RHLSTP with Richard Herring

#503 Heckling Ken Dodd - Richard returns to the Lowry Theatre in Salford for the first time in four years. Last time he was here he talked to Jimmy Cricket and this time he is talking to Jimmy’s daughter, the comedian, actor and playwright Katie Mulgrew. They talk about the horrors of birth and whether an Oscar winning actor could do it, being mistaken for the captain of Star Trek Voyager by a German, partying with Little and ...

RETRO RHLSTP #83 - Burned Bunting - Richard hits comedy gold and finds the person with the perfect job to riff about for as long as an hour if he wishes, but he doesn’t wish to, as he has the multi-talented comedian, writer and actor Katy Wix to chat with.

They discuss clammy handshakes, horror car crashes, dragon-based misunderstandings, working with Dick and Dom, Princess Fergiana, Hattie Jacques, meeting Dire Straits, an 11-...

Book Club #96 - Not That I'm Bitter - Richard talks to comedy legend Helen Lederer about her honest, hilarious and sad memoir, Not That I’m Bitter and the joy of hitting the middle, overcoming youthful ambition and envy, why she wanted to be candid about all aspects of her life and loves (which she definitely is), the difficulty of making it as a comedian, but with the extra difficulty of being a woman in a...

#502 Divorce House Dirty Protest - Richard returns to Nottingham with some mind blowing research to prove which is the oldest pub in the city. His guests are husband and wife podcasters and performers Scott and Jemma Bennett. They discuss Scott’s monoball status and whether it should allow him into the club of real wombles, how Jemma felt when she discovered Scott’s deficiency, how Jemma literally edged her way into Scott’s lo...

RETRO RHLSTP #82 - Drifter Charger - Rich's daughter has made quite a radical life choice, but hopefully is a reincarnation of someone who will make the family a lot of money (if only we can prove it). This week it's a welcome return for one of the worst guests we've ever had on RHLSTP (and I am saying that because that's what he says about me on Pointless), it's the charmingly offensive giant, Richard Osman. Will Osman realise whe...

Book Club #95 - The Wager - Richard takes a Transatlantic call luckily in a time when it’s much easier to traverse the oceans, with David Grann the best-selling author and journalist, about his fantastic book The Wager - A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder. It’s an unbelievable and remarkable true story which has much to tell us about our history and the present day. David talks about what it’s like to work on a b...

#501 Thomas Tallis Fan Club - Richard is back in Nottingham, refusing to let his love of the Tales of Robin Hood die (and with one actual joke). His guest sings like a woman, it’s the hilarious Lloyd Griffith. They discuss the Anglian Cathedrals of the UK, being the subject of a cruel football chant, how the heartbreaking loss of a plum Hollywood job led to Lloyd’s appearance on Ted Lasso, playing Benny from Crossroa...

RETRO RHLSTP #81 - Nervous Lord's Prayer - You have us at an advantage this week, as you know who the next US President will be and we don't. What terrible future are you in? Either way. But let's forget about that and welcome the smiling man-mountain that is Tom Davis. Suddenly he is appearing in everything, most notably the brilliantly fun Murder In Successville, but we'll find out about how he made it and what he was doing befor...

Book Club #94 - Why We Remember - Richard talks to memory expert and possible pop star Charan Ranganath about his fascinating book about memory, Why We Remember. They chat about aphantasia (of course) why memory is a painting and not a photograph, how our understanding of memory has changed in the last few decades, how much fun it must be to come up with tricksy experiments to test new theories, the wonder ...

#500 Camel Hit and Run - Richard has been living the showbiz lifestyle that should be his daily existence, but now he’s landed up in Chorley. His guest is award winning stand up and MC Hayley Ellis. They chat about Hayley becoming a mum after an unplanned pregnancy, the hilarious story of attempting to buy a pillow with a picture of her dead grandma on it, whether we need bad people to get us through certain cir...

EQ Have You Ever Seen A Bigfoot? It’s another compilation of the best answers to the zaniest Emergency Questions, all tied up with a bow to show Channel 5 what cheap and easy TV this would be. This week a question that you’d expect only to have the answer “No” leads to some amazing answers from an array of cool celebs including both Adam and Joe, Michael Palin (from a previously unbroadcast backstage interview), Miriam Margoyles an...

Book Club #93 - Weirdo - Richard talks to comedian, presenter and now novelist, Sara Pascoe about her fabulous debut novel Weirdo. They talk about the difficulties of writing a novel, the joy of when the character starts writing it for you, the unreliable narrator and a possibly unlikeable protagonist, plus all the paranoid and weird delusions that swim around in (presumably) all of our heads and how often ...

#499 A Night in a Haunted House with Robbie Williams - Richard, it turns out, loves his AirTag more than his dog, but he’s back in London and eating tofu. His guest is journalist and lord of the podcasts jon Ronson. They talk about the worst decision made by an executive since turning down the Beatles, the brilliant series Things Fell Apart https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m0011cpr detailing the unlikely genes...

RETRO RHLSTP #80 - Over to our Human Centipede Expert - Richard has had his topical comedy well pretty much depleted by recording AIOTM the night before this, but considers creating a new beard based podcast, but luckily relents to introduce comedian, actor and wannabe humanitarian Kerry Godliman.

They discuss working with Christopher Guest, how Richard could have gone to drama school if only he’d been any good at acting, being...

Book Club #92 - Let The Light Pour In -  It’s another live podcast, this time with the remarkable poet and playwright Lemn Sissay MBE OBE and more honours than you can shake a stick at. They discuss the comedy scene in Manchester in the early 90s, how writing a quatrain a day has led to this collection of amusing, thoughtful and brilliant poetry and acts as an inspiration to us all to write something every ...

#498 Pig-Tail Sex Toy - Richard is back in Northampton where the people are named after Ancient Greeks. His guest is US stand up Abigoliah Schamaun (hard to say, hard to spell). They talk about her reluctance to embrace a showbiz friendly name, the indifference of long in the tooth stand ups, how she won a Grammy at school, why nodules ended her musical theatre career, working as a yoga teacher under a discredited guru, how sh...

RETRO RHLSTP #79 - Away or Towards? - A weary Richard films the audience as evidence of dissent for the future fascist government of the UK, before introducing a man who comes with his own magical minor ticker tape parade, David Cross. Starstruck and clearly in disbelieving awe, Rich flounders around and mainly embarrasses himself, but luckily Mr Cross is able to come up with some amazing riffed comedy about frozen vegetables, Abra...

Book Club #91 - Bird - Rich is in Canterbury where everyone is up in arms about the Silent Disco, but saying nothing about the Canterbury Tales. His guests are charmingly giddy husband and wife Jim and Nancy Moir. And though there is some chat about the artist formerly known as Vic Reeves’ book, they also discuss the dream job of Painting Birds with Jim and Nancy Moir, the Marmite Museum, painting in the nude, dancin...

#497 Shoe Horn - Richard is in Northampton and astonished to hear the place once burnt down (as well as the stuff that makes the papers). HIs guest is actor and character comedian Jon Pointing. They chat about not sampling the thing you’re advertising, the tricky nature of the double act (especially with your brother-in-law), the surprising depths of his BAFTA nominated performance in Big Boys, playing out of character in the ...