Straight Up

Straight Up episodes:

• 05.18.2023

  Allan ‘MC Grindah’ Mustafa: prank calls, insecure men and winding up Jared Leto

  Buckle up huns because today’s guest is one of our all-time favourites: fellow Londoner and proper funny man Allan 'Seapa' Mustafa, the BAFTA-winning actor, writer and co-creator of hit crime comedy, The Curse, as well as the ICONIC People Just...

  
• 05.11.2023

  Gwyneth Paltrow on Brad vs Ben, and a deep dive into the ‘It Girl’

  We’ve got a real treat in store for you today angels, starting with the latest explosive Gwyneth Paltrow interview and the many, many revelations she made on how her exes Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck compare, as well as a...

  
• 05.04.2023

  Fleur East: surviving The X Factor and the secret to long-lasting love

  This week hunnies we have musician, The X Factor semi-finalist and Strictly finalist Fleur East on the show for a chat all about what it’s like to go through the often brutal churn of reality TV, and come out very...

  
• 04.27.2023

  Sofia Richie’s wedding, a Netflix sex scandal and Reese Witherspoon’s Hollywood reign

  We’re back with a thrilling culture debrief for you today, angels, and as you can hear from our unhinged giggling, we are really very excited to be reuinited with you all, gossiping about everything from Sofia Richie’s wedding at the...

  
• 04.20.2023

  Picture This’ Ryan: introversion, Irish stereotypes and why he doesn’t want kids

  Hello darlings, have you missed us? Kathleen is back from Mexico so Straight Up is back to business and we have an excellent celebrity interview for you today: Ryan Hennessy, frontman of Picture This, the childhood friends turned Irish mega...

  
• 03.30.2023

  Celebrity journalism's big existential crisis

  Hi gorgeous ones! Today we round up our mini celebrity journalism series with the fourth and final part (listen to parts one to three by scrolling back in our archive - they’re super juicy!). And it’s all about celebrity journalism’s...

  
• 03.23.2023

  Jordan Stephens: sex on screen, male shame and Andrew Tate

  Jordan Stephens is in the studio today angels and this is defo one of our favourite chats to date – you are going to absolutely love this one! Jordan shot to fame as a teenager as one half of Rizzle...

  
• 03.16.2023

  Fat suits, Jennifer Lawrence’s comeback and popping the Paul Mescal hype

  Welcome back angels! We’ve got a corker of a chat for you today, where first we quickly debrief on our favourite Oscar looks, before getting into The Whale, for which Brendan Fraser took home Best Actor, and Hollywood’s surrounding fat...

  
• 03.09.2023

  SG Lewis: ‘songwriting camp’, fame freebies and Face-timing Elton John

  Hi darlings, we’re back today with a chat with the man who got us turning our kitchens into dancefloors over the pandemic, and has just released one of the most disco-tastic albums of 2023, AudioLust and HigherLove. SG Lewis (or...

  
• 03.02.2023

  The epic Peltz-Beckham wedding fall out, Paris Hilton’s birth phobia and horror’s hottest actor

  First up today darlings is a whistlestop recommendation rundown for New York, where Ellie celebrated her 30th last week, followed by a blow-by-blow look at the car crash that is the Peltz-Beckham wedding lawsuit drama. Then, a further debrief on...

  
• 02.23.2023

  Mae Muller: body image, TikTok stardom and celibacy

  Hi gorgeous ones, this week we have the equally gorgeous Mae Muller in the studio, who many of you will no doubt recognise from her absolute belter I Just Came to Dance which was permanently on the radio just before...

  
• 02.16.2023

  Brit Awards goss, Rihanna’s big reveal and Kourtney K’s vagina gummies

  Sorry about the hangovers, huns, because first up today we’re give you the full behind the scenes debrief on the Brit Awards, where we had a rather raucous evening on Saturday night, starting with drinks at the gorgeous Shoreditch bar...

  
• 02.09.2023

  RAYE: survival, songwriting and success on your own terms

  Gang we are so excited to have none other than RAYE on the podcast this week, one of our favourite artists and an absolute icon on the British music scene at just 25-years-old. The South London gal released her debut...

  
• 02.02.2023

  Pamela Anderson’s sex tape nightmare, Miley Cyrus’ revenge and fine dining horror

  Hi darlings, this week we get stuck into some VERY juicy topics, starting with, is the new Amy Winehouse biopic doomed to fail? Plus, having watched the brand new Pamela Anderson documentary on Netflix, how much did her sex tape...

  
• 01.26.2023

  Akon: celebrity greed, dealing with divas and taking Straight Up to the strip club

  Can’t quite believe we’re saying this huns but we had the man, the legend AKON in the studio with us recently to celebrate his new TikTok EP TT Freak and it was all we hoped and more. We had the...

  
• 01.19.2023

  Prince Harry bombshells, family estrangement and frostnipped todgers

  We read Prince Harry’s memoir so you don’t have to, huns, and good grief do we have thoughts. We trawl through the juiciest revelations (especially the ones that haven't made the headlines) and debate over some of Spare's most contentious...

  
• 01.12.2023

  Baby Queen: drugs, toxic managers and the ‘void’ of celebrity

  Happy new year huns! After a restful Christmas of pigs in blankets and Oatnog we’re suitably fattened up and raring to go for 2023 at Straight Up HQ, with plenty of juicy, eye-opening interviews about the murky world of celebrity. In...

  
• 12.22.2022

  Christmas special: festive quiz, 2022's best celeb moments and top TV

  Hello angels, today we are bringing you an episode full of festive cheer and (slightly tipsy) merriment! Over a bottle of Straight Up’s fave winter drink Oatnog, we reminisce about our best and worst Christmas rituals and presents, the highs...

  
• 12.15.2022

  First Aid Kit: touring with your dad, sexist journalists and the 'good girl' trope

  Hiiii huns, this week we have one of our fave bands on the show: First Aid Kit! The Swedish, Brit-nominated sisters Klara and Johanna are adored around the world for making the most beautiful country music, which had Ellie swooning...

  
• 12.08.2022

  The White Lotus, wealth and the explosive truth about celeb gossip giant DeuxMoi

  Get ready for some rip-roaring recommendations this week angels, because we're debriefing on everything from infamous celebrity gossip IG account DeuxMoi's thinly-veiled new autofiction, Anon Please, to the second season of the bonkers, totally brilliant HBO series The White Lotus,...

  
• 12.01.2022

  Dermot Kennedy: music biz myths, embarrassing moments and terrifying stalkers

  Hi darlings, if, like us, you love peeling back the glossy layer of the celebrity machine and digging beneath the sparkle of the music industry, then you are going to absolutely adore this episode with Dublin megastar Dermot Kennedy. He’s...

  
• 11.24.2022

  Plastic surgery, James Corden’s cheating drama and Julia Fox’s radical celibacy

  We’ve got a full free-wheeling festival of recommendations for you this week angels, from our thoughts on Em Rata’s new podcast HighLow – which prompted a big old debate on tweakments, the intersection of cosmetic surgery and feminism, body image and...

  
• 11.17.2022

  Roman Kemp: life as an A-list radio presenter, from cleaning toilets to celeb parents

  Hello darlings, this week's fabulous Straight Up guest is the radio presenter and DJ Roman Kemp, who has just released a memoir, Are You Really Ok?, and who opened up to us about everything from his lifelong struggle with mental...

  
• 11.10.2022

  Britney’s shocking family history, Matthew Perry’s memoir and celeb couple age gaps

  Hi lovely listeners, this week’s episode is absolutely brimming with recommendations spanning everything from romantic autumn minibreaks to the memoir everyone’s been talking about – did you know that Matthew Perry (Chandler from Friends) almost died from drug addiction and...

  
• 11.03.2022

  Tove Lo: female pleasure, narcissism and monogamy

  Gorgeous ones, are you ready for one saucy lil episode from none other than the extraordinary, Grammy-nominated, Platinum-selling star Tove Lo? And we really do mean saucy: Tove might just be one of the most sexually liberated women in pop,...

  
• 10.27.2022

  The dark side of superyachts, Stormzy’s heartbreak, Draco’s memoir and House of Dragon sex scenes

  Hi angels! This episode is an absolute cultural smorgasbord (yes that is the first time we’ve used that word), covering everything from what real life luxury hotel concierge think of hilarious super rich satire The White Lotus and crew members...

  
• 10.20.2022

  Caggie Dunlop: sobriety, self-worth and the chaos of her Saturn's Return

  Hello gorgeous ones, this week’s guest is the wonderful podcaster, musician and author Caggie Dunlop, whose dulcet tones some of you might already have heard on her own podcast Saturn Returns, which makes sense of our chaotic lives using astrology...

  
• 10.13.2022

  Industry, 2022's funniest film and true crime’s morality problem

  Get ready for another cultural debrief gang, because this week our guest once again cancelled at the last minute. Celebs, ey? Don’t fear however, hunnies, because to make up for it we have an extra fast-paced and fun one for...

  
• 10.08.2022

  Kanye vs the world and what the Kardashians did next

  Sorry for the late episode this week hunnies… the kitten ate our homework. Ok, not quite – though Kathleen does have a new kitten – but actually we had our celeb guest reschedule last minute. And, instead of leaving you...

  
• 09.29.2022

  Blonde's 'torture porn', female envy, and a hot new restaurant drama

  Hey huns! Autumn is finally upon us so we recorded this among plenty of scented candles and some steaming mugs of tea, while sinking our teeth into yet MORE controversy, this time about much-talked about new Marilyn Monroe film, Blonde,...

  
• 09.22.2022

  Don’t Worry Darling drama, freaky premonitions and our obsession with status

  Darlings, you won’t believe how juicy this episode is. Tomorrow sees the release of the film the world has been talking about for weeks on end: Don’t Worry Darling, the psychological drama fronted by none other than Harry Styles. But...

  
• 09.15.2022

  Amber Rose Gill: romance, representation and the truth about reality TV

  This week we’re rolling out the red carpet for queen of the internet Amber Rose Gill, the 2019 Love Island winner turned TV personality, podcaster, content creator and now debut author, with romance novel Until I Met You having been...

  
• 09.08.2022

  Funny women and the fall of Armie Hammer

  Hi angels! We're so happy to be back with another cultural debrief for you all, covering the absolutely wild new doc on controversial Hollywood actor Armie Hammer, House of Hammer; an original debut story collection by 80-year-old Jane Campbell, Cat Brushing; Sharon Horgan's...

  
• 08.18.2022

  Inside the sex lives of Gen Z, J Lo's divisive documentary and our new Netflix binge

  Ladies and gents, check your prudery at the door, because we have one hell of a cheeky little episode for you this week, jam-packed with stories about sex, sex and...more sex.  First up, a peek behind the curtain of what it's...

  
• 08.11.2022

  Aitch: fame, relationships and next stop Hollywood

  Yes huns, you read that correctly, we have got Aitch, man of the moment and one of the UK’s most adored musicians, on the show! We had Aitch over for some daiquiris (his fave) at our home at BRXTN Studios ahead...

  
• 08.04.2022

  Magic mushrooms, Crawdads' controversy and this summer's hottest book

  We've got another culture fix for you this week gang, from why LSD and magic mushrooms are good for you (they could have even stopped the Vietnam war!) to the novel everyone is talking about, and Hollywood's latest controversy. Have...

  
• 07.28.2022

  The Vamps' Brad: What it’s like to front one of the world’s biggest boy bands

  This week’s guest might just be our most favourite ever, not least because he carried our mics for us after this interview – how cute is that?! You guys are going to LOVE Bradley Simpson, frontman of The Vamps, as...

  
• 07.21.2022

  Emma Watson, Brooklyn Beckham, Sienna Miller: What it's really like to be a celebrity journalist Pt III

  As promised gang, we've got a third instalment of our chat covering what it's really like to be a celebrity journalist – there were, after all, just too many hilarious, ridiculous stories (and actual analysis!) left out of the first two...

  
• 07.14.2022

  James Bay: tackling misconceptions from mental health to the Met Gala

  It’s another glorious sunny Thursday and we have singer songwriter extraordinaire James Bay in the house! He has a brand new album out, Leap, which is all about his journey overcoming imposter syndrome and mental health struggles – despite his...

  
• 07.07.2022

  Inside our best friend baecation, from beach reads to cocktail chaos

  Hello gorgeous listeners, this week we’re taking you to the Maldives! And, guys, it’s not just any private island hotel, it’s The Standard, our absolute fave for fun with friends, strong cocktails and enticing dancefloors (if you’ve not yet been...

  
• 06.30.2022

  Krept: fan madness, fatherhood fails and a £15m baby business

  Hi huns! This week we caught up with one of the UK's best-loved rappers and one of our fave musicians Krept, half of duo Krept & Konan, to talk about his incredible journey from making chart-topping rap songs to launching...

  
• 06.23.2022

  Naomi Campbell, Richard Branson, Lady Gaga: What it's really like to be a celebrity journalist Pt II

  Back by popular demand, this week we embarrass ourselves once again by sharing more of our juiciest stories about the fame game, from the time we accidentally made a top Hollywood actor cry and how one wilts in Naomi Campbell's...

  
• 06.16.2022

  Sean Paul: handcuffs, spacecakes, and a $25,000 suit

  Honeys, we’re home!!! Did you miss us? We had not forgotten you – in fact over the last few months we’ve been working SO hard to bring you the biggest and best season of Straight Up yet, fuelled by our...

  
• 06.01.2022

  Maya Jama on imposter syndrome, creepy DMs and Drake's name-drop

  From the song that soundtracked her first dance with a boy to her bad bitch breakup anthem, Maya Jama shares the music that means the most to her in this extremely cute episode. We also chatted about Maya's struggles with...

  
• 02.04.2022

  Mahalia’s lessons in love, life and money

  It’s the last episode of S2 and, as sad as we are, we’re SO excited to be ending on a high with  this very special chat with one of our favourite artists, Mahalia. Fuelled by some gorgeous Whitley Neill gin...

  
• 01.12.2022

  The hottest gossip of 2022: from Molly Mae to The Weeknd

  No guest again this week, gang, but what we’ve got in store might just be even better! Instead, we chat all about the hottest cultural gossip of the year so far, from music, TV and film, to the biggest talking...

  
• 12.17.2021

  Bastille’s Dan on his wildest fan story, imposter syndrome and the power of therapy

  We've got a real Christmas treat for you this week: a hilarious, insightful, thought-provoking interview from Dan Smith of Bastille. Eased along by some red wine, Dan spills the beans on what it's really like to be the frontman of...

  
• 12.03.2021

  HRVY on fame, finding himself and the Strictly curse

  Our guest today is HRVY, the 22-year-old pop sensation and former Strictly semi-finalist who is basically the British, Gen-Z answer to Justin Bieber. HRVY (real name, obviously, Harvey) has been in the music game since 13 and has amassed a...

  
• 11.19.2021

  On Emrata, Sally Rooney, sex and power

  We’ve got another departure from our usual format for you this week, where this time we chat culture recommendations, from the book everyone’s talking about to Netflix’s latest hits. Strap in for our thoughts on Emily Ratajowski’s collection of essays,...

  
• 11.04.2021

  Pandora Sykes talks friendship, career hacks and life after The High Low

  Our guest today is Pandora Sykes, the author and podcaster who also happens to be one of our absolute *favourite* journalists ever (top fangirls over here). Pandora got her first big break at The Sunday Times Style magazine and has...