Blank Podcast with Giles Paley-Phillips & Jim Daly

Ollie Phillips is a former World 7s Player of the Year and England captain, who also played rugby union at the highest domestic level in England and France. Ollie was forced into retirement at 29 through injury, which left him searching for meaning and not understanding his new focus or purpose. Ollie joined PWC as a director within the real estate and construction team – but then developed Impost...

Kemah Bob is a comedian, actress, producer, and writer. Originally from Houston, Tx Kemah moved to the UK to study for a Masters degree before becoming a stand-up comedian. As well as her stand-up Kemah is a regular co-host on The Guilty Feminist and has made many TV appearances on shows such as House of Games, Jonathan Ross' Comedy Club and has contributed to shows such as Have I Got News for You...

Amanda Clapham is a British actress and writer, known for her roles in Channel 4's Hollyoaks, and most recently in the award-nominated short film, Voices. We talked to Amanda about her journey into acting, the pressures of being thrust into the public eye when taking on a high-profile acting job, and gaining some autonomy on your career. PLUS extra chat with Amanda just for our Patrons over at pat...

Thomas "Hal" Robson-Kanu is a former professional footballer who played for Reading and West Brom as well as 46 times for Wales, scoring one of their best-ever goals at Euro 2016. Hal talks to Giles and Jim about his career and the life-changing moment he and his father discovered the healing powers of turmeric, which helped him recover from two devastating ACL injuries in his teens. He also talks...

Cally Beaton is a stand-up comedian, writer, and orator. Cally was a TV executive before turning to stand-up comedy. She has made many TV appearances including QI, The Apprentice: You're Fired and Pointless.  We talked to Cally about her earlier career in TV and her journey into comedy. She gives us her insights on perimenopause and the impact it has on mental and physical health and we discuss th...

Selina Giles is an actress and writer, known for the roles in films such as V for Vendetta, Until Death, and The Netflix Series The Greenhouse Academy. We talk to Selina about method acting, her love of theatre and Gaga, Ohad Naharin’s movement language that she experienced when filming in Israel. PLUS extra chat with Selina just for our Patrons over at patreon.com/blankpodcast Massive thanks to o...

Jermaine Pennant is a former professional footballer who became Arsenal's youngest ever player when he moved from Notts County in 1999 for £2m, a world record for a trainee at the time. He went on to play for Birmingham City, Liverpol, Stoke City, Real Zaragoza making 353 career appearances in total. Jermaine spoke to Giles and Jim about the pressures of being England's most talked about teenage f...

Elizabeth Morris is a British actor and screen-writer and actress, known for writing and starring in 2019 film Killers Anonymous alongside Gary Oldman and Jessica Alba. She has also had two other feature length scripts filmed and got her break writing and performing in the 2015 movie LA Slasher with Danny Trejo and Dave Bautista. Elizabeth chats to Giles and Jim about her bold breakthrough in the...

Katerina Robinson is an actress and comedian. Having studied acting at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Katerina appeared in the show LADS in 2021 and is currently touring her show 'The Whoring Twenties' alongside her comedy partner, Kat Ronson.  PLUS extra chat with Katerina just for our Patrons over at patreon.com/blankpodcast Massive thanks to our Patrons: Mary Catherine Byrnes, Victoria N...

Arthur Smith is a legend of the UK alternative comedy circuit. Arthur spoke to Giles and Jim about his dad Syd, the birth of alternative comedy in the 19080s, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the art of farting. Arthur's Edinburgh show: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/arthur-smith-my-75-years-edinburgh-fringe#overview Jim's Edinburgh show: https://edinburgh.justthetonic.com/event/88:2863/ PLUS...

Rosie Day is an actress, author and playwright. having been acting since the age of 4, Rosie has appeared in Good Omens, Outlander, Prime Suspect 1973, and she starred alongside Sarah Jessica Parker in the feature film All Roads lead to Rome.  Rosie is also a writer and her play Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon is now a book and soon to be made into a film.  We talked to Rosie about her cat f...

Patrick Foster is a former professional cricketer who was one of the rising stars of the scene in the late 2000s and played for Northamptonshire and Durham UCCE. After having his cricket contract ended he struggled with gambling leading to some very low moments. After hitting rock bottom in 2018 Patrick has turned his life around and now works to raise awareness about gambling addictions. His is a...

We are releasing some of our classic older episodes for the next few weeks. This episode was originally released in June 2020. John Sweeney is a British investigative journalist and author. During his time at the BBC he worked on shows such as Panorama and Newsnight where his combative and bold style have seen him doorstep Putin, go undercover in North Korea, challenge Trump on his association to...

We are releasing some of our classic older episodes for the next few weeks. This episode was originally released in September 2019. David Harbour is an American actor from New York who has performed in film, television, and the theatre. He is best known for his role as Chief Jim Hopper on the Netflix original series, Stranger Things and the lead in the new adaptation of HELLBOY He is also known fo...

We are releasing some of our classic older episodes for the next few weeks. This episode was originally released in November 2018. Dubbed 'The Iceman', Wim Hof is a Dutch extreme athlete noted for his ability to withstand freezing temperatures. He has set Guinness world records for swimming under ice and prolonged full-body contact with ice, and still holds the record for a barefoot half-marathon...

We are releasing some of our classic older episodes for the next few weeks. This episode was originally released in November 2018. Roisin Conaty is a brilliant and multi-talented comedian and actress. Having won the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award 2010 for Best Newcomer, Roisin is now one of the nation’s favourite comic faces on television, appearing regularly on hugely popular entertainment shows...

This episode is supported by Surfshark. Get Surfshark VPN at Surfshark.deals/blank Chrissie Wunna is an actress, model and reality TV star. Well known for her roles in B-Movies like DInosaur Hotel and Dragon Fury, and Amazon Prime's 'Series of Light'. Chrissie is also a regular guest and contributor to Channel 4's Steph's Packed Lunch. We talked to Chrissie about her time in LA where she lived for...

Something different from us this week, let us introduce to you a favourite podcast of ours; The Joe Marler Show. England rugby international Joe Marler wants to know about your job. This is not another rugby podcast. It’s about prison guards, marine biologists, vicars, boxers, tattoo artists, sex workers and more.  Because everyone is interesting if you ask the right questions. This episode is abo...

This episode is supported by Surfshark. Get Surfshark VPN at Surfshark.deals/blank Sian Williams is a journalist, current affairs presenter, author, and psychologist. Sian is most well-known for her work with the BBC. From 2001 until 2012, Williams regularly presented weekday editions of BBC Breakfast as well as being the main anchor of Channel 5 News. In 2016, Williams wrote a critically acclaime...

This episode is supported by Surfshark. Get Surfshark VPN at Surfshark.deals/blank Tom Speight is a singer/songwriter with a string of EPs and a full-length album under his belt, gaining strong radio support from BBC Radio 2 with seven playlisted records in a row, and over 160 million streams across platforms.  Tom's new album ‘Everything’s Waiting for You’ is out now. Tom spoke to Giles and Jim a...

Lisa Ann is one of the world's most famous former pornographic film actresses, she is an author, radio personality, and podcaster. She has also worked as a director and talent agent. She parodied former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin in six adult films and an Eminem music video. She is the author of two books, 'The Life' and 'The Life Back', and is also an expert on American Fantasy Sports.  We ta...

Justin Moorhouse is a standup comedian, radio DJ and actor. He has been a mainstay of the UK standup circuit for the past 20 years and has appeared on Mock The Week and Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow. He has had various TV roles including in Phoenix Nights, Looking for Eric,  Guess The Attendance and Coronation Street. He has presented various radio shows at Manchester commercial radio station...

Vix Leyton is a stand-up comedian and podcaster. her Edinburgh Fringe show was a sell-out and she acts as the TimeLord’s assistant on Rich Wilson’s Tuned Up Time Machine, a weekly music show on Islington Radio. We talked about Vix getting into comedy in her mid-thirties after being discovered by comedian Mark Watson via a tweet, the ups and downs of gigging and why stag dos bring out the worst in...

Zoe Lyons is a one of the UK's most recognised and successful stand-up comedians. She has been performing since 2003 and has taken multiple shows to the Edinburgh Fringe, appeared in many TV shows including Mock the Week, The Wright Stuff, Michael McIntyre Roadshow as well as being a regular on radio too. She spoke to Giles and Jim about growing up in Ireland and going to catholic school, those ea...

Les Dennis is an an icon of British show business, having made his name as a comedian, television presenter and actor. He has been a mainstay on television light entertainment for more than 50 years, most notably as presenter Family Fortunes from 1987 until 2002. Les spoke to Giles and Jim about the sliding doors moment that got him into comedy at a young age, the secret to a long career, being on...