Television Times with Steve Otis Gunn

A quick bonus episode to say hello from Leeds. It’s a short, scruffy little check-in, a bit of an interim chat between the repeats you’ve been getting and the brand new episodes, which begin at the end of this month.

I just wanted to pop my head round the door, say hi, and let you know how things are going. It’s not a full-blown episode, more a cup of tea and a natter before Television Times comes back with fresh material.

There’s also a song at the end, because why not.

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In this repeat transmission, Danny Robins chats about how he became Britain's go-to ghost expert by accident — and now he can't get rid of them.

Danny Robins is a British writer, broadcaster and playwright known for creating and hosting the BBC's Uncanny podcast and TV series, and for writing the acclaimed West End play 2:22 A Ghost Story. His work bridges comedy and the supernatural in ways that manage to be both funny and genuinely unsettling.

• How a comedy writer became the UK's most trusted voice on unexplained phenomena — and when the fascination really took hold
• What started as a podcast and became a BBC TV series, live tours, and a book
• The unsettling film that influenced his signature look — and the surreal experience of being interviewed by The Guardian as Basil Brush
• As a Halloween Bonus: Clinton Baptiste pops in to talk theatre ghosts, plus an excerpt from Steve's Edinburgh show featuring his own spine-tingling tale

Connect with Danny here:

• Instagram
• Facebook

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In this repeat transmission, Bernie Clifton chats about how he once flew in a Cold War bomber to a football match, took Oswald the Ostrich up in a microlight for a newspaper stunt, and was featured on Inside No. 9. It's been quite the ride.

Bernie Clifton is a British comedian and entertainer with a career spanning decades, beloved for his warmth, wit and prop comedy — including television appearances on 321, Crackerjack, and It's a Royal Knockout.

• The unexpected path from early ambitions through a brief RAF detour to the comedy stage
• The encouragement from Bob Monkhouse and Les Dawson that helped shape his now-iconic style
• How Oswald the Ostrich came into existence — and the surreal moment he took it up in a microlight
• What decades of live performance reveal about audiences, stamina, and why comedy endures

Connect with Bernie here:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Official Website

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In this repeat transmission, Graham Fellows talks about how he accidentally became Jilted John, accidentally became John Shuttleworth, and has spent several decades building one of the most quietly inventive careers in British comedy — largely by following things to see where they go.

Graham Fellows is a British actor, comedian, and musician best known for creating Jilted John and John Shuttleworth. As Jilted John, he scored a late 70s hit that thrust him into the spotlight; as Shuttleworth, he developed one of British comedy's most beloved characters — a middle-aged suburban man with a deep love of music technology and dry wit.

• How John Shuttleworth came into existence following a publishing deal — and then refused to leave
• What appearing on Top of the Pops in the early 80s was actually like
• The shifting world of 1980s and 90s television — Saturday Night Zoo, The Paradise Club, and what that era made possible for comedy
• Why following an accidental creation wherever it leads is a more reliable creative strategy than planning

Connect with Graham here:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• YouTube

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In this repeat transmission, Terry Christian talks about how he hosted one of the most exciting and controversial shows in British television history, survived everything it threw at him, and has been telling the truth about it ever since.

Terry Christian is a pioneering British television presenter, comedian, and author best known for his iconic role on The Word — the groundbreaking Channel 4 show that pushed boundaries and left a lasting mark on 90s broadcasting.

• What it was really like inside The Word — the chaos, the creativity, and the bits nobody planned
• The wild behind-the-scenes encounters with the famous and infamous, including the unforgettable Oliver Reed
• What it takes to stay true to yourself when the cameras are rolling, and the stakes are high
• What British television in the 90s looked like from the inside — and why nothing has quite replaced it

Connect with Terry here:

• Instagram
• Twitter - We do not endorse X, but Terry is hilarious on there, so we'll make an exception.

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In this repeat transmission, Sam Simmons shares his strong opinions about Come Dine With Me, Celebrity Big Brother, and the global standing of Australian sitcoms — and delivers all of them with the kind of sideways energy that makes everything funnier than it should be.

Sam Simmons is an Australian comedian, actor, and writer known for his surreal humour and absurdist style, with a career spanning multiple continents and credits including Last One Laughing Australia and multiple Edinburgh Fringe runs.

• Why Come Dine With Me and Celebrity Big Brother have become such enduring fixtures in modern pop culture — and what that says about us
• The state of Australian sitcoms and why they've yet to fully break through on the global stage
• The creative impulses behind his comedy — and how he leans into chaos, imagination, and unpredictability
• What the best absurdist comedy refuses to explain — and what happens to audiences when it doesn't

Connect with Sam here:

• Instagram
• Facebook

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In this repeat transmission, Nick Helm explains how he's made getting things spectacularly wrong into one of his most consistent creative strategies — and it's won him an Edinburgh Comedy Award, a British Comedy Award, and a Chortle Award along the way.

Nick Helm is a British comedian, actor, and writer known for his bold, high-energy performances and dark humour, with a distinctive style that blends absurdity with emotional depth across stand-up, television, and film.

• Why the risks worth taking on stage are the ones that terrify you the most
• What really goes on behind the scenes of creating television and film
• How failure has been one of the most important and underacknowledged forces in his career
• Why embracing the possibility of getting it spectacularly wrong is a more reliable creative strategy than playing it safe

Connect with Nick here:

• Instagram
• Facebook

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In this repeat transmission, Jarred Christmas explains how he has been navigating the comedy industry long enough to know that the only constant is that everything keeps changing — and has built a career on being good enough to keep up with it.

Jarred Christmas is a comedian, actor, and writer originally from New Zealand, known for his sharp humour and charismatic personality across stand-up comedy and television.

• Why evolving as a performer is less of a choice and more of a survival strategy
• How balancing family life with creative work changes the kinds of projects you take on
• Why comedy can be used to engage with serious social issues — and when that works and when it doesn't
• What resilience in a creative career looks like when the industry keeps shifting under you

Connect with Jarred here:

• Instagram
• Website

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In this repeat transmission, Paul Foot explains why he has strong feelings about Heinz baked beans, finds genuine comfort in the image of Judy Murray orbiting the Earth, and once had Keith Chegwin turn up in a conversation in a way that's difficult to fully explain. A completely normal episode.

Paul Foot is a British comedian and writer renowned for his offbeat and surreal comedic style, with a career spanning stand-up, television, and radio, and a loyal fanbase drawn to his entirely unique comic voice.

• The figures and ideas that spark his imagination — and the strange places they end up taking the material
• Why the image of Judy Murray orbiting the Earth is, in context, genuinely comforting
• A surprisingly passionate critique of Heinz baked beans — and the conviction with which it's delivered
• Why comedy that doesn't try to be relatable can be more connecting than comedy that does

Connect with Paul here:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• YouTube

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In this repeat transmission, Derren Brown explains how he's spent his career making the impossible seem plausible, and the plausible seem impossible — and has strong feelings about a particular spatula, which is somehow equally interesting.

Derren Brown is a master illusionist, mentalist, and bestselling author renowned for performances that blur the line between magic, psychology, and human perception, and for a career spent pushing the boundaries of what audiences think they know about their own minds.

• What a career built on the gap between what people believe and what's actually happening has taught him
• The craft of magic — and why suggestion and storytelling often matter more than technique
• A youthful shoplifting confession at Harrods — and how he frames it now
• Why the unreliability of memory is one of the most fascinating and unsettling things about being human

Connect with Derren here:

• Instagram
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• YouTube

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