After weeks away, we’re finally back in the new Winging It studio… and the dogs immediately took over.

In this episode, Lisa talks about finishing counselling and the surprising moment her therapist told her she no longer needed regular sessions. We discuss what therapy actually changed, learning to advocate for yourself, relationship mistakes, difficult conversations, birthdays gone wrong, Rock Choir, the Edinburgh Fringe, and why personal growth isn’t always comfortable.

We also attempt to record a podcast while being constantly interrupted by Winston and Angus, who clearly had plans of their own.

In this episode:

If you’ve ever tried to have a serious conversation while pets, children or life itself had other ideas, this one’s for you.

🎙️ Winging It with Chris & Lisa Duke

#WingingItPodcast #CouplesPodcast #Therapy #MentalHealth #Marriage #Relationships #Counselling #DogOwners #PodcastUK #ADHD #PersonalGrowth

What started as a summer working abroad in Corfu quickly turned into something we didn’t expect.

In this episode, we tell the full story. From the moment Chris was pushed into the pool during a show and tore ligaments in his ankle, to dealing with the aftermath in a country that suddenly didn’t feel quite so welcoming.

But the injury was only part of it.

We talk about what life was really like working abroad, the cracks that started to show behind the “dream” lifestyle, and how things gradually spiralled. From poor living conditions and sewage coming through the room, to feeling completely unsupported, this was the point where everything began to shift.

There’s also a more honest conversation about money. How small, unnoticed spending builds up, how ADHD plays into impulse decisions, and the system we’ve started using to take control of it before it gets out of hand.

It’s a mix of chaos, reality, and a few moments where all you can do is laugh at how ridiculous it all was.

In this episode:

• The pool accident and ankle injury

• What medical care abroad was actually like

• The reality of living and working in Corfu

• When the “dream” started to fall apart

• The hotel conditions that pushed things too far

• ADHD, impulse spending, and money struggles

• The system we’re using now to fix it

🎭 If you want to support One Missed Call (Chris’s men’s mental health musical heading to the Edinburgh Fringe):

👉 https://missedcallmusical.com

Every share, every donation genuinely helps move this forward.

In this episode of Winging It, what starts as a simple word game quickly turns into chaos. Chris and Lisa test whether they are actually compatible by trying a game where they must say the same word at the same time. It sounds easy… until it absolutely isn’t. Along the way they talk about:

• Sitting through a real criminal trial at Glasgow High Court

• Why justice sometimes restores your faith in the system

• Being brutally honest about the cost of living and financial stress

• Dealing with internet trolls

• Parenting, illness and trying to hold life together

• A powerful dream that felt like healing an inner child

And of course… the game that nearly caused a divorce. If you enjoy honest conversations about life, marriage, parenting and the occasional ridiculous argument, you’ll feel right at home here. 

Subscribe and join us every week as we continue Winging It.

Divorce does not have to destroy your family. In Episode 16 of Winging It, we sit down with professional family mediator Patsie Nielsen to talk honestly about separation, co-parenting and what children really experience when parents are in conflict. Patsie has spent years helping families navigate some of the most difficult conversations of their lives. Her focus is always the same: the children. Not who wins. Not who’s right. Not who gets the better lawyer. The children. In this episode we discuss: • Mediation vs going to court • Why conflict harms children more than separation itself • How to tell your children you’re separating • Parenting plans and why every family should have one • The reality of co-parenting in two homes • How extended family and social media can make things worse • What children actually say when they’re given a voice If you are separated, considering divorce, or trying to co-parent well, this conversation could change how you approach it. Find Patsie Nielsen here: 👉 https://nielsennurture.co.uk/

This week we talk about the number we never really talk about.

25 stone.

Not for drama. Not for sympathy. Just honesty.

We look back at the breakfast show years, the routines that quietly got out of hand, and how it slowly became normal. We talk body dysmorphia, food noise, ADHD and dopamine, gastric bands, hospital scares, and the uncomfortable truth that you can be “medically fine” while still knowing something isn’t right.

Now we’re back in the gym. Five sessions in a week. Energy improving. Showers conquered. And the scales going up.

So what does progress actually look like when you’re trying to change years of habits?

This episode is about weight, consistency, self-awareness, and starting again without turning it into self-hate. It’s about saying the number out loud, then carrying on anyway.

If you’ve ever struggled with food, motivation, or the cycle of “right, this time I’m doing it”, this one will hit home.

🎭 Support the musical One Missed Call

First impressions can be brutal.

Sometimes they’re wrong. Sometimes they linger longer than you expect.

In this episode of Winging It, we talk honestly about how we first saw each other, what was said behind the scenes, and the moment those early judgements finally came into the open. It’s funny, awkward, and quietly revealing, because relationships don’t start clean, even when they end up strong.

If you’ve ever discovered what someone really thought of you at the beginning, this conversation will feel familiar.

🎭 Support the musical One Missed Call

A one-man musical about men’s mental health, fatherhood, and the moments that change everything.

https://gofund.me/03b16d496

📘 Wilfred, The Littlest Dragon

A beautiful children’s book about being different, being brave, and being yourself.

https://jillcgrant.co.uk/

This week on Winging It, we tell a story that still makes us laugh, cringe, and slightly wince. Early in our relationship, Lisa was offered two theatre tickets by her ex. It felt harmless. Normal. Friendly. Then he turned up with the second ticket. What Lisa thought was happening, what he thought was happening, and the exact moment it clicked are all unpacked, honestly and with hindsight doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Along the way, we talk about boundaries, naivety, old versions of yourself resurfacing, and why intent matters more than technicalities. It’s one of those stories that sounds obvious in retrospect, but absolutely wasn’t at the time. If you’ve ever thought “that’s not a date”… and later realised it definitely was, you’ll feel very seen. — If you’d like to support Chris’s one-man musical One Missed Call ahead of its Edinburgh Fringe run, you can do that here: https://gofund.me/03b16d496 Every share helps. Every contribution means more than you know.

In the debut episode of Chris Duke Talks, I sit down with John Barrowman for an open, reflective conversation about identity, resilience, musical theatre, and what it means to stop editing yourself. John speaks candidly about career highs and lows, public scrutiny, creative freedom, and why he now does things entirely on his own terms.

We also talk openly about honesty, humour as defence, and the cost of staying silent, themes that connect closely to the Fringe musical I mention during the show.

Supporting the Fringe Musical: One Missed Call

If you would like to support the show:

We thought this would be a straightforward DIY job.

What started as a practical task quickly turned into a much more intense conversation than either of us expected. This episode is about what happens when pressure builds, emotions sit just under the surface, and you keep going anyway.

There’s no shouting, no blow-up. Just honesty, fatigue, and the weight that comes with trying to hold everything together while telling yourself you’re fine.

If you’ve ever underestimated a “simple” job, or found yourself having a bigger conversation in the middle of something ordinary, this one will probably land.

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Supporting the Fringe Musical: One Missed Call

Alongside the podcast, I am currently raising funds to take a new musical to the Edinburgh Fringe.

One Missed Call is a one-man musical about a father who spends one night making the phone calls he has been avoiding for years.

Each call goes to someone important in his life. Family. Friends. People he has unfinished business with. Some answer. Some do not. One call, in particular, sits at the heart of the story.

The show explores how men often deal with emotion by not dealing with it at all. It looks at humour as a defence, the habit of changing the subject when things get close, and the quiet weight that builds when conversations are left too long.

Musically, the show moves between warmth, comedy, and stillness. The audience sits directly inside the character’s head as the night unfolds.

The story comes from personal experience, from being told to “man up” for caring, for feeling deeply, and for loving musical theatre. Rather than pushing those things away, they have been used to create something that speaks directly to men who recognise that pressure.

At its heart, One Missed Call is about what happens when you finally stop avoiding the conversation, and what it can cost when you don’t.

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Support the show here:

👉 https://gofund.me/f36049c02

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Losing my radio job three weeks before Christmas was not on the bingo card, but here we are.

We also get into the practical stuff, the emotional stuff, and the slightly ridiculous stuff. From packing boxes and dodgy flooring to relationship fears, antidepressants, anxiety, and why the new mixer arrived at the worst possible moment.

If you’re in the middle of your own life-chaos, pull up a chair. You’ll fit right in.

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Thanks for being here. It helps more than you know.