Joined in 2023 
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He co-hosts The Last Leg on Channel 4 and Hypothetical on Dave and has appeared on everything from Have I Got News For You to A League of Their Own and Blankety Blank. I remembered the Brucie 'rap' from You Bet (and cringed along with him), and although he says adults shouldn't have enjoyed Gladiators, I did (at least, in the early days!
The highlight of the book is a spirited defence of Mr Blobby and the failed enterprise of Blobbyland.Using a different TV show of the time as its starting point for each chapter, it discusses everything from Josh's strange, rural childhood, to the BBC convincing him that Michael Parkinson had been possessed by a ghost, to Josh's belief that Mr Blobby is one of the great comic characters, to what it's like being the only vegetarian child west of Bristol. The audio book is read by Josh but also has a few interviews with stars of the 90s including Jet from Gladiators and Pat Sharp, and an interview about the book itself at the end with his friend James Acaster. Comedy and Music run through my veins and I love writing about them both, I adore interviewing acts and always on the lookout for something new! I have been listening to Josh since his radio shows in 2013 and so I know his fandom towards the nineties however I felt apart from that there wasn’t really any substance about the comedian. It was also a real nostalgia trip and heartwarming to read the similarities in mine and Josh’s childhood from the growing up in the middle of nowhere (in my case, Norfolk), the small class sizes and the very minor cases of rule breaking (one whole class detention).
You can hear Josh’s voice in the book (and no, I didn’t have the audiobook on at the same time) it is just written in his distinctive style.Josh Widdecombe seems like a thoroughly decent bloke and all-round ‘good egg’, so I feel slightly sheepish having to slate his book. This is a book about growing up in the '90s told through the thing that mattered most to me, the television programmes I watched. Not that you need to be a podcast subscriber or listener to find the book entertaining – it totally stands on its own two feet. There are no chapters on Twin Peaks, Our Friends in the North, Prime Suspect, Inspector Morse, Cracker or Queer as Folk. I think this is better than an average sort of biography, and really explores the fundamentals behind a person, and the culture that shapes them.
This started during the pandemic as ‘Lockdown Parenting Hell’ and has subsequently been rebranded ‘Parenting Hell’. In the UK, Oasis album Definitely Maybe sold just over 2 million copies, quite boring TV show How Do They Do That?Behind his front door are a plethora of prodigiously talented performers, all ready and eager to entertain. This pretty much features all the recognisable shows of that decade, whilst other televised events like the Euro '96 tournament and the funeral of Diana. This book is a very easy read for a very niche group of people who lived through the fun kids’ TV of the 90s.
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