Read this: Media Masters - Dave Berry

Media Masters with Paul Blanchard

welcome to media Masters a series of one-to-one interviews with people at the top of the media game by Dave Berry presenter of the breakfast show on Absolute Radio after making his radio presenting you on the capital afternoon show in 2007 he moved onto XFM where you put into the channels.

Hi Rach I think it's dead later returned to Capital where you want the Radio Academy gold award and to trick Awards before moving to am in 2017 the number of television credits to his name from his early career on Nickelodeon and MTV to get lots on panel shows including Through the Keyhole on Celebrity Juice Deb thank you for joining me.

How are you hello subscribers switching of the table so perhaps in the future when I kinda guessed you can be the knee yet much happier in your chair to be honest.

I like to ask the questions.

It's something I've been doing for many years.

There is an element of the craft to it.

Where is having to answer the questions? I will have this fear.

I had this week coming over here this morning, but I hope I'm not my idea of a terrible guest, what would that be that would be kind of safe safe middleground swear words and counter in our industry who farts so well Media trend that there's no fun in it really and that is also a little bit of the puzzle solving and part of what I really enjoy about having guests on the show is the term if they are going to be that way if they are going to have the Hollywood Polish it's nice to remove some of the veneer and peek beneath.

How do you do that then? I can buy learning this one of my personal development podcast well at the moment is a regular feature called showbiz scenarios which is 3.

Pathetical scenarios and three people from that person's working life or actual life and they have to tell me who they think would be best suited to help in a scenario scenario number one is can do this anyway, cos I've got no friends.

I did do some research.

I wanted to do with you, but unfortunately it's just your wife for 9 options still there is always there's a body in the boot of the car.

Who do you call for help and why my dad and why would you call you because you're my side really you know anything basically telling them coming out on Netflix isn't working on you know you and your father would be together.

I watch so many episodes when I'm on planes flying and I like forensic files and the police have got you before.

Cell phone Tower data blood spatter analysis they couldn't even know what's happened before you can walk through the door.

You dare take one notable features in radio and covering science sorry, what do the questions are they mixed you have a mixture of them most recently.

I quite like you've angered a Voodoo high priestess and as punishment.

She is transported you into the body of one of the following people for 24-hours Who season 11 of the missing Keith Richards at home from them holding.

You know im getting to hear a truism about Hugh Jackman or one of those guys.

Enjoy doing it.

You got out of the shower after you not extraversion you love it.

I doing this particular show the presenting of the show.

Is immensely enjoyable and I have a lovely team and it is my job, but the real enjoyment of it comes from creating the ideas and coming up with and the creative freedom.

How do you do that then? I think of your ideas in the shower on the bargain walking around the field all the time on my phone which you could scroll 4 hours and ever get to make it some of them don't but I'm in a position where you know I work with such a wonderful team that they are all willing to give it a go and the show is relatively unwritten until we all get together and we might have as much interaction with the listener as we can and I've got such a wonderful set of honour voices in in Matt Dyson Emma Jones and glenmoor the I don't want to hear what they going to stay in advance.

I think it really is the fun for me and I think it does take something away from the spontaneity.

There is a whole pile of heavily scripted shows out there and I think that after a while you know the listener are there.

On to people and I think that they can't catch on to that well.

I mean I've been listening to Steve Wright 30 years, but I still enjoy even though they basically the whole thing's pre-recording 11 weeks earlier and he's a legend because it's like a bit of an enjoyable chat before This podcast started recording and I try to limit the conversation because that you don't like you said that you might end up saying the same manner.

That is less impactful even to me if I've just heard it five minutes earlier.

So you write all that disappear.

Yeah absolutely I think that applies with the team and with the listeners in the morning it also applies with guests the there's nothing worse than if you have a guest in live and you've got two songs and add your effectively sat with someone you don't really know 411 minutes before you get to Connor hit them again and you get to go at it and hopefully it's entertaining and it's fun its spontaneous, so yeah.

That's a bit of a show instead of a show-off Gene which I suppose as the presenting part of it which I do enjoy but it's more it's more the creativity behind it all.

That is good for wellbeing.

You know I was doing some research on some of the things that you are the best bits of the job.

Is it when the red light goes on her is it the planning of the show is it I mean what is a typical day? How do you actually you know how you do it? What the best bit of the get up in the morning? I get up at 5, which isn't too bad and I know that it's if you host the breakfast radio shows the first question I get asked by everybody what time do you get up and 5 not too bad? And I've always been so fully aware that there are so many people who get up and work a lot longer and a lot harder than when I get far but you like me to get up at 4 to be one of me.

I have some kind of fresh.

Just out of the mountains and but you know sometimes it's other things to do like pop along here and talk with you lovely people and other times.

I'm kind of home with my baby daughter by 11:30, but on ever 4 hours a week Monday to Friday 6 a.m.

Till 10 a.m.

The last hour is kind of slightly more music heavy we have received from our energy and you just press play Bob Marley is exactly which is a little bit of work, but it's just to get some songs back to back in his people into their day.

Where is I will try and entertain and talk more during the during the early hours so between 6 and 9 but there is a performance at the

Isn't it because like if you've had a bad day or something might happen your family or your dog might be well whatever it might be a good thing bothering you but you can't be down be honest.

You still got to try being authentic version of yourself is also feeling a bit miserable.

Everybody's built differently as we know from whatever is going on in actual life having those 4 hours of fun in the morning can almost service some kind of rest and that's really important.

I think that you know you also in a position where you can talk about and share those things if you feel their fitting and their suitable you have the ability to do that.

It's also nice to be even offer to be kind of locked in a soundproof room with you know my dear friend Matt Dyson and you not talking about things in it works the same with all of the team.

But you know fortunately you know we're in a good place at the moment.

So that's good when you got the number one commercial show in the UK that was so pretty but he just alluded to that you're also use it to talk about depression.

Yes, we have yeah.

We are number one which is great because it shows quite knew we were only just over a year old Christians gone to Australia hasn't he has yes a Christian who did the show for 12-year moved himself and his entire family to Australia and just judging I haven't spoken to him, but judging by the Instagram looks like it's got a fine standard being there so so good for him and the breakfast is available and I was doing the hometime show so they asked me to move over and you know I again to go back to the getting up early.

I'm just I'm built for breakfast radio.

I like to I don't like too much times over thinking of doing the hometime show which starts at 16.

I was kind of second guessing myself a lot throughout the day and also It's hard.

It's hard to start your working day when people are going home.

Psychologically speaking it's it's daytime knowing that you've got the big.

I've got it coming it's yet and it's it's like a like a dark shadow.

We are number one and we've seen people listening for longer as well.

So that's a record high and after a year.

Did you know that's really pleasing for us and we're glad that the audience are getting what we doing and they've been in touch and engage with the shower that means the world to us.

So yeah, so what we really really happy with your second point about talking about things such as mental health is really a tribute to the list and to my employers really I think I'm happy to be the mouthpiece in the middle of this more than happy, but we had some really kind of powerful email to the show.

From people who were in dark places and the saying that we were the show help them out of that and they just wanted to say thank you, so I would always kind of contact those people when you know wish them well and so I can do let me know and then one guy called David very kindly.

I asked if we could share his email on there and he said absolutely I have no problem with that.

So thank you too.

David once again and then so we decided this is what we would do with Sarah's email.

We would use this as an opportunity to say you know not everybody feels great all of the time.

It's perfectly normal good Alliance you're not alone and we're all in my boss was like what he said.

I really love that you're going to do this.

Let's do it and I hate I hate this term but for the for the reason of this anecdote that still in the power hour so that's not kind of Fright away at 6:15 in the morning.

Let's do it at prime time.

We normally be doing some kind of big feature or big competition and he said we tackle Davies email and the response from the listings was great.

Is thanks to David for getting in touch and all the other people that do and you know them being brave enough to to reach out and you been reading as well.

Thanks.

Thanks to my PS4 saying Alexa could do this.

Let's do it big but I mean you did do it big and it's been an incredible success, but that was a genuine risk as it could have failed and then you would have got the blame you just as that stuff for on on the power armour.

I mean could backfire.

I think genuine courage has to have the ability to backfire, so it's all credit to you and thank you for that's very sweet of you to say thank you.

So what do you do immediately when you come off the do you have like loads of adrenaline going round in a couple of people accidentally knocked the presenter.

A setting up the fat videos a total Dumpty aftermarket thinking about what we just did what just happened.

That's the other thing that radio is you can always come up for air so I get in at 5:45 were alive at 6, then it's like right that might stay down Leona or everyone after me at that time comes into the studio and it's like that was good.

Let's revisit that there's more that can definitely be done with that that until next week.

That was a nice idea, but let's that a rainy day idea.

That's kind of non time specific so we got we have that kind of conversation, then we have the real basic bones of the show so at the time of the court were doing I think of 10 weeks of tickets.

It's a chance to see various different bands and so we will have a competition mechanic for that so at the moment.

We're doing it turns out the Glen

Fabulous Alan Bennett impression so we're doing quotes for me the Alan Bennett or Liam Gallagher and the list that identify whether they think that the quote has come from Liam proved to be such fun and easy impressionist brilliant.

I like to get the ball rolling after all that's only fair or will have an email that would have come in in The Day from a listener which will be fascinating and there's a real talk topic there, so you never guess what happened to me on the way home and then the agenda for the outset and that's just wonderful that's what I'm talking about with the mental well-being that's that's the fun part because you never quite always going to go we haven't done it yet.

It's like between probably talk about this tomorrow.

I know that and you you wonderful people I am I am wonderful admit that.

Something about doing this podcast will be something about laughingly one minute.

You're going to your first audition and the next thing you know you're on something called medium fast so I'm really looking forward to tomorrow already because we don't know what it's going to be.

How do you know what works? What doesn't like sometimes you might be too hard on yourself.

I might have to write in sometimes.

You're right to me and said she would have written that and I thought it was terrible and I really thought that it's very good cause sometimes you can be your own worst most faces critic.

Yeah, I mean you see that's that's the one of the great things about radio is if you really know it's not working because no-one's getting in touch.

No one's bitten.

You know when you've took the bait out there you can just grab it and move on and I think that there's also it's interesting cos I think one of the one of the events of live television.

I've got a lot of live television people watch it because they want to see something wrong and live TV can actually be to Polish.

It's like it's not really unless it's like a football in a sporting event or whatever not really worth even being like because all the presents are so polished and the autocue works, but people want to see that.

I've always been aware of that and I know something bombs on the show will just have to be honest about that and go bad so something else, but fortunately pull on touching with here.

We have a relatively high success rate.

What does gr mean? Is it is it the technical staff whose or is it that you something isn't as funny as you thought it would be handy.

So when we read the email did the sound good at an hour ago, but admitted he doesn't tell me what does it work when he doesn't work but you know we have we have technical issues.

We are we are docked but because what we have people listen to this may not know but what the breakfast show radio is incredible because my show goes out across 7 different station simultaneously, so if you like music from the 60s.

You can listen is exactly the same talking and it's like we don't.

I can send it out, but if I press the green button that plays the song an absolute radio is playing Kasabian then Aretha Franklin or play and it's there be exactly the same duration is clever when Christine pioneered that you can actually hear Def Leppard in his ear phone sometimes and he kept himself at the Beginning you say that Def Leppard great turn off now.

I've just been listening to I want to know what love is by foreigner.

So my instinct is to put the Mics up and blow it down a little bit and use it to talk over and see what's going to be coming next over on 60s.

I'm so religiously talking all over the end of a day in the life by The Beatles so I just have to sit and wait for it to play out but we have technical issues sometimes but that's because it's such a groundbreaking cutting Edge piece of technology.

It's clever, isn't it? Because the listeners want you but then they also differ on the music as I mean, I wasn't sure if your Radio 2 shows and you never like every song has been put on incredibly intimate medium radio isn't it much more Southern TV I mean my as I'm running or you're on the radios and you know in the kitchen chopping vegetables.

I'm driving but you've got my exclusive attention a liar Liar my boss uses nobody had a favourite TV channel.

Everyone has a favourite radio station and that's kind of says it all really 770.

We talked about had no idea of maybe on a Friday in the final hour.

We would bring all of the playlist together in one kind of big special Friday weekend decade multi, simultaneously.

But yet, but the thing is it's played that at like 6:05 on Monday morning and that's just at least 6:05 on Monday morning song possibly every 6:05, so let's do this Sunday night was I supposed to but yes, but we will be before they just seem to the fact is that people who listen to Absolute 80s do not want to hear Kasabian they want to hear songs from the 80s.

Yeah, so we we respect that respect the boundaries and it's working and you know you've chosen Absolute Radio 90s for the reason that you know you like music in the 90s.

So how do you choose the music then it across all the Strand because I meant you we've had just missing in Action as they had a muse BBC Radio 2 Robbie sounds in hours and I serve teas and it's in a couple of the people in the BBC's gone fast committee of seventy people they decide the playlist everything but imagine commercial.

It's probably.

In a couple of producers, but you must you must have to decide on the songs who does that is the same as that the beep there's a there's a team of people while the Loveable people and they sit on schedule the music particularly for the Breakfast Show because all of the songs have to be the same length if you're playing because a lot of pop songs from the 60s for really short.

That's the other thing single links that bring in the 70s songs were quite long so you forever playing on Absolute Radio 70s you got have to song scheduled on 60s sideboard in the pool would like Wetherby the brain and wires coming out of it.

Just like that.

I love myself and the team we focus on the bits between the songs and we play Victory said to me once.

We play all the good stuff.

That's what they called it The Beatles and I'll never ever forget what you said to me you and why will my bedroom is there a bit of music celebrity feature.

Do you have the colour of rough approximations you going into 6 a.m.

About what the what the formula is what Believers will be yes, but obviously I think we've established, but happy to throw that away is something particularly incredible happens, but we definitely have little that we like to hear a lot and I've always been a belief that I think it's important to YouPlay you play music at breakfast if you're if you workout music station.

I mean obviously this talk radio.

I don't know where I do.

Have a small input into the music is if we are if we've took too much and we're going to be dropping a song I will decide which song has to go which is normally Blink-182 well-liked intense other stations.

Is it is it you know the Netflix is you can get it now because you know I've got the Absolute Radio app, but it's just one app amongst 100 others and get on.

I'm not I'm not really a competitive person.

I know it's very important to me that what I'm doing.

Is is good and the you know what we're working on.

I think it is the best it can be and without sounding like a total idiot that mentality has led to success so I I I mean I don't really listen to the radio.

I haven't heard other people shows at sometimes.

I come in after the weekend and picture idea into the team of the like well.

That's famously something? I'm glad that they don't do that because it belongs to someone else all that still love car park catchphrase to be brought back.

So I found that Connor watching listening or worrying about what other people are doing and focusing on making the best radio we can for our listeners has had to stay over the years relatively successful ratings and the occasional reward and stuff the occasional.

It's difficult because even I do this when I watch films like Ghost Rider Alan Partridge wyandotte David Brent in the office Rinder using managerial.

I mean I've got a few friends of broadcasters even though sometimes sort of descent you got your own house in order.

I didn't I didn't want to say that but yes, I think the best bit of Alan Partridge you'll always be announced as the songs like don't club is young.

It's seal and she's out.

What was there in a Parker Frank snowballs.

It's Coldplay band in the word r e o Speedwagon the same what which band is he talking about but no I mean you know I really enjoyed the new series of March as well.

It wasn't particularly well received, but I think it's as much as in how legendary here.

Behind been recently watched him.

I think it's amongst the best.

Tell me many people in their wallet got rid of their Blockbuster video card 20 years you have one in your wallet.

Why well what you're referring to is occasionally the radio Matt Dyson is on the show and glenmoor is on the show they both have these really thick dense brick ask wallets because they never throw anything else that even his front Jean pockets ladies old receipts Nero cards that have remained understand since 2014.

Glenwood take out the most obscure thing they still had in their wallet and who would be to be the winner.

I mean given to him by Dion Dublin Zoo back in 2010 launched the new musical instrument called the Dube Dion Dublin Dube and Tyson still had the business card in his wallet, but this was a month ago and Glenn had half a credit card spider 2016 and only the bottom half have got to get this cough up to it's limit and I thought I would drop us so we doing why not so many happy memories warming logic kind of anecdotes from from the listeners about Blockbuster video in the times are in there any celebrities on a single girls in the bottom of the video.me girls in there and the people who had worked in there and all this kind of stuff we are fascinating to Nowhere

Cushion in that kind of drop letterbox you put your videos in I didn't break and related anyway, so we ended up flying the assistant manager of Blockbuster bend Oregon over to England clutching a DVD that the list has decided they wanted to rent from the video which was Keanu Reeves classic Point Break top film yes, can I awful actor by the way it's perfect for him? Yeah? I'm sure John wick is awesome as well as it's great that kind of Suits sorted so we flew over and whilst he was in the studio the only other Blockbuster video in the world.

Shut down is that the one in the last know the one last already gone I was running perfect because I went to that one.

I was the last year.

Yeah, that was the one that does John Oliver had spoken about it on Friday this week tonight so

Can't hear the I don't want to go to the council and was on the show as it became the last Blockbuster video on planet Earth incredible.

He was in Parliament Square trying to put a Blockbuster Video sticker onto a little bollard and take a picture of it for his Instagram and two police officers came out between the said I'm afraid you can't do that sir said I'm really sorry.

It's just that I've just found out that my place of work.

It's a family business is the last Blockbuster video on earth and a selfie with him and let him get away with the crime as well as such a sweet kid and he's never ventured out of Oregon before and said to come on his amazing Jennie are we had his mum who is the manager she was that make sure you look after.

It just had so many different ingredients in it and it was lovely and you know there was a lot of press that came from it and apparently run a documentary that they making about about it as well and as I say the radio gods were smiling incredible.

I mean how often you get involved with capers like that well.

Yeah, we try to come up with them when we first paper to use your words was being constantly constantly Scott yes got bacula and so we bought that Quantum Leap we did it with the help of Simon Pegg who was a guest and I started by leaping into the body of Simon Pegg in a dog by Sinclair C5

It was the 35th anniversary of the Sinclair C5 glass traps.

Yeah.

Oh yeah cos cos I raced we raise them along the seafront to watch race and there was someone posted footage of me going by and they very kindly put their phone.

I'm so you didn't really want to the the occasional paper and is it a lot of it visual like it's like me saying that you know people are Instagram in these things now how important is it that you is a multimedia experience.

I would have people just want it to be audio.

I know that some people in radio particularly the more senior broadcasters aren't particularly fond of how everything to become multimedia, but I've always embraced it, but I can't.

There are some things that I think should only be on the radio some things between me and our listeners and other things are for for the YouTube channel like the same staff and people want to see Benedict Cumberbatch and Denzel Washington and that I totally understand that you can listen to it and you can watch it as well and I think that's happy bedfellows and that's how it should be and it should be run across social media and again.

There's a story you know I might tell or someone might come on and tell their Thailand that's just between myself and the list of the radio recognised just enough Paul and I mean not that this was never going to happen, but it genuinely is my idea of Hell to be as famous as a Beckham or something.

I would hate that and walking walking around is very therapeutic for me.

It's how I kind of

What's been before and start to think again and the other factions of life that you know that one has to think about you know they say life and I feel quite so I always try it possible to manage to get a little hour in the middle of the day where I can walk from that thing to that other thing any time any time and it's and it's done walking.

That's how I enjoyed the most and if I was being stopped you know to me because someone to self or something.

I just don't know how happy I would be even for that 175 million-pound.

I don't know how happy I would you be in a gilded cage.

You know you got big house, but you can't just go out and I mean the world but I didn't know who you are like.

You're so famous in Europe and Asia but you can go to Manhattan one of the greatest parts of the world and walk around New York with probably not getting bothered that much.

But you went over and conquer the States and now you can't get anywhere, but there's a slight change that was building on the famous thing that you're not in the old days.

You've built your audience up on now radio stations are hiring people with big following people I came and I haven't had a big phone because they're hoping I can bring in New Orleans how does that work? I mean it's got a gun Amanda hasn't had any training.

She hasn't come up to radio time should bring some new orders, but she might it's a gamble.

Is it not it will be a decision.

She doesn't have any radio experience but she might be fantastic and sometimes raw and fresh and untrained people which we all were once.

Can you bring some fresh you know but I haven't heard on the radio.

I don't know she might be hilariously funny.

She might be very informative.

She might be very warm friendly.

I have no idea and for a variety of different reasons and circumstances.

I've never seen Britain's Got Talent

But I would imagine that as well as a side from probably being a great broadcaster, but as I said im, I can't say cos it's an informed decision about your opinion to say that cos I haven't I haven't heard or Cena but also Britain's Got Talent is a hugely popular show and people will see her on the posters and perhaps they will TuneIn because I believe they're going to get some behind-the-scenes anecdote about Simon Cowell's latest procedure or something and if that's what you're after in in your breakfast radio then it would make sense.

I think I don't know if it's a gamble but I think that they would have certainly would have weighed up.

You know all of those things in the UK she is what are you now? But I mean you've been an established broadcaster for many years but when searching your career at you know you came into broadcasting from modelling you a model before.

Yeah, I was but I mean I was it was the two career paths are very different.

I was I was looking up there was no I don't get my money right now and I didn't make any reasonable Walker genre song at home now.

If it was it was I was agency for for a spouse and I did a few bits and I did not a lot of models do which is trips around London going to Castings and it was fun and I enjoyed it and I didn't it wasn't I didn't know David Gandy but the two perfect as well.

I'm not going to take it just to spite you say you'll be that attract is interested in.

Is a wonderful think it's like Candy you're already good enough to put the people who are going to start but that was soon part.

I went I went to my first TV show got it and that was then that became something I used to do and that was now 20 years ago about the TV Nickelodeon well.

Yes, I went along I got asked to go along an audition because I'm looking for a new presenter for Nickelodeon and it was myself and writer and comedian Simon Amstell so the village actually it was my first ever co-host and we did accordion together and then Simon left went on to do pop world and then I left and went to MTV would you do MTV idea?

I started doing continuity of myself and Emma Willis kind of doing stuff throughout the day and then I hosted a show called trl.

Which differed total request live there been a big live can't chat show games extravaganza live audience of the great fun it was I mean it was it was a landmark part of my career and it was a television show that I was immensely proud to be involved in and it was it open lots of doors and I got to meet lots of wonderful people and work with some great people are still my friends to this day and I see that was kind of the early part of it all about all that modelling stuff is long gone in history.

We need to dig up some pictures of any radio playing with your facial features and it is talking radio maybe but did you know that point?

Hear that you were the music and presenting was going to be your career.

That's what you wanted to do that where you were happiest know I think I think music music comes from as it does for so many people from growing up in a house.

Where are your parents play along music and my first kind of proper jobs in clothes shops both Oliver tree which is a vintage clothes shop in Greenwich and you know owned by my dear friend in Indian and Partners in love and in business and they they had a real passion for music and the people who buy vintage clothes want to get that exactly look from the 1960s or 1970s.

They really passionate about there also package at the music for spending time talking with those people and Sian the authenticity of so you know what three button from 1962 when I moved to another store bullfrog say they realised it the

Identity of a other clothes shop has to be spot-on, and so and then beat the auditioning for the TV thing just came out of nowhere really and kind of miraculously these two part of my life came together and you know next thing you know you're you're a 6 out of 10 doing a podcast like that, but I mean so what do you think? It'll come next young girl.

You know you're already present in the number one commercial show what's next out of space? No, I'm not I'm currently working on a podcast as so many people are swans been floating around for a little while and I became a father for the first time to my thank you very much indeed, but she's in our lives and as part of that the part of the process of the pregnancy and what to expect your partner's pregnancy with we should stay together.

I'm aware, but has the EU for sale it on the ground but I I do post from time to time on Instagram I find a much happier play Stan Twitter mean Twitter is just some of middle-aged whinging about stuff, but doesn't like the wind is a much nicer place in I was talking talking about this and asking people's advice and from this little section on the show.

I don't want to bang on about it and everyone got other stuff going on you need to have variety in your breakfast show but the dad pod has been spawned which have already made to offer it's going to be coming soon and it's basically a place for people to come and celebrate all.

So cold feet star John Thompson has done one he was he was adopted by his parents and such a funny warm and is also a father of Two Daughters remember him as Bernard Wright on interesting and kind of warm conversation and then the second side of the Dead part is Emma Willis who comes on and talks about being one of three daughters and what I did was like when she can't have left Birmingham to New York to be a model and we talked about how Matt Willis is a dad and how it compares her dad, so I'm at the moment as well as a breakfast.

I can't get in my teeth into to do in that.

I want to make it as the best it possibly can I mean I I for one am in favour of podcasting coming back in a big way when we arrived it, was it was all the rage and

Then it went to where it became very on fashionable and now as I say, what's a wonderful about you know if I was starting out now if I'm starting out again if it's just so lovely people for not a great deal of money can sit and talk about something that they're really passionate about our knowledgeable about you charge me 10 minutes.

I am in French is number one commercial so wonderful that so many people does it cost for everything and it's great that people are able to do that and I think that's from from and every person perspective from broadcasters perspective.

I think that you know some people can be pigeonholed or they can have the certain project that pays the bill that show that they're known for doing and and this.

Agents of podcast as men that we're going to see different angles and different passions from people that we know and love for being something else, so I'm really enjoying it and as I say I haven't really had an idea for one.

I wasn't particularly going to do one because I've got the radio show but the dad pods kind of came about just because of you know the response that I got through the show so it's come from an organic play, so I mean you're better at this than I am you know you build up an incredible rapport with your celebrity guests.

How do you do that and who's been the best guess and has been the worst if you dare tell me about you want but no I don't mind I think report I think as we touched on before I think it's about getting them on having fun with them asking them what you want to ask them trying to get the best possible for the best possible view as you can without having to sit in the same room for like 11 minutes while songs play and you make idle chit-chat and the whole thing to start to deflate so I think so.

So long as people know what to expect so they know they're going to have some fun and they know the mindset of being when they come on the show best guests you know I've been blessed with so many I think most recently and if I was so so bold to do is normally but if I was to say such something out of mine my work.

It would be when Denzel Washington was my best recently plug-ins that as well that bit of the train at the beginning of the walk, but he came on and we had crippling sound issues and so effectively instead of doing an interview with Denzel we set about firing the sound guy together.

Who is a man named Phil I've been working with Phil since the MTV day the known for many years and he's a massive Denzel fan, so he was just loving it and it's just 6 minutes of Denzel Washington and I firing Phil

The most joyous things I've ever and Phil finds it amusing solutely loved Denzel Washington talking about him for six one part and then we were laughing and it was as I say we wasn't any kind of workplace bullying if it was very much in on it and just overjoyed to have so much time with his I don't think it's quite like it doesn't know me from the restaurant.

I would feel comfortable going over going down so sorry to interrupt your dinner, but I'm Dave we find Phil together.

I know you go to their celebrities where I would remind them who I was in the intended remember in the UK you wanna promote on UK monarchs like I just rather not here.

My mouth and I just leave Denzel to his dinner, but it was such an amazing moment.

I would go we buy feel you get starstruck.

I wasn't because I work in Holland quite a lot and I was in a restaurant that are there was Christoph Waltz in one table and Gary Barlow the other table and 3 ml equal in starstruck, so we all queued up at the beginning before the start of the service.

I'm stuck in a queue with Christoph Waltz and Gary Barlow randomly and should I mentioned them that they're Christoph Waltz Bond how to take that.

Oh, yes, I do think I've got a job to do.

Yeah.

I'm calling more I don't really get stuff.

I think that's quite handy in in in this line of work.

I think more starstruck if I saw someone out on about but I've I can kind of

Analyse the studio interview situation or fine with me, but if I saw someone walking down the street.

I think I will behave just like any other member of the public banana.

You block the person is that someone you don't want to do more of journalistic writing it's something.

I enjoy immensely and going back to what we touched on at the very beginning the mic for my mental well-being.

I do need doing something creative to be Conjuring something that doesn't necessarily mean it's it's any good I could have it with that but yeah bring a few pieces for the Guardian I've blocked and stuff before I find that I write the most when I feel unfulfilled in whatever else is going on and I haven't written anything since joining a

Because I feel my energies are going into that and I feel it meant to be rewarded by the show that I do so I haven't I haven't written in a while.

I would be an awful journalists.

I couldn't I have so much respect nearly all about journalistic friends and writers because I know your wife is a is a writer, but having to keep to deadlines and stuff while always be there early in the morning as it is I'll be there on time and I'm ready to go it's like dave.

We need 800 words on this by next week.

I'm just going to write it and I'm going to agonize over it and delete bits of it and I'll put it back in but it's quite nice to explode onto the page a friend of mine was telling me recently about Flash fiction which is basically stories under 2000 words around 2000 months.

I've been a little short story which is about dealing with grief through gaming.

It's rubbish.

It's really rubbish and it needs it needs an overhaul but I'm not writing it for

Not writing it for a claymore financial gain.

Just writing it because it's a nice thing to do.

I find the most of my writing on holiday.

There is a curry.

I think there is there's a correlation between not being on air and me writing stuff.

That's instead of a lot people read or listen to a book on holiday, but I normally right you know like a little daytime glass of white wine creative outlet even when you're in your down time and as I say doesn't necessarily mean if it's any good and I've always had a real a real sense of Pride whenever I had something that I've written has been published.

You know all taken on by newspaper or used and the last my last outing really which I'm still dining off was a piece about loneliness in the older community my wife works for Age UK Camden so she would just tell me some stories and some of the stats and it was quite upsetting in a way so that for example.

They will give the

Christmas party Welwyn advancing Christmas day, just when they can afford to get the space and all that stuff and I'll true people giving now give each of the older people and present in the vast majority of cases the present will remain unopened until Christmas Day cos it's the only present they're going to get because they don't have anybody to his and then there was a pub called the Alexandra doing fine doors for free on Christmas day, and said that everyone's welcome.

If you're feeling lonely you can come and have Christmas dinner and a drink with us so I wrote.

I I contact them wrote an article about that whole thing people to get to get involved with the ending with something that my wife and I do what main Sarah Jane does the does the pretending to be honest but you just friend me.

Garlic some nice comment I mean never read the comments below the line dining off that one for a while and and I feel so field at work at the moment.

I haven't really wanted to to pick up the laptop on Christmas day, because I'm a I'm a Yorkshire Scotsman just not as generous.

You know where quite tired so I might just pretend.

I'm just get a free Christmas dinner at Waitrose change that for lonely and Article by Dave exactly what what is next for you then must give you some existential worry from time to time you already at the top of your game you presenting the number one commercial street.

what is next?

I think the the key thing for me to remember and you know and to be aware of in those dark my which I think what am I going to do next is that really sorry about the podcast I am really excited about doing more writing whether it be for myself, but the Breakfast Show is only a year old when it's becoming is becoming really nice and the audience are really getting it and it's so nice to be with them every morning so my main focus is to try and continue to think of ways of of entertaining and making people's commuting to work or are they in the mornings as happy as they can be what's the current relationship you have with like almost individual listeners.

Can I mean I've been on LBC quite a few times where you know they block the syphilis Collins write it.

Do you do you make fans waiting by the equivalent the stage door imagine just the front doors near miss you but do you have kind of persistent vans return tweeters and texters and

Try not to get the same voices on if if we can avoid that but we'll certainly read messages that people have people are getting involved and I just feel grateful that they taking the time to play a silly games you know and get involved with their own opinion, so I've got no issue with that but yeah, there's always I think with any radio show with there's always a few names that float around you know Cajun last couple of questions and what advice would you give someone listening to this is starting out in a career? That's really inspired by the success and wants to be the next Dave Berry may be 10-15 years from other one's your slot when you eventually back off.

The only one to get creating you know as a as we touched on before is a multitude of ways in which people can get themselves out there now.

It wasn't that way when I started out but you know there's Youtube channels and there's podcast.

And there's avenues for you to post things that you return your musings.

There's a little videos you can put the socials of your sketches.

There's a there's a multitude of ways of getting there's not really any excuse not to get your stuff seen and I think that you know commissioners and program controllers and all of those people in positions of power are looking nice things so it's if you've got the Talent and you've got the desire and you're going to commit to it, then there's nothing holdin' me back.

So go for it and good luck.

What's the thing in your whole career of which I'm most proud other than This podcast other than This podcast I think overall I can't really get that.

There's been some really nice moments and I think that you had no desire to be a TV presenter.

I got into it and I feel really fortunate to have done that and it was and within a year.

I got back to nomination for best kids TV presenter which I think I lost out to an

I've been winning everything seems to have heard of them.

They just always win everything that was that was a nice nice moment where I thought and it's not about about award and stuff you know but TV isn't as Radio 6 difficult to gauge.

Just well with your kind of doing and coming across.

It was nice to get that recognition, but I think so early on I mean, but I think the overall it's been the choices.

I've been able to make there's been certain things that I've been able to turn down and say no to and certain things that I've passionately want and I've gone after him some things I wanted to do but I've I've achieved and I think that looking back I suppose it would be it.

Would be that that I haven't just been kind of swept along on the crest of a wave I've made.

Decision some of them have been wrong.

I think the majority of them have been right and looking back now at time of record.

I'm really happy.

I've got a good work life balance.

I love my colleagues.

Are the freedom and creativity.

I love my audience in the mornings.

I've got a fabulous little door to a great wife and I think so I managed to navigate through the choppy media television radio print waters and so I think if I am never going to be reflected which I'm not often it would be that kind of overall decision making any sense it does and said if you can thank you ever so much for thank you Paul thank you very much indeed podcast in association with big wings Media