Full Disclosure with James O'Brien

This episode includes discussion of sensitive topics, including addiction, that some listeners may find distressing. Please take care while listening, and feel free to pause or step away if you need to. From a privileged childhood in Surrey to the chaos of addiction, expulsion and eventual recovery, Marcus Brigstocke’s early life was far more turbulent than his public persona might suggest. In thi...

Full Disclosure is taking a short break over the Easter holidays, but we’ll be back very soon with a brand new episodes! Until then, why not dip back into the archive and catch up on some of this year’s standout episodes, with guests including Jonathan Pryce, Sadiq Khan, Gary Lineker, Naz Shah and more. Listen now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal -> ht...

From a childhood in Islington to more than three decades on one of Britain’s biggest television shows, Natalie Cassidy’s life has unfolded in public for almost as long as she can remember. In this episode of Full Disclosure , James O’Brien sits down with the actor to trace a journey that began in a close-knit working-class family, took shape at the Anna Scher Theatre, and changed forever when she...

For 25 years, Fast Food Nation has shaped the way we think about what we eat, how it is made, and who pays the price. Its author, Eric Schlosser, did more than expose the hidden realities behind the fast food industry. He revealed a much bigger story about corporate power, political influence and the human cost of profit. In this episode of Full Disclosure , James O’Brien sits down with the acclai...

From Le Caprice and The Ivy to The Wolseley and Brasserie Zédel, Jeremy King has helped define the way London eats, drinks and sees itself. His restaurants became institutions, attracting everyone from Princess Diana and Lucian Freud to generations of actors, artists, politicians and power players. In this episode of Full Disclosure , James O’Brien sits down with the legendary restaurateur to trac...

From suburban England to the front lines of the punk revolution and the stadium stages of MTV era rock, Billy Idol has spent a lifetime reinventing what rebellion looks like. In this episode of Full Disclosure , James O’Brien sits down with the singer to trace an extraordinary life that began in a childhood split between England and the United States, moving between places and possibilities before...

This episode includes discussion of sensitive topics, including sexual assault and violence, that some listeners may find distressing. Please take care while listening, and feel free to pause or step away if you need to. At fifteen, Naz Shah was forced into a marriage thousands of miles from home. Years earlier, she had been sent from Bradford to rural Pakistan, pulled out of school and dropped in...

Gary Lineker took questions from the live Full Disclosure audience and nothing was off the table. He discusses the scrutiny that follows every World Cup, including the tournament in the United States, and considers whether sports broadcasters should speak out more in politically volatile times. He also reflects on his own social media controversies, football’s growing tribalism, and whether today’...

Gary Lineker has scored in World Cups, fronted the nation’s biggest football programme, and weathered a political firestorm that nearly ended it all. But at the height of his success, turning to a teammate after scoring four for England, his reaction was disbelief: “Why am I so f **ing lucky?” In this live edition of Full Disclosure , James O’Brien charts the full arc of Lineker’s extraordinary ca...

From the bomb sites of post war South London to the stages of the Comedy Store and the studios of Radio 4, Arthur Smith’s life has been driven less by ambition than by curiosity. The son of a Second World War prisoner of war turned police officer, and a grammar school girl who filled the house with books and poetry, Arthur grew up in a home where humour and humanity went hand in hand. In this epis...

From the son of a bus driver on a South London council estate to the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital, Sadiq Khan’s story is inseparable from the story of modern London. But with that journey has come a decade at the sharpest end of British politics. In this episode of Full Disclosure , James O’Brien sits down with the Mayor of London to trace the path from a crowded flat in Tooting t...

From a fractured childhood in Weymouth to the creation of one of Britain’s most distinctive ethical brands, Mark Constantine’s life has been shaped by loss, sensitivity and an intense drive to make sense of the world through the senses. In this episode of Full Disclosure , James O’Brien sits down with the co-founder and CEO of the British cosmetics retailer, LUSH . Expect a wide ranging and deeply...

From a small village in North Wales to some of the most iconic stages and screens in the world, Jonathan Pryce’s career has been shaped as much by doubt and accident as by talent and ambition. In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with the actor to trace an extraordinary life in performance, beginning with a childhood marked by class, kindness and upheaval, and moving through...

From calling out billionaires at Davos to challenging institutions that would rather stay comfortable, Rutger Bregman has built a career around one simple question: what are we actually doing with our lives? In this episode of Full Disclosure , James O’Brien sits down with the historian and author of Moral Ambition to talk about purpose, power and the quiet pressure to go along with things we know...

From the intensity of life as one of the most recognisable children on the planet to the creative freedom he has carved out as an adult, Daniel Radcliffe’s story is one of curiosity, discipline and quiet resilience. In this conversation with James O’Brien, recorded six years ago, Daniel reflects on the unusual contours of a childhood spent on film sets, the luck and judgement that helped him grow...

From the dislocated, sun soaked childhood of an RAF family to a life spent shaping British comedy, Dawn French’s story is one of resilience, warmth and hard won self knowledge. In this generous conversation with James O’Brien, recorded five years ago, she reflects on the moves that defined her early years, the confidence gifted to her by loving parents, and the shock of losing her father just as a...

A Boxing Day reflection on a standout year of Full Disclosure. James O’Brien revisits key guests and conversations from 2025, offering perspective on the ideas, stories and people that shaped the podcast over the past twelve months. With sincere thanks to everyone who has listened, shared and stayed curious, your company makes these conversations possible. We’ll be back in the new year with even b...

From bomb sites in postwar Birmingham to the centre of British stage and screen, Martin Shaw’s life has been shaped by curiosity, kindness and a refusal to play the part he was expected to play. In this episode of Full Disclosure , James O’Brien sits down with one of Britain’s most enduring actors to trace the journey behind the performances. Shaw reflects on growing up with parents marked by war...

From missing the most famous penalty in English football to leading the national team into a new era, Gareth Southgate’s story is one of quiet resilience, modern leadership and emotional intelligence forged under relentless public pressure. In this episode of Full Disclosure , James O’Brien sits down with Gareth to trace the long road that shaped him. From being an introverted, late-developing you...

Jan Ravens, the acclaimed impressionist at the heart of Dead Ringers , grew up learning to change the mood of a room long before she ever changed her voice on stage. In this conversation with James O Brien, she reflects on a childhood shaped by humour, instability and her father’s illness, and how those early pressures sharpened the instincts that later defined her career. She traces the journey f...

Before he became one of the most recognisable storytellers on the comedy circuit, Hal Cruttenden was a shy kid from West London who spent years trying to be what he thought others wanted him to be. He trained as an actor, chased approval, and tried to outrun a gnawing sense that something in his life was not quite aligned. It took heartbreak, therapy, and a very honest look at himself to turn that...

Before he became one of Britain’s most familiar faces, Stephen Mangan was a bookish North London boy from an Irish working-class family- the son of a builder and a barmaid- who won a scholarship to a boarding school his parents didn’t want him to attend. From there to Cambridge, to RADA, and to the West End, his path looks polished. But behind it lies grief, grit, and a fierce curiosity about the...

From Truman Capote to Mr Bates, Toby Jones has built a career on disappearing- an actor whose transformations are so complete they can seem alchemical. But behind that versatility lies a story of inheritance, self-doubt and quiet rebellion. The son of two actors, Toby grew up watching his father’s unpredictable career and vowing never to feel so exposed to fate. Yet the pull of performance, and th...

As the creative mind behind Blackadder , Spitting Image , Not the Nine O’Clock News and QI , John Lloyd has quietly shaped British comedy for more than forty years. In this episode of Full Disclosure , he sits down with James O’Brien to look back on the work that defined his career-and the questions that have driven him ever since. Lloyd reflects on his peripatetic naval childhood, his years at Ca...

Long before it became one of the most visited websites on Earth, Wikipedia began as a radical idea from a curious boy in Huntsville, Alabama. Raised by a father who managed a grocery store and a mother and grandmother who ran a tiny, Montessori-inspired school where “each one teach one” was the guiding principle, Wales grew up surrounded by early computers, space rockets and encyclopaedias bought...