Relatively

Sisters Beatrice and Rosemary Mac Cabe grew up in Ireland but now live near one another in the USA. They started their hilarious hit podcast Not Without My Sister in March 2020, locked down in a house in Indiana together (maybe with some wine). In this episode they talk about: the Catholic church; their irrepressible mum and strict dad; fun facts about pigs and sex; depression as one way of gettin...

Dame Esther Rantzen and her little sister Scilla grew up in London and - briefly - New York, where Esther got a taste for life in the limelight. Since 1981, Scilla has lived in Australia, which leaves a "real gap" in Esther's life. Technology helps the pair stay in touch and they talk all the time, staying close to their nieces and nephews, too. Brought up by their anarchist mum and engineer dad t...

Author Kit De Waal and little brother Dean O'Loughlin are 2 of 5 siblings, who grew up in Birmingham in the 60s and 70s. Their Irish mother and Kittitian father were ill-equipped to provide the care their charismatic and clever children needed, and life was 'predictably unpredictable'. Despite the hunger and the cold which characterised their childhood, the siblings nevertheless have happy memorie...

Middle child Louise - of Mamas Still Got It fame, grew up in London with baby brother George and older sister Bonnie. As kids, George was subjected to 'loving abuse' by the girls, but nonetheless as an adult is their biggest fan. As a boy he helped direct some of Louise's very early modelling attempts and as a teen he helped her when the demands of the fashion industry to be ever thinner left her...

Queen of colour, Sophie Robinson (Sops) is a TV presenter and interior designer. Her little brother Edward (Smudge) left a career in fashion for interiors, also appearing on telly. Their love of a project was inspired by their DIY- mad parents, who moved the kids around the country, renovating houses as they went. This nomadic period of childhood was an adventure for golden-child Sophie and a bit...

Professor Sir Christopher Frayling - or Podge - is one the country's leading cultural historians. His older brother, The Very Reverend Nicholas Frayling - or Nick the Vic - was the Dean of Chichester before he retired. Born shortly after World War 2 to an ambitious father and a trailblazing mother, the boys had very different paths to success. Being sent away to school at 7 was tough for both 'Fra...

Comedian (and Scummy Mummy) Helen Thorn is a whopping 14 years younger than her brother John, who remembers her as a precocious and hilarious little blonde princess. While John went to grammar school in Melbourne, Australia, Helen had a different childhood - sent to tough it out in some harsher environments. Their childhoods may have been really different, but as adults they understand each other’...

Relatively podcast is back for a new season!! More pairs of siblings talk to Catherine about their relationship as adults and what it was like growing up together. They reveal nicknames, settle old arguments and tell each other how they really feel. Join in on Instagram and Twitter Our sponsor for this third season of Relatively is Findmypast, the exclusive online home of the 1921 Census. Joining...

TV quizzer Bobby Seagull and his polymath big brother Davey Jose (artist, tech analyst, mathematician) grew up in a council house in East London, where "using your mind" was valued above all else. 2 of 4 boys, the pair have been close from the start, inheriting their bouncy positivity from their parents. An accident as a toddler meant Davey went to special school until fate stepped in and he had t...

Author and columnist Lucy Mangan (AKA ‘Boogaloo’) and her IT-whizz little sister Emily Thomas (AKA ‘Minefrog’) are very, very different. Brought up in Catford by their indomitable "displaced Northerner" mother and their introverted father (nicknamed 'The Potato'), Emily remembers their mother making Lucy's bed with her still in it, nose stuck in a book. Lucy recalls Emily never sitting still, and...

Appearing on Love Island was a dramatic move for pharmacist Anna Vakili. She now works as an influencer with her little sister Mandi - which is a "dream come true" for the girls. Brought up in London by ambitious Iranian parents, the pair reflect on the adjustments their parents have made and how life has changed for everyone since the show. They also talk about coming of age in the post 9/11 and...

Classical Brit nominated sisters Hannah and Naomi (or Hanomi) are mirror twins, who have equally beautiful soprano singing voices. Bullied at school, the pair found their confidence through encouragement from their parents and singing teacher to start to perform. Appearing on The Voice in 2015 launched their career and they have since sung for royalty, for a packed Wembley arena at at The Royal Al...

For 38 years, actor and theatre-maker Emma Spearing was Robin, and her identical twin Charlie, was Batman. Since Charlie died seven years ago, Emma has been trying to figure out what the hell happens to her role as sidekick now that she is alone. Her new one-woman play 'Whole' is all about that, and the disorientating grief of losing a sister and the future you imagined together. It's funny, too....

Priest, journalist and broadcaster Giles Fraser talks about his brother Jonathan, who died before Giles was born. His parents' grief shaped the way he was parented and has even influenced the way he approached fatherhood. In this episode, he talks about: the sadness that is always close to the surface, about loving someone you never met, philosophy, teenage rebellion and acquiring a new brother at...

Steve and Suzie Fletcher from the BBC show The Repair Shop grew up in rural Oxfordshire, where they had a very free range childhood. Their hard-working horologist father inspired Steve to go into a career mending clocks and watches but for Suzie, it was only ever horses, which she loved with a passion that took her to the USA – where she stayed for 22 years. The now-reunited siblings talk creativi...

International netballing duo Sasha and Kadeen Corbin grew up in a sporty household. Their dad played cricket for Glamorgan and as a girl, their mum raced Tessa Sanderson on the track. Early success in gymnastics gave way to a passion for netball which saw both girls represent the country together. In this episode they talk the pain of injury, the heartbreak of not being selected to play when your...

Professor of psychology and sibling expert Alison Pike joins Catherine to talk about family roles, childhood labels and why we grow up so differently to our brothers and sisters. Do we become clumsy if we are called clumsy ? Is it all down to our parents? And do our roles in the family translate into our identities or reputations in life more generally?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

Catriona and Antonia (or Catinks and Noon) are only 20 months apart: as children they lived around the world, keeping unusual pets, playing at horses (and riding real horses) and generally enjoying wonderful freedom. Dartmoor in Devon was the one constant in their lives – but much as they loved it, their house was terrifying for author Catriona - who now writes horror fiction for a living. In this...

Meet Alison Pike - a professor of child + family psychology who has been studying sibling relationships for the last 25 years. Over the next few weeks she will join Catherine for a series of bonus conversations on things like rivalry, roles and family memories and stories… In this short episode, she talks about her own family and why she is so interested in brothers and sisters. Hosted on Acast. S...

Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason, are two of seven musical siblings from Nottingham. They still argue over board games and, as children, strove to win the annual Christmas bedroom-decorating competition. But their on-stage relationships are totally different, revelling in each other’s unique skills and abilities. In this episode they talk about the importance of creativity for its own sake, family Wha...

Susie Dent is a whizz with words. The lexicographer and etymologist’s fascination with language started early, when she would devour German and French vocab books in the back of the car on the way to family holidays. In this episode of Relatively, Catherine asks Susie all about the words we use to talk about families – from sibling to sister and brethren to relative. A delve into the dictionary wi...

Gok (Babe) and Kwoklyn Wan’s grandfather came to the UK from Hong Kong in 1958 and opened the very first Chop Suey house in Leicester 4 years later. Their mum and dad were also restaurateurs, and the pair grew up (like twins) learning to be perfect hosts: helping in the kitchen, dancing to ABBA in the basement and eating steak and rice at 3AM after service with their fun-loving parents. Home was a...

Meg and Chris (the bag) Clothier were brought up by their seafaring, hardy parents who met one another ocean racing. Childhood holidays spent ‘bored wet and cold’ nevertheless left the pair with a deep love and respect for the sea. As straight A students, they headed to Oxbridge and became 'real' friends although tomboy Meg remembers Chris as always being a 'really nice playmate' (or maybe first m...

TV presenter Kirsten O' Brien and her little brother Tim had a globetrotting childhood, racking up the airmiles following their engineer dad's career to some pretty far flung corners of the world. Living the ex-pat life made them close and gave them a world view way beyond their native Middleborough, where they were the first people to have a microwave and a VHS. The pair scrapped and fought a lot...

Angela and Maria Eagle - both Labour MPs - were encouraged to aim high from as early as they can remember. At 8 years old, the twins started beating their dad at chess and then quickly moved on to squarely defeating the boys at their local chess club. As well as chess, their parents taught them about equality for women and the value of education. At home they were also immersed in politics - debat...