Learning British: A Film and TV Podcast

Sam and Natalia watch and react to the GAVIN & STACEY: THE FINALE and the subsequent documentary special, GAVIN & STACEY: A FOND FAREWELL. Five years after Nessa’s (Ruth Jones) shock proposal, Gavin (Mathew Horne) and Stacey’s (Joanna Page) family converge on England for Smithy (James Corden) and Sonia's (Laura Aikman) wedding. Will Smithy marry Sonia? Does Nessa get to Southampton Docks on time?...

After reviewing the first series, Sam and Natalia watch and react to series two and three, including the 2019 Christmas special. Gavin (Mathew Horne) and Stacey (Joanna Page) return from their honeymoon to discover that Nessa (Ruth Jones) is pregnant—and Smithy (James Corden) is the father. Topics of conversation include Carpool Karaoke, why British people don't like James Corden, laugh tracks, La...

"What's occurin', alright?" GAVIN & STACEY is a British sitcom written by James Corden and Ruth Jones. It follows the budding relationship between an English man, Gavin (Matthew Horne), and a Welsh woman, Stacey (Joanna Page). The show was critically acclaimed during its initial run and has since developed a large fanbase. In this episode of the podcast, Sam introduces Natalia to all six episodes...

The podcast is back, baby, and it’s nerdier than ever. Join Sam and Natalia as we watch and review series three of DOCTOR WHO, from ‘The Runaway Bride’ to ‘The Last of the Timelords’. Starring David Tennant, Freema Agyeman, and John Barrowman, series three picks up straight after Billie Piper's departure in series two.   Topics of conversation include Narnia, Sam’s terrible Scottish accent, THE CA...

Claudia Winkleman trapped with five people in the Scottish Highlands? Sounds like an ideal Friday night. After watching and reacting to THE TRAITORS in the last episode, Sam and Natalia discuss the series three finale. Topics of conversation include the Seer, Alexander Diplomat, GAVIN & STACEY, the role of charity in capitalism, men interrupting women, the winner of THE TRAITORS, the Royal Mencap...

In our inaugural episode of the new year, Sam and Natalia watch and review series three of THE TRAITORS. THE TRAITORS is a British reality TV show hosted by Claudia Winkleman. Twenty-five contestants, divided into “Faithful” and “Traitors”, compete for a cash prize in a historic Scottish castle. Sam and Natalia watch the most recent series until the penultimate episode, before reacting to the fina...

A surprise episode! Yes, we're still alive. As America chooses between President Trump and Vice President Harris in the 2024 election, Sam and Natalia analyse US politics from a British perspective, before and after the results.   Topics of conversation include Sam and Natalia’s £100 election bet, Melania Trump, the state of democracy, nice Americans, Hillary Clinton, cultural pessimism, Keir Star...

After reviewing DOCTOR WHO series one and fourteen, Sam and Natalia look back at series two with David Tennant and Billie Piper. Having regenerated into his Tenth incarnation in "The Parting of the Ways", The Doctor and Rose Tyler fly across space and time, facing Sycorax, Cybermen and the Devil himself, before facing a heartbreaking departure across the Void. Sam and Natalia review every episode...

COUPLING is a British television sitcom written by Steven Moffat, most famous for his work on DOCTOR WHO and SHERLOCK. The show centres on six friends brought together by the relationship of Steve Taylor (Jack Davenport) and Susan Walker (Sarah Alexander). Like FRIENDS and SEINFIELD, COUPLING has a dedicated fanbase. Sam and Natalia watch and review all four series (twenty-eight episodes) of COUPL...

At the turn of the millennium, DOCTOR WHO landed in America, enraging nerds everywhere. Sam and Natalia watch and review the DOCTOR WHO movie, in which The Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) teams up with Grace Holloway (Daphne Ashbrook) to defeat The Master (Eric Roberts). Topics of conversation include Jim Carrey, The Seventh Doctor in THE HOBBIT, Damien Molony, the fall of Communism, Olivia Coleman, a...

As the UK elects a new Prime Minister, Sam and Natalia look back on the last 14 years of British politics before reacting to the 2024 UK general election results. Topics of conversation include Keir Starmer, the 2016 EU referendum, the Green Party, Kelly Osbourne, Monzo bank, Maggie Thatcher the Milk Snatcher, Private Eye, gay marriage, the worst Prime Minister in UK history, Sam’s “vibes-based” t...

Rich white men, beware – Twitter is coming to get you! DOUGLAS IS CANCELLED is a new four-part miniseries written by Steven Moffat for ITV. The show follows Douglas Bellows (Hugh Bonneville), a widely respected news anchor who is ‘cancelled’ after making an inappropriate joke at a wedding. Douglas attempts to reassemble the tattered remnants of his life with the help of co-anchor Madeline (Karen G...

The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) has lost, his ageless enemy, Sutekh (Gabriel Woolf), reigns supreme, and a shadow is falling over creation. Nothing can stop the devastation... except, perhaps, one woman. Unless that one woman turns out to be nobody in particular. Sam and Natalia watch, review, and react to the series 14 finale: THE LEGEND OF RUBY SUNDAY and EMPIRE OF DEATH. Topics of conversation include...

The Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) discovers the truth about Ruby Sunday’s (Millie Gibson) parents, with the help of Mel Bush (Bonnie Langford), Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), and Rose Noble (Yasmin Finney). But as the Time Window reveals horrifying secrets from Christmas Eve, mysterious technologies unleash a great evil. Who is Susan Triad (Susan Twist)? Who is Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson)? And, for...

There's always a twist at the end. Inside No. 9 is a British black comedy anthology. The brainchild of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, each 30-minute episode is a self-contained bottle episode, with new characters, a new location, and a new premise. Sam and Natalia look back at the show before reviewing the final episode, ‘Plodding On’. Topics of conversation include Steve Coogan, theatre pr...

The Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) land in 1813, where guests at the Duchess of Pemberton’s (Indira Varma) party are being murdered after the arrival of a mysterious bounty hunter called Rogue (Jonathan Groff). Topics of conversation include MODERN FAMILY, the friend zone, ASMR, Pride Month, 'The Girl in the Fireplace', naked homophobia, stupid DOCTOR WHO fans, Gret...

As we approach the series fourteen finale with Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson, Sam and Natalia look back on Christopher Eccleston’s final story. The Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston), Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) and Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) are secretly brought on board Satellite Five to fight the Daleks, with the whole of creation at stake. Topics of conversation include The Noteboo...

The world of Finetime seems happy and harmonious. But an awful terror is preying on the citizens. The Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) must make them see the truth before it's too late. Topics of conversion include BACK TO THE FUTURE, burgers, Andrew Scott, cottage cheese, BLACK MIRROR, TikTok, David Tennant, and DOCTOR WHO pub quizzes. Don’t forget to follow, rate fi...

Having escaped The Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) during a previous adventure, the Slitheen Margaret Blaine (Annette Badland) fights for her freedom, meeting Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke) along the way. Originally broadcast in 2005 to mixed reviews, is BOOM TOWN better than people remember? Topics of conversation include new hai...

Landing on the Welsh coast, the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) embark on the strangest journey of their lives. In a rain-lashed pub, the locals sit in fear of ancient legends coming to life. Topics of conversation include Guillermo del Toro, ‘Love Actually’, feminism, Susan Twist, Wales, David Spade and the DOCTOR WHO fandom on Twitter. Don’t forget to follow, rate...

With gas-mask zombies roaming the streets of war-torn London, The Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) join forces with con man Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) to save the world.   Topics of conversation include Dr Who’s love life, the Cha-Cha Slide, Natalia being a massive nerd, and, of course, we’re still doing the Bruno Langley voice.   Don’t forget to follow, rat...

BOOM! On a routine trip through time and space, The Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) arrive on a mysterious battlefield. After stepping on a landmine, The Fifteenth Doctor must save himself and his companion – without moving an inch. Billed as a return to form from previous writer and showrunner Steven Moffat, is BOOM an instant classic? Or will it go out with a whimp...

As The Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) learn to love the bomb in BOOM, Sam and Natalia look back at another explosion in Steven Moffat’s first DOCTOR WHO story. The Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) arrive in 1941 during the Blitz, encountering former time-agent Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) as a strange child in a gas mask repeatedl...

As we prepare for Steven Moffat's BOOM, Sam and Natalia look back at THE DEVIL'S CHORD. The Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) meet The Beatles but discover that the all-powerful Maestro (Jinkx Monsoon) is changing history. London becomes a battleground with the future of humanity at stake. Topics of conversation include the British Empire, Susan Foreman, our favourite...

Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) learns about The Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) after he takes her to a baby farm in the far future, with a new threat skulking the lower decks. Sam and Natalia take a brief detour from The Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler to explore the show’s explosive reintroduction on Disney+. Topics of conversation include Prince Andrew, The Hex Girls, yoga, Barbie, Pete Davidson, COVID...