Episodes
We have award winning actor Bryan Cranston on the podcast this week! He’s the star of Breaking Bad, Malcolm in the Middle and is currently starring in the West End in the play All My Sons. He popped round for lunch before his show that evening. We covered everything from working with Tom Hanks, his love of TV dinners, creating a Mezcal brand with Aaron Paul, embracing his fatherly role on every set, his daily routine for London’s West End, filming The Studio with Seth Rogen & Catherine O’Hara and we hear what it was like when he tried magic mushrooms in Las Vegas during filming! Plus we hea...
This week, we’re joined by the ultimate dream duo Alan Carr and Amanda Holden! It’s Alan’s second time joining us on Table Manners and since we last saw him, he’s become a winning Traitor and has just released the third season of his sitcom, Changing Ends. He’s joined by his work wife Amanda, who is celebrating her 20th anniversary as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent and is one of the leading voices on Heart Breakfast. Over lunch, we drank lots of wine and enjoyed Ixta Belfrage’s delicious Celebration Salmon while chatting about Amanda & Alan’s Greek Job, the best clubs to party in Corfu, Al...
We are joined by the Three Lions maestro this week, comedian and writer, David Baddiel! For the man with many strings to his bow, mum made latkes which were a big hit. We spoke about his new series ‘Cat Man’ and why cats deserve more airtime, his perfect ‘Full English’, his love of curries, being kidnapped for the greatest meal of his life, his allergy to alcohol, singing karaoke with Blur and the legacy of ‘Three Lions’. David’s limited series ‘Cat Man’ is released on Channel 4 on 16th January, so don’t miss out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It’s our first episode of 2026 and we have the wonderful broadcaster and radio presenter Emma Barnett joining us for lunch after an early morning start for her at Radio 4. Emma has actually interviewed me before (and we got quite drunk together back in 2011), and it turns out that mum & Emma’s mum went to school in Manchester many moons ago! We covered everything from her breakfast routine, nostalgic Jewish food, being a colouring-in-book entrepreneur, her endometriosis diagnosis, the amazing guests she has interviewed over the years, and we reminisce about the time she got a Conservative M...
And just like that, it’s the end of 2025! But it’s not over yet, we have the fabulous Kate Hudson to see us out of the year. Kate joined us for breakfast in the midst of a whirlwind tour for the brand new film Song Sung Blue, which is a beautifully touching film. Over breakfast, we talked about everything from making the film with Hugh Jackman, her love of a dirty martini, the family’s epic annual New Years Eve plans, being caught in the LA fires, meeting Neil Diamond, when the perfect age is to watch Overboard, and we discover that Kate’s Italian family come from mafia roots! What a way to...
It’s Christmas Eve and we’re sitting down with a glass of champagne to listen to the Queen’s (Lennie) speech. We're joined by some of our lovely listeners from around the world to hear about their Christmas traditions and answer their questions. We cover everything from Christmas games, desserts, roast potatoes, mulled wine, cocktails, oven space hacks and the age old debate of Yorkshire puddings at Christmas! Plus you may hear from a few friends of the podcast along the way, including Cheryl, Kadiff Kirwan, Benny Blanco & more. Wishing all of our fabulous listeners (and watchers!) a very M...
We have the thriller King joining us this week, international bestseller, Harlan Coben! You’ll find all his books in stores worldwide, and now his TV series are taking the world by storm on Netflix. His latest series 'Run Away’ also stars multiple previous guests of the podcast (James Nesbitt, Ruth Jones & Minnie Driver), and it’s gripping from start to the end! Mum was in love with Harlan from the moment he walked through the door. We discussed his writing process, his love of Bruce Springsteen, growing up in New Jersey and his mum being a terrible cook, writing ‘Gone Before Goodbye’ with ...
We have chef & Instagram sensation John Gregory-Smith on the podcast this week! John brought round the most delicious monkfish curry and beef coconut rice from his brand new traybake cookbook, and mum made a gorgeous pear and chocolate tart for pud. We laughed non-stop with John - he told us about training to cook with Gordon Ramsey, his absolute love of Christmas, how to make the perfect festive gravy, eating his way round the Middle East, the ultimate kitchen gadgets, when Delia Smith introduced him to pesto, and why East 17 play a very important part in his family’s Christmas traditions!...
The absolutely divine Da’Vine Joy Randolph joins us on the podcast this week! The Oscar winning actress joined us in the midst of her global promo run for the brand new film Eternity, which coincidentally also stars friends of the podcast Callum Turner & Elisabeth Olsen! Da’Vine has to be one of our most foodie guests, we could have talked about eating and drinking for hours. We also discovered that London feels like her second home, that she has a seltzer water addiction, that she loves a sticky toffee pudding, what filming The Holdovers was like and she reveals that she has dumped men ove...
We have star of stage and screen, acting legend and national treasure Bill Nighy joining us on the podcast this week! Fresh from creating his brand new podcast ‘ill advised by Bill Nighy’ - where he is an agony uncle - we sat down with Bill for lunch. Mum even made his favourite dish - pasta puttanesca. We found out that Bill was a Mod in his youth, how he feels about the success of Love Actually, the time he scammed tourists on the streets of Paris, why he prefers to eat meals alone and how he must add as much spice as possible to every meal he eats! What a total delight to have a meal wit...
In a first ever for the podcast, this week both mum & I managed to forget to cook…Fortunately our guest Josh Widdicombe was actually stuck on a train during a tube strike and we had time to get it all sorted. When Josh finally made it to my house, we covered everything from how 'The Last Leg' was formed, his thoughts on school events, WhatsApp groups, eating his parents famous ‘Hippy Stew’, spicy food and how it’s his role at home to keep a tight control on the fridge! We also heard all about how he put together his brand new comedy tour ‘Not My Cup of Tea’ which is on the road until May 20...
On this week's episode we welcome musician and songwriter, Marcus Mumford! We chatted to Marcus in the lead up to brand new Mumford & Sons music and what sounds like an incredible 2026 for the band. Over steak tagliata, we talked about performing at Glastonbury, living in Devon, surfing in Malibu, the church his parents set up, his beloved Wimbledon AFC, and we hear all about Taylor Swift using his studio in Devon to finish her album. Thank you Marcus for travelling across the country to join us for dinner, wishing you all the best ❤️ Mumford & Sons’ new album ‘Prizefighter’ is out February...
We’re honoured to welcome award winning activist Malala Yousafzai onto the podcast this week! We sat down and talked with Malala about her incredible stories from her brand new book ‘Finding My Way’. We covered her thoughts on cooking, going clubbing in Oxford, being ghosted, her love of Taylor Swift, food memories from Pakistan, her first experience of people with a hangover and what it was like to become a Nobel Peace Prize winner at the age of 17. This is such a special episode with an incredible lady, we could have chatted for hours! Malala’s new book ‘Finding My Way’ is available every...
There are few people I’d move my birthday plans for, but when we heard Jeremy Allen White was in town, we said ‘yes, chef!’.He’s the superstar face of The Bear and is now playing 'The Boss', Bruce Springsteen, in the brand new film ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’. Mum rustled up her foolproof onion quiche, I made an Autumn salad from NYT cooking and we sat down for lunch with Jeremy. We heard all about his favourite places to eat in London, New York & Chicago, filming The Bear and cooking for his co-stars, having his eyes painted to play Bruce, bulking up for Iron Claw, cooking for h...
We are truly honoured to host legendary music icon, Gloria Estefan this week. Fresh into London from Miami, Gloria joined us for lunch which we really wish could have lasted all day and night. We found out about her family escaping Cuba during the revolution, her legendary Cosmo recipe, working with her beloved husband Emilio, owning a hotel & restaurant in Miami and we discover what it is like performing to five US presidents (and who served the best food). I grew up listening to her music and was completely enthralled by everything she had to say. We could do this with Gloria every day an...
We welcome Saturday Night Live and Bridesmaids icon Maya Rudolph on the podcast this week! Over a delish chicken schnitzel we talk all about Maya working with The Fonz, being part of a Wendy’s dynasty, stealing Molly’s wardrobe from the set of Loot, her love of London, her thoughts on Marmite and we’re even treated to Maya’s brilliant impression of Kate Moss! What an absolute delight it was to cook for you Maya, thank you for popping round to New Cross! Series 3 of Loot is available to stream now on Apple TV+. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We had the most gorgeous night celebrating the launch of Series 18 of Table Manners at Brunswick House! Thank you to all the fabulous guests for joining us for a delicious dinner cooked by chef Jackson Boxer, and the fabulous Moth cocktails too - the best canned Espresso Martini & Margs out there! Big shout out to the beautiful Park Hyatt London River Thames for treating us to balloons, an actual leopard print cake, and a gorgeous suite for us to get our glam on too. What a treat to get to keep talking to such fab podcast guests each week and to still be making this 18 series in! x Hosted o...
This week we’re joined by British acting royalty - in every sense of the word - it’s the newly knighted Sir Gary Oldman! Mum & I popped over to the Dorchester in London where Gary treated us to his (and Jackson Lamb’s) very favourite Chinese meal.We heard all about his life in Palm Springs, his mum’s cooking, growing up in New Cross, playing Lee Harvey Oswald, living in an empty hotel, the future of Slow Horses and we hear an incredibly touching story of his friendship with the late John Hurt. Thank you Gary for such a delightful afternoon, what a treat to eat and chat with such an icon. Th...
We’re back, it’s Series 18 and as well as listening to us, you can now watch our full episodes on YouTube! We’re back with the one and only Reese Witherspoon! The Oscar winning actress popped round to Clapham for a roast with all the trimmings and we loved every minute. We heard all about her love of PG Tips, living in Nashville, becoming a Swedish Narwhal for her kids at story time, filming The Morning Show, what it was like being a mother to 34 piglets in Sing, drinking a green smoothie every morning and we heard the secret to the best cookie. What a total treat to have Reese kick off ser...
It’s the last in this summer’s serving of Second Helpings and we’re ending it with a true icon - for the start of series 15 we had Superstar P!nk pop round to mum’s for a perfectly ‘pink' meal of Pink Salmon with Salsa Verde followed by mum’s delicious Pink Raspberry & Champagne Possets. We had the best evening with P!nk who told us all about her magical live shows her love of Kugel & Matzo Ball soup while growing up the psychic she visited in Australia who revealed how her daughter and her go back lifetimes and being mistaken for Gwen Stefani in a supermarket. Thanks to my new bestie for p...
It’s summer 2023 and ahead of the release of his epic new album 'Last Man Dancing’ we had the delicious Jake Shears joining us for a spot of dinner. Mum served up turbot and samphire for main with poached pears for pud. Jake told us all about the various places he lived while growing up - including the island his family moved to off the coast of Seattle where it's inhabited by foot long Banana Slugs (Google it, they’re gross!) - the beautiful and moving story of his best friend who inspired the hit song ‘Mary’ and drinking the mysterious ‘magic tonic’ purple drinks with the locals on Bourbo...
We’re dishing up a real treat on Second Helpings this week - she’d been on the hit list since day one and finally we had her! The one the only Dame Joanna Lumley popped over to Clapham for a vegetable pie & some poached pears and it was quite frankly absolutely fabulous. Joanna talks to us about growing up in India being addicted to limes her love of the Queen & cocktail nights at home. Speaking with experience she talks us through her desert island meal & being Patsy Stone. Whadda woman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It’s week 4 of Second Helpings and we were delighted to have our most requested guest, Sir Tom Jones, over to Lennie’s for lamb shanks a lemon curd roulade and a chat about his album ‘Surrounded By Time’ in 2021. We go way back and talk about Tom growing up in the 50’s playing marbles falling in love and getting married at 16. We also hear about his beloved mother’s corned beef pie. He reminisces about meals shared with Elvis Presley, Las Vegas bourbons with Frank Sinatra & Tom’s son / manager Mark even makes an appearance telling us how his Dad isn’t a very good cook..!! We loved having yo...
We’re travelling back to autumn 2021 and the start of series 12 where fellow foodie and Hollywood superstar, Stanley Tucci joined us. Mum had just come back from her holidays and I had just had my third baby! Stanley talks to us about growing up in New York, filming his TV show ‘Searching For Italy’ & his fight against cancer. He celebrates his mother’s cooking (& her famous lunchbox lunches!) & reveals his less than fine dining experience with Meryl Streep. Stanley’s food memoir ‘Taste’ is fantastic and is out now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Week 2 of our summer Second Helpings and we’re travelling back to November 2021 where we had pop princess, Jade Thirwall. Jade came over to mums for her favourite meal, a roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings! Turning up in full glam after a long photo shoot, it was just what the doctor ordered for our girl. She talked about her mum’s mince pies - and not the Christmas kind - her penchant for putting crisps in a tuna sarnie, drinking Malibu and always wanting the economy meal on the aeroplane. We discuss her beautiful relationship with the LGBTQ+ community and her obsession with Diana...
We may be on our summer break but we thought we’d delve into the Table Manners archive and relive some of our favourite episodes from 17 wonderful series! Up first is the gorgeous Aisling Bea who joined us in February 2020. We had been trying to nail down a recording with Aisling ever since we became friends on a Love Island WhatsApp group. I had laughed and swooned at her wit and grace from afar for a while so it was a total pleasure to offer a hoodie and a green tea to Irish actress writer and all round hilarious human, Aisling Bea. And thank God she came, if only to explain the meaning o...
It’s the final episode of Series 17 and we’re bidding adieu with actor, presenter and author, the gorgeous Stephen Mangan! Fresh from filming his latest series in Grenada, Stephen joined us for a BBQ lunch. We heard about his process when writing children’s books, choosing to go to boarding school as a child, his recent stint in the West End in a play about thrupples, how he plans to run a marathon every year for the rest of his life, and mum manages to get him to tell us his confession - a la his Radio 4 series ‘The Confessional’. Thank you Stephen for being a fabulous series finale! Steph...
We said it last week, but this time it really does feel like the hottest day of the year… joining us for lunch is the gorgeous actress Suranne Jones! Star of Doctor Foster, Vigil, Gentleman Jack, and a Coronation Street icon, and this week we caught up to talk about her new TV project, ‘Hostage’. We heard about growing up in Chadderton (and how mum used to go horse riding there!), how she met her husband at a wedding, filming Vigil during Covid lockdowns, setting up her own production company, admitting she isn’t the best cook and we even hear about her love of witches - and the Channel 4 d...
Get ready for one of foodiest guests we’ve ever had on the podcast, it’s actor Will Poulter! Will joined us on what was probably one of the hottest days of the year in London, so please excuse any fan noises you may hear in the episode or sweaty faces you will see! Will is a connoisseur in finding the best local restaurants to eat at and we loved hearing all about his recent stint in The Bear, creating a charity taco for a restaurant in London, the food scene in New Orleans when filming his latest project, working with incredible actors and actresses (including starring in the latest Haim v...
We have podcaster, author, and voice of Radio 2 drivetime joining us this week, the delightful Sara Cox! Mum’s just home from her Greek holidays, so we have a full Grecian menu for lunch - Psari Plaki with potatoes & Feta, followed by home made strawberry ice cream. Sara told us about making a podcast with her best friend Clare, growing up on a farm (and her dad’s foot injury from a bull called Ferrari), becoming an early riser to write her next book, the traditional Lancashire food she had growing up, and we hear about her Bake Off stint and how she won the show with her amazing showstoppe...