How To Be 60 with Kaye Adams

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Lucy Kellaway OBE, 64 — former Financial Times columnist who did something genuinely radical on the edge of 60: she left her job, her marriage, and her Highbury home to retrain as a secondary school teacher in an inner London school. Lucy talks candidly (and with real humour) about what pushed her to jump. By 2013, her marriage was deteriorating, her father’...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re talking about those very specific midlife moments no one warns you about. When your roots feel louder than your opinions, your nose develops a mind of its own, and holding your breath becomes a daily medical requirement. From zoning out on Zoom calls and freezing houses that should probably be illegal, to radiotherapy reality checks, relentless itching, eyebro...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Jackie Kay - poet, novelist, former Scots Makar and one of the sharpest, warmest thinkers on identity, belonging and getting older without shrinking. We talk about turning 60 as a clarifying moment, why writing is a lifelong form of processing, living on the margins by choice, love without cohabitation, grief, friendship, and what really matters as you age....

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re easing into 2026 the only way we know how: chatting through the small domestic dramas that somehow say everything about where we’re at. From the brutal satisfaction of taking the Christmas decorations down early (and judging everyone else who hasn’t), to the chaos of tangled fairy lights, surprise clothing labels, itchy arms, ageing bodies, drum kits, camper v...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re firmly in that strange in-between zone where no one knows what day it is, Christmas feels like it happened months ago, and normal rules no longer apply. Kaye and Karen swap Twixmas stories - from quiet family Christmases and gifts bought (or bought for oneself), to beachside holidays, culinary regrets involving oysters, and the weird emotional flatness that ca...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re recording on Christmas Eve and doing what we do best — talking honestly about how life actually feels at this age. From finishing a final round of chemo (and the brutal side effects no one really prepares you for), to the strange satisfactions of ticking off medication charts, to the sudden realisation that facial hair is… expanding. There’s festive exhaustion...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Sir Chris Bryant - MP, minister, memoirist, and living proof that life rarely runs in straight lines. Chris talks with fierce honesty about growing up too fast, coming to terms with being gay in a far less forgiving era, the strange road through the priesthood, and why resilience isn’t about pretending things didn’t hurt. It’s never just about politics. This...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re checking in just days before Christmas — with Kaye broadcasting from a hotel bathroom in London (puffer jacket, luggage rack and all) and Karen at home, navigating the final stretch of chemotherapy, festive expectations, and the strange emotional weather that comes with both. It’s a wide-ranging, very real conversation about not quite feeling “Christmassy,” th...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Sunday Times bestselling author Lesley Kara , whose brand-new psychological thriller The Troublemaker is landing next year — and trust us, it’s going to keep a lot of women up past their bedtime. We dig into the extraordinary story behind her so-called “late start”: the years of motherhood, endometriosis, surgical menopause, teaching stress, and sheer exhaus...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we tumble through the very specific flavour of December mayhem — Karen accidentally sleeping through chemo while the nurses wait to go home, the slow disappearance of her right eyebrow, and a restaurant saga that ends with a truly dreadful pizza and a packet of chocolate éclairs to recover from it. Whether you’re still counting out sleeping tablets like an advent ca...

Fitness expert Jacqueline Hooton joins Kaye and Karen for a grounded, funny and honest conversation about ageing well. She talks about staying strong through shoulder surgeries and osteoarthritis, tackling internalised ageism, navigating post-menopause health, and why balance, bone strength and everyday mobility matter more than any “anti-ageing” promise. It’s a warm, motivating reminder that you’...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re talking Christmas chaos, stubborn husbands, and the kind of A&E visit that derails even the best-laid festive plans. Kaye finds herself doing the night shift in a waiting room full of germs, Karen is wrapping up head-torches and shoehorns like they’re luxury gifts, and both of them are wondering when life got quite this ridiculous. Whether you’re panic-buy...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Scott Hastings, the rugby legend who has lived through the unimaginable and still finds a way to smile. After losing his wife and teenage sweetheart, Jenny, to suicide after 45 years together, Scott shares the reality of grief, resilience, and what it means to choose joy without ignoring pain. Whether you’re navigating your own storms or supporting someone t...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re braving the Baltic chill with toilet confessions, rap-induced bafflement at Hamilton and the ongoing saga of Karen’s chemo side effects. Whether you’re the type who cleans your loo with a brush or a wad of loo roll, you’ll feel right at home. It’s never just about the weather. It’s the insomnia, the metallic taste, the pockets of joy found in ginger puddings a...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Maria McErlane, who brings sharp humour, unapologetic honesty, and a lifetime of mischief as she talks about ageing, invisibility, reinvention, sex, grief, and why she finally surrendered to an e-bike. Whether you’re feeling more third age than old age or still trying to work out who you are at 60+, this one lands. Maria opens up about changing identities, l...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we tumble from hairstyle envy to spit jars, chemo side effects and the baffling joy of a bowel screening kit. Whether you’re currently debating how often to wash your neck, dealing with metallic mouth, or wondering if your partner’s dawn chorus of throat noises means anything medically, this one’s for you. It’s never just about hair, feet or poo samples. It’s about...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Fiona Clark , author of Menowars , who’s calling time on the confusion around menopause. From HRT debates to vaginal health taboos, Fiona tackles the mixed messages women face - and reminds us that post-menopause isn’t “after the storm,” it’s the rest of our lives. Whether you’re wondering if you should be on HRT, baffled by conflicting advice, or just tired...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, Kaye and Karen prove that nothing is off limits — from cheap heaters and dodgy white diets to the hazards of sending a voice note mid-fart. Kaye confesses her accidental “audio offence,” Karen blames chemo for her skincare woes (and possibly Kaye’s face cream), and somehow it all ends with Kim Kardashian’s pubic-hair lingerie. There’s reflection too — on finding poc...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by the brilliant writer Sally Wainwright — the mind behind Happy Valley , Last Tango in Halifax , and Riot Women . Sally opens up about life in her sixties: from learning to play the drums to discovering the joy (and terror) of taking real time off. She talks about menopause, creativity, and the strange comfort of finally catching up with yourself — emotionally...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, Kaye and Karen dive into the real highs and lows of midlife - from insomnia and itchy skin to the deep joy of mashed potatoes and dental sticks. Between chemo updates, Calamine lotion nostalgia, and a heated debate over wine through a straw, it’s a reminder that sometimes the most ordinary moments become the funniest parts of getting older. Because this is life in y...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Siobhan Daniels, the self-proclaimed retirement rebel who swapped burnout for a camper van named Dora and never looked back. At 60, Siobhan sold her home, hit the road, and rebuilt her life from the ground up. Now 66, she’s thriving — proof that freedom and fulfilment aren’t reserved for the young. Whether you’ve ever dreamed of walking away from it all or j...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, Kaye and Karen swap gallows humour for sleepless nights — and find themselves comparing coping mechanisms that range from midnight lentil mashing to burning old parkas. Karen’s chemo fatigue meets Kaye’s restless mind, and between them they land on something every woman over 45 will recognise: the impossible balance between slowing down and staying strong. Whether y...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by the brilliant Denise Black — actor, singer, and unapologetic non-conformist — who’s proving that life in your sixties can be wilder, wiser, and far more liberating than you’d expect. From being told she was “too fat” or “too disabled” for TV to embracing her silver hair and refusing to fade into the background, Denise opens up about body image, visibility, a...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, Kaye and Karen dive into the strange, funny, and surprisingly touching realities of Karen’s chemo journey — from debating whether to cut her hair to discovering a treatment called Happy Endings and, yes, blending up a breast milk smoothie . Whether you’re navigating your own health battles or just trying to laugh through life’s curveballs, this one’s a reminder that...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by legendary hairstylist Sam McKnight, the man behind Princess Diana’s iconic short hair and decades of runway glamour. But at sixty, Sam swapped Chanel and Versace for compost and calm — and found something far more stylish: peace of mind. He talks about getting off the hamster wheel, learning to say no, and discovering that real luxury is living on your own t...