Fist of Firsts with Tim Reid

Tim talks to legendary TV scriptwriter and producer, the man behind the monster hit Line Of Duty, Jed Mercurio. Jed tells Tim about his journey from military medic to becoming one of our most celebrated TV drama writers. They discuss the tough world of TV commissioning and the tricky balance between being commercially minded and creatively challenging. Follow Tim on X, Threads and Instagram @timre...

Tim talks to Henry Morris, comedy writer, satirist and the man behind The Secret Tory MP. Henry tells Tim how then Home Secretary Suella Braverman tasked the Cabinet Office with tracking down the person behind his mysterious alter ego, and how being Caitlin Moran’s personal trainer led to his big break into comedy. Email fistoffirsts@gmail.com or DM Tim with your voice notes of your First Time sto...

Tim talks to stand up comedian and podcaster Rachel Fairburn. Rachel is best known for her performance at Live At The Apollo and as co-host of the hit podcast, All Killa No Filla. Rachel tells Tim about her life before comedy, the challenges of juggling a full-time job while trying to make it as a full-time comedian and how she and Kiri Pritchard-McLean have managed to keep their podcast going for...

Tim talks to stand-up comedian and second youngest ever winner of the prestigious So You Think You’re Funny award, Finlay Christie. Already twice nominated for the Best Show at the Fringe award and described by Chortle as “the voice of his generation”, Finlay tells Tim why all social media marketers are grifters, how he nearly burned himself out when he started and why all content creators should...

Tim talks to comedy writing and performing partners Larry Budd and Paul Dunphy. Larry and Paul are best known for their viral sketches including Broken News and the Real Daily Briefing series. Larry and Paul tell Tim about their life in radio, breaking into pro comedy writing and what writing on Have I Got News For You is really like. Email fistoffirsts@gmail.com or DM Tim with your voice notes of...

Tim talks to stand up comedian Mark Simmons. Mark is well know for his unique style of one liners and is regularly nominated for the Dave Edinburgh Joke Of The Fringe, winning it in 2024. Mark tells Tim about his journey into comedy, his creative process and how a tap on the bottom helped him refine his craft. Email fistoffirsts@gmail.com or DM Tim with your voice notes of your First Time stories....

Tim talks to comedian, actor, writer, poet and musician Nick Helm. Nick has been a big noise in the world of comedy since the noughties, nominated several times for best show in Edinburgh before hitting our TVs with his blaps, Nick Helm’s Heavy Entertainment and the hit sitcom Uncle. He tells Tim about his life before comedy, how he developed his stand-up style and what he’s up to now. Email fisto...

Tim talks to Mumbai-based comedian, writer and actor Urooj Ashfaq. Urooj won the Best Newcomer award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2023 and she chats to Tim about her journey from the circuit in Mumbai to finishing runner-up in the TV comedy reality show Queens Of Comedy, and the burgeoning comedy scene in India. Email fistoffirsts@gmail.com or DM Tim with your voice notes of your First Time stories....

Tim talks to stand up comedian, writer and podcaster Scott Bennett. Scott’s gone from Chortle’s One To Watch in 2018 to storming the Royal Variety Performance in 2024. Scott tells Tim about his first steps as a comedian, how his Stand Up From The Shed saw him through lockdown and how he found his own distinctive comedy voice. Email fistoffirsts@gmail.com or DM Tim with your voice notes of your Fir...

Good things come in threes - so we're thrilled to be bringing you the third series of Fist of Firsts. We'll be back on Mon 17th March to bring you the best stories and advice from the UK's top comedians and writers. Subscribe now and never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim talks to one of the biggest, most exciting new faces in stand-up comedy, Dan Tiernan. Dan exploded on to the stage in 2022 when he won BBC New Comedian Of The Year, British New Comedian Of The Year, and following that up by winning Best Newcomer Of The Year at Edinburgh in 2023. Dan tells Tim about his journey from being bullied at school, trying his (very sore) hand at magic before finding hi...

Tim talks to comedy writing team The Dawson Brothers about their writing partnership and how they've worked together to create some of the best loved sketches, and collaborated on some of the nation's favourite TV shows. Andrew, Steve, and Tim tell our Tim what it's like to work on I'm A Celebrity..., what it felt like to see Ronnie Corbett perform their iconic Blackberry Sketch and why they never...

Tim talks to world renowned performance psychologist and speaker circuit favourite Jamil Qureshi about how we can all think differently to enhance our own performance. Tim and Jamil discuss the role of humour in helping us think differently and perform better, how Jamil helped a range of sports stars reach the peak of their respective sports, and Jamil unmasks himself as the man behind.... (listen...

Tim talks to comedian, and podcaster Angela Barnes about her journey from comedy club booker to winner of the BBC New Comedy Awards and becoming one of the country's most popular comedians, and a regular on TV panel shows like Mock The Week and Live At The Apollo. Angela and Tim chat about handling nerves as you get started in the world of comedy, how to think on your feet while performing, and ho...

Tim talks to comedian, actor and podcaster Justin Moorhouse about how he went from homeless Peter Kay disciple to tiger-face-painted star of Phoenix Nights and award winning stand-up comedian. Tim and Justin discuss the power of saying "No", the creative fuel that comes from Imposter Syndrome and what a mate's mum vowed never to do for him again. Email fistoffirsts@gmail.com with your answer to o...

Tim talks to the man behind the the man in the Room Next Door, Michael Spicer. They talk about his journey from Shipping Company marketing exec to becoming one of the pioneers of social media satire. Michael discusses how a last minute tweet caught the eye of Sharon Horgan and became the catalyst that kick-started his comedy career. Email fistoffirsts@gmail.com with your answer to our 'listener’s...

Tim talks to actor, writer, comedian, and improv legend Neil Mullarkey about how a chance meeting with Mike Myers in the 1980s changed his life forever, and how he became part of the gang that brought the art of improv into the mainstream of British comedy. Tim and Neil discuss how the tools and techniques of improv can help everybody up their own creative game. Email fistoffirsts@gmail.com with...

Tim talks to multi-award winning stand-up comedian, Nina Gilligan, up at the Edinburgh Fringe, about her life in comedy, her journey from running a comedy club in Manchester at just 16 to becoming one of the country's most highly decorated stand-up comedians in the 2020s. Nina tells Tim about her club running days in the early 90s, working with comedy legends like Email fistoffirsts@gmail.com wit...

Tim talks to political comedian, satirist, broadcaster and Spitting Image impressionist, Matt Forde about his journey into politics and comedy, and how he's managed to combine his two passions to become one of the country's best known satirical comedians. Matt tells Tim how a man with eyes tattooed onto his buttocks sparked his own political awakening, and he explains how he could see that a young...

Tim talks to multi-award winning comedian, actor, author and presenter, Russell Kane about his unusual journey into comedy, his voracious appetite for learning and how he challenges himself to create in the moment rather than overthink his constant stream of social media Kaneings. Russell discusses how a chance encounter with a girl "out of his world" at a rave changed his life forever, and how th...

Fist of First returns for a pre-Series 2 galavant to the Edinburgh Fringe. It’s Tim’s first time to the Festival and the law dictates that if you work in comedy, you MUST make a pilgrimage to the city. So join Tim as he takes in the festival for the first time and gives you his insights on what makes it so great. And if you’re headed there this weekend, there’s loads of recommendations for the bes...

Tim talks to multi-award winning comedian and TV host, Zoe Lyons about her journey into comedy, her relationship with writing and how she lets ideas percolate away in her subconscious, sometimes for months. Zoe talks about how her unsettled childhood made her comfortable with being uncomfortable and how that's helped her as a comedian. Email fistoffirsts@gmail.com with your answer to our 'listene...

Tim talks to comedian, winner of series one of The Traitors and Ghost Hun podcaster, Hannah Byczkowski about her journey from a career in health and social care, to being a Faithful in the Traitors and launching her dream career as a stand-up comedian. Hannah talks about how she develops new material live, in front of an audience, how she and fellow comedian Suzi Preece launched their podcast Ghos...

Tim talks to comedian, writer and political commentator Geoff Norcott about his journey into comedy, his creative process and what he learned about his own creativity during his time working in the relentlessly demanding environment of TV comedy Writers Rooms. Geoff talks about getting his first laughs as Cowboy Geoff from Essex, about his need to get pen on paper as quickly as possible, and how h...

Tim talks to comedian, writer and producer Kemah Bob about how her comedy journey has taken her from stabbing her own eyes out in a play in Texas to running her own comedy nights, the FOC It Up Comedy Club in London. Kemah talks about her approach to creating new shows and the balance between keeping it spontaneous and refining her material. Email fistoffirsts@gmail.com with your answer to our 'li...