Worst Foot Forward

Ben and Barry are often likened to cocktails - one is a high-baller with a twist and the other is a fruity virgin. So it was only natural that they would seek out the very worst of that particular type of tipple, with a little help from Richard Maxted, mixologist and proprietor of bespoke cocktail purveyors Mix & Muddle. We ask the question 'Who is Tom Collins?', learn the dirty secrets of the dir...

This is one of those episodes we've been looking forward to since the beginning of the podcast. Alongside actor, fellow history nerd and WFF fan Ethan Lawrence we go on a merry journey from China to Egypt, 13th century Bulgaria to 18th century France and finally to frontiersville San Francisco in front of the maddest, baddest, stupidest and occasionally most haplessly charming monarchs. Contained...

Order in court for this week's episode as we tackle the thorny issues of terrible legal defences. With us is one of our most qualified and talented guests - an expert in forensics, criminology and how to get away with anything, plus a mean performer on the stand-up and cabaret circuit: it's Ria Lina. With Ria's assistance Ben and Barry work out the best way to murder each other and then head onwar...

Curtain up! This week's guest is Archie Maddocks, a stand-up comedian as well as a multi-nominated playwright - his work has been shortlisted for both the highly prestigious Bruntwood Prize and Alfred Fagon Award in 2017. We train both barrels on word-wranglers and script-screwer-uppers as we take on some of the World's Worst Playwrights. Ben gets personal, Barry talks unstageable stage directions...

We laid out the green carpet and welcoming the Lizard Queen of British Burlesque Lolo Brow to dish the dirt on the worst burlesque of all time. She's a woman who takes her job very seriously and reveals the challenges, skills, secrets and invention behind becoming a top class performer. Don't worry though, we've also got our usual helping of disaster, including a watery New Orleans show that shock...

Izzy wizzy, let's get busy with a whole heap of magic and mystery. Ben and Barry are joined by Morgan & West, Time Travelling Magicians, who saw us in half, catch our bullets and pull rabbits from our nether regions in search of the World's Worst Magic Trick. Among the weird and wonderful sights we behold are an Ancient Egyptian who could separate a goose from its head, a wartime prestidigitator o...

As the storm clouds of climate change begin to whirl around us we thought it was time we talked to an expert who could help us point the finger at the worst environmentalists of all time. We uncovered hapless inventors, murderers with good(ish) intentions and extremely poor doings involving anyone called Nigel. Our guest and guide through these choppy waters is Amelia Womack, the Deputy Leader of...

Goooooooaaaaaalllllllll! For those of you expecting a podcast about the world's worst takers of industrial action - sorry, this one is about football strikers. Joining us is the host of The Football Question podcast, Ben Mepsted, to help us find some of the most backwards forwards ever (and indeed, never) to find the net. As always there are some fun facts - what man has played international footb...

Get some ice cool ear muffs ready for this episode as your ears are going to be burning by the end of it! Barry and Ben interview sketch comedy's Mr. Nice Guy Richard Soames about the worst word human beings have ever spoken. It should go without saying that we really give the explicit rating a good working over on this one as we explore all the best curse words in English, Russian, German, Icelan...

We're taking a week off to enjoy a cheeky autumnal holiday. In the meantime, fill your ears with some of the best clips that didn't quite make the final edits of some of our favourite show. Feat. Bec Hill, Tiernan Douieb, Lynn Ruth Miller, Jim Smallman and Sarah Bennetto. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @benvandervelde @bechillcomedian @tiernandouieb @lynnruthmiller @jimsmallman @sarah...

Grab your net, trident and extra-thick gloves and join us on a monster hunt! Ben and Barry are joined by Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominee John Henry Falle aka The Storybeast as they delve deep into the cryptozoological annals of the past in search of the world's worst mythical beast. This episode spans the globe, from grubby little Japanese goblins to the US Air Force, via Greek mythology's biggest...

Go go gadget! X-Ray Spex on, hoverboards charged up and telescopic body-parts at full mast as we construct some of the world's worst gadgets! Comedian, improviser and former Big Breakfast weatherman Simon Feilder is here to rummage through our garages and attics to find some of the most useless inventions ever. Amidst our tinkering, we create vicious self-defence devices, unprotectable patents and...

What, this old guff again? Yes but not as you know it, because Worst Foot Forward gets a reboot as we talk about the World's Worst Remakes. Writer, performer, producer and director Tom Crowley helps us trawl through the sludge and slush in the sewer of humanity's knock-offs and rip-offs. Barry - in a slightly feverish state - takes us sightseeing around terrible replicas of landmarks, Tom gives an...

Roll us out, cover us in flour and watch us rise, it's a very tasty episode this week all about the World's Worst Baker. And who better than AN ACTUAL GREAT BRITISH BAKE-OFF WINNER to help us decide on the soggiest bottoms in history. Yes, GBBO series 1 winner Edd Kimber aka The Boy Who Bakes is on hand to knead, prove and knock out as we discuss tacky wedding cakes, psychedelic bread, poisoning N...

The doctor will see you now, but say 'AAAAAAAHHHHH' because he's accompanied by two idiots. Yes, actual real-life NHS registrar Doctor Keir Shiels is on call with Ben and Barry scrubbing up beside him as we discuss the World's Worst Doctors. There are quacks and charlatans, cure-alls and elixirs, and tales of blowjobs on prescription, why the Hippocratic Oath is mostly bollocks and why goat balls...

Well knock us down with a steamroller, drop an anvil on us and throw us off a cliff because this week we're getting very animated in the company of Tobi Wilson. As a writer on the BAFTA-winning series 'The Amazing World of Gumball', Tobi talks us through some lesser lights of his chosen field as we peruse the World's Worst TV Cartoons. We reminisce about the Golden Age of Animation when such shows...

This week we're joined by tremendous rising star of the comedy circuit Sindhu Vee. Together we delve into the world of ancient history, hillbilly America, Hollywood and the deepest depths of the ocean to find the world's worst wife. There are tales of record-breaking matrimony, cannibalism, 12 hours near-fatal sex sessions and skiing mishaps. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @benvanderv...

Woooooooo! WOOOOOOOOO! Look out behind you, because creeping up slowly in ghostly and macabre form is this week's episode about the worst horror movies ever projected on the silver screen. We're joined by writer and comedian Bisha K Ali for a blood/treacle-with-food-colouring-soaked journey through the world of F-movies, possessed lawnmowers and a former Star Trek officer dressed as a crow. Be afr...

The truth is out there… Playing Mulder to Worst Foot Forward's Scully is comedian, actor and improviser Eric Lampaert. Eric is shortly appearing in Luc Besson's new sci-fi epic 'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets' - making him the ideal person to chase down UFOs with Ben and Barry as they seek out the World's Worst Aliens. We visit famous UFO sites like Roswell and Phoenix, abduct chess-l...

This week we hit the high note harmonies that crack glass and friendship as we uncover the very worst musical duos of all time. We're joined by one of the very best comedy musical duos - the charming, brilliant and award-winning political comics Jonny Donahue and Paddy Gervers aka Jonny and the Baptists. It's one hell of a journey as we discover sad tales of fraud, scatological Mexican metal bands...

Rev your engine, pop the clutch and do your very best not to stall on the start line as you help us uncover the worst drivers of all time with ace Canadian comic Dana Alexander. On the journey we meet hapless Formula 1 drivers, ancient Roman charioteers, racist bus drivers and uncover the secret tricks of Jamaican slave rebellions. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @benvandervelde @Comed...

Blood! Guts! Carnage! Trivia! Worst Foot Forward is a veritable crime scene this week as we investigate the World's Worst Serial Killer. We've got a crack team on the case led by our guest, comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean of gory sketch group Gein's Family Gift Shop, and host of her own serial killer podcast 'All Killa No Filla'. Among our prime suspects this week are a man who designed his ideal m...

We settle a debate for the ages this week and line-up a selection of silver screen heavyweights (plus a few bantams) as we debate the worst screen actor of all time. Joined by the excellent comic Christian Talbot we talk about character actors without character, comedians who should've stuck to their day job, why Young Darth Vader would've been a better prequel than the ones George Lucas gave us a...

They say there's no place like home - and in the case of the homes we discuss this week, THANK GOD! We delve into the World's Worst Lodgings with our guest: no less than a BAFTA nominated screenwriter, stand-up, sketch comedian, actor, author - the multi-talented and multi-vowel-possessing Nat Luurtsema. Nat helps us face up to some home truths as we wade through the murky depths of our former uni...

We are serving up a real feast for the ears as this week's podcast is about the World's Worst Cook and it is brimful of recipes for disaster - and yes, that very obvious pun DOES feature in this episode! Our guest is character comedian and improviser Fiona Sagar whose love of food and fine dining leads us into some less-than-salubrious eateries. On the menu are disastrous curries, the heart of a s...