The Modern Mann

Shouting at Prime Ministers was off-limits at BBC Westminster before Paul ‘Gobby’ Lambert. He was the Producer who cried, ‘ANY MONEY IN THE BOX, CHANCELLOR?’ at George Osborne on Budget day and got Bill Clinton to talk to the News Channel by shouting, ‘OI, BILL!’. In this interview with Olly, Paul recalls how his inspired pursuit of Cherie Blair made several front pages, bemoans the current crop o...

Dr Stuart Farrimond was a disillusioned Junior Doctor. Night-shifts, the grim reality of hospital life and emotional exhaustion were all taking their toll - but he was in denial about what might be killing him. In this extraordinary interview with Olly, he explains how an eating disorder and an unexpected diagnosis derailed his career and his marriage - but also how, in the most desperate of circu...

Sperm donors are anonymised in British clinics. Recipients don’t even get to see a photo of the man who will father their child. Donor-conceived kids can only discover the identity of their biological father upon reaching adulthood themselves. But Mitch Kennedy is a private donor. His sperm has been used by 23 couples - and he’s met them all. In most cases, he’s slept in their spare room during th...

At 25, YouTube star Hannah Witton suffered acute abdominal pain. She’d had a decade in remission from ulcerative colitis, but the episode was so severe she opted to have surgery to remove her colon. Now, she’s readjusting to life with an ileostomy bag. As she reveals to Olly in this open-hearted interview, that means recalibrating her attitude to sex, body confidence and her role in the YouTube co...

Working aboard Disney’s cruise ships requires a commitment to customer service, a never-fading smile, and a mastery of ‘the Disney point’. But for Andy Young - a twentysomething bartender on Disney Wonder in 2002 - it also served as an introduction to excessive drinking, clandestine romps and a salary of just $26 per fortnight, plus tips... Elsewhere this week, Ollie Peart travels to Paris to inve...

Smuggling marijuana from Thailand to Alaska; trading illicit fuel in Nigeria; evading the law in France - Robert Stone did it all. From one small fishing boat in the Bahamas he built up a veritable fleet of vessels - including a 6000-tonne oil tanker - devoted to his businesses empire. In this globetrotting interview with Olly, Robert reveals what it was like to be making a million dollars per mon...

Michael Bunting always wanted to be a police officer. He qualified aged 19, with his Dad’s old Constabulary collar number. Then, one Summer Sunday evening, his life changed forever. Whilst attempting to detain a violent suspect, he was severely beaten. He kicked out - and was charged with common assault. As he recalls in this compelling conversation with Olly, this one moment lead to a two-year or...

Russia Today is one of Britain’s most controversial TV networks. Backed by the Kremlin and based in Moscow, its London newsroom portrays Russia more positively than the mainstream media, and broadcasts an alternative take on current events generally. But RT has been accused of distributing propaganda and ‘fake news’, and has been found in breach of broadcasting rules. Joana Ramiro worked for RT’s...

What does it take to be an Olympic champion? Performance Scientist Dr Steve Ingham knows: he’s supported over 1000 athletes, including Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent and Jessica Ennis-Hill. In this insightful interview with Olly, he reveals how the tiniest details of an athlete’s training programme, the words and music used to motivate them, and even the occasional exposure to injury and failure...

Miscarriages are the most common form of pregnancy loss - yet are rarely talked about in public. Jo and Steve Peck suffered not one, not two, but recurrent miscarriages over the course of four years, before seeking private treatment. In this searingly honest, compelling interview with Olly, they reveal the toll this took on their marriage, their work and their mental health - as they watched their...

Claustrophobia, panic attacks, and hyperventilation can feel even more acute at 35,000 feet. Perhaps that’s why some aviophobics never get as far as buying plane tickets, and spend a lifetime making awkward train journeys instead. Anna P - Team Leader on Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Without Fear course - says she can help passengers with even the most debilitating nerves overcome their fears. And she...

With zero experience running a professional kitchen, home cook Robert Maxwell poured his life savings into his passion project: a gastropub-inspired Toronto restaurant. It became a crash-course in coping with stress, managing his cashflow, and curbing his ego. In this funny, forthright interview with Olly, Robert reveals how chasing his dream led to him selling his house, hitting the bottle and fa...

Ben Ryan’s two year-old son, Sol, was born with a blood clot in his arm. Following amputation, the medical advice was to wait until Sol’s third birthday before fitting a prosthetic that grabs. But former psychology teacher Ben saw the developmental benefit of acting much sooner... In this astonishing interview with Olly, he recalls his rollercoaster of emotions when Sol was born; the sponge ‘arm’...

Former investment banker Nicola Lewis likes to organise. Which is just as well, because the demand for decluttering has never been higher. Her clients might be coping with a bereavement, and the resultant truckload of unwanted furniture; or just moving house after decades of unintentional hoarding. As she explains to Olly in this laid-back chat, Nicola's skills lie in helping folks decide what to...

Professional dancer Raquel Meseguer had back surgery at the age of thirty, to treat chronic neuropathic pain. But it didn’t alleviate her symptoms. In this insightful interview with Olly, she explains how this bombshell has impacted upon the daily practicalities of her life, why she doesn’t feel welcome in our ‘vertical culture’, and how well-meaning members of the public have repeatedly shamed he...

Being in a band - on a world tour - is the stuff rock n roll dreams are made of. But the modern reality is a corporate concern, involving hundreds of people, all separated from their families. Surviving is an art in itself. Tom Meadows is a freelance drummer who's worked with Girls Aloud, Duffy, Leona Lewis, and - for the past nine years - Kylie Minogue. What are his top tips to keeping your cool...

Demeaning, poorly paid and tedious: life as an Order Picker in Amazon’s ‘fulfilment centre’ in Rugeley, Staffordshire was a draining, revelatory ordeal for writer James Bloodworth, who worked there undercover in 2016. In this enlightening interview with Olly, he reveals how being an ‘associate’ in Amazon’s warehouse meant enduring ten-hour shifts, tethered to an electronic device, walking up to fi...

Manny Waks was 11 years old when he was first sexually abused. Raised in the ultra-Orthdaox sect of Judaism known as Chabad, he lacked the education or vocabulary to understand what was going on. By the time he was studying for his bar mitzvah, he was molested by a second perpetrator. Both men were members of staff at his school - the Yeshiva Centre in Melbourne, Australia. In this searingly hones...

Why are movie trailers more beloved and enduring than other forms of advertising? How has the medium changed, to keep the video-game generation engaged? And what tricks do editors use to keep us watching, and returning to the flicks, week in week out? In this episode, editor Gareth Davies sits down with Olly to review some classic examples of the genre, and provides a masterclass in how to market...

Ex-soldier Craig Jones escaped a brutal father and found solace in the natural world. Now a distinguished wildlife photographer and conservationist, the aftermath of his traumatic childhood and military training informs his approach. In this candid interview with Olly, he explains how his kinship with wild creatures has helped him survive, thrive and start afresh. Elsewhere, in this week's Zeitgei...

On a bad day, what are you like to work for? When was the last time you felt professionally vulnerable? You’ve probably never been asked these questions in a job interview - but they’re bread-and-butter to executive headhunter Kathleen Saxton. In this conversation with Olly, she reveals the tricks she uses to ‘see through the professional mask’ to catch the eye of high-flying CEOs, ponders the fut...

In his 20s, yet running a $50billion book, Kweku Adoboli had worked his way up the trading floor at the very point the market crashed. His actions wiped £2.7bn from the UBS share price, prompted the resignation of their chief executive - and got him a seven-year jail sentence for fraud. In this remarkable interview with Olly, he reveals a corporate culture of ‘wilful blindness’, explains how he fe...

Are you doing 'Dry January'? Experimenting with gluten-free snacks? Or stocking up on 'superfoods'? If so, Anthony Warner warns, you are, in fact, building up a damaging relationship with food, and should probably stop it, now... In this insightful interview with Olly, he takes on the bad science of the 'clean eating' movement, explains the reality of 'anti-oxidant' blueberries, and will make you...

Tom Price and Stuart Goldsmith once again join Olly to compare notes on the perils of parenthood. Their sons are now coming up to two years old - but does that mean toddler tantrums ('the terrible twos') are about to become a way of life? And what does THAT mean for Christmas Day? In a typically frank and funny conversation, our trio of Dads tackle 'benign neglect', 'career lag', 'over-parenting',...

Wind speeds, planning restrictions, financial crisis... a lot can go wrong when designing a super-tall building. Yet, each year, more skyscrapers are springing up around us. Architect Fred Pilbrow, of Pilbrow and Partners, has designed a number of them, including London's third-tallest building, the Heron Tower. In this insightful interview with Olly, he explains how technology is solving problems...