you. In horrendous weather. And I was in luxury behind a little van, just following along.
19:38 Speaker 02 Luxury van?
19:39 Speaker 03 My luxury van. I had a great week.
19:41 Speaker 02 It's how we travelled, yeah.
19:42 Speaker 03 And, and I was sort of watching this physical breakdown going on, but also this mental breakdown. And what Moll couldn't, what she wasn't tapped into in the way that I was, was the listener reaction, which was people going, we love Molly. We love this person. We love everything about her personality. We love everything that she's doing, the way that she's being as vulnerable as she is about, why she's doing the cycle ride after her father's death, the way she's being so kind and so nice to everyone around her. And there were moments where Moll would sort of have to say, I need five minutes. And often it was just like for a cuddle, just needed a hug.
20:21 Speaker 03 But there was a time where you were, we went west again, like in a toilet cubicle, in a Costa Coffee in the service station. Take all the mics off and everything. And you were just like, I can't do it. I can't do it. What are people saying? What people think? And I'm like, the world loves you. And the only person I see at the moment who doesn't is you.
20:42 Speaker 02 Yeah.
20:43 Speaker 03 And that's really hard to see because I've never met anyone that doesn't like Mollie King.
20:47 Speaker 02 No.
20:49 Speaker 03 In any room you go to, the most likeable, nicest, you know, it's.
20:53 Speaker 02 I don't know about that. No, but you really did like hold my hand through that. I would never, ever have been able to do it without Matt's support. When I had those moments, which I did every day of that challenge of like, I can't, I can't do this anymore. It was this guy that was there like, you can do this. You can get back on the bike. This is how you're going to do it. And I say that, you know, as much training as you can do for those challenges. Mentally, it's so exhausting. I think you know, going into it that physically this is going to be really tough. And I'll never have done anything like that. But mentally, my goodness, it's so tough because you're on your own on the bike. I was cycling 10 hours a day.
21:35 Speaker 02 And the thoughts just go round and round in your head and you haven't really got anyone to sort of bounce ideas off or chat to really. So yeah, that day, I think it was the Thursday, I think it was the second to last day.
21:46 Speaker 03 Yeah, it was, yeah.
21:47 Speaker 02 I was like, no, I just need to talk to you. Can we just go into the toilet? I just need to take the mics off and just properly talk to you about is everything okay? And but yeah, it's.
21:56 Speaker 03 It's hard, it's hard to watch. And actually, just to go back to your question about the radio. I am now the world, almost too relaxed on the radio, I think. I'm so chilled. But when I started, I wasn't. And that came from a deep insecurity of like, I've been thrust into this, this job that I really want to be good at, but I don't think I am very good at. And any mistake would live with me for weeks. I don't know, you wake up two weeks later being like, oh, I did that thing. Or if you said something and someone messaged and said, oh, play a song, mate, or that wasn't funny.
22:28 Speaker 02 Yeah.
22:30 Speaker 03 If, if there was any part of me that felt, oh, that wasn't funny, I didn't do good enough. I was like, oh, they've seen me.
22:35 Speaker 02 Yeah.
22:37 Speaker 03 And, and it was only through.
22:38 Speaker 02 They know, they know I'm an imposter.
22:39 Speaker 03 Exactly. It's only through doing it for, for ages that that eventually goes. And what was fascinating is when Moll arrived, it, it A, took that away from me completely, because suddenly I was sharing the burden of the show. And I was a fan of what I was hearing from, from Molly's side. So I was like, oh, I suddenly, I like, I objectively can like our show. Because it isn't all on me. But then I was also seeing someone basically going through that same journey that I've been through.
23:08 Speaker 02 It's a hard initiation.
23:09 Speaker 03 And, and wanting to be like, honestly, you're doing a billion times better than I was at the start. And you're so good at it. But it just takes, it takes a while, doesn't it, to believe, to believe that?
23:21 Speaker 02 Yeah, completely. And I think going back to what you said about not liking yourself. So in that moment, you know, you've got the whole country going, we love you, Molly, you're amazing. If you still don't feel it, none of that touches the sides. Yeah. It just falls on deaf ears. You don't hear it. Where are you at today with liking yourself? I think I'm in a much better place, definitely. And I do think it is down to having my children. Like, I just absolutely adore them. And I think I'm probably kinder to myself since having them, because I can see the wins that we have as a family. And I can recognise, gosh, you know, that's because, you know, we've taught Annabella to do that. We've taught her to say please and thank you and sweet things.
24:06 Speaker 02 We've taught her to look after her sister and to give her a cuddle if she's crying. And I can recognise those things. So I feel like I'm in a much better place. I mean, still, you know, I question things all the time, don't I? But I do feel like I'm a lot better than I was a few years ago, definitely.
24:23 Fearne Cotton? Do you like yourself, Matt?
24:25 Speaker 03 I do, I do. And I think that it's come off the back of Mul joining the show, me feeling comfortable. You know, I basically got a best friend delivered to me at a time in life where I didn't think I was going to collect any more friends, you know? I thought like, oh, I've got like, everything I need. And then Mul showed up. I do feel really content with who I am. And actually, the, my panic when I started at Radio One was it was a slightly different culture at the time I started.
24:56 Speaker 02 No shit, man.
24:59 Speaker 03 There was a different culture back then. And, and I found it, I found it incredibly hard to be, or I don't think I knew who I was. And I was sort of told, like, oh, you have to be really cool. And I'm just, and this will come as a surprise to both of you.
25:18 Speaker 02 Hold on, we're glad we're sitting down. Go on, what are you about to say?
25:21 Speaker 03 I'm just not that cool, guys.
25:21 Speaker 02 What?
25:22 Speaker 03 I'm not that cool. But there was this-
25:23 Speaker 02 No, but you are, in your way.
25:25 Speaker 03 In my own way.
25:26 Fearne Cotton? I would say you are what is factually known as cool. There's the cool where it's like, you're cool, you're a bit, you're a bit distant, you hang out with cool people. That to me is naff. I'm so over it. I never felt cool. I would be at Radio One and be like, God, like, I would go out and go to gigs and stuff, but I wasn't in the cool gang. And they would look at me like I was a piece of shit, you know, I never felt cool. I don't think anyone. If you feel cool, I think you're probably not.
25:52 Speaker 03 I don't know, I think, I think there are exceptions to that rule. I think there are people who are cool, effortlessly cool.
25:57 Fearne Cotton? Harry Styles?
25:58 Speaker 03 Harry Styles.
25:58 Fearne Cotton? Yeah, he's cool.
25:59 Speaker 02 He must, he must know he's cool, mustn't he?
26:01 Speaker 03 I would say that Grimmy is incredibly cool and the nicest man in the world.
26:03 Fearne Cotton? Grimmy's very cool, yeah, he is very lovely.
26:05 Speaker 03 And I don't think he walks around thinking he's cool, but he is. I don't know how to identify what it is, but he is.
26:09 Fearne Cotton? I know, it's just a nebulous thing, what is it?
26:14 Speaker 02 Yeah.
26:14 Speaker 03 Well, I think it's, I actually think it's a sense of self-love. It's a sense of like, like feeling comfortable in your own skin, yeah.
26:22 Speaker 02 Yeah.
26:22 Speaker 03 And, and I definitely wasn't. And, and actually, the, the first person I have to thank for, for slightly getting to the real me was Chris Stark, because he basically saw who I was. And then whenever I do anything with Scott and, and him, he would sort of play up to those, those elements of my character. And I realised, oh, these aren't bad things. These are the things that, that are unique to me, that sort of set me apart.
26:51 Speaker 02 Yeah.
26:51 Speaker 03 And, and then when, when Moll joined the show, I felt such sort of peace with my, with who I was. Because I felt like, oh, Molly likes me. And so that, and that relationship is what people are listening to.
27:07 Fearne Cotton? Yeah. That's the best, that's who we should be hanging out with people, like a small group in life.
27:12 Speaker 02 Yeah.
27:12 Fearne Cotton? People that make you feel seen in, in a non-cheesy way, like, oh, they get exactly who I am.
27:19 Speaker 02 Totally.
27:20 Fearne Cotton? Cover it, pretend I'm anything other than exactly as I am. And those people make you feel so good. Not only should we work with people like that, we didn't always get the choice, but be around people that make you feel exactly like that, like, oh, I can just, I, I actually, I find it a very visceral experience. If I'm with people and I think, oh, I'm not safe to be myself here, they don't get me. I feel physically tense and sort of panicky. I, I can't bear that feeling.
27:47 Speaker 02 Yeah.
27:48 Fearne Cotton? And then equally, when you're around people where you're like, I can just be me. It is so comforting. It's the best. So I'm, you know, no surprise that your show is so popular, because that is what people are experiencing and listening, is two people who adore each other, who are very happy in their skin with each other. Like, that's such a lovely thing to hear. Now, today's episode is brought to you by The White Company. I have to say, I always find that when spring rolls around, something shifts. The light changes, the mornings feel a little softer. That smell of spring outside, oh my gosh. And I start craving a bit of a reset, especially in my home.
28:30 Fearne Cotton? It's like a spring clean, but for your own rituals and routine, isn't it? Thinking about how you're winding down in the evening, how you're actually sleeping, whether your bedroom feels like the gorgeous sanctuary it should be. That is where The White Company comes in. They're such a trusted authority when it comes to sleep and wellness. From beautifully soft bed linen to breathable nightwear and calming fragrances, all designed to help you slow down, restore balance, and create your own peaceful space at home. So with that in mind, I thought I'd share a few of my own rituals and small seasonal swaps that I like to make at home to feel refreshed and reset for spring,
29:13 Fearne Cotton? because I am very excited about making all of this happen over the next few weeks. My bedroom is definitely the first place I start. I think the easiest thing to do, or certainly for me, the most fun, is just to have a clear out. And that means a good rifle around my wardrobe to work out which things I've not worn for a while and what could definitely go to the old charity shop. I swap my big clumpy winter duvet out for a thinner one and sometimes treat myself to some new linen along the way as well. And if you listen to me yabbering on often, you'll know that sleep isn't always the easiest for me. I go through fits and starts of sleeping well. But in the spring, as the evenings get lighter,
29:56 Fearne Cotton? I try and definitely get outside more in the daytime to give myself that natural serotonin boost that helps the production of melatonin. Think I know what I'm talking about here, guys. And I like to try and wind down by just reading in bed. Like get really, really sleepy long before I need to go to sleep. Light some candles. Have the windows open to let some fresh air in and really get myself in the most relaxed, physical and mental space before I hopefully have a good night's sleep. Also, as the seasons change and it's lighter at night, I have to have a blackout mask and a blackout blind. They are two absolute necessities.
30:40 Fearne Cotton? A sleep mask, I could, there's no way I could even contemplate sleeping without an eye mask on. Eye mask, earplugs, all the way. So I've been having a little look at the White Company's range and there are so many lovely bits that I want immediately to make my bedroom feel all fresh and delicious so I can do my best to get a good night's sleep. If I have a work day where I get home in the afternoon, rare but delicious, I absolutely want to be changing into my PJs and certainly by the evening, it's really important that I'm wearing something soft but breathable. The Stitch Detail Organic Double Cotton Pyjama Set is exactly that. Lightweight but breathable with two beautifully fine layers of cotton,
31:23 Fearne Cotton? creating a really soft, relaxed texture. And then the Savoy Egyptian Cotton Duvet. Why does just saying the words Egyptian cotton make you feel all snugly? This is made from crisp 400 thread counts per caillou and it's got this beautiful fine cording detail so you feel like you're slipping into a cool, smooth hotel bed. It's made in Portugal and is part of the Cotton Connect Programme. I have to have a scent that's going to gently quieten my mind and sort of cocoon my senses at the end of the day during the spring. So the Sleep Diffuser is definitely the one for me because it blends relaxing lavender
32:03 Fearne Cotton? with chamomile, sage, vetiver and cedarwood. Gorgeous. And for an extra little boost of lavender and chamomile to give me every chance possible of drifting off to sleep, give me that sleep soothing pillow mist, please. So there you go. Sleep well, live well with the White Company. Getting a better night's sleep has always been at the heart of the brand, whether that's soft, breathable. Sheets to help you regulate your temperature, soothing scents to enhance your nighttime routine, the perfect pillow that fits your head just so, or comfortable nightwear that also feels a joy to put on every evening. They've got everything you need to wind down well. Plus, they're a certified B Corp,
32:47 Fearne Cotton? part of a global community working towards a positive future, driving meaningful change for people and the planet. The White Company is the destination for sleep and wellness. Elevate your everyday sleep into a comforting ritual at thewhitecompany.com.
33:05 Speaker 04 Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of The Best One Yet. Behind every episode, there's research, emails, spreadsheets, and our shared Google Doc, the headline hammer. With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs, and Sheets. No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work. That means less time on the work around the work and more time finding the stories worth talking about. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at goo.gle/workspacewithgemini. That's goo.gle/workspacewithgemini.
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34:10 Speaker 06 Hello, I'm Joanna Fletcher. And I'm Marco Burchella. And this is Boots Off. We are friends who have spent a decade together, walking up mountains, across deserts, and along coastlines with some seriously awesome groups of humans. And something happens when you're out there, feet on the ground, surrounded by
34:27 Speaker 07 Nature, the conversations just spill out of you.
34:31 Speaker 06 This series is about the adversities that lead to adventure.
34:34 Speaker 07 The adventures that lead to adversity.
34:36 Speaker 06 And how life can be one big adventure in itself.
34:39 Speaker 07 Listen every Thursday, just search for Boots Off.
34:46 Fearne Cotton? I'm really interested to know, Molly, especially coming from a music background. But now you're in, you know, another weird job where you're yourself. That's quite a unique thing where as a presenter, a DJ, you are a version of yourself and you need that version to be palatable, especially with a big audience, like a Radio One audience.
35:06 Speaker 02 Yeah.
35:07 Fearne Cotton? And some of this maybe plays into my own feelings or backstory, but there's moments or perhaps a sort of blanket coverage feeling of I need to be the good girl. I need to be good. I mustn't put a foot wrong. I must behave impeccably. I must be polite. I must always smile. I must do the right thing. I must never kick up a fuss and say, I don't like that. I must just stay in line. And I was caged in that, I think, for quite a long time. Sometimes I broke free of that when I really couldn't deal with it. And these days, much less so. If I'm not happy with something or something's irking me, I need to get it out. I need to say it. And sometimes that's not met with the most pleasing reviews because people want shit to get done
35:51 Fearne Cotton? and to be done quickly and easily. How much do you think that still runs the show for you?
35:56 Speaker 02 Um, gosh, really good question. I think when I'm going into a new environment, like when I joined Radio One, I mean, I was so determined, I was so driven. I wanted to work at Radio One. And Fern, this is going to creep you out and I really hope it doesn't change your opinion of me.
36:15 Speaker 03 Oh, I know where this is going.
36:18 Speaker 02 But I actually made a vision board. I'd just come off Strictly and I was like, okay, I've had the best time ever on Strictly. But what am I going to do now? What am I going to do? And the one thing I knew I wanted to do was to work at Radio One. And I wanted to have a show exactly like yours. I had a picture of you at Radio One on my vision board, which I later showed you.
36:40 Fearne Cotton? Honoured. I am honoured. If you actually know what a hot mess I was back then, you'd be like, get her off the board, get her off.
36:47 Speaker 02 You were there, front and centre. But I loved your show. I spent so long listening to your show and just admiring how you spoke about bands and your passion for music. And I was really, really, after sort of coming out of the Saturdays and finishing Strictly, I was absolutely, like, my heart was set on working at Radio One. And I think in those first few years, I felt very much like, it's the classic, it's an imposter, I'm not meant to be here, I'm not a trained presenter, people know I'm from a pop band.
37:22 Fearne Cotton? I mean, no one's a trained presenter, may I add. Like, literally, none of us have ever been trained. We don't know what we're doing.
37:29 Speaker 02 But I was very much like, if I step out of line, or if I do the wrong thing, or I say the wrong thing, they're gonna see me straight away, they're gonna get rid of me. And again, Matt, you taught me so much in like, the mistakes are what makes it funny. That's what people like, it's what makes it live. So I've had quite a fair few of those. So, but, but I think that I am somebody who's always wanting to please and always do the right thing and be polite and be kind. But I think that in the, in the last few years, I have found a bit of that confidence to be able to say like, no, actually, I don't think that's right. Oh, what about this idea? Let's execute an interview this way. Because
38:11 Speaker 02 I, I have so many ideas, but a lot of the time, I'm thinking, oh, I'll just sit here and kind of go with the people who are higher up in the chain. But, I mean, would you agree in that? I feel like I'm a lot more outspoken with things like that now.
38:24 Speaker 03 Yeah, I think you are. It's, what's interesting, and I don't know if it's, if it's because I'm a man and you're a woman, or if it's because I've been there longer. There is sometimes this sort of sense that, oh, I'm in charge and Molly's there.
38:41 Fearne Cotton? Yeah.
38:42 Speaker 03 And it couldn't be further from the truth. You know, the thing that I found, like, one of the things I found incredibly compelling about Molly when she joined the show was that her hunger to learn the job and be a DJ was more than I'd ever seen in anyone.
38:58 Fearne Cotton? Yeah.
38:59 Speaker 03 And you know what it's like? It's like learning to fly a plane, running the desks there. And it can take people a very long time. It took me a really long time to get used to it. And Molly just went and she was like, I need to know. And she's like, what does that button do? And why would that, why would that work like that? And how do I add, I just saw you add reverb to that thing. How would you do that? And stuff that like, it took me years to figure out, but just a real sense of like, I want to know how to do what you're doing and got good at it very fast. So everything on our show is 50 50.
39:28 Fearne Cotton? Yeah.
39:28 Speaker 03 And I think we're the only presenting duo I know of that wants the other one to do the work. You know, people are always like, let me have the time.
39:35 Fearne Cotton? Yeah, yeah, exactly.
39:37 Speaker 03 We're always like, you, you gonna do the desk today?
39:39 Fearne Cotton? Yeah. You're, you're tired of the desk, right? Yeah?
39:42 Speaker 03 Neither of us wants the hard bit, which is genuinely not the case. I see it in other, in other shows. People are always like, I want the control.
39:51 Fearne Cotton? Oh, God, no, thanks. It's like, please, you take the control. Yeah.
39:54 Speaker 03 And I think that the, the problem is because you've come from another world, from a sort of successful pop career into radio. You're carrying this thing of like, they think that I don't belong here.
40:05 Fearne Cotton? Yeah, yeah.
40:06 Speaker 03 And we're, I mean, we're so, you know, you've been doing radio longer than you're in the band now. So you're so far past that point. But I think there's still that thing of like, oh, well, she's the, she's the sort of newer one. So.
40:18 Fearne Cotton? Yeah.
40:18 Speaker 03 You know, she's not, she's not gonna worry about all of this, the technical stuff or anything like that. And she's more on it than most presenters.
40:26 Fearne Cotton? I love disproving people like that. I even had it, you know, I've been at work events and I've had two men stood by me talking about business and completely excluded me from the conversation. It's like, I run, I run a business. Yeah, yeah. Over here. Hello. But it's like. No, not even gonna engage in that conversation. I get royally fucked off these days. I think I'd be much more vocal now, but I probably sort of care a little bit less about ruffling feathers, whereas before I was terrified to do so. And I think the nature of our industry is based on fear that you're gonna lose the job. It's like, there's always someone who can take your job.
41:04 Speaker 02 Who's waiting in the wings.
41:05 Fearne Cotton? If you're not grateful enough and you don't do it brilliantly. And I think that's, a lot of our industry thrives on that. And I mean, it's intolerable to sort of sit in that and act from that place of fear, rather than, no, I deserve to be here.
41:19 Speaker 02 Yes.
41:20 Fearne Cotton? I absolutely deserve to be here. And I think your career trajectory is so brilliant for people to see, that you can change your mind, you can do something different. And everybody should be allowed to do that, no matter what you're doing, what line of work. There should be room or a moment to pivot and say, yeah, I'm gonna go for a different direction and see. I mean, that's certainly what I've done. And I obviously have been through all the layers of imposter syndrome and paranoia. And then I think you get to a place where you go, no, I fucking deserve to be here, thanks very much. And this is my rightful place, and I will act accordingly.
41:53 Speaker 02 Definitely. The amount of times I like want to scream in my head, it's 2026, people!
41:59 Fearne Cotton? Yes.
41:59 Speaker 02 You know, come on!
42:00 Fearne Cotton? Yes.
42:01 Speaker 02 But it's bizarre, because sometimes there are still circumstances, like we said, where these things happen.
42:06 Fearne Cotton? I think, say it out loud.
42:07 Speaker 02 Do you? Oh, God, Fern.
42:09 Fearne Cotton? As a test to yourself, because it doesn't ever have to be with aggression, like, oh, I'm a fucking whatever. It's just like, do you know what? Honestly, because it's a good test for you, and I'm saying this for myself as much as I am for you, to say it and know that the world's still turning afterwards. Especially in the world of radio. When I joined Radio One, I don't even know what year that was, I was probably 24, a thousand years ago. And it was a very male-dominated industry, in every sense, from the top of the hierarchy down to the DJs.
42:38 Speaker 02 Yeah.
42:39 Fearne Cotton? And, you know, at one point, I was the only female on daytime. You know, it was a real male-oriented world. So I think, although there have been some brilliant positive changes in that workplace and in that genre of media, I think, you know, there's still so many things that need to be addressed and looked at and change for the better.
42:58 Speaker 02 Yeah.
42:58 Fearne Cotton? So, let's go back to the podcast, because you're writing this book together. Is the dream to have this book published at the end?
43:05 Speaker 03 Well, listen, anyone can publish a book these days, even if it's just one copy.
43:08 Speaker 02 Yes.
43:09 Speaker 03 Just for us. Well, actually, two copies.
43:10 Speaker 02 I'll have one, three.
43:11 Speaker 03 Yeah, three copies, there you go. I mean, I don't know how readable it is as a book.
43:17 Speaker 02 That might be.
43:18 Fearne Cotton? Excuse me, I've spent blimmin' weeks doing this.
43:21 Speaker 03 I, I, I think it's best digested as the podcast.
43:25 Speaker 02 Okay.
43:25 Speaker 03 Because we're sort of doing live footnotes on it.
43:29 Speaker 02 Yeah.
43:30 Speaker 03 And, and also because 50% of it, I haven't heard, and same for Mole. We're kind of having to digest it at the same time as our listeners will be. And, and I think that, I think you get more from the interrogation of the chapters along the way than if you were just to read it cold.
43:49 Speaker 02 Oh, I don't think it would make sense reading it cold.
43:52 Speaker 03 I, I think, I think.
43:53 Speaker 02 Yeah, that's, yeah.
43:53 Speaker 03 I think if you printed out what was there.
43:55 Speaker 02 I'm intrigued, yeah.
43:56 Speaker 03 People would go, this sounds like it was written by two people who've never discussed any of this.
44:00 Speaker 02 Or read a book before.
44:02 Speaker 03 And they would be right. So I would say.
44:05 Speaker 02 How, I've read Fox's socks, all right?
44:06 Speaker 03 Yeah, yeah, yeah, so have I, actually. It's pretty gripping.
44:09 Speaker 02 What a cracker.
44:10 Fearne Cotton? And spot. Well, I think it's just a genius idea and I urge people to, to listen to it. I was lolling my head off listening to it.
44:17 Speaker 02 Thank you, thank you so much.
44:18 Speaker 03 We laughed so much making it. There, there is a, as it, as it progresses, there's a moment where Mole sort of really writes me into a corner and it took me about three days to figure out how to kind of re-engineer the Rubik's Cube and go, right, okay, I can make this make sense now. But from it, from it came the, the best bit of audio I've ever heard, which is Molly, at the same time as a character, realising this revelation.
44:47 Speaker 02 It's a big revelation as well.
44:48 Speaker 03 Quite a big revelation. And you, you hear, you hear a, it's the most human emotion, set of emotions I've ever heard.
44:56 Speaker 02 You hear the penny drop.
44:56 Speaker 03 You hear the penny drop and then Mole's got the greatest laugh ever, but.
45:00 Speaker 02 Yeah.
45:00 Speaker 03 You hear, it's, I'm gonna say it's about 45 seconds of solid, like, can't breathe laughter as you realise what's happened.
45:08 Speaker 02 It's the most I've ever laughed, yeah.
45:09 Fearne Cotton? How brilliant.
45:10 Speaker 03 It was such a joy.
45:11 Fearne Cotton? One thing we all need is more laughter in this world. There is no better feeling and it's so good for you in every way. So even if it's not. Getting to do what you guys do for work, listening to this podcast, having a good old belly laugh on the way to work or out on a walk, that's what we all really need at the moment.
45:30 Speaker 03 We can guarantee that, or your money back, you don't have to pay for it.
45:33 Fearne Cotton? Exactly. So basically, nothing back. Now, this is a tricky question for two radio DJs, but we are making a happy place playlist and we want to put songs on that just make you feel great. It doesn't have to be an upbeat, dancy song, but just something that makes you feel bloody happy.
45:48 Speaker 03 Yeah.
45:48 Fearne Cotton? It's quite a tricky one to just say one song, but anything floating around.
45:52 Speaker 03 I know the answer.
45:52 Fearne Cotton? Go on then, hit me.
45:53 Speaker 03 It's the Saturday's Megamix.
45:54 Speaker 02 Yeah, I was gonna say it!
45:56 Speaker 03 Have you heard it?
45:56 Fearne Cotton? No, but it's going on there.
45:57 Speaker 03 It's seven, it's seven minutes and it's all the hits back to back. I don't know who mixed it, but a genius. It's so good.
46:03 Fearne Cotton? Wow.
46:04 Speaker 03 It's so good. And we've been-
46:05 Speaker 02 If you're lucky, Fern, I can teach you the routine as well.
46:07 Fearne Cotton? I mean, yes.
46:08 Speaker 03 I, as you know, I don't like to leave my house or go out anywhere.
46:12 Fearne Cotton? No, same.
46:12 Speaker 03 But there have been times where, under duress, I've been in a club and, um-
46:16 Fearne Cotton? Have you asked for it?
46:17 Speaker 03 No, it's been on. When Molly and I have been together, it's been on. And honestly-
46:21 Speaker 02 It's because I've asked for it.
46:22 Speaker 03 Yeah, yeah, yeah. On the phone, she's holding the flashing phone to the DJ.
46:27 Speaker 02 It's me, it's me, me!
46:29 Fearne Cotton? Oh my god, so good.
46:29 Speaker 03 We were once in a club, uh, with, with, actually, we were there with a lot of the cool people from Radio Y.
46:34 Speaker 02 Yeah, I don't know how we ended up there, but we were there.
46:36 Speaker 03 And, uh, I was feeling very much like, I need to leave this place pretty soon. And they played the Saturday's Megamix and for a, for a split second or for seven minutes, Molly was the coolest person at the epicenter.
46:47 Fearne Cotton? Yeah, that is amazing.
46:48 Speaker 03 Of the, yeah, of the network.
46:50 Fearne Cotton? Heaven, okay, that's going on there. That's a unique song or Megamix we've not put on there yet. Great.
46:55 Speaker 02 Oh, get it on there, Fern. I'm gonna go for Timber.
46:58 Fearne Cotton? Okay, nice.
46:59 Speaker 02 Pitbull, Kesha. Cause it doesn't get better than that. From the start, do the noise.
47:04 Fearne Cotton? Very good.
47:04 Speaker 02 You know you're in for a good time.
47:05 Fearne Cotton? Yeah, if that comes on at a wedding, it's guaranteed, it's a floor filler.
47:09 Speaker 02 Floor filler, everyone's there, busting, it's impossible to sit still.
47:12 Fearne Cotton? That's a very good entry. Okay, that's also going on. And respectively, where is your happy place? Ooh.
47:19 Speaker 03 My happy place is in doing a creative project. It is, and we spoke about it last time I was on.
47:24 Fearne Cotton? Yeah.
47:25 Speaker 03 My happy place is finding something that gets me into a flow state where the world melts away. And it's just me and whatever thing I'm tinkering on. And I can be there for hours and I can forget to eat. And I can come out the other side of it and have made a thing. And if you ask me to go and try and do that thing again, I could, I can explain how it was done. That is like my paradise.
47:49 Fearne Cotton? Yeah.
47:49 Speaker 03 So as, as often as I can achieve a kind of flow state. And that can be making like a, doing the podcast or it can be sometimes just like doing Play-Doh with the kids.
47:59 Fearne Cotton? Yeah.
47:59 Speaker 03 I'm just like, I'm locked in, I'm making a little boat. Completely locked into this thing.
48:04 Fearne Cotton? Five hours later, the Titanic, Play-Doh. That's so good.
48:08 Speaker 02 That would be this guy, it really would.
48:10 Fearne Cotton? How about you, Molly?
48:11 Speaker 02 Mine would be probably in the garden, like wellies on.
48:15 Fearne Cotton? Are you in your gardening era?
48:16 Speaker 02 Oh, no, but that's my dream.
48:18 Fearne Cotton? Yeah, I'm not there yet.
48:19 Speaker 02 But I'm so into it.
48:20 Speaker 03 She's in there watching someone else in the garden.
48:22 Fearne Cotton? Okay, nice.
48:25 Fearne Cotton? So good.
48:25 Speaker 03 Watching Stuart do the gardening.
48:27 Speaker 02 Get your wellies on, mate, get the shovel out.
48:29 Fearne Cotton? Is Stuart into gardening?
48:31 Speaker 02 No, neither of us are, which is quite annoying. But I'm hoping in a few years' time, we'll find that within ourselves.
48:37 Fearne Cotton? I think it's gonna naturally occur.
48:38 Speaker 02 I, I really want an allotment.
48:40 Fearne Cotton? Me too.
48:41 Speaker 02 Although we've got a very small garden and everyone's telling me, yeah, it's impossible. But being in the garden, wellies on, running around with the girls, just getting stuck in. I love being outdoors.
48:52 Speaker 03 Just the wellies, well.
48:54 Fearne Cotton? That's quite a scene.
48:55 Speaker 02 Do I need to wear more than that? God, I should change my plans, poor neighbours. But yeah, just being out, in the outside with the girls, like just getting stuck in or out, like in puddles or whatever. But yeah, just being outside.
49:08 Speaker 03 The last, I think I've done more gardening in your garden than you have. The last time I came, yeah, the last time I came round, I cleaned your garden table.
49:15 Fearne Cotton? Did you?
49:16 Speaker 03 Yeah.
49:17 Fearne Cotton? Just because?
49:17 Speaker 02 Well, you invited yourself round, which is great.
49:20 Fearne Cotton? Yeah.
49:20 Speaker 02 And then you sort of took over the place, which is very you. You sat on the couch, feet up, laptop out.
49:26 Speaker 03 I think you were like, oh, there's this table, you were like, you can't sit on the outside table. It's got like some rust or something on it. I was like, I can sort that out.
49:33 Speaker 02 And you did actually.
49:34 Speaker 03 Who did you?
49:34 Speaker 02 Fun to come in over next week.
49:35 Speaker 03 I buffed that table up real good. And then we went over to a next door neighbour's house, Barry. He was away and we used his trampoline.
49:42 Fearne Cotton? Did you? He's always asking her to go on Barry's trampoline.
49:46 Speaker 03 Barry's trampoline. Does Barry know?
49:48 Fearne Cotton? Does Barry know?
49:49 Speaker 02 I don't think so.
49:50 Speaker 03 Yeah, just walked over the fence.
49:52 Speaker 02 I mean-
49:52 Speaker 03 Barry was out of the country for like a month.
49:53 Speaker 02 Barry was out?
49:54 Fearne Cotton? Barry has no clue.
49:55 Speaker 02 If Barry's listening, sorry Barry.
49:57 Speaker 03 It's a great trampoline Barry. That guy's unbelievable.
50:01 Fearne Cotton? I mean, not the ending I was expecting, but Matt and Molly, what an absolute joy. Best of luck with Novel Idea.
50:07 Speaker 03 Thank you.
50:07 Speaker 02 Thank you so much. Thank you for having us.
50:09 Fearne Cotton? I've loved seeing you.
50:10 Speaker 02 Thank you.
50:11 Speaker 03 Enjoy.
50:12 Fearne Cotton? Do you know what? I needed that. I needed a bloody good old laugh. It was just so brilliant talking to those two. They are genuinely the most lovely mates who properly adore each other and really have each other's back. I just love them and I love that talk. Their podcast, Novel Idea, is available to listen to now. If you need more belly laughter, head there. Now, you're definitely going to want to make sure you're back here next week because I've got something super fun for you. Not one, not two, but three brilliant women are going to be with me to chat about what it feels like trying to be likeable all the time and what it feels like when you're not liked.
50:57 Fearne Cotton? In the meantime, I'll be dropping into your podcast feed later this week with some more of my own little thoughts about life, what's making me happy and not, and the rest of the Happy Place team. Until next time, a huge thank you again to Matt and Molly, to the producer, Anushka Tate, at Happy Place Studios, and to you, I bloody love ya.
51:42 Speaker 04 Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of The Best One Yet. Behind every episode, there's research, emails, spreadsheets and our- Our shared Google Doc, the headline hammer. With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs and Sheets. No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work. That means less time on the work around the work and more time finding the stories worth talking about. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at go.o.gle/workspacewithgemini. That's go.o.gle/workspacewithgemini. It's time. It's the most wonderful time of the year.
52:21 Speaker 02 Halloween.
52:24 Speaker 02 And you guys know we don't do Halloween by halves. Full costume, full prosthetics, full commitment. I'm a rat. And I'm the chef. It's our Ratatouille special. Then we're grabbing our broomsticks for the witches. We've got a spooky hotline caller. An update from our woman who was in love with the ghost of Prince Albert. And your tarot card dilemmas. Listen to our Halloween specials, search for The Girl's Bathroom.
Previous Book Club Meets: “I was burnt out!” Live a slower life, with Emma Gannon Next “Give people pleasing the finger!” Fearne’s no longer trying to be liked Page updated October 31, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated