My Mum Made Me (mom, relationships)

Actor Eamon Farren from Netflix show The Witcher talks about how his relationship with his mom, Roslyn, shaped the actor he’s become and how she fought off death to see him collect his first television award. Rosyln has now unfortunately passed and Eamon shares the beautiful memories of his beautiful mother, including how he found 'The Book of Eamon' after she had died. About Eamon Farren and The...

Shohana Sharmin Death isn't scary to Shohana. She faced her mum's passing by starting a podcast about grief (Finders Grievers) and an on-stage comedy revue "Dead Parents Society". She is resilient, she is brave and she is a brilliantly witty queer Muslim woman of colour who talks openly and with words of wisdom about her mum's passing six years ago. More about Shohana Shohana Sharmin is a Banglade...

Part II of II. What makes Josh Jones a Gobby Manc Princess? The TV funny man gets a lot of his sense of humour from his mum. But in spite of being Manchester's favourite "gobby princess" it's him who's more prude than his mum. 8am nights out, making fun of mum on the telly and more in this episode of My Mum Made Me. Josh Jones - The Comedian Who Captivates Audiences Worldwide Josh Jones, born in S...

Part I of II. When I told Josh Jones that when I was 11 my mum asked me and my sister to, upon her death, bury her biodegradably in the local park, he had some sage advice. Don't do it... one of the funniest men I've ever spoken with and self-confessed Gobby Manc Princess, Josh Jones.... Josh Jones - The Comedian Who Captivates Audiences Worldwide Josh Jones, born in Salford, Greater Manchester, E...

Screen star Sydney Mae Diaz's first love is his mom, Clara. But having worked alongside Christopher Waltz it's clear who his second is... In Part I we talked Sydney's achingly cool mom Clara - so cool she busted him out of school and drove him 2 hours for a gig. In Part II we talk about Sydney's role on The Consultant, being a one-take wonder with his audition tape and having Fresh Prince of Belai...

Sydney Mae Diaz has just finished starring alongside Christopher Waltz in hit Prime TV show "The Consultant" & takes a break to talk to us here at My Mum Made Me (or Mom if you're from the US like Sydney). Sydney grew up in Queens NY but his mom Clara hails from Cuba. Like host Paul Afshar, Sydney has the unique flavour of being raised by an immigrant parent in an English-speaking country, and...

Listen to Part II of Jonathon's heartbreaking and inspiring story of surviving abuse on My Mum Made Me, where he shares his experiences of growing up in a household filled with violence, emotional abuse, and neglect. Jonathon's dad's beatings were violent and sustained and left such a scar on his memory that he still recounts them to this day. The head trauma suffered by his mom was so severe she...

Listen to Part I of Jonathon's heartbreaking story on My Mum Made Me, where he shares his experiences of growing up in a household filled with violence, emotional abuse, and neglect. A phone call one night from his birth mom to her cousin warning of danger changed Jonathon's life forever, removing him from a household used to violence, emotional abuse, and neglect. Jonathon's story sheds light on...

Simon Cowell once described mindreader and hypnotist Tomas McCabe as having "something really special", but his mum Pauline knew that anyway. She grew up in the UK and went on to receive an OBE for her work with the Northern Ireland Policing Board from Prince William. In this episode of My Mum Made Me we talk swapping trousers with Stephen Mulhern, Meryl Streep, Love Actually in bed on Boxing Day...

In part I Simon revealed that after being kicked out by his mum aged 15, and sleeping on the streets, he attempted reconciliation but to no avail. In this moving and candid episode, Simon makes a challenging conclusion - he's just not sure he likes his mum. We discuss what made Simon feel this way, and whether there are others who, deep down, have the same feelings about their mums in this episode...

By any measure, Simon Squibb is making a success of his life. But it didn't start this way. Kicked out by his mum aged 15, Simon found himself homeless and jobless. He's now a multi-millionaire taking TikTok by storm (1 million followers) by giving away money on the street to strangers wanting to start their own businesses. In this episode we unpack the hurt and attempts to reconcile with his mum,...

After escaping her gangster ex-boyfriend Cameron's mum throws herself into raising her two boys, at the expense of her own life, at least that's what Cameron thinks. Cameron comes to terms with his sexuality, hiding men in his closet to keep his mum from finding out. Returning to Glasgow in her latter years, Cameron's mum rediscovers her sense of self, hailing a renaissance in their relationship....

When Cameron Moir's mum first came to London aged 18 she didn't expect to become embroiled with a senior member of the capital's gangland. After a dicey encounter, Cameron's mum escaped to the island of Jersey, bringing Cameron into the world. Now in his 30s Cameron talks Hollywood and theatre, playing opposite Liam Neeson and being catfished by Carrie Bradshaw, or was he?

Linus Karp devoted the last year of his life to educating the world on how to be "jellicle" based on the Andrew Lloyd Weber movie "Cats" starring James Cordon. Now he's educating us on all things Sweden - from the traditional Swedish Christmas, the 6-week "Melodifestivalen" Eurovision contest in Sweden and the true meaning of Gratrunk. The wonderful Linus talks to Paul Reza Afshar on his mum's upb...

In this episode, part II of II, Dame Ann Limb, the first female and first gay Chair of The Scouts, talks about why she thinks her mum might have been gay, her experience living as an out woman in the 1980s and 1990s, and why Brits take a different attitude to Americans about rags to riches real life stories. (She's also met Kate, Princess of Wales, which I'm very jealous of) #mum #mom #relationshi...

The first female and first gay Chair of The Scouts in its 108-year history, Dr Dame Ann Limb speaks about her rise from a working-class neighbourhood in Manchester to being awarded a Damehood for her public service. In this episode, Ann unpacks everything from women in public life to how she thinks her mum gave up her ambitions to conform in 1950s Britain. (She's also met Kate, Princess of Wales,...

In this touching episode #tiktok star Benny Jee opens up about how we can help #genZ understand the horrors of the #Holocaust, told through the inspiring story of his Grandad. Hear how Benny's grandad survived the Nazi's death march, staving off starvation when he found a single pea on a derelict farm. And how his mum has carried on the mantle of her father's work in making sure we #neverforget

In this episode, the second of two, I ask for Andrew's help in persuading my mum not to be a human shield in Ukraine (she wants to learn Ukrainian as a 70th birthday present to herself) and we talk more about people who resist war, humanism and pacificism.

Andrew Copson (Chief Executive, @HumanistsUK ) tells us about how his two great grandmothers (who saw him off to #oxforduniversity) were "unchurched" and what #humanism actually is. His mum Julia raised him in the #humanist tradition, worked as a dinner lady in his school and sent him off for a private education under the Government's Assisted Places Scheme. Andrew talks touchingly about the untim...

In this touching episode Mark opens up about losing both his parents - mum during his A-Levels and Dad during his university finals (he still got a double first from Cambridge - a fact he reminded me of during our chat). Although on stage (he's a thriving comedian) punters mistake Mark for a "boy" as an adult he has taken TikTok by storm with a series of videos looking at the idiosyncracies of gay...

James Barr (Hits Radio presenter, host of A Gay and a Non Gay , and Fleur East superfan) talks about going toe to toe with GB News' Piers Morgan on protecting trans people. With his trademark saucy wit James gives us an insight into growing up gay, and what his mum (mom) said when she walked in on him and his boyfriend for the second time.

When Edinburgh Fringe's Aidan Jones asked his mom about his biological dad, she told him he was a bank robber. And it wasn't a lie. His parents fell in love young but couldn't live in the same country so separated, with Aidan's dad pursuing his dream of opening a music venue in Vienna. But after discovering he'd borrowed money he couldn't pay back from the mafia, Aidan's dad unsuccessfully robbed...

Channel 4 TV star and successful entrepreneur Spencer Matthews opens up about the tragic death of his brother, Michael, the youngest Brit to summit Everest, and the love and memories he felt as a child. Spencer travelled with Bear Grylls to recover his brother's body, the subject of a Netflix/ Disney + documentary coming soon, and talks about the impact his dad had on his ambition as a kid. Spence...

A lot of you have been asking for more voicenotes from my mum. So here's a short snippet of one after I paid off her mortgage.

In the final of this three part mini-series (III of III) Paul tells Julian the things that have been left unsaid between him and his mum, Teresa. Reflections on Teresa's girlfriends, her refusal to shake teachers' hands at school parent's evening and how reconciling the relationship with his mum helped cure Paul's depression.