The Mrs Barbara Nice & Friends Podcast

We’re restocking the shelves with this classic conversation with the one and only Toyah Willcox - singer, actress, punk icon, and all-round creative powerhouse. When Barbara caught up with Toyah back in 2020, the pair talked about the re-release of Toyah’s album Sheep Farming in Barnet on Cherry Red Records, the magic of connecting with audiences (even in the biggest gigs), and how performing is n...

We’re restocking the shelves with this classic conversation with the one and only Reg Blackwood — once introduced as “Reg as in Elton John, Nice as in the biscuit.” When Barbara spoke to Reg back in 2020, he was living in New Zealand , reminiscing about nights at Birmingham’s legendary Gag Club , where he helped shape the character that became Barbara Nice herself. They chat about the future comed...

This week on Mrs Barbara Nice and Friends, Barbara has comedy producer Steve Doherty on the show. Steve’s first job in radio came while he was studying at Leeds University, but his career soon led him into TV - and right into the eye of the storm on Have I Got News For You . He shares what it was like to be in the office as the Angus Deayton headlines broke, and why Series 23 Episode 6 is burned i...

This week on Mrs Barbara Nice and Friends , Barbara welcomes Brummie Legend Carl Chinn. If you're from Birmingham, you know exactly who he is. But for the others: Carl is an MBE-winning historian and writer who’s spent his life telling the stories of working-class Birmingham - and he is looking sharp today, thanks to Mrs Chinn. There's talk of the Peaky Blinders, and none of it is anything like yo...

This week, Mrs Barbara Nice is out and about celebrating the International Day of Birmingham . She joins the colourful parade winding its way through the city centre before heading to The Old Crown , where she hosts a very special live edition of her podcast in front of an audience. It was a day full of celebrities and local legends - with appearances from Joe Lycett, Prof Carl Chinn, Mr Egg, Tat...

This week on Mrs Barbara Nice and Friends , Barbara welcomes Lee Nabbs , the man behind Digbeth’s beloved independent Mockingbird Cinema . Lee didn't pay for his parking, but he does know (maybe) who the next James Bond will be. It's one of the perks of running a cinema. Another one is interviewing cats live on stage for TikTok. It's all about embracing the chaos. Listen now wherever you get your...

This week on Mrs Barbara Nice and Friends, Barbara welcomes the fearless and sharp  Ria Lina . You'll know her from  Have I Got News For You ,  Mock the Week ,  Live at the Apollo  and she got rave reviews for her Edinburgh set this year. Ria explains to Barbara that she quite enjoyed lockdown times and that she spent years putting off touring (because, let’s face it, the...

This week, Mrs Barbara Nice welcomes the brilliant  Daliso Chaponda  into the shed. Daliso was a finalist on  Britain’s Got Talent  in 2017, and he’s since appeared on  QI ,  Have I Got News For You ,  The Royal Variety Performance ,  The News Quiz , and more. His stand-up clips have racked up over 300 million views online, and his BBC Radio 4 series&nb...

This week on Mrs Barbara Nice and Friends, Barbara welcomes the delightfully prickly American–British comedian Lewis Schaffer. There's lots of love in the shed this week: lean and mean looking Lewis is fully available for Barbara and shares his woes about women, GB News and Venn diagrams. He also reveals how he cured his own eyesight and that he eats raw eggs for breakfast. As Lewis himself would...

This week, Mrs Barbara Nice is out on the streets of Stockport, on the hunt for the perfect raffle prizes for her show. With leopard-print brolly in hand and a bag for life at the ready, Barbara scours the shops of Stockport Plaza, meeting a cafe worker who also happens to be a wrestler, and getting sidetracked by the irresistible sounds of karaoke drifting out of a pub. Overhead, planes rumble pa...

This week, Mrs Barbara Nice welcomes sharp-eyed explorer of people and places  Mike Parker . Mike - writer, broadcaster, map enthusiast, and “Welshman by choice with Birmingham roots” - arrives a bit sweaty but they're soon happily chatting away about tribute bands, the craft of writing, and his current focus on the Midlands. As part of his research Mike attended a Reform rally in Birmingham:...

This week, Mrs Barbara Nice has put the kettle on in the shed for Jez Collins, popular music historian, activist, archivist and founder of the  Birmingham Music Archive .    Jez was conscientious enough to ride his Raleigh Grifter all the way to the shed and him and Barbara dive straight in to talking titanium limbs, spirits and Irish funeral rites.  And of course, there’s plen...

This week, Mrs Barbara Nice has escaped her shed and is out and about in the bustling heart of Chorley – sourcing raffle prizes, reminiscing about Vesta Chow Mein and charming the locals. Armed with a leopard-print brolly and a bag for life, Barbara takes us on a warm, witty wander through Chorley’s market, charity shops and B&M Bargains in search of the perfect raffle prize: Ferrero Rochers,...

This week, Mrs Barbara Nice welcomes puppeteer, comedian and DIY cabaret queen Freddie Hayes to the show – aka The Magic Lady ! Live from Nottingham (via Barbara's shed), Freddie shares the wonders of creating weird and whimsical characters out of cardboard, clay and chaos. They chat about her journey from Nottingham to the Edinburgh Fringe, the joys of being a one-woman show, and what happens whe...

This week, Mrs Barbara Nice is joined by none other than Frankie Monroe – owner, MC, and eternal soul of The Misty Moon, Rotherham’s finest working men’s club (and, incidentally, a portal to Hell). Broadcasting straight from the Underworld – where he’s been recently appointed Entertainment Officer – Frankie shares top tips for surviving damnation with style. Don’t forget your Yakults, br...

The Mrs Barbara Nice and Friends Podcast comeback continues from a one person shed, and this week it's Salford's very own brilliant Molly McGuinness. As trains are so expensive (78 piggin' pounds from Birmingham to Manchester??) Molly joins Barbara on a call from Molly HQ. Barbara and Molly discuss Shopping - Molly loves Heron Foods: it's the TK Maxx of supermarket shopping and Molly is ready...

The Mrs Barbara Nice and Friends Podcast is back after 5 years - she only popped out for a Curly Wurly and some Tea Bags, and look what happened. Hold onto your hats and brace yourself for a whirlwind as Mrs Barbara Nice welcomes the brilliant Ada Campe to the podcast! Expect tales from the cabaret circuit, oddball adventures, and a few surprises along the way. Barbara and Ada find plenty of laugh...

Comedian and Actor Tez Ilyas has designs on being Doctor Who's first Asian Doctor, acting on stage at the Royal Shakespere Company and landing a dream role on the TV soap Neighbours.  In the meantime he talks to Barbara Nice about being a naughty kid at school, being even more of a handful in Mosque class and his new Book "The Secret Diary of a British Muslim", which he wants EVERYONE to read.  Vi...

It's International Women's Day 2021, so to celebrate Barbara sits down with Award Winning Irish comedian Gráinne Maguire to talk about all female bills at gigs, all female flats at the Edinburgh festival and how Gráinne has been using lockdown to become a learned master of comedy. Plus, stick around at the end to hear about Barbara's 7pm Podcast rating challenge! (Though if you miss the deadline,...

Barbara appears this week hot off being vaccinated against COVID-19, but the experience didn't shake her world. She celebrates her normality with Chef and restaurateur Glynn Purnell of Purnell's Bistro to talk to him about how he's cooking through lockdown, how a restaurant business survives during a pandemic and what he is doing to help others. Plus, there's time to chat about his upbringing in B...

Poet and performer Jodi Ann Bickley became known to the world for her "million letters" campaign where she would write a letter to anyone who needed a bit of a mental health boost. But she caught Barbara's eye by her latest campaign, doodles of famous local faces on teatowels to raise money for charities affected by lockdown. And of COURSE, Barbara is one of them! They also chat home schooling, li...

Like every podcast going this week, Mrs Barbara Nice and Friends was fortunate to be able to chat with comedian Stewart Lee to talk about the film he has in part funded, produced, interviewed and promoted along with Michael Cummings (Brass Eye, Toast of London): King Rocker The film focuses on Birmingham alternative rock band "The Nightingales" and Stewart chats to Barbara about the making of the...

Comedian Seymour Mace isn't sure if he wants to still be a comedian when the pandemic is finally over.  But while the world is on pause, he's damn sure going to use that time to educate himself and follow other passions.  In this episode, he talks to Mrs Barbara Nice about his art course, breaking himself down to build himself up again, rambling about rambling and the bad press recieved by the muc...

Happy New Year F.O.B.s! Mrs Barbara Nice returns for the new year and has recently starred with Les Dennis on the BBC comedy pilot Learners so she brings him into her world of podcasting for a chat.  She invites her new friend Les to  about his 51 years in showbusiness, gig venues they've played, Les' toughest gigs and of course behind the scenes anecdotes from the making of Learners. You can list...

In this episode we learn that not only is Mrs Barbara Nice a comedy sensation in her own right, she has also plyed her time in teaching up and coming comedians the ins and outs of the comedy world through her various comedy courses Many of her former students have gone on to great things including this week's guest: Lovedev Barpaga They talk about their time on the comedy course as student and tea...