Sean McLoughlin

Summary

Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster

Episode: Sean McLoughlin
Release Date: February 11, 2026

---

Overview

This episode of Off Menu features acclaimed comedian Sean McLoughlin as the special guest, joining hosts Ed Gamble and James Acaster in their "dream restaurant" to craft his ideal menu. What unfolds is a witty, meandering, and sincere conversation covering Sean’s love of food, reminiscences of the comedy circuit, anecdotes from life on the road, and reflections on British culinary evolution—all delivered with the infectious energy, friendly ribbing, and playful nonsense that fans expect from the show.

---

Main Topics and Key Insights

1. Introducing Sean McLoughlin (02:22–04:41)

• Ed and James introduce Sean as a “comic’s comic” now reaching wider audiences, plug his tour 'White Elephant', and reveal additional projects like his web series, the "Sean McTalk Show."
• Quote (Ed, 02:49): “Sean McLoughlin, one of the finest comedians in the world.”

2. Comic Camaraderie and Reminiscing (04:54–13:05)

• The trio swap stories about their tangled paths in stand-up, past meetings (“ships in the night”), and legendary but grim open mic venues like Manchester’s Comedy Balloon.
• They riff on their mutual “bellwether” status for British comedy and food trends.
• Banter erupts over items like past TV show offers, refusing reality shows (“Dancing on Ice,” “I’m a Celeb”), and constructing fantasy lineups for TV.

3. Sean's Relationship with Food & British Culinary Change (15:18–16:57)

• Sean considers his food tastes a barometer of British cuisine’s shift—from childhood staples (fish and chips, Sunday roasts, chicken nuggets) to broader international influences.
• Quote (Sean, 15:22): “I think I am the curve…Whatever the mean is, I'm the mean.”

4. Touring, Life Updates, and the Sean McTalk Show (17:14–26:15)

• Sean discusses his long-awaited national and European tour, “White Elephant,” and openly shares excitement about playing bigger venues.
• He reveals the title of his self-produced, intentionally lo-fi web series: "The Sean McTalk Show."
  • Set in his living room, with a sidekick, a suit, a city backdrop, and guests drawn from the comedy circuit.
  • Relates the logistical chaos (turning the airing cupboard into a prop room and upsetting his wife by blocking access to the boiler).
• Quote (Sean, 22:16): “It’s every week and it’s called the Sha McTalk Show.”
• Memorable moment (Sean, 25:26): “She [Sean's wife] opened the cupboard... she couldn't get to [the boiler] because there was a backdrop of a city from Poland. And she said, ‘is this going to be our life now?’ And I said, ‘probably, yeah.’”

5. Fizz, Baths, and Bizarre Tangents (27:15–33:41)

• Chooses still water over sparkling, prompted by his wife’s intense SodaStream use.
• Spirals into a surreal but hilarious discussion about the logistics and sensations of bathing in sparkling water and dropping Barocca tablets into the bath (and other places).
• Fun exchange (James & Ed, 29:03):
  • James: “Would you load your anus up with Baroccas up the butt?...”
  • Ed: “Spread and swish, I guess.”

6. Bread v. Poppadoms, and Hummus Discourse (33:41–42:50)

• Chooses Middle Eastern/Turkish flatbread (bazlama), served with supermarket hummus, for his bread course.
• A detailed digression on hummus types, including the nostalgia of supermarket hummus vs. silky Mediterranean styles.
• Quote (Sean, 40:00): “I think supermarket hummus...there’s a tang to it that I…like. I’ve never got that in a restaurant hummus.”

7. Dream Menu Selections

Starter: Avocado Omelette from Lala Cafe (44:47–54:54)

• Sean explains his deep love for omelettes—especially those started on tour as a rare treat (he lives in a vegan household).
• Details Lala Cafe’s Moroccan avocado omelette:
  • Actually features minimal avocado; mainly mushrooms, spinach, feta, and a rolled soft texture.
  • Comes with brown toast and strong Moroccan coffee.
• Ponders the mystery of how many eggs an omelette should have (“three and a half?”) and how restaurant menus often “pump the numbers.”
• Notable quote (Sean, 54:17): “My wife seems to have this idea in her head that an omelet costs like 500 quid...I’m spending nine quid on an omelette...maybe once a month, once a fortnight.”

Main: Ethiopian Veggie Platter ("Adams", Brixton Hill) (55:02–61:56)

• Sean’s main: the Ethiopian veggie platter—an assortment of vibrant curries and stews (key wat, lentils, cabbage, carrot dishes) served on or with injera, the famous tangy, spongy flatbread.
• Praises the consistency and generosity of the cuisine, wherever he’s found it.
• Discusses favorite London spots: Adams (Brixton Hill) & Herre (Stockwell).
• Quote (Sean, 55:51): “I think...for me and my wife, certainly at the moment, it’s definitely number one...if I’m getting a takeaway, I go Ethiopian.”

Side: Chippy Shop Chips—To Be Eaten While Walking (65:05–69:13)

• Longing for “a lovely bag of fish and chip chips,” eaten from a paper bag while walking to football or the pub, especially in cold weather.
• Talks evocatively about the comfort of warm chips in cold months, the absence of forks, and childhood memories of being entrusted to buy fish & chips for the family.
• Quote (Sean, 68:22): “There’s something in the winter… when I’m holding that bag, it’s like a furnace.”

Drink: Tiny Bottles of Red Wine from Airplanes (72:34–79:01)

• In a darkly comic turn, Sean chooses the individually-sized red wines from airplane trolleys as his dream drink.
• Loves the sense of stolen luxury, the altered atmosphere of a night flight, and the special feeling it brings.
• Spirited discussion of whether one can (or should) request two at a time, wine quality in different classes, and personal drink routines on planes.
• Quote (James, 72:47): “This is the bleakest answer we've ever had to this.”

Dessert: Full Packet of Dark Chocolate Digestives (81:43–91:17)

• Admits sugar is his vice and his ultimate treat would be a whole pack of McVitie’s dark chocolate digestives.
• Restricts himself to one packet a year for self-control. Associates them with childhood and family nostalgia.
• Playful debate about whether “caramel digestives” or Hobnobs are superior. James compares the latter’s texture to “hamster hutch sweepings.”
• Quote (Sean, 84:16): “I just want a full packet of McVitie's Dark Chocolate Digestives.”

---

Notable Quotes & Moments (With Timestamps)

• “Every comic you like likes Sean McLoughlin.” (James, 03:17)
• “She [Sean’s wife] came home one day and she couldn’t get to the boiler because there was a backdrop of a city from Poland. She said, ‘Is this our life now?’” (Sean, 25:26)
• “You go into a bath, drop in a Barocca, around your intimate area—it’ll be a bit orangey, but at least you can get a sense of: Do I like where this is going?” (Sean, 29:06)
• “I’d just have four [hot dog buns] after school… just knock them back.” (Sean, 34:27)
• “Fish and chip shop, get the bag… even a small chips, they load them in. There’s something in the winter, when I’m holding that bag, it’s like a furnace.” (Sean, 68:22)
• “For this dream meal, you’re on the move a lot!” (Ed, 74:34)
• “I just want a full packet of McVitie's Dark Chocolate Digestives.” (Sean, 84:16)
• “I’m not Scrooge McBiscuit.” (Sean, 91:15)

---

Structure of Sean’s Dream Menu (93:40)

• Water: Still
• Bread: Turkish/Lebanese bazlama flatbread, with supermarket hummus
• Starter: Moroccan avocado omelette (Lala Cafe) with brown toast and Moroccan coffee
• Main: Ethiopian veggie platter on injera (Adams, Brixton Hill)
• Side: Chippy shop chips, in a bag, to be eaten while walking
• Drink: Tiny bottle(s) of red wine from airplane service
• Dessert: Entire packet of McVitie’s dark chocolate digestives (“Once a year, like a ritual.”)

---

Conclusion

Sean crafts a menu that’s equal parts sincere, comforting, and self-aware—a reflection of nostalgia, British culinary quirks, the practicalities of life on tour, and a punky affection for “common” pleasures. The episode is peppered with friendly ribbing, surreally daft tangents (Baroccas in the bath, eating on the run, “boiling cupboards”), and honest moments about habit, family, and the comedy grind.

Final words:

• "It may not be the most expansive or cultured list, but I'm very happy with that. And I think that would be a nice...most people would enjoy that." (Sean, 94:30)

Show Plugs:

• White Elephant tour (seanmclaughlincomedy.com)
• The Sean McTalk Show (YouTube)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------|--------------| | Sean’s Introduction and Credentials | 02:22–04:41 | | TV Offers & Comic Reminiscence | 07:19–13:05 | | Sean’s Food Philosophy | 15:18–16:57 | | “Sean McTalk Show” Explanation | 21:41–26:15 | | Sparkling water/Bath Tangent | 27:15–33:41 | | Bread Course & Hummus Talk | 33:41–42:50 | | Starter: Avocado Omelette | 44:47–54:54 | | Main: Ethiopian Veggie Platter | 55:02–61:56 | | Side: Chippy Shop Chips | 65:05–69:13 | | Drink: Plane Red Wine | 72:34–79:01 | | Dessert: McVitie’s Digestives | 81:43–91:17 | | Menu Recap & Wrap-Up | 93:40–95:18 |

---

For New Listeners

This summary provides a comprehensive guide to the episode’s core conversation, playful diversions, and culinary highlights, preserving the warmth and irreverent spirit of the Off Menu podcast and its talented guests.

Transcript

[Hannah Berner]

Hi, this is Hannah Berner, co host of Giggly Squad. Let's be honest, we've all done things in our lives that may have just followed the crowd, like drinking matcha, even if you think it tastes like grass or pretending skinny jeans were actually comfortable. Have we been doing the same thing with Zero Sugar Cola? Last year, people across America took the Pepsi Challenge. No labels, no bias. Judged on taste alone, 66% of participants agreed. Pepsi Zero sugar tastes better than Coke Zero sugar and Pepsi Zero sugar won in every single market. Go out and try Pepsi Zero Sugar today. You deserve taste. You deserve Pepsi.

[Sleep Number / Grow Therapy Ad Voice]

Was January supposed to be your big fresh start? Well, sometimes the pressure to fix everything at once just can leave you feeling stuck. Grow Therapy makes it easier to reset at your own pace. With therapy that's covered by insurance and built around your life, you can search by what matters like insurance, specialty, identity or availability and get started in as little as two days. And if something comes up, you can Cancel up to 24 hours in advance at no cost. Whatever challenges you're facing, Grow Therapy is here to help. Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans, including Medicaid in some states. Sessions average about $21 with insurance, and some pay as little as $0 depending on their plan. Visit GrowTherapy.com Acast to get started. That's GrowTherapy.com Acast GrowthTherapy.com Acast availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. Why choose a sleep number Smart bed Can I make my site softer?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Can I make my site firmer? Can we sleep cooler?

[Sleep Number / Grow Therapy Ad Voice]

Sleep number does that cools up to eight times faster and lets you choose your ideal comfort on either side. Your Sleep number setting Enjoy personalized comfort for better sleep night after night. And now during our President's day sale, take 50% off our limited edition bed plus free premium delivery with any bed and base ends Monday only at a Sleep number store or sleepnumber.com.

[Ed Gamble]

Welcome to the Off Menu podcast. Taking the Bovril of conversation, putting it in the mug of humor and adding the hot water of friendship. Nice cup of Bovril, James.

[James Acaster]

Beefy beefy Boy, that is a gamble. My name is James A. Cassidy. Giveaway. We own a dream restaurant. Every single week we invite a guest and ask them their favorite ever start and main course, dessert, side dish and drink. Not in that order. And this week our guest is Sean McLaughlin.

[Ed Gamble]

Sean McLaughlin, one of the finest comedians in the world.

[James Acaster]

So funny.

[Ed Gamble]

Such a funny guy. I've known Shaun for years and years and years. He's always been brilliant and Is on tour now, White Elephant, going all over the place. Sean tours Europe, he tours the States, he tours the uk. You've got to go and see Sean. If you don't know Sean's work, I'd. I'd say go and watch some now and then, buy yourself a ticket because he is genuinely brilliant.

[James Acaster]

I'd say every comic that you like likes Sean McLaughlin.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes, absolutely. He's a. He's a comics comic, isn't he? He absolutely is, but increasingly is becoming.

[James Acaster]

The public's comic as well he should be.

[Ed Gamble]

Absolutely.

[James Acaster]

And here's the thing, Ed. We will chuck Shawn out if he says the secret Ingredient.

[Ed Gamble]

I'd like to chuck Sean out. Yeah.

[James Acaster]

It'd be so much fun.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Because Sean, you know, could be a bit of a curmudgeon on stage.

[Ed Gamble]

He's so exasperated.

[James Acaster]

He's so great to get him angry and kick him out.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

And this week, the secret ingredient is elephant.

[Ed Gamble]

It's elephant because he's doing a show called White Elephant. So I don't think we're going to be able to kick him out because that's what. I don't think anyone's ever picked Elephant as a male.

[James Acaster]

No. But, you know, he might see the opportunity to plug his show. Choose elephant. Just to plug it and then be immediately punished.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes.

[James Acaster]

For thinking with his career rather than his stomach. Also talking about his career.

[Ed Gamble]

Go on.

[James Acaster]

He's got a web series coming out.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. He's not told us what it's called yet. We know he's got a web series, but we don't know the title yet because at the time of recording, the web series has not started.

[James Acaster]

Not started.

[Ed Gamble]

But hopefully by the time this comes out, the web series will be available to watch on YouTube.

[James Acaster]

Be on YouTube. It'll be Sean, I believe, interviewing people. But, like, that's all we know.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

So he's. He said that he wants to tell us on the podcast.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yes.

[Ed Gamble]

Sean mclaughlincomedy.com for tickets to Sean's tour.

[James Acaster]

Yep.

[Ed Gamble]

Let's get into it. This is the off menu menu of Sean. Welcome, Sean, to the Dream Restaurant. Hello, everyone.

[James Acaster]

Welcome, Sean McLaughlin to the Dream Restaurant. But it's been here for some time.

[Sean McLaughlin]

My word. Thank you. Thank you, both of you. Good to see you, Shaun, how are you?

[James Acaster]

Pretty good.

[Ed Gamble]

I haven't seen each other for years.

[James Acaster]

We were trying to figure out when we last saw each other.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I think there was a chance we saw each other at what had then been our agent's Christmas party. And you walked in as I was leaving.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, that's.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And I was about to say that, and you went, sean. And I said, I've gotta go, man.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, that's. Something's about a relationship, me and Shaun. Ships in the night. But still. We'll still, like, honk the horn.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll always honk that horn on the way past.

[Ed Gamble]

What a couple of lovely ships. May I say thank you.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Thank you. Beautiful schooners.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, Beautiful schooners.

[Ed Gamble]

Me and Sean and we saw each other in Manchester.

[Sean McLaughlin]

We saw each other in Manchester.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes. I just filmed my special and you were doing a gig as well, and we were staying in the same hotel, as it turned out.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

And then.

[James Acaster]

That's the best.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Do you know who else was staying in a hotel that night? The new manager of Manchester United.

[Ed Gamble]

Oh, yeah, you did tell me that.

[James Acaster]

And I didn't care. Alex Ferguson.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Exactamundo.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Let's hope the class of 92 work out.

[James Acaster]

Fergie.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Do you support Manchester United?

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, I don't. No.

[James Acaster]

Who do you like?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I support Queenspot Rangers.

[Ed Gamble]

Who do you like?

[James Acaster]

Is that not. How do people like.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I support qpr, and I don't think I like them.

[Ed Gamble]

You know what?

[Sean McLaughlin]

They are my team.

[Ed Gamble]

And I. Because obviously I don't. I don't follow football. I didn't think they were a team anymore. I had not heard about QPR for years.

[James Acaster]

Les Ferdinand.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, Les. That's all I know.

[Sean McLaughlin]

When is. Is this podcast being released? In the past. Because every reference is pretty old.

[James Acaster]

Eventually it will.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay.

[Ed Gamble]

As soon as it comes out, it'll be in the past.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, you're twisting my melon here. Okay. Yeah, I guess it's. Yeah, I guess it will be.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. As soon as it's released, it's in the past.

[James Acaster]

Immediately out of date. That's the. That is sad about podcasts.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It is one of the great tragedies of podcasts that they. That they do go out of date.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

What are we doing here, boys?

[Ed Gamble]

Don't. I can see you're about to go full Sean McLaughlin.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. Don't overthink everything you've said and start panicking that it's not going well. I can see it on your face.

[James Acaster]

All right, you're about to declare this is a waste of time.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Never. Never really happy to be here. Delighted. And it's good to see you again, James. Good to see you again, Ed.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, Lovely to see you.

[James Acaster]

Before we started recording, Benito told you to save it for the pod because you asked us what is the.

[Ed Gamble]

What was the phrase the lamest thing.

[James Acaster]

What is the lamest job you would do?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. We were talking about TV shows that you had either been offered or maybe we're going to go see or whatever, like sort of celebrity Saturday night type entertainment shows. And I'm curious because you two are definitely in the world where you would be offered those sort of shows now and again. And I'm. I'm curious, what is the worst one of those that you would say yes to?

[Ed Gamble]

Well, it depends what you mean by worse. Because I'd only do things that I would enjoy, but I'm doing and watching anyway.

[James Acaster]

I guess there's the threshold of like. Yeah. Knowing. Okay, technically that's, you know, not a good TV show.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

But I like it.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

So I'll say yes to it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Like, if they did, like celebrities run a leisure center, would you do that?

[Ed Gamble]

Probably not. I'd wait for it to bake in for a series, I think.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay.

[James Acaster]

The British Empire.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I have no idea.

[Ed Gamble]

British Empire is a great idea.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Something like that.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

I mean, we went on the run. We did hunted.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Which is, you know, you genuinely are on the run. You're not having a lovely life for a week.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, we did have a lovely life, though. We went to so many nice restaurants.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

We.

[James Acaster]

Michelin star restaurant.

[Ed Gamble]

We ended every day with a pint.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Is that going to destroy the reputation of the show, you saying that?

[James Acaster]

I don't think so. You know, we kind of openly did it on camera and they had every chance to catch us and didn't do it. So I think anyone who is going to go on the run, just know that you can still like live a life of luxury.

[Sean McLaughlin]

When you say on the run, you mean on just this show, you don't mean in general if you go on the run? Like I said, if the police are after you, you can live the life of luxury.

[James Acaster]

I think that is a good bit of advice for anyone who's genuinely on the run from the coppers hiding in plain sight.

[Ed Gamble]

Also, I don't know if you know this, but prisons are basically luxury now anyway.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. These days.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. I don't know if you've heard.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, I have heard, actually.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

They're luxury.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. Yeah. You kept talking about that before the recording.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I actually thought you needed to tone down the rhetoric.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. So, tell you what, Sean, you want to stop staying in those hotels of the Man United guys and getting a prison.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, that's what I should have done.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, that's what I thought. Ours was missing.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

I don't know what.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean.

[Ed Gamble]

What shows. What shows are they? Give me some examples.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I don't watch television.

[Ed Gamble]

Okay.

[James Acaster]

Dancing on Ice.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Dancing on Ice. Would you do Dancing on Ice?

[James Acaster]

No.

[Ed Gamble]

No.

[James Acaster]

Would you have turned that down? To be honest, you have. If they're listening in your face.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Would you do Dancing on Land? AKA Strictly Interesting.

[Ed Gamble]

They should change it to Dancing on Land.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Rebrand it. Call it Dancing on Land.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Dancing on Land.

[James Acaster]

I like watching it. Wouldn't want to do it. Although one of the best evenings of my life was going to see Josh Whitakem do the Christmas one.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Oh, yeah.

[James Acaster]

Absolutely brilliant.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Why was that good?

[James Acaster]

It's funny watching Josh do stuff like that. Josh won't mind me saying this. I think that when he does a big showbiz smile, it's really funny. And he had to do that quite a lot when he was dancing. Do a big showbiz smile.

[Ed Gamble]

He was dressed as a penguin. Right?

[James Acaster]

And he was dressed as a penguin.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Talk about burying the leaves.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. Sorry. Should have mentioned that. Just as a penguin. The opening of the show is him dressed as a penguin, peeking out from behind a giant candy cane and doing his showbiz smile. And that was, like, worth leaving the house for.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's great.

[James Acaster]

We really loved that. And I really enjoyed booing Craig Revel Hallwood. I was like, whoa. Going really, really hard.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Everyone else around me was looking at me going like, you need to tone it down. It's not.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's a family show. Yeah.

[James Acaster]

It's like. It's a panto boo. It's not like you want him to go to prison. Yeah, yeah. But I'll be nice these days.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, you're doing him a favor.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm doing this for him. You don't understand.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. That was fun.

[Ed Gamble]

I think I've done all the ones that I would like to do.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

I wouldn't do. I'm a celeb. I wouldn't do anything like that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, no, no, no, no.

[James Acaster]

I was thinking just this morning was like, I wonder how many celebrities who I'm a fan of and I love have been offered. I'm a celeb and turned it down. And if I could make my dream I'm a celeb lineup out of the people who've turned it down and how much I would love watching it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, this feels like a splinter podcast about to. I mean, that is the format of this, right? Is you. You make a dream menu. You're doing a dream lineup for I'm a celebrity.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. And that is because I. I've only ever watched one series of that show because my friend Joel Dommet was on it, and I loved watching Joel, but I never want to watch it again. But if they had, like, a really cool lineup of people that give us.

[Ed Gamble]

Give us some. I think we need names of who you are.

[James Acaster]

Paddy Constantine.

[Ed Gamble]

Wow.

[James Acaster]

Get him in the jungle.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. Get him in there.

[James Acaster]

Love to see Paddy Considine with Eric Cantona, and I reckon Cantona would do it, you know? You think Cantona would actually. I don't think he would say no, so I think that's a bad example.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Paddy Considine.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Roy Keane.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Definitely has been offered it and turned it down. I think there's no way they haven't offered it to Roy Keane and there's no way he would ever say yes to it.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So far, I would say this is the angriest series of.

[Ed Gamble]

I'm assuming, like, really angry white men.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Kim Jong Un.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. These are. These are the posters on my wall, guys. I love all these people. That's why we got Sean on the podcast. Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Cheers.

[James Acaster]

I requested it.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

I saw him throw a gig in an audience's face once. It was beautiful.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Did you?

[James Acaster]

No.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's not like me.

[James Acaster]

I've not seen you do that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Oh, thank you. Not for a while. Used to do a bit of that, but I'm a.

[Ed Gamble]

But that's your energy anyway.

[James Acaster]

Right.

[Ed Gamble]

Even when you do well. I think Shaun's trying to throw it in their face.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I think I must have hearing loss because I always think I'm doing badly at gigs, but I don't think I am. I think actually I'm quite good.

[James Acaster]

I don't know what you're talking about.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[James Acaster]

I've never experienced that.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, a passionate guy. I used to find it a struggle. I used to find it a struggle on stage, but I was like, oh, I don't think they're laughing enough. But actually, I've. I've. I'm a bit reformed now.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And I. Because I realize now, when I'm in an audience, I always think, well, I'm enjoying this, but I'm not showing it that much. And I think that's when you. When you're on the other side of it. I don't want to be. Get called a twat by someone I've gone to see.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You know, like, I go see Travis or whatever and they're like, why?

[James Acaster]

Why are you booing get them in the jungle.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. Travis.

[James Acaster]

Are you watching Travis these days?

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, not these days, but you got to see Travis. Would you go get. Would you put Travis in the jungle?

[James Acaster]

Fran Healey.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. Oh, no, the full band.

[James Acaster]

Full band, Yeah. I would say I'd only put the full band in and not one of them on their own, which is. Let's face it, it's gonna be Fran Healey. But, like, I. I would go for the whole band.

[Ed Gamble]

It'd be a nightmare. For every time it rains, everyone would be looking at them.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Everyone would be looking.

[Ed Gamble]

Go and do it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Roy Key. Giving them daggers.

[James Acaster]

Roy. Can you tear them to ribbons? Night one.

[Sean McLaughlin]

He really would.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. Forget it. But that would be great to put a full band in the jungle together.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, you could see them implode. That would be good.

[James Acaster]

They'd even implode, or they would form a really tight unit against all the others, and it would become a problem.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

James, I'm in.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Do you need an investment?

[James Acaster]

Yeah, sure.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Let's do it.

[James Acaster]

I think they should let me book. I'm a celebrity, and the rule is people aren't allowed to say no.

[Ed Gamble]

So Paddy comes and then straight in.

[James Acaster]

Yes. If I contact you and invite you, you have to say yes. It's the law.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So the government are involved in this.

[James Acaster]

We make it like jury duty.

[Ed Gamble]

Like Hunger Games.

[James Acaster]

It's like Hunger Games.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's like. It's like hug again. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's how you'll pitch it.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Just FYI, it's like Hugger Games, but.

[Ed Gamble]

You can't volunteer as tribute. So if Travis don't want to do it, Keane could step up.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, there's only three members of Keen.

[James Acaster]

Keen to be climbing over each other to try and get in the jungle these days.

[Sean McLaughlin]

There's four members of Travis. There's three members of Keen.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So someone would have, like. Katie. Melia would have to, like, go in as well, or something like that.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

That's good.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Get Melia in.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. Actually, I'd like to see me have a chat with.

[Ed Gamble]

Well, she's the only woman so far in the lineup.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. It's not Diverse.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. I never said it would be.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Suppose. I suppose if the country's got to the point where James Acaster could just decide who has to go into the jungle.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Diversity is probably no longer the top priority.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Something's gone very wrong.

[Sean McLaughlin]

We were in a dictatorship here.

[James Acaster]

The country has gone to shit. Jolt food.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Interesting question. Yeah. I do like Food. Yeah, I, I enjoy a lot of food. I would say that my food tastes are, like, perfectly in line with the British and their change of culinary taste over the last, like, 20 years. I think I'm a really good bellwether. I'm a sheep. Yeah, yeah, sure, if that helps. Does that help, Ed?

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, but. So you're. You think you're a bellwether? You think you're ahead of the curve or do you think you go with the curve?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I think I am the curve.

[Ed Gamble]

You are the curve.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I think whatever the mean is, I'm the mean.

[Ed Gamble]

So is everyone looking to you?

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, no, no.

[Ed Gamble]

For the trends?

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, no, no, no, no. I suppose I'm a sheep.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Does that help you? I'm a sheep. Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

No, it's good to get these things ironed out. Yeah, that helps me.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I don't find you so fucking charming, Ed.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, you do.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I do, actually. You do have quite a smile.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

What I mean is, I was thinking about this on the way here. Like when I was a kid, I would say my childhood was very like, normal British childhood fare. Like the food.

[Ed Gamble]

Talk us through it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, just like, you know, fish and chips, lot of oven chips, A lot of like, you know, Sunday roast, you know, Good, good food, but the standard stuff.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

So if you, if someone went on, you know, Family Fortunes and had to name British foods, it probably. The border just looked like your childhood.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, I mean, that's the easiest way of putting it.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. Turkey. Dinosaurs.

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, not turkey. Dinosaur. Chicken Kievs.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So maybe that was a. Maybe that was unusual.

[James Acaster]

No, no. Chicken Kiev.

[Sean McLaughlin]

A lot of chicken nuggets. My mum would sometimes make, like a curry.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

From. With powder. I guess that's a bit advanced.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But it was mainly like standard British stuff and great stuff, you know.

[Ed Gamble]

Your mom's American?

[Sean McLaughlin]

My mom is American, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

So was she not bringing any of that into the household?

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, not really. She, she, yeah, she assimilated pretty quickly. But actually, as time has gone on, I, I mean, I'm sure you'd agree with this. Britain has become way more open in terms of cuisine.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And I think I've just gone with the average.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And now I eat a huge range of cuisines, but only like lower to mid level. I never eat like high end stuff, but I, you know, I eat a lot of different types of food and I.

[Ed Gamble]

What about Sean, when you're on tour?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Oh, okay.

[Ed Gamble]

Is that good?

[James Acaster]

It's a good segue.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

That's what you're asking.

[Ed Gamble]

Let's talk about your tour?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, I'm on tour. I asked when this episode was going out. The producer didn't know.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes, but we.

[Sean McLaughlin]

All we know is it's the new year, so most of the tour is done. However, it isn't all done. And I'm doing. I'm doing, like, my first tour in, like, three or four years, and I'm going across the country, I'm going across Europe and I think you should come and see me.

[Ed Gamble]

What's the show?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I think you two would like it.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, I would like it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Definitely.

[James Acaster]

I'd like it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And so you can come and see me in London. I'm doing the Lesser Square Theater and a couple times. Or you can come and see me in Prague. Is that something you'd be interested in doing? Come to see me in Prague? Sure.

[Ed Gamble]

I've not been to Prague for ages.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Have you not?

[Ed Gamble]

No.

[James Acaster]

Been asked jolly for the podcast.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That would be lovely. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, put on the company card. Let's all go to Prague.

[Ed Gamble]

Benito, put it on the company card.

[James Acaster]

Put it on the company card.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Going to Prague to see sean.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's only 2. €2 a pint. Milan, Copenhagen, Stockholm. You know the deal. Yeah. And the show is called White Elephant and I'm really enjoying it. I'm really enjoying standup and I'm enjoying touring and I'm playing at bigger houses than I've played to ever. And that's a nice feeling, right?

[James Acaster]

That's a nice feeling. That's the direction you want it to go in.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's the direct. It's taken a long time to get on the right track, James, but I've made it.

[James Acaster]

My earliest memory of Shaun is when we first met. Do you remember when we first met?

[Sean McLaughlin]

We met at a gig in Manchester.

[James Acaster]

Yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And it opened my. The legendary comedy balloon.

[James Acaster]

The comedy balloon.

[Ed Gamble]

Oh, the comedy balloon.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Do you remember the comedy balloon?

[Ed Gamble]

I do remember the comedy balloon.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Hell hath no fury like the comedy balloon.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. My memory of it is that it was like an upstairs room where most of it was. It was like the audience had to sit in single file.

[Ed Gamble]

It was so thin, that room, because.

[James Acaster]

They were just sitting at these tables. But that was it. That was all it was.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[James Acaster]

It's like a row of audience members in, like, a conga line and realizing that half of those audience members were actually other comedians who were all waiting.

[Ed Gamble]

To go on the Ape and Apple.

[James Acaster]

Maybe we were at the Ape and Apple.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, that was like a legendary open. It was always sold as a legendary open. Mic night.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And I remember it's like all those open mic nights that are legendary. You go there and the only reason they're legendary a lot of the time is because basically the people who run it haven't given it up yet.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's been going for like forever.

[James Acaster]

And to be fair to them, it's a invaluable service to open mic comedians. We need those gigs. I mean, my God, it doesn't make it any easier when you're sitting there going, oh, Jesus, is me next on the chopping block?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Meeting this. Meeting this young lad who was living in Newcastle at the time.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, I believe. Good memory.

[James Acaster]

And you were like, I've come here from Newcastle. And I was like, I've come here from Ketman. You went, where's that? This is Northamptonshire. Oh, everyone else here lives in Manchester, I think. Yeah, yeah. Just me and you. We had to travel there.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[James Acaster]

Did you know it was this venue when you said yes? No, I didn't know. I'm staying on the promoter's sofa. Okay, well, I'm going back to Newcastle. Okay. I'm going to go up now. Okay. Well, I'm probably going to quit next week. Yeah, me too.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[James Acaster]

See you in 17 years on a podcast.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah. But we made it.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, we made it. And we met in Newcastle. Heat of the Chortle Student Comedian of the year competition.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Another great event.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

In the history of British comedy.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Back when you were not Ed Gamble, you had a character.

[Ed Gamble]

Romantic novelist. Selden Crowd.

[James Acaster]

I love Saleston. Crap.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I was always a fan of Selsden.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes. Yeah, it's good stuff.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I. That night I met you, I met Nish Kumar.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I met Tom Neenan.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Every act was from. Every actor was good. Was from Durham and came on the same train as you.

[Ed Gamble]

I seem to remember it was a good night all round. Chris Martin.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Chris Martin was on.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Not from Coldplay.

[Ed Gamble]

No, not from Coldplay.

[James Acaster]

For the media. Because I know we're talking about Keen and stuff before. It's not. Not from that. Yeah. Travis.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, Yeah. I suppose the Antenna are up for the sort of indie fans.

[James Acaster]

Like hell, yeah. Martin. What a gig from Cold. I was at the choral. Student of the year.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

He used to do stand up. All of his stand up, then just got changed into song ideas.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. He had a really surreal bit about how everything was yellow. Very Noel Fielding.

[James Acaster]

Very no field.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

He'd been watching the Simpsons.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

He loved the Simpsons, didn't he?

[James Acaster]

That way he loved it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And we're all. The key thing is we're all doing as well as each other.

[Ed Gamble]

I won the heat.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Did you?

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I retract that last statement.

[James Acaster]

Now. You have refused to tell us the name of your web series until we are recording the podcast. So now you get to reveal the name of the web series to us.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's not that I'm a sham. I think it's a great title. But everyone I've. Everyone I've said it to has said that's the worst title for anything they've ever done.

[Ed Gamble]

Fantastic. Let's hear it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But basically, if you're listening to this by now, then my web series slash podcast is already out.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I always want to host like a, like an American style kind of late night chat show, you know, with like a backdrop and it's like, you know, like a Conan or a Letterman type thing.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And no one's. No one's given me one of those, and no one's making them even anymore. So I've. I've made one in my living room.

[James Acaster]

Great.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And I've got like a backdrop that I ordered from Poland of a city. And I've got a sidekick and I wear a suit and I have guests.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And it's every week and it's called the Sha McTalk Show.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, I know. I love it.

[James Acaster]

Obviously, be more up Head Street.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, obviously.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, I don't think it is that obvious. Is it the Sean the Sha Ma Talk show? Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

It's funny. Cuz it's bad.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, I guess so. Yeah. I mean, I guess that's kind of a review.

[Ed Gamble]

It's brilliant. I love it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Thank you.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. If it feels intentionally bad, it doesn't feel like that's an accident.

[Ed Gamble]

And.

[James Acaster]

And you don't understand your own sense of humor.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay.

[James Acaster]

Sean McOrcho is like making me laugh a second time.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, I like it. I like it. But during the yesterday's recording, I hadn't told the guest what the name of the show was. And I said here on the Sean McTalk show about 10 minutes into the interview. And the guest said, this is the shittest thing I've ever heard in my life.

[Ed Gamble]

Who was the guest?

[Sean McLaughlin]

It was Johnny Pelham, admittedly.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But you don't tend to hear that on like actual, like. I don't think people would ever do that. Like Graham Norton. Go. What's your name? What?

[James Acaster]

Yeah, sure. But I mean, that is his name. Your name isn't Sean McOrch.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, not yet, but if it goes well enough, you know.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But I've worked.

[Ed Gamble]

I remember.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm working very hard on it.

[Ed Gamble]

So Conan O' Talk Show. Do you remember that?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, Talk show.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

David McLaughterman. That doesn't quite work.

[James Acaster]

Well, Johnny palace has been on this podcast and everyone loved, loved his episode.

[Sean McLaughlin]

He's the worst guest I've had on the Sean McTalk Show. Can I say that? Most disrespectful man I've ever met.

[Ed Gamble]

Who else are you having on the Sean McTalk Show? Is it just your grubby little mates or.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, crazy that you've got people on who you just talk to anyway.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. Okay, well, why don't we dial this tone back, gents? Because, you know, people probably used to say that about this podcast, didn't they?

[Ed Gamble]

No. Okay.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I really hope that would work.

[Ed Gamble]

We hit the ground running. We had Grace Dent, episode two, mate.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I've got Reese James. You heard of Reese James?

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You heard of Fern Brady?

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. All your mates?

[James Acaster]

Yeah, of course we've heard of them.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Drinking.

[James Acaster]

She'll do it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

She'll do by. No, she's doing it. Jamali's doing it. Harriet's done it. Yeah.

[James Acaster]

You shouldn't be on first name terms of all of them. You shouldn't be revealing it off just on a first name basis. Go Jamali.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, I sent a message to a novelist and he hasn't even. He's left me on Read, so I don't know what to do. And it's a bit like I sent a message to Peter Schmeichel once and he left me on red. Yeah. Schmeich's left me on another Manchester United Ferguson reference.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. I might put him in the.

[Ed Gamble]

It's because his goalie gloves don't have, like, touchscreen capabilities.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, he can't. All he could do is goalkeepers is a nice.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You know, may not know much about football, Ed, but surely you understand that the clubs are removable.

[Ed Gamble]

No, not Schmikes. No, he's always training.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Look, look, if you want to hear me talk to my grubby little friends in my living room. The Sean McTalk Show. And they're laughing now, but, you know, by the time this has gone out, I have wiped them off the face of the earth.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

The biggest show in Britain.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Do you can Patreon?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Sure, why not? I mean, it's not launched yet, so I don't know if it's popular enough, but I'm filming it all myself. I'm editing it myself. It's ruining my life. It'd be great if you watched it.

[Ed Gamble]

Or listened to it in your living room.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's all in my living room. Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

What does your wife think of all this?

[Sean McLaughlin]

She came home one day and I'm keeping all the stuff where the. The cupboard where the boiler is.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And she opened the cupboard because she had to get to the boiler. She couldn't get to it because there was a backdrop of a city from Poland. And she said, is this going to be our life now? And I said, probably, yeah. I may have made a massive error doing this show.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Now I'm saying it out loud.

[Ed Gamble]

Talk show.

[Sean McLaughlin]

The short book. Talk show may be another folly if.

[James Acaster]

Your wife can't get to the boiler, that's an issue. I don't think there's, like, many talk show hosts where saying yes to the talk show meant their wife couldn't get to the boiler anymore.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You've really.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You give me a lot to think about there, James.

[Ed Gamble]

Episode is going exactly how I thought it would.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Great to be here. You'll do the show, right, you two.

[Ed Gamble]

I'll come and do the Sean McDonald's show.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You do it together if you want.

[Ed Gamble]

No, no, no, no. Okay, good.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Because I actually only got one extra mic.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah. Still a sparkling water. Sean, still pleased? James, you looked surprised by that question.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, I was having a nice chat. I forgot we even had the format.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, we got to do the format.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Of course you do.

[Ed Gamble]

Do you have a format to the Sean McDonald Show?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Oh, let's not go there, Ed. I do have a format, yeah. Yeah.

[James Acaster]

What's the format?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I just ask some questions. It's a talk show, isn't it?

[James Acaster]

Is that a format?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, it's not. Not a format.

[Ed Gamble]

Do you have any format points? Are there things where you do, like.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Sometimes my family sending questions.

[James Acaster]

Oh, that's good.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Is it mainly from your wife saying, move this fucking stuff out the way the boiler.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's not. It's. It's one of those shows. Look, still. The key thing is still water, please.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is it obvious which, like, questions your mother said, let's start with, like, stuff like. Howdy. Yeah, Howdy, y'.

[Sean McLaughlin]

All. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Howdy, y'. All.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

My mum's like, Kelly Clarkson. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

She's got a talk show.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yes, yes, she does, actually. Kelly Clarkson. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Kelly McClarkson Show.

[James Acaster]

Why would she put a muck in? That's your name. Genuinely don't know what you're Talking about, why Stillwater?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm. I'm not. I. Like a sport. A sparkling water or like a soda water, but I can't drink it anymore because my wife's got one of those machines that makes the water fizzy.

[James Acaster]

Yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And she now only drinks that. She can't. She does not drink still water. And it's. It's become such a difficult thing for me in my life because I think it just makes everything complicated. And so I get a bit of a. Like, a negative reaction whenever I hear the sort of bubbles go up.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Because your wife's addicted to sparkling water, essentially.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, it's. I don't know if she's addicted, but, like, it's just awkward. Like if we're watching something, watching a film, watching tv, and she goes, I'll just get a glass of water. That should be 10 seconds.

[Ed Gamble]

So quick. She doesn't even need to say it, really.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It should be. She should be like. Don't pause it.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Is that why she was trying to get to the boiler? To try and make it sparkly?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah. She wants to bath water sparkling.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I want.

[James Acaster]

How can I get. How can I make boiler water sparkling? If you put a flag in the way.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

I don't know. And we might have talked about this before, whether I'd like to bathe in sparkling water or not.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You wouldn't.

[Ed Gamble]

Wouldn't I?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Why would you?

[Ed Gamble]

Because of all the bubbles around my intimate areas.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay.

[James Acaster]

Could feel nice.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Bath bomb.

[Ed Gamble]

Bath bomb would do it, but then you'd. Because really, you're supposed to throw the bath bomb in, let it dissolve, and then you get in. Right. So you have to get in, get the bath bomb, and immediately hold it to all of your erogenous.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Here's what you need, Ed. In my opinion, this is what you need.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And look, all I am is a humble. The humble proprietor of a Hubble talk show.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And a humble comedian putting on a humble tour.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

In Prague. Well, here's what I'd say to test the water. Literally, get in the bath, drop in a barocca.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Around your intimate area.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It will be a bit orangey.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But then at least you can get a sense of. Do I like where this is going?

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And if you do like where that's going, then you follow it all the way to its logical conclusion.

[Ed Gamble]

Pop the baroka up the ass.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Putting a fuck ton of barocca in there. I mean, a healthy old bath.

[James Acaster]

Would you do that? Before you got it, would you load your. Your anus up with, like, barakas?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I didn't say anus. I want to make that clear. Ed said.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, but would you do that? Like, would you maybe before you get in the bath, load yourself up with baroccas up the butt.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Clench your cheeks.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Get in the bath. Don't unclench until you're ready.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

And then let the water in.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

I mean, with the water go up here, or would the baroccas fall out and then the fizzing starts. When does the fizzing start there?

[Ed Gamble]

I think fizzing starts immediately.

[James Acaster]

Immediately.

[Ed Gamble]

I don't think they're falling out, really.

[James Acaster]

I just don't know if when I go in the bath, the water goes up my butt. I don't think it does.

[Ed Gamble]

No, that's true. You'd have to spread and swish, I guess.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, spread and swish.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah. Spread and just release them like fishes with their eggs.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You would be like a fish with their eggs, Ed, if you did this, you should always be able to.

[Ed Gamble]

But then I guess you're still getting the bubbles around them.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I suppose the problem with this is it's not an issue, per se, but I go into a bath mainly to relax. I think it's a relaxing thing. I don't know how relaxed I'd be if I had to cle my butt cheeks to the extent that barocca couldn't. Couldn't leave them.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That would be, like, in terms of my relaxation, that would make the bath a sort of lateral move.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

But. Because when I have a baraka, I feel so energized. Right. I love a broca.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. It makes me feel amazing.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Good.

[Ed Gamble]

But imagine how energized you'd feel if one was up your butt.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Because that's what people do with drugs, isn't it? Sometimes?

[James Acaster]

Yeah, it is. That's a. Smuggle them, isn't it? Or do they put them up there? Enjoy them.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's a quicker. I think it gets gets into you quicker, your system quicker. I don't know if the same would be. If it would be with a barocca.

[James Acaster]

Surely. Surely it would. That's the way to your system.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm willing to commit to this as a. As a theory.

[Ed Gamble]

Stevie Nicks, where someone blows cocaine up her butt, because I think. I think she maybe had, like, a deviated septum or something, or like a problem with the.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Oh, is that right?

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. So she couldn't get it in through the nose. So she had an assistant to blow it up a butthole.

[James Acaster]

I'd never heard that with a golden straw is what I heard. I think that makes it easier for the person who's got to blow. It just feels fancy through the straw. I think I would rather if that was me having to do that. Even if it is Stevie Nicks, a big celebrity. I would still rather the straw was golden. Make me feel like what I'm doing is less sad than if it's just the stripey straw from McDonald's or something.

[Ed Gamble]

And Sue Perkins once had a shame and blow raspberry vodka wrapper.

[James Acaster]

That's true.

[Sean McLaughlin]

All valid points.

[James Acaster]

We broke that news story on this podcast. Did you became national news.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Wow.

[James Acaster]

So something you, you say could become national news on this pod. Remember that? Benito has now asked us to say that the Stevie Nicks thing is rumored.

[Ed Gamble]

It's an urban myth.

[James Acaster]

It's an urban myth. It's an urban myth is what he would like us to say. He also, earlier on wanted me to say that the band Keen would be clamping over each other to get in the jungle because they're quite keen. He mimed it at me, he mouthed it at me to try and get me to say it and I ignored him. But now that we're giving him this platform to say about the allegedly stuff, I should probably say he also wanted to make a king pun earlier. Okay, well, now he's saying that he didn't want me to say it. He just wanted to make the joke to me, which I don't know why he would inflict that on me.

[Sean McLaughlin]

This is exactly what the Sean MC talk show feels like.

[James Acaster]

Me talking to Benito.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

So you've ripped us off.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah, big time. Let's. Let's circle back here.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

To the. To the sparkling water bath.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes, please.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That must be an option in some hotel. There must be a universe where this.

[James Acaster]

Isn'T crazy in Dubai or something.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, yeah. A really Fancy Hotel in 6 star hotel you can get a sparkling water bath. I'm sure actually most hotels you could probably request it. If you pay for it, they'd probably do it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Most hotels. Most hotels, I think over a certain price threshold. I don't think a Travelodge are doing that.

[Ed Gamble]

I think they will. If you say, can you buy however many litres of sparkling water and fill up my bath for me?

[Sean McLaughlin]

They don't even give you wi fi.

[James Acaster]

You have to barter with them. Yeah, but I'm sure there's a. Yeah. A price that they would go okay, we'll do that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's an episode of the Apprentice I would love to see. Yeah, yeah. Which one of you could get the most out of a travel lodge? Like receptionist?

[James Acaster]

Bath wise, there's probably some listeners thinking, like, aren't you just describing a Jacuzzi? But we're not.

[Ed Gamble]

We're not.

[James Acaster]

It's different because it's small.

[Ed Gamble]

The bubbles aren't propelled by jets, they're propelled by science.

[James Acaster]

Pop ups or bread.

[Sean McLaughlin]

We'll have. I'll have some bread, please.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

No disrespect to the poppadom.

[Ed Gamble]

No.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But I love a nice bread. I actually try and stay clear of bread a lot. It's one of those things I try not to have that much of.

[James Acaster]

Why?

[Sean McLaughlin]

That just clogs me up a bit. And also it's one of those things I'll just keep eating it.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So I'd rather be a bit. I'd rather keep my distance.

[Ed Gamble]

But it's a shame about bread really, isn't it? Because bread. Bread was all the rage when we were younger.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Oh, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

No one was worried about bread. And then at some point, bread got canceled.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I used to eat like hot dog buns just as a snack.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Was that. Did anyone else eat those?

[Ed Gamble]

No, no.

[James Acaster]

I mean when it had a hot dog in it. Sure. Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, no, I used to get like. Like a. What they call, like the finger roll.

[James Acaster]

Is that what they're called?

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I just had four of them after school. I just have four of them. I just knock them back. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Just straight down.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I could. If I have kids, they'll never do that.

[James Acaster]

No.

[Ed Gamble]

It's sad.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah. Make that a rule in the house. No hot dog buns rule.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But, like, I'd have to. I'd keep an eye on it, you know, James, would you not.

[Ed Gamble]

Maybe one day when they're old enough, say, here's what your dad used to do.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

And get all the hot dog buns out.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, I'd like to think that if I said to my kids, here's what your dad used to do, it would be something a bit more substantial than just eating four hot dog buns. You hope so Maybe I'd show like.

[Ed Gamble]

Footage of me, the Sean McTalk Show. Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's why you're talking to me through plexiglass.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I do like bread, though. I do like a bread.

[James Acaster]

Do you want the four hot dog buns for your dream menu?

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, I do what I'm really enjoying. I would like a sort of middle Eastern flatbread.

[Ed Gamble]

Nice.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Like a Lebanese or like a. The Turkish ones, they have, like, little bubbles on them.

[James Acaster]

Right, Little bubbles.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm just to let you know, I'm.

[Ed Gamble]

Not going to take a bath in bubbly Turkish bread.

[James Acaster]

There you go. You set yourself up for that. You can't. You can't be angry at Ed.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm not angry. I'm angry at myself. I'm angry at myself for giving you the open goal. Yeah, no, I probably wouldn't have a bath of bread. I wouldn't have a bath of bread.

[Ed Gamble]

Fair enough.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. Okay.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'll let you know if I say anything that I will have a bath of.

[Ed Gamble]

But now I want to ask. Every time.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Your podcast, your rules.

[Ed Gamble]

Thank you.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But I'm not gonna. I don't. I don't know a lot of the technical phrases of bread. Do you know what I mean? Like, because the lemony, like some of the flatbreads, like the Middle Eastern frat breads, are very flat, but some of them are a little bit thicker and.

[Ed Gamble]

They have, like, little bubbles on them.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Kind of like how young pizza in a pizza oven has those big airy pockets.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Like that. I'll have a little bit of that.

[Ed Gamble]

You don't mean like a pit? Like a pitta?

[Sean McLaughlin]

No.

[Ed Gamble]

Not like a fresh pritter?

[Sean McLaughlin]

No. Well, maybe it's a type of pitter. I think it's called a bear. It's got. It starts with a B. The one I'm thinking of.

[Ed Gamble]

Look it up, Benito.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But if I would, I'd be able to have some hummus as well.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

So. Yeah, I think so.

[James Acaster]

Hummus. Dip it in.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I think that's. We're off to the races with this meal.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Whatever this bread is.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And hummus.

[Ed Gamble]

Just hummus. Or do you want an arrange of mezze?

[Sean McLaughlin]

The thing is, I always think I want an arrange of mezze, but I'm always like. I. You know, call me traditional, call me normal, but I just think hummus is the best one.

[James Acaster]

Have you seen the film Weapons?

[Sean McLaughlin]

No. Is this the new one?

[James Acaster]

Yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I was gonna go.

[James Acaster]

There's a scene in it that you would love because there's an aerial shot of. This isn't a spoiler for the film. There's an aerial shot of a meal that two of the characters are having together, and it's some carrot batons, a massive thing of what looks like hummus. And then four hot dogs in hot dog buns.

[Ed Gamble]

What?

[James Acaster]

And that's what they're eating while watching TV together. And it is just exactly what you've been describing, apart from there's no flatbread.

[Ed Gamble]

And they're so excited to have those hot dogs.

[James Acaster]

They're really excited to have them.

[Sean McLaughlin]

This sounds really exciting. So it's like, what are they watching on tv?

[Ed Gamble]

Absolutely. This is why this guy's a pro, professional food podcaster. Because no one else noticed that in the film.

[James Acaster]

It's a mad meal.

[Ed Gamble]

Mad shit happens in that film. It's crazy and it's scary.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's fusion cooking, right?

[Ed Gamble]

You're coming out of it going, carrot batons, hummus, and four hot dogs.

[James Acaster]

I thought. I just thought it was wild. When you see the overhead shot of that meal, you're like, no one eats that. That's not a meal for anyone where you have that many hot dogs. There's two people and they've got four hot dogs between them. But they've also put on some carrot batons and some hummus.

[Ed Gamble]

I think it's two hot dogs minimum if you're having hot dog night.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. But I would say, great, but don't, like, add in the dips. But then that's what Benedict 1 goes for immediately, is the dip. He dips the baton in the hummus. He has a lovely bite of it. They're watching a nature documentary at the time about parasites.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, this sounds like a great night.

[James Acaster]

Well, it's not. It doesn't end good that night. No, no, it's not a great night.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay.

[Ed Gamble]

It's almost immediately a terrible night.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, it's really bad. It happens in the day. Actually, it's in the afternoon.

[Sean McLaughlin]

How far into the film is this scene?

[James Acaster]

Probably about halfway through. Really?

[Ed Gamble]

I would suggest watching it from the beginning of the film. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[James Acaster]

But I would say what happens to them, I mean, is the worst thing that happens to someone in their living rooms into your talk show.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm talking about.

[Ed Gamble]

Bazlama.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Bazlama.

[James Acaster]

Ah, yeah. Directed the Great Gatsby.

[Ed Gamble]

That's perfect. If you had kids, that would be the joke. They'd be like, oh, shut the.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, shut up, dad. If I had kids, that's all I'd ever hear.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, shut up.

[James Acaster]

Shut up, dad. Disrespectfully. Yeah, Like. Yeah, it would be awful.

[Ed Gamble]

Here's what your dad used to do. Yeah, exactly the same thing.

[James Acaster]

None of us care. None of us care. Dad. Shut up.

[Ed Gamble]

Could we please talk about the consistency of various hummuses? What can I say?

[Sean McLaughlin]

We can.

[Ed Gamble]

So, obviously, the fun thing, the first time I Had hummus was probably supermarket hummus, which is thicker and maybe slightly chalkier than when you go and have hummus in like a Mediterranean restaurant where it's smooth, there's a lot more oil in it, which is an exciting proposition. Yeah. But sometimes I prefer a supermarket just because it reminds me of when I was young. Speak on that, Sean.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, first of all, can I say I'm genuinely touched that you'd open your heart up like that to me.

[Ed Gamble]

Happy to. I'm happy to open my heart up once again on the Sean Book talk show.

[Sean McLaughlin]

This is perfect. Yeah, I agree with you. I think supermarket hummus is like mainstream mass produced hummus is. There's a tang to it that I. I've never got that in, like a restaurant hummus. And I don't know whether the tang. I mean, probably someone who knows more about it would say that tang is a sign that it's bad.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But I quite like.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Am I. Am I explaining this correct?

[Ed Gamble]

Yes, there's something there. Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And there's a. There's a. There's a couple of Mediterranean, like, food places near me. As in like supermarkets.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Like big international food centers and stuff. And they'll sell like gallons of this hummus.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

For nothing. And me and my wife, on a Sunday, sometimes we'll go there, we'll pick up some of this bread whose name I forgot, and that's our day.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And what a beautiful marriage we have.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

This is what I promised her on our. On our wedding day.

[James Acaster]

And I've delivered a bucket of hummus. Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And some bread.

[Ed Gamble]

Your house just absolutely full of shit.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Just like a backdrop. A backdrop of a city you bought from Poland. Loads of equipment to film the Sean McTalk show and buckets of hummus everywhere.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah. If MI5 ever raided our house, they'd be like, what is this?

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Some sort of.

[Sean McLaughlin]

What is going on?

[Ed Gamble]

Horrible, illegal, like, porn video hummus, like, fetish thing.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, it does look like. I mean. Yeah, it does look shady, I suppose. There's lots of. Just food looking around. Loads of hummus.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Like cityscapes, they go, what are they planning here?

[James Acaster]

Yeah, cityscapes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, yeah, the backdrop.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah, sorry, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

So what do you want? Supermarket hummus. Do you want the hummus from the supermarket that you and your wife go to on a Sunday? Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Or any of the. Any of the mainstream supermarket hummuses will do me. I mean, they're all pretty good.

[Ed Gamble]

I tell you, when I'm. When I'm feeling really, really hummused up. I'll get the hummus with the hot lamb on the top. Where you get the bits. You get bits of lamb on top of the lamb? Yeah, baby.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, I won't get that.

[Ed Gamble]

No.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But I'm very happy that you're getting that.

[Ed Gamble]

Thank you.

[Sean McLaughlin]

This will be a vegetarian meal.

[James Acaster]

Yes, Leslie.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So, yeah, so the lamb I'll skip, but you eat the lamb and I'll. And I'll have the rest.

[Ed Gamble]

And no taramis. Latter for you either, because that's. That's not vegetarian.

[James Acaster]

Yes. No. So you can't have that. Yeah, before you ask.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay, good.

[Ed Gamble]

I had so much time. I've just been to Mykonos, the Greek island. Taramisalata every day. Feta every day. And let me tell you, every time I get Tara salata in Greece, I'm weirded out because it ain't pink, it's white. They put the pink in.

[James Acaster]

Oh, really?

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

That is weird.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's a clip.

[James Acaster]

Anytime you think something's a clip.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, tell us it's a clip.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Thanks.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Because we. We are quite new to the whole YouTube thing.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

They put the pink in. That's the clip.

[Ed Gamble]

Just that.

[James Acaster]

That's the clip. That's great.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

And that can be like the title of the videos. They put the pink in.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. Well, it would have to be.

[Hannah Berner]

Hi, this is Hannah Berner, co host of Giggly Squad. Let's be honest, we've all done things in our lives that may have just followed the crowd, like drinking matcha, even if you think it tastes like grass. Or pretending skinny jeans were actually comfortable. Have we been doing the same thing with zero sug? Last year, people across America took the Pepsi challenge. No labels, no bias. Judged on taste alone, 66% of participants agreed. Pepsi Zero Sugar tastes better than Coke Zero Sugar and Pepsi Zero Sugar won in every single market. Go out and try Pepsi Zero Sugar today. You deserve taste. You deserve Pepsi.

[Sleep Number / Grow Therapy Ad Voice]

Why choose a sleep number? Smart bed. Can I make my sight softer?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Can I make my site firmer? Can we sleep cooler?

[Sleep Number / Grow Therapy Ad Voice]

Sleep number does that cools up to eight times faster and lets you choose your ideal comfort on either either side your sleep number setting. Enjoy personalized comfort for better sleep night after night. And now during our President's Day sale, take 50 off our limited edition bed plus free premium delivery with any bed and base ends Monday only at a sleep number store or sleepnumber.com BetterHelp Online Therapy bought this 30 second ad to remind you right now, wherever you are, to unclench your jaw. Relax your shoulders. Take a deep breath in and out. Feels better, right? That's 15 seconds of self care. Imagine what you could do with more. Visit betterhelp.com randompodcast for 10% off your first month of therapy. No pressure, just help. But for now, just relax.

[James Acaster]

Your dream starter.

[Sean McLaughlin]

My dream starter.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Is a lovely, humble omelette.

[Ed Gamble]

Okay. We've talked about omelets in the past.

[James Acaster]

Have you?

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, I forgot, I forgot that Sean is a omelette head.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I didn't want to mention it because I knew we'd had this chat.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And I was worried because I know you have, like, a secret ingredient, and I, and I was like, could it be omelette? That's not an agreement.

[Ed Gamble]

We would also. We would not pick something that we know someone likes and they might put on the menu. That would be pretty cruel.

[James Acaster]

Doesn't seem very sportsmanly of us.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, I agree.

[Ed Gamble]

Even though of all the people to deliberately pick something that they are going to choose to, to kick them out. It's you. It's you.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'll be. I'd flip this table instantly if you pick goblet.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

What's that? An ingredient for double omelet. Yeah. I'm, I, I, I eat omelets. I like omelets. And I, I've got a funny relationship with omelets because my wife is vegan, so there's no eggs in my house. Well, you have a vegan household.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm a vegetarian, so I do eat eggs and cheese, but only out of the house. So my treat to myself a lot of the time in my life is omelets. And I go and I travel a lot and I'll eat an omelet.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And I'll always pick it. Omelette. If it's on a menu, I'll pick an omelet.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But here's the interesting thing I have about omelets. Most omelets aren't nice. I think omelettes are tough to get right.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

When you've had good omelets.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. And you've had good omelettes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I've had a couple of good omelets.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. I've had a lot of stinkers.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And there's no rhyme or reason as to where they come from. It's nothing to do with price. It's nothing to do with location. But there's a place near me that I go out for omelets maybe a couple times a month. It's cafe. It's a Moroccan cafe. I mean, look, I'm sure it's come up on this podcast before. The Moroccans know their way around an egg.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, that exact phrase hasn't come up.

[James Acaster]

But has it not? No, no.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Take it from me, it's an amazing cafe. It's near where I live. I go there maybe once, twice a month.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Their omelet, they've got a thing called an avocado omelette. It's heaven on earth.

[Ed Gamble]

Okay, talk us through the avocado omelette. If the. If indeed, there are more details.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. Does sound like I'd say the most.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Interesting thing about the avocado omelette.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Avocado barely features.

[James Acaster]

Okay. Okay.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So that is interesting.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Well, what do you look for in a good omelette, first of all, because some people might be listening to this.

[Ed Gamble]

I've got thoughts as well.

[James Acaster]

And they've all got different images in their head. Every single one of our listeners going, oh, yeah, I know what he means by a good omelet, but do. Do they know?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, I don't know what they think. I mean, it's obviously. It's open interpretation.

[James Acaster]

Well, I'm asking you what you think.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. What do you think in terms of, like, how it's prepared or what it.

[Ed Gamble]

Looks like or the quality over.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Like, I flipped it like. You do it.

[James Acaster]

You. Come on.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, I've told you, I'm not good at describing food.

[James Acaster]

Well, bad luck.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay. I guess it's like roll. I guess it's like they've done it flat and then they've rolled. They've rolled it as they fried it with the ingredients built into it.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes.

[James Acaster]

What should it look like to you? Because, like, for me, for years, I thought omelets should basically, like, a good. Or just any omelette I'd ever had was, like, quite, like, dappled, like white and brown.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. With some color on the outside.

[James Acaster]

And now it's just like, it should just look smooth. Well, and.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

And yellow.

[James Acaster]

And yellow.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

And it's like. Whoa, hold on a second. This is. This is what an omelet is supposed to look like for ages.

[Ed Gamble]

I know. I'm the same. The same. You know, home omelets.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

They've got color on the outside of them. Right.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I agree with you. I know exactly where you're coming from.

[Ed Gamble]

Posh omelettes, no color whatsoever. A lot of butter. But I prefer a home omelette. I don't want the smooth. The smooth omelette, to me, I know it's Fancier, but I don't want it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I know where you're coming from. The one I like is smoother.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But the quality of it in terms of how it looks. I don't know any other way of saying it other than kind of like a sleeping bag that's rolled up but made of egg.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I don't know what will.

[James Acaster]

Great way of describing food and who's.

[Ed Gamble]

In the sleeping bag.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

They have like a fried up mushrooms.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I think with a bit of garlic maybe on there.

[Ed Gamble]

Lovely.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Spinach.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Feta crumbled in. Now that is, I've never had that anywhere else.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Feta in an omelette, it's, it transforms the experience.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Rolled up. Nice. They put bits of avocado on the top.

[Ed Gamble]

Nice.

[James Acaster]

Okay.

[Sean McLaughlin]

They serve it with a little tiny salad. I think they drizzle it with like a bit of balsamic. And then you have two slices of brown toast.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And you have a Moroccan coffee and you feel like you can take on the world and 10 minutes later you have diarrhea. And that is what I do twice a week. Sorry, twice a month. But yeah, that's, I, I really love it and I love going there. I love the energy of the place. A lot of bus drivers in there.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And I, I, I was trying to think of what else to have, but really that's.

[Ed Gamble]

You love it. You've talked to me about omelets before. Then we, I thought we had quite a bracing conversation about how many eggs should be in an omelette.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And I'm none the wiser. Ed. No, because I also think they, sometimes, I think they pump the numbers on these eggs on the menus.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I think they're juicing that.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

They're saying it's a three egg or a four egg. And sometimes it's way less. Sometimes it's clearly more.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Do you know what I'm saying?

[James Acaster]

Because I think I've never been told how many eggs are in the omelette before. This is a new thing to me.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Only if it's on certain menus they'll say it's a three egg omelet.

[Ed Gamble]

And I think three is the received wisdom. Three, three egg omelette is like a normal sized omelet, but that's not enough for me. But sometimes four feels like too much. So I think we're going to need to find smaller, A smaller egg.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I think you need three and a half eggs.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. You need three and a half eggs.

[James Acaster]

Three and a half.

[Ed Gamble]

You need, you need Three.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Such an egg exist.

[Ed Gamble]

Three chicken, two quail. May I?

[James Acaster]

A couple of quails in there.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Don't know if I've ever had a quail's egg, so that'll be a real treat.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Do they fry up the same way?

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, they're just small eggs.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, they're just small eggs.

[James Acaster]

I lost my favorite omelette. It's gone off the menu.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Where's that?

[James Acaster]

Ozone. Place called Ozone. That's what I'd always get. I get the omelet with trout in it. Really good. So delicious. Not even on there anymore.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Is that a breakfast brunch thing or is that. Is that a dinner?

[James Acaster]

They just have it there all day.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[James Acaster]

But like. Yeah, I'd get it for like brunch or something.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Even lunch. I'd say it was my go to. I tried other things on the menu, but I'd always circle back to that omelette. My favorite thing on there. Last time I went there. Not even. Not even imprint.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's really. That's genuinely heartbreaking.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sleep Number / Grow Therapy Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I feel like the omelette needs a. The omelette needs. It needs a renaissance.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Because I think we're falling out of love with it.

[Ed Gamble]

You were going to suggest the omelette needs some sort of protection on menus. Like sort of National Trust, English Heritage type thing.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, I'm not opposed.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I would say there are probably other things in the country to sort out first.

[Ed Gamble]

Sure. But we can't do things like that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, we can't. No. I mean, the thing is, it's the free market. If people don't want omelettes anymore, they don't want them. But when they're gone, we'll miss them.

[Ed Gamble]

Do you think the name shout out spider crab omelette at mountain again. Obviously.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Shall I name the place I go to? Is it going to be inundated with people?

[James Acaster]

Yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's called the Lala Cafe.

[Ed Gamble]

Fantastic.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And it's from. And. And they're lovely, incredible people from Morocco run it. And those omelets. Bye. Bye. My.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. Now that you've named it, do you want to retract the comment about diarrhea? Yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

But you're not saying that's the omelette doing that. That's your intestines.

[James Acaster]

Oh, yeah. It's your.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, I mean, they haven't given me diarrhea. I've chosen. I've had it.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's not, you know, it's not cause and effect.

[James Acaster]

Hasn't been, you know, Your body. You know what's going to happen ye.

[Sean McLaughlin]

There every time anything enters this mouth. It has to be an option.

[Ed Gamble]

Well, maybe they'll be so happy that you've given them custom and shouted them out on the podcast that they'll change the name of the omelette.

[Sean McLaughlin]

To what?

[Ed Gamble]

Sean McDiarrhea Omelette.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Sean Mc Omelet. Imagine if all the little fans started going in there and going, can I have the Sean Mc Omelet, please?

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

They wouldn't know what the hell was going on.

[Ed Gamble]

No, they wouldn't, no.

[James Acaster]

But they'd be like, hey, there's bums on seats. People are coming in.

[Sean McLaughlin]

There's a lot of people coming in anyway. There's a bus depot across the room.

[Ed Gamble]

There's bums on seats. But they'd be off of those seats pretty quick.

[James Acaster]

All those bus drivers get pretty angry once, you know, it gets filled with off menu fans. Yeah. Cafe.

[Sean McLaughlin]

They're angry anyway.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah, fair enough.

[Sean McLaughlin]

They're always putting on bets and they never win.

[James Acaster]

Someone's been listening while he's been wolfing down an omelette. An avocado omelette. Just wolfing, wolfing it down.

[Ed Gamble]

Does your wife know you're going for those omelets?

[Sean McLaughlin]

My wife. This is a really interesting question, Ed.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

My wife hates that I go for omelets and I actually do have to hide it from her because she's always like, how much did that cost? Always. And now I don't tell her I'm.

[James Acaster]

Going, just say how much it costs.

[Ed Gamble]

Well, so she's worried you're spending too much money on.

[Sean McLaughlin]

My wife seems to have this idea in her head that an omelet costs like 500 quid.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Because she's worried about like the financial ruin of our future.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Because she's like, oh, you're going out for breakfast. I go, I'm spending nine quid.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

On an omelette. Maybe once a month. Once a fortnight. Well, you got me back. Bank to rights. Fair enough. That's how you want to talk.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But that's what, 80 quid a month? Yeah. Yes, fine.

[Ed Gamble]

That's fine.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. How much you spending on cityscapes? I mean, she must have asked you that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It was. It was more than 18 quid.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, it was a one off cost.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It was a one off cost. However, since going twice a month, I will admit, James, toilet paper costs through the roof of my house.

[James Acaster]

Absolutely.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Roll costs through the roof.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So it evens out. But, yeah, my wife doesn't know, I go. But actually, we did have to have quite a serious conversation. Probably the most serious chat we've had as a couple. When I was like, you do have to just let me eat omelets from now on. Like you. I can't, babe. I can't be keeping these sort of secrets from you. It's killing me.

[Ed Gamble]

It's like you're a sex addict and you've had to go, I need to go and sleep with other women, honey.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And the weird thing is most omelettes I don't like. So it's a weird thing to think about that.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. I think this is a great start of the avocado omelette.

[James Acaster]

I like it.

[Ed Gamble]

Would you like a little Moroccan coffee with it as well?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, I love a coffee. Yeah, I'd love a little coffee.

[James Acaster]

I think you should have the full setup that you would usually have at Lala.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I don't think I'll have a. I don't think I'll have a double. I won't have the toast, if that's okay. Cuz I've already got bread.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[James Acaster]

Your dream main course. Let's see if can we can keep the hits coming.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Thank you. I'm going to choose. It's. It's. It's a cuisine.

[Ed Gamble]

A whole cuisine.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, it's not a whole cuisine. I'll explain why. But it's basically, there's a type of food that has gone up and up and up in my rankings.

[Ed Gamble]

So this is part of the curve. This is the curve up from.

[Sean McLaughlin]

This is the biggest example of the curve of the nation.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Coming through me.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

This is the biggest example of the curve of the nation. Coming through you.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. That's what we're saying.

[Ed Gamble]

That's the phrase. That's the clip.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Can't believe I'm saying that again today. I. I will order now as like a takeaway or if I get a chance to eat this. This type of food.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Ethiopian food.

[Ed Gamble]

Nice.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Yes.

[Ed Gamble]

Delicious for veggies and vegans. You've got to say it's. It numbers amongst the best cuisine.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, I think it's now for me and my wife, certainly at the moment, it's definitely number one.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Like, if I'm getting a takeaway, I go Ethiopian.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And it's interesting because I didn't even heard of this food until about five years ago. But what I really love about it is every Ethiopian restaurant I've been to in the world, and I've been to Ethiopian Restaurants in two countries.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, so have I.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Which countries?

[James Acaster]

Holland.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Wow.

[James Acaster]

And the United Kingdom.

[Sean McLaughlin]

United Kingdom and Canada. So there we go.

[James Acaster]

There we go.

[Ed Gamble]

Just the United Kingdom.

[Sean McLaughlin]

They always have a thing on it called a veggie plate or a veggie platter. Every single one I've been to has always had that. And no matter where you are, you order it and it's always the exact same. And that's what I would like as my main. My main.

[Ed Gamble]

Talk us through the platter.

[Sean McLaughlin]

This is the interesting thing about it. I don't know any of the meals are. I don't know why any of the foods are actually called on it. Yes, that's why it's.

[James Acaster]

Do you know what the. Is it on the injera bread?

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's on injera bread.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. Orangeer bread's on the side. Potentially.

[James Acaster]

You want it all on top.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You've got to have it on top. You do have it on top.

[James Acaster]

And some rolls on the. Yeah. Really good restaurants, they come over and go, do you want some extra bread? And they bring it up all rolled up. Well, that's what I like to tear into that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Or I can use some of my Turkish bread from earlier. That might be nice as well.

[James Acaster]

Crossing the cuisines.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, yes, basically it's a bunch of, like, vegetarian curry type things. I guess that's what they are. They're kind of curries. Yeah. Do you know if they are stews or.

[Ed Gamble]

Stews?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. And I mean, look, as I've said, I don't know what any of them are called, but there's like a yellow one.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's got like. I guess it's split pea or something.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

There's a couple of lentil ones. There's like a red one and a brown lentil one. There's a couple of green ones. There's loads of these. And they're just.

[James Acaster]

Are they all. I mean, some of them. Because some of them are like, you know, have the consistency of like a dahl, maybe.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

But then others are like, you know, shredded up like. Like, I guess cabbage or cabbages maybe.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I think kale.

[James Acaster]

Or is it like a carrot. Sliced carrot one as well? It's very nice.

[Sean McLaughlin]

There's loads of stuff in there. Yeah. And I think that when they're like more carrots, when they're like thicker carrots and potato stuff, a lot of the time they feel pickled, which is a really nice taste. You don't get that very often with cuisine that spicy. But I love this food. I love this Food. And you know what I like most about it is curry is probably my number two.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, probably.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It was close. But here's why I like this more than curry. Yeah, It's, I think, a lot healthier. And it still scratches that itch of like the aromas and the spice. That warm hit in your mouth. Yeah, I feel alive. I love. I love that feeling. But I like eating with the injera.

[Ed Gamble]

The bread is so good.

[James Acaster]

It is good. Do we.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Are we happy calling it bread? I mean, that's my only complaint.

[James Acaster]

Well, that's what I mean. What would you suggest?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, I don't know if it's bread. Is it? It's nice.

[James Acaster]

I mean, it must be. It's a sour, spongy flatbread.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, if that's a bread, then my T shirt is bread. That's all I'm saying.

[James Acaster]

Interesting.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's all I'm saying.

[James Acaster]

You got a sour, spongy T shirt.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I certainly do, yeah. And it goes. Well, he doesn't look after these. They're called watts. Well, there we go.

[Ed Gamble]

Which doesn't help you because you don't know what they are.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, so.

[Ed Gamble]

So this is like. This is like who's on first?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, it's like an even more infuriating real life version of who's on first.

[Ed Gamble]

What's all this?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yes, yes, yes. What's all this? No, I mean, what.

[Ed Gamble]

All this.

[James Acaster]

What, for the listener, that's a. Like an old timey American accent. You're not doing an Ethiopian accent?

[Ed Gamble]

Oh, no, no. That's an old timey American accent.

[James Acaster]

Just for the listener.

[Ed Gamble]

If. If I wanted to do anything accent, I'd nail it.

[James Acaster]

Ed's very good at accents.

[Sean McLaughlin]

How thick are your listeners? Well, that they could possibly think that was an Ethiopian accent.

[James Acaster]

You're about to meet a lot of them in your local cafe.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You.

[James Acaster]

You tell us.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, yeah, I guess.

[Ed Gamble]

Do you have a restaurant in London that you go to, you've been to multiple times?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, we've been to a few, but there's one in Brixton Hill called Adams that I would say is as good as anywhere. And if you live in South London, Adams in Brixton Hill. Biggest, most firm shout out of my life.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Order the veggie plate. Veggie, whatever it's called.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Vegan, brilliant. Comes with loads of injera. It's like 15 quid and it's like three days worth of food. They're so generous with the portions. And there's another one in Stockwell. I think it's called Herre. That's Eritrean. But I believe Eritrean and Ethiopian is kind of the same. I understand. I don't understand the full geopolitics.

[Ed Gamble]

I've been to one. There's one in Brixton Village, isn't there? There's an Ethiopian restaurant, Brixton Village, east of Eden.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

That's really good.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Shut down. I think I might have shut down. Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. Because there was one in Brixton Village that I was like, we live around there. Yeah. I just, like, go there loads.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That was a great place.

[James Acaster]

I didn't survive the pandemic.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah. They. The one in Stockwell. I went there, my wife, for a nice lunch.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And they gave. They were so nice. And they gave us a. They each gave us a glass of barley wine at the end. And if you go there, enjoy the food, they'll offer you barley wine. Say no. Because they don't tell you. Oh. Just FYI, you're not gonna be able to function for the rest of the day if you have even one sip of this.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

You're hammered.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You just. I was just. Honestly, we were falling over the place. But it's a. I mean, that's my. I think that's. That's the food I go for at the moment and I'd love that to be my main course.

[Ed Gamble]

I think that's a fantastic choice.

[James Acaster]

Thank you. I've never had an Ethiopian meal and not left completely full to the rafters. I feel so full up in a very good way.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. It's not. It's not like a heavy cloggy. Like, I do compare it to a curry, I guess, which maybe is not a direct comparison, but it doesn't have that same guilt afterwards. I can still do stuff the bread.

[Ed Gamble]

I just can't stop eating as well. I think it's the sour flavour that makes it totally addictive. Like it makes your mouth water.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, it's really good.

[Ed Gamble]

And you eat with your hands. Yeah, I do.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Like.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I always think, I don't want to eat. I can't be bothered with the Angera. And then the minute it's there, I think it's perfect.

[Ed Gamble]

And you're basically eating the plate.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, you're eating the plate.

[Ed Gamble]

And I think More Cuisine should introduce this.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Edible plates.

[Ed Gamble]

Edible plates, yeah. It would save them washing up every time.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

The Greeks would struggle, culture wise.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, the whole thing is they throw their plates on the ground.

[Ed Gamble]

So, yeah. That's the whole thing.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Wasted the meal. Throw a whole chicken Down.

[James Acaster]

They can still do that, but I'll lay on the floor and confront it to my mouth. Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Would you go to Greek restaurants, more or less, if they demanded that you lay on the floor and they threw the food into your mouth? James. You go for it once.

[James Acaster]

Go for it once and see how I feel about it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Put the pig in.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Have you ever been? I've never been to a Greek restaurant where they smash plates.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I've been to a Greek restaurant where I smash plates.

[James Acaster]

No, I don't think I have any Bali wines again.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Oh, God. Knocking me out. No, I don't think I have. Is that a real thing?

[Ed Gamble]

I think it is, but I don't know. I don't think it's. It's not very widespread anymore.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's a strange stereotype to be untrue. The Greek smash plates.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

No, I don't.

[James Acaster]

I don't.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I guess they're all weird in their own way.

[Ed Gamble]

I don't think it's untrue, but I think maybe the UK perception, because they used to do it a lot in the 80s and 90s series that. That happens at every Greek restaurant.

[Sean McLaughlin]

What were they doing? How plentiful were these plates?

[James Acaster]

It probably happened once and someone, some Tory wrote an article about it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's probably on Only Fools and Horses or something, and people thought, oh, that's what they all do.

[James Acaster]

Probably was, actually. There's a lot of that kind of stuff smuggled into Only Fools.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Hannah Berner]

Hi, this is Hannah Burner, co host of Giggly Squad. Let's be honest, we've all done things in our lives that may have just followed the crowd, like drinking matcha, even if you think it tastes like grass or pretending skinny jeans were actually comfortable. Have we been doing the same thing with Zero Sugar Cola? Last year, people across America took the Pepsi Challenge. No labels, no bias. Judged on taste alone, 66% of participants agreed. Pepsi Zero sugar tastes better than Coke. Zero sugar and Pepsi. Zero sugar won in every single market. Go out and try Pepsi Zero Sugar today. You deserve taste. You deserve Pepsi.

[Sleep Number / Grow Therapy Ad Voice]

Was January supposed to be your big fresh start? Well, sometimes the pressure to fix everything at once just can leave you feeling stuck. Growtherapy makes it easier to reset at your own pace. With therapy that's covered by insurance and built around your life, you can search by what matters like insurance, specialty, identity or availability and get started in as little as two days. And if something comes up, you can Cancel up to 24 hours in advance at no cost. Whatever challenges you're facing, grow Therapy is here to help grow. Accepts over 100 insurance plans, including Medicaid in some states. Sessions average about $21 with insurance, and some pay as little as $0, depending on their plan. Visit growththerapy.com acast to get started. That's growththerapy.com acast growtherapy.com acast availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.

[James Acaster]

So for something that's big, though, what's your dream side?

[Ed Gamble]

Well, that's the thing, because you basically got all your sides there as well. Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. I mean, this is it. I wouldn't say it's a cohesive meal in the same way, but it probably would work as long as you accept that maybe there'd be some left over. But I really want to have. Have just a lovely bag of fish and chip chips. Like Chippy Shop chips?

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Like really well done in a bag. I guess that's a side from the.

[James Acaster]

Back to be made of injured bread.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I can't think of anything worse than that.

[James Acaster]

Okay.

[Ed Gamble]

You don't want to eat the bag?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I don't want to eat the bag? No, I don't want to eat the bag. I just want a paper bag.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Like a standard paper bag.

[James Acaster]

Egg.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And they. They pile them in there and I walk around with it.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So maybe it's not like a side.

[James Acaster]

You want to walk around with it. You don't want to sit down for this.

[Sean McLaughlin]

This is a big thing for me. I love eating fish and chip shop chips.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I love chippy chips. I. I eat them a lot, particularly in the winter months, but I always eat them when I'm on the move. I'm buying them in a shop and I'm walking somewhere. I'm going to the football. I'm going to the pub.

[Ed Gamble]

I can just imagine that, you know.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You don't have to imagine.

[Ed Gamble]

If someone said a comedian's walking around with a bag of chippy chips and it's cold outside.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

And he's going to the football, I'd be like, that's Sean McLaughlin.

[James Acaster]

Okay.

[Ed Gamble]

I don't know why.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I do think that's a compliment.

[Ed Gamble]

And also you're wearing fingerless gloves. In my. In my mind, when you're doing it, you've got a withnail character to you.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Do I?

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Actually imagine. And maybe it's just because you're both called Sean, but I can imagine Sean Walsh doing it as well.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

We both support the same football team. Maybe we're going to.

[James Acaster]

The boys used to live in Brighton.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[James Acaster]

Maybe It's a Brighton thing.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, There we go.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Maybe it is a Brighton thing. Eating chips. I've never thought about it.

[James Acaster]

It's big in the Brighton culture.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Fish and chips do you know, weirdly, I don't associate it with the beach. That's the thing with fish and chips. I don't associate. I associate it with like, be like urban areas and walking around. Yeah, there's something in the winter. Do you do this? I mean, this must be a semi common thing that people do. They just buy a bag of chips and walk around.

[Ed Gamble]

I don't eat and walk.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You don't eat, walk ever?

[Ed Gamble]

No. It's a waste.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Of what?

[Ed Gamble]

Both things.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay, good answer.

[Ed Gamble]

I can't enjoy either of them.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Do you do this jobs?

[James Acaster]

I've definitely eaten and walked, but I would rather sit. I. If I got some fish and chips in the chip shop, I think, and we're out for the day, I'm looking for somewhere we can sit and have them.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, if you're getting them. If you're having cod.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

You're not walking around.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's a tough. That's a tough walk.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's tricky, isn't it? Yeah, but I'm talking just a bag of chips.

[Ed Gamble]

Sausage isn't a tough walk.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, but I'm. I don't.

[Ed Gamble]

I'm just thinking of things that you could walk with from the fish and chip shop.

[Sean McLaughlin]

There's a lot of things that aren't a tough walk.

[Ed Gamble]

Go on.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Was this a walking podcast or is it a food podcast?

[Ed Gamble]

It's both. Now, you're the one who's ordered.

[James Acaster]

You've got crossover appeal.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, you do. I really? Yeah, I guess. I mean, I wouldn't have a sausage because I don't eat sausages.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But I'm more than welcome. If you want to have a nice walk with me, you can have a little sausage and chips.

[James Acaster]

Where's the walk happening? Where are we walking?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Oh, we'll walk from my place to a pub. Stay. Let's say it's early December. It's Christmas, Go to the pub.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, this is.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's. Usually it's. I'm on my way to having some drinks. I really want to line my stomach in a cheap, easy way. Fish and chip shop, get the bag, even a small chips, they load them in.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And there's something in the winter, when I'm holding that bag, it's like a furnace. If it's cold, it's like a little furnace. Don't you think?

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And I'm throwing like hot coals down by and it hurts. Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

And there's like the, the steam from your breath and the steam from the chips.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's. It is tough.

[Ed Gamble]

It's burning your fingers. It's tough.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's a tough walk. Yeah. Because I picked up the chip fork. I've never used one in my life. No, I've never. Not picked.

[Ed Gamble]

You don't know how to.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I like how to use one of those.

[James Acaster]

I love using the chip fork.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Do you? Yeah, the, the. The. The wooden one. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

They're too small though, right?

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah, too small. But I still like using them. But then often, you know, if you get really good chips that you've changed them in vinegar and stuff, you're probably not picking up much. No, it's going through them.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But I really find that a very evocative thing. I find it's very. That's a nice treat that I give myself every semi regularly.

[Ed Gamble]

Once or twice a month.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Just once or twice a month.

[James Acaster]

As your wife had to sit you down and ask about how much is spending on chips each month.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, I'm sure she will after listening to this. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure that. I mean, it's. It's in. It's in the horizon.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But it's a nice thing, I think. The fish and chip shop, the traditional chippy. My childhood, that was the first thing I was allowed to do on my own, was go and buy fish and chips to the family.

[James Acaster]

First thing you're allowed to do on your own?

[Sean McLaughlin]

On my own as in terms of leaving the house and doing something. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I just love it.

[James Acaster]

Is that a big day?

[Sean McLaughlin]

And they said, sean, it was a terrifying day.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

They just gave me money. When you're getting fish and chips. Yeah.

[James Acaster]

What?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm 17.

[James Acaster]

17.

[Ed Gamble]

Have you seen.

[Sean McLaughlin]

No. I was a kid. I was like a little boy.

[Ed Gamble]

I've almost certainly brought this up on the POD before, but have you seen the Japanese TV show Old Enough? I think it's called Old Enough, something like that?

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, I've not scored.

[Ed Gamble]

It's on Netflix. So many short episodes. And it's. They basically send a tiny kid out to do the shopping or to do an errand, and they film them secretly along the way.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Oh, it's like a documentary?

[Ed Gamble]

Well, no, it's more. It's like a game show, really.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay.

[James Acaster]

But the kid is like. Kid knows they're being filmed, but doesn't know where any of the cameras are.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Wow.

[James Acaster]

There's like yeah, that's like. Yeah, like consent Consensual Truman Show.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Like gardeners with, like, cameras in the lawnmowers and stuff.

[Ed Gamble]

It's basically a little kid being, like, with a list of things to do and they're like. They're like four. Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And we have to see if this kid, if they manage it, how they.

[Ed Gamble]

Can manage it or how much they fuck up is the best bit.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

There's a devastating episode where a kid gets his mum, lives right at the top of the hill, and he manages to get these apples and he gets halfway up the hill and they all fall out the bag and roll all the way down the hill. It's the most tragic thing I've ever seen.

[James Acaster]

It's gripping.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, that sounds great. I really want to watch this.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, you should.

[Sean McLaughlin]

There were no mishaps like that when I went to get fish and chips.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I remember once I went in there and the two pound coin had just been launched and the. The woman gave the guy change.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And two pound coin. And the guy was. I'm not accepting that. And it was Friday night, it was packed out. This cube was packed.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And the guy went, I'm not taking that two quid. It's not real money.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And she said, it is real money. And he went, I'm not taking it. And everyone was. It was across the whole line, two pound coin. So that's. That's the closest. There was an incident when I was getting fish and chips, but I knew that. I knew the couple around the end.

[James Acaster]

Taking the two pound coin.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I don't believe he did.

[Ed Gamble]

No, no.

[Sean McLaughlin]

She had a few knocking around.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So, yeah, it was a popular. It was a popular night.

[Ed Gamble]

You know, I loved it when the two pound coin came in.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Hell of a coin.

[Ed Gamble]

Hell of a coin.

[James Acaster]

Hell of a coin.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Hell of a coin.

[Ed Gamble]

I think they should have made that coin the one.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Can you imagine the confusion in the fish bar that night? Can you imagine? This is now £1.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

What?

[James Acaster]

I think they should have made the middle one spin.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

On the two pound coin.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Lovely.

[James Acaster]

Like a time turner.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I agree with that.

[Ed Gamble]

Like John Cena's title.

[James Acaster]

Like John Cena's title.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, like John Cena's title. That's what I thought they were missing.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, that would have been cool.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Middle one spun a bit. You could play with it then. That man probably would have said, yeah, I'll take that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I think the one pound coin should have just been a Game Boy.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That would have been fun as well, wouldn't it? Yeah, if we're, if we're talking about it. That's what I thought.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. I think it should have been a Game Boy as well.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. Why not?

[James Acaster]

Your dream drink.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I tell you what, I really like to drink, and it's probably a sign of how I've been living my life the last few years. The tiny bottles of red wine they give you on flights.

[James Acaster]

Oh, boy. This is the bleakest answer we've ever had to this.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Is it?

[James Acaster]

Yeah. We've done hundreds of episodes of this podcast.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Is that bleak?

[James Acaster]

I don't think we've had a bleaker answer to dream drink than the tiny little wines you get on planes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I love how I feel if I'm on a long, late night flight. Maybe I'm flying back across the seas.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And they bring around the trolley and I go, I'll have red wine. Sometimes they just give you two straight out the gate.

[Ed Gamble]

I asked for two.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You ask for two.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, there you go.

[Ed Gamble]

And you can't just ask for two.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Of course you can.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

They're not gonna shame you on the spot in front of everyone.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Shame doesn't enter my mind at this point.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But it's good to know the option is there to ask. Ask and you shall receive.

[Ed Gamble]

Right? Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So they always say.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's the British Airways motto.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. Yeah. They came up with that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. And I, I sit there and I. I guess it's the altitude. I don't know what it is. And I love drinking wine.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But for some reason, when I'm on a plane and I'm in that reduced space and it's a bit claustrophobic and the air is a bit different and I'm watching like Rush Hour 3 or whatever, get a bit of that wine. It just feels different.

[Ed Gamble]

I don't know why I like this.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm probably a bit tired.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You know, it's a late flight.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I don't think it's bleak. It's quite a nice little moment of, like, luxury in a pretty horrible, sterile environment.

[Ed Gamble]

See, I like long flights because you're, like, enclosed. You just get in your own little world, really, and you get little drinks and there's films and there's nothing. There's nothing you can do but just sit there.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. I mean, I, I'm now well past the point of enjoying them because I've, I've been. I mean, I, I've been traveling so much.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But that is like a real treat for me.

[James Acaster]

I mean, it's.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I, I Guess the drink is red wine. But specifically can it make me feel the way I feel when it's like 11pm and I'm like. And I'm in the air and so we've.

[Ed Gamble]

We've actually with. For this dream meal, you're on the move a lot.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah. Because I'm an active guy.

[Ed Gamble]

The. Cut the cup, first couple of courses. Well, I mean, do you want to go to the Lala Cafe for the omelette?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Sure.

[Ed Gamble]

Do you want the bus drivers there?

[James Acaster]

Oh, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I like the ambience. Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

And then you're going to Adam, was it Adams for the Ethiopian platter. And then you walk in with the chips.

[Sean McLaughlin]

This is really nice.

[Ed Gamble]

You walk into the airport bus drivers.

[James Acaster]

To give you a lift to the main course to Gatwick. Just from the. The starter to the main course of the bus. Drive one of the bus drivers to take you by bus.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's not that far.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. But then I'm just saying it adds a little thing. Done it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I guess it would be the bus.

[James Acaster]

And then you're walking with your chips and then you're getting in on a plane.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Ideally it would be one of the ones that hasn't just lost like 50 quid on the horses or something, because they don't. I don't trust them.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. We'll promise you a bus driver whose life hasn't just been devastated by his gambling addiction.

[Sean McLaughlin]

If you can promise that, then I'd be happy to take you up on that offer.

[Ed Gamble]

Okay.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Because I enjoy public transport as well, so that would be really nice for me.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

So you're hopping on a plane for this. Is there any particular red wine you'd like or is it whatever they've got on the plane?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Red wine? I guess it cuts their own. Is that. Is that good?

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Depends. I mean, it's all dependent, but depending on what. But where. Who's made it, where it's made the vintage.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'll have a good one. Yeah. House red, British Airways.

[James Acaster]

How likely are you get a good one?

[Ed Gamble]

Sorry. Coke drone is mainly coke drone. So it doesn't depend on.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's what I. I thought that. Yeah, sorry.

[Ed Gamble]

Just clear that up.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I thought you'd be. You're a big white guy, aren't you?

[Ed Gamble]

Not a big wine guy. I like it.

[James Acaster]

Is it you? You're a whiny.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

How likely are you to get a good one on a plane? That's genuine question. I've never had wine on a plane. I usually go for a cocktail.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Do you?

[James Acaster]

I Go for ginger ale and whiskey. So that's not really a cocktail. I'll make it. It's just a. Yes, well, that was.

[Ed Gamble]

The original meaning of cocktail was just booze and sugar, so.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Wow. I didn't know that.

[James Acaster]

So I'd do that on a plane. I just do have a ginger ale in a whiskey, please.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And then I. I like a red wine because it also helps you sleep. If it's an over. It will help me maybe snooze a bit. I mean, I. In theory, it's never worked, but that's partly because I'm too. Too tall for planes.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes.

[James Acaster]

Is it good wine? Because, I mean, I've never. They've never handed me a, you know, a lovely, lovely whiskey. It's just, you know, whatever they've got knocking around.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, I think it's probably. I think. I reckon the base standard of wine is higher than the base stand of whiskey across the board anyway.

[James Acaster]

Say.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Is that fair to say?

[Ed Gamble]

I think that might be.

[Sean McLaughlin]

A cheaper bottle of wine is always going to be a higher quality than a cheaper whiskey.

[Ed Gamble]

Do you want us to upgrade you on the flight?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I've been upgraded a few times recently.

[Ed Gamble]

Is it better wine?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I wouldn't know.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, I. I don't. When I get. If I'm in an economy premium and they go, would you like some wine? I go, can. For comparison. Can I have some of the one from the back as well?

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

I've actually never said that you should do that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. Now I know I can ask.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

I want two bottles, but I want one of them from economy and if they. One from business.

[Ed Gamble]

And don't tell me which is which. And I have to work it out.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

And I'll put on the sleep mask when you pour them.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Put on the king of queens for me, please. Yeah, put on the king of Queens. Any episode. Thank you.

[Ed Gamble]

In business class that is actually about kings and queens.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. Yeah. It's very different. Yeah. It's the crown.

[Ed Gamble]

Do you mean the crown, sir?

[James Acaster]

You must mean the crown.

[Sean McLaughlin]

He got upgraded today.

[James Acaster]

He doesn't know what it's called.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Oh, dear.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I don't know. Probably. It's probably not great wine, but I. There's something about that moment, the atmosphere. Because I don't enjoy traveling.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And all I do is travel. And I don't enjoy the. I don't enjoy it anymore. The planes, the airports that I find is like a real nice little island, mentally. You. I have my little wine.

[James Acaster]

This is for work. You're traveling A lot.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. And for. And for play. Oh, is that a. I mainly travel for work, but also my wife's from overseas. I travel to see her family a lot and. Yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Does that play? Like see your in laws and go, it's not work. He's up for a play.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. You figure, yeah, I'm here for play.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm here to play. I mean if those are the terms. Yeah, work and play. I mean if I'd have said for visitors, would you have taken that as an answer?

[Ed Gamble]

No. Because that's not grammatically correct, is it? You can't go, it's for visit.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So I say it's for play.

[Ed Gamble]

Pleasure.

[James Acaster]

Business or pleasure?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Business or pleasure?

[James Acaster]

I guess. Is that. Yeah, when you think about it, I mean that's. That, that's the phrase they would ask you. But that's as weird as my fat.

[Sean McLaughlin]

My in laws would ask me that.

[James Acaster]

Well, sometimes at the airport they ask you that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Oh yeah.

[James Acaster]

Business or pleasure. But like that, that's as weird as work or play. If they said to me, work or play, I think that was weird. But actually business or pleasure sounds really dirty. Sounds more perverted.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Pleasure then. Yeah, I go for pleasure and, and, but I enjoy my work. So it's all, it's all a pleasure.

[Ed Gamble]

Well, I've never answered that question with one or the other. If someone says business or pleasure, I'll always wink and say a bit of both.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Do you? No, I'm really glad you said that. You don't say that.

[Ed Gamble]

I might say a bit of both, but I wouldn't couple it up with a wink.

[James Acaster]

You gotta read the room.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

If you've got a fun person at customs, then you think it will fly and not hinder your trip.

[Ed Gamble]

Trip. Yeah.

[James Acaster]

And delay you.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Then throw in a wink. But you thought a bit of both.

[Ed Gamble]

Throwing. I'm winking in my passport photo as well, so it's actually quite helpful.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. He's got a little ting on his teeth.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It breaches all international law. Your basketball photo.

[James Acaster]

Do you ever get asked what your job is at customs and have to say, I'm a comedian and then brace yourself for any follow up questions?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, sometimes. Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Has any. Everyone ever asked you to tell a joke or anything?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, and I just delivered my full hour and a half long set. Two RAPTUROUS APPLAUSE yeah, yeah, yeah.

[James Acaster]

It goes really well.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It goes really well.

[Ed Gamble]

People come over, it's a great show.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm a good writer, I work really hard on my jokes. I, I don't think they Ask you that much, though. I don't, I don't get that question that often. Where do you get that?

[Ed Gamble]

America.

[James Acaster]

Us? Yeah, us. Well, yeah. First time I went there, yeah. The guy goes on, what are you here for?

[Ed Gamble]

What's your job?

[James Acaster]

Comedian? And he literally went, tell me a joke.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

And I was like, I, I, I don't really, like, do jokes on my set. And I, I can't. And my mind's gone blank. I can't think of one right now. He's like, why's your mind go blank? I was like, I, I think I'm a bit nervous. He was like, why are you nervous?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Wow.

[James Acaster]

And I was like, I cannot believe how badly this is going. I just had to say, I'm.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's the comedy balloon all over.

[James Acaster]

He had to say to him, I went, to be honest, mate, mate, I'm just quite an anxious person. And this is like, pretty full on. And he went, oh, okay. He, he realized he'd gone too far. He went, okay. I probably didn't need to do this to this guy. Okay, okay.

[Ed Gamble]

Well, you know what happened. I've surely told you about what happened to me when I went to the States for work, when I was making a TV show, and at customs, they said, why. Why are you here? And I said, I'm shooting a pilot.

[James Acaster]

Oh, my God. I've not heard that before. That is clean. We arrive at your dream dessert. We've been all over. You've been on planes, buses, which was not forced on you at all. You've walked around.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Thank you.

[James Acaster]

Eating your chips. Where are we now?

[Ed Gamble]

Are we off the plane now?

[Sean McLaughlin]

We're off the plane.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. Where have we landed? Where have we landed?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Probably my living room again.

[Ed Gamble]

Oh, directly in your living room.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, I guess we doesn't have to be.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, we'll figure this out as I say it. How about that?

[James Acaster]

Okay.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Because I've liked. You've. You've helped me lead. You've helped lead me on this nice little journey. Yeah, I. Sugar is my vice. If I have a vice in this life, it's probably sugar.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And you must.

[Ed Gamble]

You connect with that, though.

[James Acaster]

I do, but I don't think I'd phrase it like a Matt Berry character, but. Yeah, yeah. Sugar is my vice. If I have a vice in this life, it would be sugar.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm just, I'm trying to attract a sort of upscale audience.

[James Acaster]

Yes. I think it's nice. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I would say, yeah, absolutely. Sugar is my vice.

[Ed Gamble]

So you're trying to shoplifting.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

You're trying to attract a more upscale audience. And this is what you're doing with the Sean McTalk show, is it?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, it is.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And to be honest, my upscale audience attempts are going to be undermined by my choice of dessert.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Because.

[James Acaster]

And guests.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And guests.

[James Acaster]

Pelham ain't gonna help you out. Upscale audience. Get Palamon.

[Sean McLaughlin]

What was that you were saying about him being a popular guest on this show?

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah. We're not upscale.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Fair enough.

[Ed Gamble]

We're scum.

[James Acaster]

We are. This is a very common podcast.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Respect.

[James Acaster]

Thank you.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Good that you know yourselves.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Anyway, sugar. I like sugar.

[James Acaster]

Yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's the point I'm trying to make. And I try. I actually have to stop. I have to not have it around ever.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Because I will just. I'll just keep. It will keep going in there.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And it will send me crazy. And I. I really struggle to, like, resist. The minute I have one bit of chocolate, it's like it's over.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

So when you say it sends you crazy, does it send you crazy because you can't stop eating it, or does it send you crazy? Like, you know, is it stressing you out?

[Sean McLaughlin]

All of it, like, all. Any. Any description of it sends him crazy is what's happening. Like, I start talking different, I swear my eyes are darting even more than normal.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

You're chocolate crazy football, man.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Bad chocolate crazy football. What a great way of putting it, Ed. Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I can tell you two have been doing this a while, because you always choose the shortest path to anywhere. Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And so I was thinking, what do I want?

[James Acaster]

What do I want?

[Sean McLaughlin]

What do I need here?

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

What do I. If I really wanted to, like, indulge myself, what do I deny myself the most?

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And I sort of thought about big, fancy dessert. The honest truth is I just want a full packet of McVitty's Dark Chocolate Digestives.

[James Acaster]

What the hell?

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's what I want.

[James Acaster]

I thought we were heading somewhere really special.

[Ed Gamble]

Addict.

[James Acaster]

And I love it so much.

[Ed Gamble]

He means he's an addict. He just wants as many of something as possible.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But I also think a dark chocolate digested from McVitty's is as good as any fancy dessert.

[Ed Gamble]

Okay, that's weird.

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, it's not weird. You're weird. You shouldn't give me that digestive before. I don't think it's weird. I think it's nice.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I went to a nice French restaurant last week. French Renault.

[Ed Gamble]

That's French for French restaurant.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I went To a French restaurant last week and there was creme brulee ordered. I didn't order any because I tried to stay clear of sugar, but obviously people couldn't finish their creme brulee. And I was. I'll have a couple bites. Yeah, this is a nice. That's a fancy dessert.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, nice.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah, lovely.

[Ed Gamble]

And if you like sugar. Yeah, hello.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But it's not. I was like, this isn't as good as a dark chocolate digestive.

[Ed Gamble]

And did you tell the way to that?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, I did. Didn't know what I was talking about.

[James Acaster]

Very good.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's what he said.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, very good.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, it's good.

[Ed Gamble]

Was that Ethiopian?

[James Acaster]

Yes, for the listeners. That wasn't Ethiopian.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Just for the listeners. None of this has been. None of. None of the voices you've heard here have been Ethiopia. Do you know? I mean, I. I guess that is a weird choice, but it's like I have to be honest with myself. I. Once a year I'll allow myself to have a packet. A packet of dark chocolate digestives in.

[James Acaster]

My life because, like, for me, I don't have anything. Again, I like a dark chocolate digestive.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'll eat it.

[James Acaster]

But I would say for a sugar head, it's not even the best that you. Digestive. I'd say you gotta get the. The caramel, the one with the layer with the chamomile and the.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I knew. I figured you were going there.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But I suppose what I. I suppose what the dark chocolate digestive has. It does have nostalgic value for me because my grandma always used to eat them.

[Ed Gamble]

The dark chocolate one, the dark chocolate. The dark chocolate is not a choice. Because of your wife's veganism. No, you would have that. You would buy those as a matter of course, anyway. Over the milk.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I don't think they're vegan. I have a feeling digestives aren't vegan. How? Butter, probably butter.

[James Acaster]

Okay.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's what I think.

[James Acaster]

A buttery biscuit.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, it's not the most buttery biscuit, but it.

[Ed Gamble]

We're not allowed to say buttery biscuit anymore.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Why not?

[James Acaster]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Why aren't you allowed to say buttery biscuit?

[James Acaster]

Yeah, not allowed to.

[Ed Gamble]

You can probably say buttery biscuit, but don't add any other words to it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You can't say buttery biscuit.

[Ed Gamble]

You can say buttery biscuit, but don't add another word to it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Wait a minute. Why? What's happened here? Am I about to get kicked out? No, I know what you mean about salt. The caramel ones.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I just, I think a dark chocolate digestive. I guess there is a childhood warmth there. My grandma had them. I'd go, we'd go around her house. I'd be given a Mars bar. The adults would be sitting there eating dark chocolate digestives. I'd have been like, that's what they grown ups.

[James Acaster]

Oh, wow. They really tricked you with that.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, they really did.

[James Acaster]

You got a Mars bar. That's pretty lush.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, it's lush.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. And they've got dark chocolate. You're thinking, I wish I had those.

[Sean McLaughlin]

They didn't trick me. It's my own insecurities were. Were obvious from a very young age.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Very young age.

[Ed Gamble]

They could have tricked you more. You could have looked over and they're dipping like carrots in their tea and stuff.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, carrots in the hummus. That's where that comes from.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean I came from a very tricky family. It was like jackass. My God. Punching each other in the face.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Throwing custard down the cross, kicking each.

[Ed Gamble]

Other in the nuts.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Adorable.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Hence the barocca up the butt.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. Hence that.

[James Acaster]

Which was a story you told from your childhood earlier.

[Sean McLaughlin]

One of my favorite childhood anecdotes.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Are you dipping it in these biscuits? In anything? Or are you just power? How quickly could you power through a whole packet of dark chocolate digestives, do you think?

[James Acaster]

How many. How many are in a packet?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Wouldn't know. Guess.

[James Acaster]

But googling it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

20.

[Ed Gamble]

I'd say it's between. It does feel high, but I'd say between 15 and 20, I reckon.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Genuinely, if more than half the packet is still there by the time I've walked through my front door, I've done really well.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

As well.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm on the move.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Again.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. I want the run.

[Ed Gamble]

And you take.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You talk about being on the run. I'm on the run.

[Ed Gamble]

Are you taking bites or are you just posting in a whole biscuit?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Like a sea posting. Yeah, no, I'm. I'll take, I'll take a bite. I'll tip it in some tea. I'll have a cup of tea.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'll have some milk in the tea. Dip them in. Love that feeling. Living room.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Warmth. Cozy. Winter again. I really associate a lot of this stuff with like the cold, I guess. Cold, dark childhoods.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Like British winter months. I love it and I do, I do think for a mass produced product it's pretty artisanal. I think if the chocolate digestive did not exist. Did not exist. And some Someone invented it. It like a fancy name. A good chef. You know good chefs. Right. Harry Ramsden, Is he a good chef?

[James Acaster]

Yeah, the best.

[Sean McLaughlin]

If Harry Rams invented it, it's the.

[Ed Gamble]

Best chef in the world.

[Sean McLaughlin]

We'd be going crazy.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

They'd be like, how do we make the public. How do we make this more accessible to the public?

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I, I don't think we know what we've got with these things.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

I prefer a Hobnob.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yes. Interviews over.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Is it? Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Or a regular chocolate.

[Sleep Number / Grow Therapy Ad Voice]

Know. Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm over them.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. I'm steering clear of hob knobs.

[Ed Gamble]

Why?

[James Acaster]

I don't like the texture. It's all like. I, I, I feel like someone's, like taken all the sweepings from like a hamster hutch or something and made it into a biscuit.

[Ed Gamble]

I think you've been pranked.

[James Acaster]

I probably have. By the Jackass crew.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

The McLaughlin family.

[James Acaster]

Family jackass.

[Ed Gamble]

They made you eat hamster cage.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. How many biscuits we talking? This is a 260G packet, by the way.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's always how I judge the packets. By the way.

[James Acaster]

16 gets you right. Between 15 and.

[Ed Gamble]

Between 15 and 20.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Got it there. Got it there.

[Ed Gamble]

So you eat eight on the way home and then eight when you get home.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Surely I don't eat eight on the way home. But do I.

[James Acaster]

How far away is the shop?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Five minutes to co op.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Five minutes.

[Ed Gamble]

You're eating Maybe less. Surely it's two maximum on the way home, isn't it?

[James Acaster]

You're not getting, you're not getting anywhere near.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I've waited 12 months for this. Do you know what I'm saying?

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

I made it 12 months. I love that you did all of the. Every course is. You know how many times you'll have it throughout the year.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. Because I have to.

[Ed Gamble]

Once or twice a month is a treat.

[James Acaster]

We've never had a guest on who knows exactly how many times they have each course.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Is that true?

[James Acaster]

Yeah. Yeah. No, you're welcome.

[Ed Gamble]

Unless they pick Christmas dinner.

[James Acaster]

I have this twice a month. It's once a year.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I probably do have it once a year. I'll allow myself to do it maybe.

[James Acaster]

1St of December, and you'll have the whole pack. What if. What if you get home, you've had eight on the way home.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

You step in your door and your wife goes, I'll carve one of them. You're not gonna have the whole pack if you give that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, I think it's more the, it's more Having in the pack in my hands is the feeling. I'm a generous guy. I'm happy to share the morale.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm not a. You know, I'm not Scrooge McBiscuit.

[James Acaster]

What if you walk in and they're eight?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm sure McDuckshire. I'm not Scrooge McBisCuit.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, that'd be a stupid name. Scrooge McBisky.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, it'd be really stupid.

[James Acaster]

What if you change your talk show name to Scrooge McBiscuit? Just do it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Sales up.

[James Acaster]

It's not gone up. It's not gone on the Internet yet. You can still change it to Scrooge McBiscuit if you want.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Increase in viewers, decrease in morale. That's what I would say.

[Ed Gamble]

But you know what Scrooge McDuck did?

[Sean McLaughlin]

What?

[Ed Gamble]

He swam around in a bath of money.

[James Acaster]

Yep.

[Ed Gamble]

Would you have a bath of biscuits?

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Are you. Are you sponsored by, like, a bath company?

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Get on that, Benito.

[James Acaster]

Get on that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I would have a bath of biscuits, but only because of the biscuits. And I think actually my naked body being in contact with the biscuits would probably jeopardize them.

[Ed Gamble]

It depends if you get in the empty bath first and they poured the biscuits in or whether they poured a layer of biscuits on.

[Sean McLaughlin]

The idea of being naked in a bath and then going, right, you can pour the biscuits on me now. Feels like. And not even for charity. Like, what a sad day.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

What a sad life.

[James Acaster]

I don't want it to be digestive, so I think I'd take custard creams over that because they're smaller, so I think they'd cover you with, like, a bit more. Like, they wouldn't just, like, sit on top of you as much.

[Sean McLaughlin]

There's more dignity to a bath of custard creams than a bath of chocolate digestives.

[James Acaster]

I think people can see through the digesters a bit more because of how they're falling on you.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

And there's holes in them.

[James Acaster]

There's holes in them as well. Are they little holes?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Are there holes in the chocolate digestive?

[James Acaster]

Only little holes. We're not. The worst would be party rings. What if one just slotted over your.

[Ed Gamble]

Boy perfectly rename them glory holes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Doesn't bear thinking about.

[James Acaster]

I'm gonna read your menu back to you now and see how you feel about it.

[Ed Gamble]

I didn't like that joke.

[James Acaster]

No, I'm not, I'm not.

[Ed Gamble]

I'm not up his street, humor wise.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, well, we never have been. And the Poor guy. Absolutely devastated that this took off.

[Ed Gamble]

Now we've got him in golden handcuffs. He can't leave.

[James Acaster]

He can't leave. You're in golden handcuffs, mate.

[Sean McLaughlin]

There's a. There's a. There's a space goat at the Sean McTalk show, I'll tell you that. There's more than one space.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, that'll be.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That'll be more than one space left.

[Ed Gamble]

There's host. Do you need a host?

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Need a sidekick? Need a host, Need a guest.

[James Acaster]

What a surprise for your wife when she opens the boiling cupboard and bonitos in there. Yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

Boiling cupboard.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Boiling cupboard.

[Ed Gamble]

He's not a plumber, to be fair to you.

[James Acaster]

Airing cupboard.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's just a cupboard.

[Ed Gamble]

Boiler cupboard.

[James Acaster]

The boiler cupboard.

[Sean McLaughlin]

We have a boiling cup. We always keep one cupboard boiling in our house.

[James Acaster]

That's what I've got. Bonito.

[Sean McLaughlin]

We don't have a soda. We just have loads of electric radiators just going in there.

[Ed Gamble]

I'd love if you went to a spa and they went, would you like to step into the boiling cupboard?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, it is a boiling cupboard.

[Ed Gamble]

Sorry, it's my first day. I don't know the name.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, no one's explained any of these things to me. Still water. Yeah, you would like Baslama with supermarket hummus starter, avocado omelette and Moroccan coffee from Lala Cafe. Main course Ethiopian veggie platter from Adams side. Bag of chippy shop chips. Eat it on the go. Drink tiny bottle of red wine on a flight or two. Or two, if they will allow you dessert. A full pack of dark chocolate Moviti's digestion suggestives.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You know, it may not be the most expansive or cultured list, but I'm very happy with that. And I think that would be a nice. I think most people would enjoy that.

[Ed Gamble]

I think. I think you should be proud of that menu. I think there's some delicious things on there, and it told us a lot. Every course told us a little bit about your life.

[James Acaster]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Thank you, Ed.

[Ed Gamble]

And that's what this podcast is all about.

[James Acaster]

I think anyone you know who's new to the world of Sean McLaughlin knows exactly who you are now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think that's very clear.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's really good to know, man.

[Ed Gamble]

If you want to find out more, you should go and see Sean do White Elephant. Yeah. Or watch the Sean McTalk Show.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, when you say do White Elephant, that's the name of the show. That's not like. It's not what I. It's not we're not doing heroin. I'm doing a show.

[Ed Gamble]

The show's a heroin thing.

[Sean McLaughlin]

No. I don't know. But do White Elephant Feels weird.

[Ed Gamble]

Do we do his show White Elephant?

[Sean McLaughlin]

My show is called White Elephant.

[Ed Gamble]

I was trying to plug it, man.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I appreciate it.

[Ed Gamble]

It's quite aggressive.

[James Acaster]

Just trying to help you.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay.

[Ed Gamble]

And I'd say watch the Sean McTalk show, but there's absolutely no way it's ever making it online.

[James Acaster]

Not making it online. And let's face it, if it does, we're not gonna point you in that direction.

[Sean McLaughlin]

When does this. When does the recording start?

[Ed Gamble]

Thanks for coming in, Sean.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Thanks. Thanks, guys.

[Ed Gamble]

Loved that, James. What a chat with Sean.

[James Acaster]

Everything I hoped it would be.

[Ed Gamble]

Yes.

[James Acaster]

Quite frankly. Although I would have also liked him to pick elephants. We could kick him out. The dream. Yeah. But that didn't happen. But other than that, everything I hope to cut. I mean, my favorite bit, the wording wrong. But was like, if that. If that makes you feel good. I said that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

You like anyone being short or annoyed with me.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

As in being short with me. In conversation. As in you don't love anyone being short and people who are annoyed with me.

[James Acaster]

No, no. But like, I like the kind of like, yeah, somehow you're the one who's got under their skin.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, yeah.

[James Acaster]

You love that really makes me laugh because it's.

[Ed Gamble]

It shouldn't happen because you're the annoying one.

[James Acaster]

I'm actively trying.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, yeah.

[James Acaster]

So the fact that you've kind of, like walked into it somehow is really fun. And it normally happens with other comics because then you are actively trying to as well.

[Ed Gamble]

Sure. If I know them. I can't wait.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ed Gamble]

I can't wait to annoy them. Him go and see Sean on tour doing a show, white elephants. Sean McLaughlin, comedy.com For tickets and of.

[James Acaster]

Course, sorry, Ed was just saying hello to Benito because he. Benito was swatting a fly around his head and looked like he was waving and obviously. What? Sean McTalk show on YouTube.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah. Sean McTalk show. That's what it's called.

[James Acaster]

That's what it's called. We learned the name.

[Ed Gamble]

It was worth the reveal on air.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. I can see why you didn't want to tell us over text.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, yeah. We're assuming Sean McTalk show is now on YouTube.

[James Acaster]

If it's not, who knows?

[Ed Gamble]

It's gone very wrong.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, yeah. But you should demand it.

[Ed Gamble]

Kicked him out.

[James Acaster]

But you should don't, like, demand it from Sean. Demand it from YouTube. Yes, that. Where's Sean McTalk show? We thought this was coming out.

[Ed Gamble]

That's all you need to say.

[James Acaster]

Yeah. And hello, Sean, if you're. If you're listening as well.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah, hello. You didn't say elephant. Thanks, Sean.

[James Acaster]

Yeah, thanks, Sean. That's that, then, I guess. Well, Guy Benito's got to open the door. Get a fly out the room.

[Ed Gamble]

Yeah.

[James Acaster]

Take care of yourselves.

[Sleep Number / Grow Therapy Ad Voice]

Bye.

[Hannah Berner]

Hi, this is Hannah Berner, co host of Giggly Squad. Let's be honest, we've all done things in our lives that may have just followed the crowd, like drinking matcha, even if you think it tastes like grass. Or pretending skinny jeans were actually comfortable. Have we been doing the same thing with Zero Sugar Cola? Last year, people across America took the Pepsi Challenge. No labels, no bias. Judged on taste alone, 66% of participants agreed Pepsi Zero Sugar tastes better than Coke Zero Sugar and Pepsi Zero Sugar won in every single market. Go out and try Pepsi Zero Sugar today. You deserve taste. You deserve Pepsi.

[James Acaster]

Hello, I'm Amy Gledhill.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And I'm Harriet Kemsley. You might remember us from when we.

[Ed Gamble]

Were guests on Off Menu, where tried to find where I got seaweed mash and we had to call my mum.

[Sean McLaughlin]

And I talked about how my mum was worried that I might drown in my own body. That's cool. And we've got some exciting news. We've sorted your Valentine's Day plans again as we're doing a special live recording.

[James Acaster]

Of the podcast on Valentine's Day, aka Saturday 14th February.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yes, we've got a lovely venue. It's at the Underbelly Boulevard in.

[James Acaster]

In Soho, London.

[Sean McLaughlin]

We had so much fun at the.

[Sleep Number / Grow Therapy Ad Voice]

Last Valentine's Day show.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yes. And we both absolutely overshared.

[James Acaster]

Will we do it again?

[Sean McLaughlin]

You'll have to come along and find out.

[James Acaster]

Okay.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yes.

[Hannah Berner]

Yes, we will.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So that's Saturday 14th of February at Underbelly Boulevard. And you can get tickets on the link in our bio and our Instagram.