It's a big moment for Rosebud, because in this episode Gyles talks to Stephen Fry about his first memories. As you can imagine, this is a brilliant conversation, as Stephen tells Gyles about his parents and their remarkable marriage, his childhood, schooldays, how he went slightly "off the rails" as a teenager and then got things back on track at Cambridge. There are various detours, via Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare and Derek Nimmo's nose. Thank you to Stephen for his warmth and generosity in this chat.

Stephen is doing a special one-off performance at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday September 24, to celebrate the final instalment of his Greek myth series, Odyssey. Tickets are on sale now.

Enjoy another fantastic edition of Rosebud!

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On 8th September 2024, it is the second anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. In memory of that day, and of the Queen, our guest today is Terry Pendry. Terry worked with Queen Elizabeth II for over 28 years, as her Stud Groom and Manager at Windsor Castle. Terry's relationship with the Queen was unique, because he rode with her every morning when she was at Windsor. This is when the Queen was able to relax, and talk about her passions - for horses, dogs, animals and the countryside. And so, this interview with Terry - which we recorded in the Royal Mews at Windsor - gives an unusual level of insight into what it was like to spend time with the Queen, and tells us all about her love and knowledge of horses. And we meet her favourite pony, Emma, who she rode for the last few years of her life. Our thanks to Terry for this wonderful conversation, for introducing us to Noble and Emma, and to Sue Pendry for her hospitality and cake.

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Rosebud is a year old, so it's time for something a little bit different: to round off our first year, Gyles is talking to Professor Jon Simons - who is a world expert in memory, and the head of a specialist research lab at Cambridge University called The Cambridge Memory Lab.

What is memory? Where are memories stored, and how are they formed? Why do we remember some things and not others? How far back is it posslble to remember? And what can we do to improve our memories as we age? These, and other, questions are addressed in this fascinating episode. Gyles and Jon look back at some of the guests we've had on Rosebud this year, talk about their own memories, and lots of other intriguing topics.

The Cambridge Memory Lab are currently running a research project into people with exceptional memories. If you think you'd be an interesting subject for this experiment, you can volunteer yourself by following this link: http://tinyurl.com/memorysearch

And the Memory Lab is at http://www.memlab.psychol.cam.ac.uk/ - have a look around and see the amazing research they're doing into our memories, how they work, and how we can help those whose memories start to deteriorate.

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Felicity Kendal's irresistible performance as Barbara in The Good Life made her a household name almost 50 years ago; but her life was unique and fascinating long before that. Her childhood was spent touring India and Asia with her parents' theatre company, performing in makeshift theatres, schools, jungles and palaces. Her first stage appearance was in Midsummer Night's Dream when she was nine months old. She tells Gyles all about this amazing travelling circus life - how she caught typhoid as a teenager, went to a different school every couple of months and only ever took one exam, and still speaks Hindi and thinks of India as home. Felicity also talks about returning to London as an unknown 17 year-old and how she made it as an actress. This episode is charming, funny, unusual and full of laughter. Felicity will star in Filumena at Theatre Royal Windsor from 4 October. Thank you to Felicity for this wonderful interview.

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Michael Rosen is one of Britain's most popular poets - his poetry is loved by children all round the world, either through Michael's brilliant performances of them on YouTube and in primary schools, or because they are classics, like 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. Michael is also an old friend of Gyles's and a great storyteller, and this episode is slightly longer than our usual because it's full of such great stories. Michael takes Gyles from his childhood in Pinner, where he grew up up in a family full of jokes, mysterious Yiddish expressions and poetry, to his university days and how he narrowly avoided becoming a doctor, to the loss of his son, Eddie and his experience of being seriously ill with Covid. This episode is rich, entertaining, moving and fascinating - thank you to Michael for his time, energy and amazing stories.

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Aled Jones has been famous since he was only 13, when he was a choirboy at Bangor Cathedral in North Wales with a beautiful voice. In this interview he tells Gyles about his first ever public performance, in a village hall on Anglesey; about how he was discovered and asked to record an album, and about his incredible, and rapid, rise to fame. The next 4 years were a whirlwind - trips to London to be on Wogan, best-selling albums and Top of the Pops, a concert in the Hollywood Bowl in LA, singing at Paula Yates and Bob Geldof's wedding - Aled tells Gyles about all this, and about how his down-to-earth parents supported him and kept his feet on the ground. Thank you to Aled for bringing all these stories to life so vividly and for this charming interview. Enjoy this!

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Joining Gyles this week is is one of Britain's best loved actresses, Anne Reid. Anne's long career began when a teacher at school persuaded her to apply for RADA at only 16, and after a stint in weekly rep and appearances on The Benny Hill Show and Hancock's Half Hour, she became a household name as Valerie Barlow in Coronation Street in the 60s, and then as a regular performer with Victoria Wood in the 80s. But it is arguably in later life that Anne has had the most notable, and interesting, roles in series like Last Tango In Halifax, Years and Years and The Sixth Commandment, as well as in the feature film The Mother with Daniel Craig. Anne tells Gyles about her childhood, growing up in the north-east during the war, about bombing raids and ballet classes. She talks about her parents' move to India, and delights Gyles with a story of an amazing trip she took to Delhi during her school holidays. She talks about her marriage to the producer Peter Eckersley, who sadly died in 1981, and her life since then. Thank you, Anne, for sharing your wonderful stories.

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Richard Ayoade is Gyles's guest this week. A director, writer and actor, Ayoade is well known for his portrayal of Maurice Moss in cult sitcom The I.T. Crowd. He's also an acclaimed film director (the award-winning Submarine was his debut, and his next film The Double starred Jesse Eisenberg), a writer of books, and a TV personality. Gyles and Richard have a connection - Richard is a friend of Gyles's son, Benet, and they talk about their first meeting back when Richard was a teenager. They talk about Richard's childhood, his parents, his schooldays and how he met his wife, Lydia, at Cambridge, via a detour in which Gyles explains how he developed a teenaged infatuation with Joan of Arc. This is a rare, intimate and charming interview with Richard Ayoade; huge thanks to him for such an interesting conversation.

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It's a big day for Rosebud, as it's our 50th episode. No, we can't quite believe it either! We started Rosebud in September 2023 with Dame Judi Dench, and so we wanted to bring you another theatrical dame for our 50th show. And so it's with pride that we give you one of our greatest actresses, and an old friend of Gyles's, Dame Maureen Lipman. Maureen tells Gyles about her childhood, growing up in a close Jewish family in Hull. Maureen's mother used to encourage her to perform for her friends when they came over for drinks, and Maureen's gift for making people laugh was born. Maureen and Gyles talk about her drama school days, and the early part of her career, with Laurence Olivier at The National Theatre, at the RSC, and in film, in Up The Junction. They talk about the start of her relationship with Jack Rosenthal, whom she eventually married, and about what happened when Hugh Jackman announced, on stage, that he was too sick to do a Saturday matinee of Oklahoma. This episode is full of funny stories, revelations, and impressions.

We recorded this live at The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, South-West London.

At the end of the show there's a special treat, which is a remix of the legendary Rosebud themetune.

Enjoy this.

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The comedian, actor, star of The Mummy, and activist Omid Djalili talks to Gyles about his life and memories. From his childhood, growing up in an unconventional home in Kensington surrounded by the Iranian convalescents his parents took in as guests, to discovering his skill for comedy at secondary school, to his days at university in Northern Ireland and a scary experience being shot at on a beach, this is a rich and entertaining episode. Gyles and Omid explore faith, divine intervention, the Baha'i religion, how it's possible to have a fabulous second act... and much more. Omid is currently touring, tickets for his Namaste tour are on sale now.

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