Beliefs and Closing Poem

I'm really nervous. Sorry. I don't because I'm such a fan of this podcast and I'm such a fan of yours. Oh, thanks. This is a very big thing for me, and I'm really nervous. Well, if it makes feel better , that it's not as Oh good, okay. Good. And actually the edit does a lot of work. Okay, good. Even if you walk out of it thinking we've laid a big messy turd. Yeah. Just so you know, that's how most episodes feel about it. Okay, good. So it will be fine. Great. So I'm gonna do your intro. Okay. If there's any factual inconsistencies, yeah. Uh let me know. Okay. Okay. Do you want to do some breathing before we start? No, I'm alright. I've I I I've stupidly had three coffees as well. I I I and had to down a glass of champagne next door. So I'm I I'm just three coffee and a champagne. Yeah, I know. Fucking hell, let's do this. Mandy? Yeah. Yeah, we'll come . I'm Emily Atac and I'm gonna be in the Ramesh Ranganathan podcast . Oh shut up Romish This episode is brought to you by Virgin Red. So, Virgin Red means go. That's the whole idea. And I'm telling that because I am by nature someone who does not go. I'm world-class at talking myself out of things. Someone says let's go away for the weekend, and within 30 seconds, I've already taught myself out of it. So I stay home, thinking about all the things I want to be doing. Which is why Virgin Red is, honestly, brilliant for people like me. Virgin Red offers epic rewards from the brands you love, and you earn virgin points from doing things you're already doing. You travel,, your shopping your day-to-day spending, and those points unlock trips away, hotel stays, live music, and experiences that become the story you're telling for years, moments that become memories. All you have to do is go. Go somewhere you've been meaning to. Go do something you never knew you could. And once you're there, you remember exactly why you said yes. Even better, your virgin points don't expire, so you can let them build up until something epic comes along. And it will. Ready to dive in? Become a member and start unlocking rewards that make life feel a little more epic. This episode is brought to you by Dear England on BBC iPlayer, the brand new fictionalized drama telling the story of Gareth Southgate as the England manager. From the moment he took over in 2016 right through to the tournament runs that had the whole country holding its breath. It's a story of an underdog, a story about leadership, pressure, belief, and those moments we all lived through together, whether we cared about football or not. The penalty shootouts, the hope, the journey, the heartbreak, the moments that made you believe again. Dear England, watch on BBCI Player Okay, shall we do it? We got an intro for you now, Emily. I'm really excited for you to hear this. Oh my god. My guest today is an actor, comedian, and TV personality. She started her career in dramas like Blue Murder and Heartbeat Since then, she's appeared in indie films, captured the nation's heart in I'm a celebrity, and fronted three series of her own comedy show. She also made a deeply personal BB C documentary and starred in Rivals, one of 2025's hottest shows. Now she's teaming up with Danny Dye for a brand new quiz reality show, Nobody's Fool. It's Emily Ata ! I've got all read. When people list all of your sort of the things that you've done, you go, Oh, thank you for saying all that. It's like, oh no, yeah, I have done those things. But I've gone all embarrassed. Well you don't need to. I mean you did it, didn't you? Yeah. If people come up to you and talk to you about the in betweeners , do do you are you one of the people that it will happily talk about that fondly or do you think that's from ages ago? I don't want to talk about it now. Happily talk about it fondly. Um my name is just big Tits. So I it it's just people come up to me and they just go they go, Big Tits, can I have a photo? Big tits, big tits. I my name is strangers say that. Actual strangers. But it could be I could be in the street, I could be at the garden centre just having a jacket pot She goes, Hello, big tits, can you just sign that for me? It's just big tits, big tits. It went from Charlotte Big Juggs to uh Oh yeah, yeah, totally. But it's it and you know, I I shout from the rooftops how against all of this I am. But it's it's just it people genuinely don't even they don't even mean it in that way. They just No. They go, Oh big tits, my mum absolutely loves you or they or I see people like whispering in a restaurant and they go, It's the Emily Ada, oh yeah, big tits, yeah, yeah. It's just they they don't even see it in that derogatory way. The problem is is then if you then challenge it, yeah. You look like you're being a like a a diva or a party paper. Yeah, or a massive angry tit. Yeah. Yeah. So I might I just you just have to embrace it and it's you know it is it's a character, it's it's something I'm very proud of. I was only seventeen when I I was actually sixteen when I auditioned. It was the best time of my life. That's one of the shows that's like culturally indelible, right? Like it's made like my kids I've got three boys now who are sixteen, fourteen and eleven. Teenagers and they've they watch it. Do they? Not the eleven year old. Yeah. Well, not to my knowledge. But um and they love it. So it's like it it's it's just le it's left a mark, hasn't it? Yeah, and I th I think, you know, yeah, okay, there's there's always stuff that you sort of see now and you go, I don't know if you get away with that now. But I think there was heart to it as well. It's about, you know, it's four young lads growing up. They all talk about shagging each other's mums. That's how boys talk. And that's how look, I'm forty-eight and that's how I talk. Exactly. I uh you know, talked about shacking each other's mums. Long may it continue. Yes. Am I right? Yes. If we can't talk about fucking each other's mums, what is there left to talk about? Am I right, Emily? You know. Yeah. And it's like and it's about boys, they talk about tits and shagging each other's mums. And and yeah, that's what it is. Or it from it's either it was either big tits or um or where's Will? Or you shagged Will, you shag Will. And I'm like, yeah. I d I don't I don't really know I don't really know how to Yeah, well how'd you respond to that? Yeah, no it's it's wasn't really shagging, was it? I think it pogoed on top of me a bit. Yeah. That was that was it's funny though. It's funny, it's funny.. Yeah Sort of like a uh mirror of my real life at the time. Um so yeah. But those boys, they were actually my they were older, so they were like sort of well into their late twenties at the time. Um shit, I didn't. So I was like the baby of the group and they all looked after me. It was nice. And I remember I I I'd come on the makeup truck every morning and they'd all be shaving, like vigorously shaving their chickens. So they could look too much. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Are you still in touch with them? Um I see I see a couple of them every now and then. I see Blake every now and then. Um but yeah, it's just one of those things, isn't it? It's been a long time. I mean, what is that like my maths is awful. So if I yeah, 70, I'm 36 now. So what was that? Like nine eighteen, nineteen years ago? Crazy. Um but yeah, good times. We're we're delighted to have you on the podcast. Thank you. I'm delighted to be here. We've got a gift for for you as we do every lost. It's not a dildo, is it? It's always some kind of dildo. She whatever whenever we bring a box in, she goes, Oh my god, is it a dildo? I love your mum. Right, let's go. Here you go, let's see what you think. Okay. I'm just gonna present it with that comment. Okay. Nice, yeah. Nice very. Well that's the reaction we were all hoping for. So this is because you love this! I lived in Camden. I lived in Camden. Yeah, that's why we got it for you. How do you know all these things? Oh , Google Research Georgie. With all with all the lids on and everything. I don't think I ever, ever, my entire life owned um colouring pencils or felt tips with all the lids on. Well it would be a normal decision to present it to you without the lids. But the reason is it's actually Georgie did the research. You've moved from Camden to the countryside. Yes, I have. And uh you like to get in touch with your creative side. Yeah. Yes. I um So we've we interpreted that as colouring in. Yeah, thank you. Yeah. Is it is it that paint by numbers one, you know, and everyone thinks they're a fucking artist and it's like you know, I did this Van Gogh paint. No, it's paint by numbers, paint paint for morons. But thank you. Um but yes, no I moved to the countryside. I'm trying to be, you know, my I'm try trying to do my best kind of c in my country wifey, lifey, um I've started baking, which is not good for anyone. So you Camden's great. Yes, I loved it. God, great years. And Kennedy Town. What made you move out? Did the grown up thing and settled down and had a baby and yeah. And then so we thought we'd thought we'd move. I it's it's the best decision we've ever made and I I love it. I'm sort of making curtains and stuff and trying to be all, you know, wholesome. Do you th is country countryside life gonna be you now then do you think? Well, yeah, I mean I am going out after this 'cause I'm in London and mum's got the baby. So coming into London and knowing you're gonna leave is quite nice as well. Yes. And and also when you wake up hungover in London and then you go home. I've I experienced this recently. I woke up after a thing I had to do and I was so hungover and then I came out of it and went back to my little country home and that was a really Camden and countryside. There are steps in between that. Yes. So but you went straight for countryside. How can I No w well yeah, I mean I grew up in the countryside. So I grew up in a tiny little hamlet um called Teb worth, which just had one tiny little pub. Sounds lovely. Tiny little post office where we'd go and get our suites. We we had like 50p and we'd go and get our suites. Simpler times. Yeah. And uh and it yeah, it was it was it was idyllic, it was lovely. We play in all the crop fields. I think I had my first snog um with a boy called James uh in a crop field. Um no, he traumatized me. I I felt a spiky little tongue go in my mouth and then couldn't break it. That's the problem with with an early kiss, you go too aggressive, don't you? I imagine. And yeah. Yeah. But yeah, so it was very you know, it was crop fields, it was all of that, it was very nice. So I've yeah, I've kind of gone back home in that in that sense. So even though I you know and I've done I've done enough partying now to last me a lifetime, so yeah. Um like do you have a septic tank or are you plumbed in? Oh what? What ? That's that's connected to that's not on the running order. Well it's just that some sometimes Oh do you mean like one of those like mad boilers? Well you know like sometimes when people move to the countryside they don't they're not connected to the main series. Oh, I so you have to have that thing where once every like two years like a big lorry has to come and take away all your shirt. Do you know what there is there are things like that that are going on but that I make I'll deal with it all. And it's like there are different water vibes going on. Right. Definitely. See? There's no it's true. It is true. And the and we g there's like a there's like milk on the doorstep and little bottles of orange juice and yeah and a paper gets delivered to the door and all of that. Yeah. It's very that's nice, isn't it? Yeah. Um it's it's lovely. It's gorgeous. And then I'm really close to all my my family and my friends, all my mum friends as well, which I didn't I kind of thought that I d I wasn't a mum type in terms of like hanging out all the you know hanging out at the school gate mums, but it turns out I really needed that. Really? Yeah. How old is your baby now? Um he's 40, no. He's um he 's two in June. Two. I can't believe that. Yes. So mobile. Yes. That's tricky, isn't it? Yeah, he oh my god. I actually find it easier though because I can sort of he can sort of defend for himself now. I know, but I I when when our eldest son first started to be able to move, yeah, I found it traumatic. Yeah. Because when they're immobile you can do whatever you want. Sometimes I go upstairs for hours. Yeah, yeah. But but but but once once they're able to move, they're constantly looking for danger. Yes. They are magnetised to blades, heat, sharp edges.. Yeah Yeah. And you buy them buy them these beautiful toys and all they want to do is play with the fucking bog brush and put it in their mouths and get the bleach out. And yeah. Um yeah, we're definitely going through that. He's definitely uh he started to say and uh he just copies everything we say, clearly, and he's started to go and uh my my partner Al has got a northern accent and so Barney has started to go, where the fuck is it? Where the fuck is it? Where the fuck is it? And I'm like I'm no but what do you do? Do you go no don't say that that is naughty? Now now he does this thing where when I tell him off and go that's very naughty, he like gets excited that I'm telling him off. So it doesn't really work. And um you know, let's face it, I was always gonna have a very naughty child. He's he's naughty. But he's heaven. But they um you're supposed to not react to swearing, aren't you Yeah, no, but and and he but he he knows, he knows and and it 's he calls me M. He goes M M M from his high chair and I'm like what? You can't I'm like it's mum and he goes M Yeah He's a woman It's like he c he calls me M. What does that mean? Does that mean he doesn't know I'm his mum? That makes me feel bad. I think he's probably got an idea. But I wonder what I wonder what um I wonder what kids are that age that even their concept of mum is, do you know what I mean? Yeah. You just sort of uh big kids. Yeah. That would be sad. That would be really sad. That would be really sad. I know, especially 'cause I couldn't breastfeed. Um but no, yeah, it's he's he call he shouts M or Emily and Al for Al sometime. He does say Mummy David's it's either M or Al at the moment, which we've got to do something about that. But yeah. Okay, here's a question for you. If I refer to my mum' msummy. Yeah . Would that c would would you react to that? Would you find that ? If you just slipped it into a conversation. If I said I've got a phone call, it's her. Hi mummy. Oh no I think that was quite nice. Oh really? Yeah. Mummy and daddy. Yeah. Do you think so? I think that was quite nice. But wait it I think you were doing it in slight irony, like Hi mummy and I think that was really nice. But maybe I don't know, maybe 'cause I'm a woman. One of the things that um I don't if know you've I don't know if you've got friends that are like uh second generation immigrants but like m all of my friends that have got like parents from other countries, yeah. They talk like how we're talking in perfect English. And then when they talk to their parents I don't do this. Yeah. they But put on an accent. Do they? So I've got a Maltese friend, and they go, Oh my god, it's my mum. Hold on a sec. What is it, Mum? Oh no, I'm out. Yeah, please leave me. Well my mum's a scouter, so but she doesn't have the scouse accent anymore. But when she goes when she talks to her I mean it's not the same thing really is it? But when she talks to her family from Liverpool, she goes she goes on like that. So I was talking like that. And I'm like, Mum, oh my why you putting on the voice? She's like how it's on. Yeah, you turn it up, turn it up. When I spotted Kevin Bridges on tour, when we were doing the shows in Glasgow, he ratcheted up the Glaswegian. I couldn't even understand what you're saying. Yeah, God. So you're getting married? Yes. Congratulations. I know, can you believe it? Someone has seen my messy bathroom and still stuck around. Um when you when is it happening? Uh September. September, yeah. No, I got the invite. Yeah. Congrats. Um You can come if you want, you can go. Yeah, my mates would be so I would be so cool if you came to my wedd ing. We do like a bit of do you want to be the usher or the no, what is it the M MC? What what is it with the people that announce where to go and sit? That's the MC, isn't it? Is it the MC? I couldn't do that. I'd be terrible at that. Yeah. And then I'd be shit at it. Oh. And then the gloss would come off. It's difficult. I've been asked to do stand up at people's weddings. I wonder if you're marry us if you want to. I'd love to do that. I I yeah, I'd love to. Yeah. Oh my god that'd be amazing. Yeah just give me the date, I'll do it. Um so how big is it gonna be? Um it's so we're we're we're gonna have the sort of quieter um legal one, very priv ate um and then we're gonna do the big show off one um and that's gonna be a broad um and it yeah it's I'm really enjoying the planning of it and I'm I've got this amazing wedding planner, it's all touch wood, it's all going okay. Have your friends resisted uh have they been resentful of the fact you're getting married abroad? I I did think this. I actually did a sketch about this in my sketch show because it's the last fucking thing that you want. 100%. But we're being we're being kind to our friends. And we're we're we're making sure that people don't have to worry too much about paying for lots of things. And yeah. But we have said no fucking kids . No no not no that's really awful. No kids No fucking kids No no no kids. No children abroad. No children. Okay, fine. We've said like you can bring them if you want like a holiday. Do you think that's fair? Because we've said d no kids at all. Do I think it's fair you don't have kids at your wedding? Yeah, okay, fair. It's your wedding. It's your wedding. Yeah, I I it's your wedding, honey. But I thought I'd get a lot of people kicking off about that, but everyone's like, no, fuck those kids. I've got to be honest with you. I think that when you're a parent, you feel like you're duty bound to take your kids wherever you go. Yeah. If somebody says to you you are not allowed to bring your kids that you have basically been given a ticket to to have a break from them. Oh good, okay. And you've got no choice officially. So for example if I'm talking about coming to your wedding, right? So and I'm telling a friend I went I went to Emily's wedding it was great. Emily and I was great, you know, blah blah blah. And then you really want to come, don't you? Yeah, I do. And then they said uh they say did you did you take the kids? If I go no, they s because they said they didn't want kids at the wedding. That's fine. If I go, no, Lisa and I want us to have a good time, so we fuck them off. There's a judgment there. So we've done a good thing. We've done a great thing. By removing that, yeah. Do I think that's completely undermined by you getting married abroad. Yeah. My brother got married in Cyprus. Yeah. And and I will I I don't think I'd started doing comedy or maybe I'd just started doing comedy but I was t we were t Lisa and I were teaching at the time. We didn't have any money. And uh like we s we struggled to get there. We struggled to afford to get there. Yeah. And then it was like the breakfast was uh all you can eat, and we would stuff Lisa's handbag with stuff for lunch and stuff with it. But um my brother's wife is uh Greek Cypriot origin, that's why they got married in Cyprus. Yes. And she told us that a tradition at the wedding was to staple money to the bride's dress. Okay. And I said, how about I staple my airline tickets? Because we had to fucking fly here. If you think you're getting more money, you are absolutely dreaming. Yeah. People th this is the thing, it's it it it does create some controversy, especially with my Hendu as well. And I've always done I I wrote sketches taking the piss out of Hendus as well, going, why am I transferring one thousand six hundred and twenty four quid to a girl called Bex that I don't fucking know ? Like like oh yeah, so we're gonna do archery, but if you could transphobe that one thousand twenty five pounds please and I'm like, Who the fuck are you? It is mad. Um but again I'm I'm tryna I'm g I don't actually know what's happening on my head at all. Well you go but you're you're you've got a history of partying. Yes. Does that mean that this is gonna be like the one last big hurrah? I fucking hope so. Right. I get annoyed every year on my birthday that I don't have a stripper. So like I'm sitting there waiting. I'm waiting. I'm up for it. I'm ready. And it never happens. So if I don't have a fucking stripper on my hendo, there's gonna be So you want stripper strippers? I want a stripper. I want I want a big beefcake man to come out and show me a really great time and squirt cream on me and all of that. I think it's very different for uh uh a woman to say they want a stripper at their handy than it is for a man to say they want a stripper at their own. I know everyone's uncomfortable in here. No, no, no, I'm not I'm not I'm not uncomfortable, but i I I just think like like when you think about a a a a woman mm with a a a stripper, the the woman's laughing and it's like fun and there's cream flying everywhere and like there's a dance and everyone's screaming it's funny. When it's a man Yeah it's that isn't it's that something different. It's a different energy. I don't I don't I don't think it's as fun. Yeah, yeah. I think it I think it's seedier. Right. Do you know what I mean it's I want a stripper. Well you go and I want a stripper, that sounds fun. Yeah, and I and I I will say it until the cows come home. I uh it could be a magic mic show. It uh I w I want it. You wanna be like he does a backflip and he lands on you on the chair. Like and I wanna put put money in his little thong. Wow. Well that is a we got a stripper for my sister's Hendoo. And that it was a big surprise, but it was like we didn't think it through because it was like it in and it was during COVID time And if you had if you had a stripper it was they ha it had to be a substantial meal, didn't it? So it couldn't be like a scotch egg or something bigger. Yes. Yeah. And I can't remember the words exactly, but some of it. Yeah. So we we hired a shirt and it was like but it was it was so weird because it was like all my aunts and like and it it it it wasn't you know it wasn't all our young friends it was like all my aunts and m a mum one it was like a mum aunt hendo in my mum's back garden and we still were like no we've got to have a stripper it would be so funny and he came in and because it was COVID times, he just had nothing but a mask on. He just had a COVID mask coming in doing the thong song on my sister and I was like, oh my God, this and like my auntie Moore was like rubbing lotion on his back going, lovely, yeah, good, good. I'm like, don't put this online because oh my god, code It ri we it really makes me think when when you hear stories like that, it really makes me think we didn't understand viral transfer at all. Yeah. Like the the c yeah the guy is completely I think the second round of COVID started in that back garden. I've got hoping that it doesn't sneeze. Now you're doing a brand new TV show. Yes. Nobody's full. Yes. Tell us all about. Well, you and Danny Dye. are hosting Oh yeah. Do you know what? It was so fun. So we it so it's it's a a group of contestants they've never met before and they're in this house, a very kind of posh old English, you know, st style house, a bribal's type gaff. And they all get uh given these tasks and it's not about how and that they're all from different walks of life. Some of them, there's like one or two of them from Eton, um one or two of them literally not even been out of university for very long, you know, and all different age ranges and everything and different abilities, different skills. And it's not about how smart they are, but it's about how smart they can convince their peers that they are because th they do they do a quiz in secret, right? Yeah so I've got this secret pod quiz room where I where they do secret quizzes which gets their but that but they can lie about how they did in that quiz room to their to their to the other contestants. Um so it's about kind of like uh bl blagging it and faking it till you make it, that sort of thing, and proving that you you don't necessarily have to be, you know , uh a bookworm to be super intelligent. You can maybe play, you know, play off each other. You can and and you can lie and tell a few white lies uh to make people think that you're smarter than you are. And that could actually get you further in the game. So yeah, it's it sounds really complicated, but when you watch it, it's so fun. It feels like it's got loads of elements to it. Because obviously you've got the quiz element and then you've got them sort of lying to each other. Yes. And then you know they're all deciding between themselves who they think is like the dud. Yes. So it's kind of it's kind of traitorsy. Yes. Who wants to be a millionaire? Yeah, yeah. It's so fun. And it's we we we me and dad accidentally call it the holiday when we um talk about filming it and we go oh do you remember on the holiday oh no um when we were filming because it was so fun and we were filming at uh the pig we were at the pig in Canterbury. Um, and it was two weeks of just hilariousness. Danny is so funny. Obviously, I know him from rivals really well, and we've we've developed a great friendship. He is so funny. He makes me actually piss myself laughing. Um and we we had a ball. It was great. Um how do you find sort of hosting something like that? 'Cause kind it's uh you you're trying to get across the concept of the show. Yeah. Is it like how how hard do you find that kind of thing? Um I quite like hosting. I feel quite powerful when I host. Um It's nice to be involved in something like that, but there's no stakes for you. Yeah, exactly. Yes. Just in the hotel. And obviously feign empathy for the contestants, but you don't really care about it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah No, just go get pissed in the bar afterwards, yeah. Um sort of standing there shaking hungover most days. No, not at all. Um but yeah, no, uh it it's yeah, it's it's really it's it's super fun. You've got all the all the power and all the but you do we we actually became really um kind of engrossed in it and uh I actually get very emotional at the end. Um quite an emotional person anyway. But um yeah it was it was it was really interesting. Um and with hosting I d I w I don't find it easy. I wouldn't say it's like the thing that I'm mainly really good at, but I do enjoy it. Yeah. Definitely. And especially doing it with someone that you can bounce off. Like I've done a lot of stuff with Joel Joel Domit. I love Joel. And like if if you're with someone that you can have a laugh with. A lot of people don't realise this about Joel, actually. And I and I I'm not asking you to comment on this, but he obviously he trades on being quite a nice guy, but he's a horrible prick, isn't he? He's a complete Yeah. Complete utter And I don't I I I I'm saying that and I don't think that's being I don't think that's being disloyal because like hi guys, you know all of that yeah, yeah, all of that's great, but he's a fucking horrible piece of shit. Horrible bastid. I mean d like his views on the hotel protest are some of the most shocking things I've ever and i i and I remember him saying to me is i I remember him saying I'm really struggling to fit in the Mar sing around painting all these roundabouts. Oh my god . It's a nightmare. Oh god. Oh Joel. But to be clear, Joel's Joel's a great guy. He is so lovely. Yeah. Publicly. Yeah now This episode is brought to you by Little. As any good vegan or plant-based don knows, uh it's very difficult to find good vegan food at good prices. There's a little bit of a vegan tax going on. You go and find the thing that you're after. For example, you look for some vegan sausages, and suddenly the vegan sausages are much more expensive than regular meat sausages, which I think is an absolute travesty. Shopping for a family means you have to search high and low for quality vegan food. You know the drill. I'm trying to convince my children to be more plant-based. 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I'm hard to offend, so they'd have to do something pretty bad to put our friendship in jeopardy. For example, if I saw one of my friends being rude to a member of serving staff, that would put it in jeopardy. If one of my friends thought that Tottenham potentially going down wasn't funny, that would jeopardize our friendship. But that is nothing compared to what goes down in Alice and Steve, a new six-part comedy series from the producers of Baby Reindeer, which can only be described as the ultimate rom-com. Alice and Steve are lifelong mates until Alice's adult daughter sleeps with Steve. Yeah. Unbelievable. Pretty difficult for a friendship to recover from. I'm not speaking from experience, but I'm saying I can imagine. Obviously that blows everything up, and their friendship is tested to the absolute max. Starring Nicola Walker and Jermaine Clement, it's hilariously messy and complicated exploration of friendship, family and love where best friends make the best enemies. Exclusively on Disney Plus. You're kind of we talked about your hosting, you're a bit of a not a bit, you're a polymath, right? Acting presenting . I see you in this in this light. It's an interesting kind of thing, isn't it? Because I think as a woman without banging that drum too much, as a woman, I find it really I I love doing it all, but it it's hard to get people on side when you're doing agreement . I think it's difficult. No yeah, for men too. I think no, but I think it's more difficult for women than it is for men. Yes. Yeah. Um but I I enjoy doing it all. I really do. And I think yeah, and it's good it's good to sort of just add strings to your bow, isn't it? And then and just like try something and if you don't like it, just don't do it. It's like with with stand-up comedy ever,yone sort of went when I said I was gonna do that, everyone's like, what the fuck are you joking? Literally. Um hopefully. Um but no Are you joking? Yeah, yeah. But I I I come from a a family of comedians. So to me it didn't feel ra too random to do to do that at all. You know, I'd done the in betweeners and I wor I've worked in comedy for years. So for me it didn't feel too random, but when I remember the first night I went out um This is part of the TV show just going out. This was just going out. So I did the jungle and then whilst I was in the jung so my I my plan was to to write I wanted to do a one woman show. I didn't initially call it a stand up routine. I I just I wanted an evening with, yeah. Um I wanted people to sort of see who I was as a person a little bit more and and everything and and so the plan was to sell a few more tickets by being in the jungle and you know, doing hope hoping that when I came out people might have bought some tickets. I did the other person who did that, a notorious asshole Joel Domet. Oh God. I what a Um I know, God, we're gonna we're gonna have to get him, aren't we? Um but no, I he uh he actually gave me a lot of good uh good advice. When I came out, he introduced me to Steve Dunn who helped me write well because I came out of the jungle, and I've just I'd sold out the entire show, and I hadn't even written it yet. So I was like, Oh my god, and everything. Oh, but that's being a stand though. No, yeah. And then and I had I got put in touch with Steve Dunn, and then we wrote Talk 30 to me. Um, and but I'd yeah, I'd already sold it out. And so I remember going out that first night and I remember the and I'd never done I'd never even done the clubs, I'd never I'd never done stand up in my life. So when you did your first show in Crawley. Was it at the Horth? Yeah. Holy shit, you debuted at the Horth? Yeah. Fucking hell, that's a fire pit. Yeah. When you first went out there, how many gigs did you do at that point? None. So literally That was literally my first effort and I went out and you won't believe it and I went out hadn't having like my whole life building up I know and I I thought to myself I could just collapse I could just make out I fainted and that'll be amazing. Yeah. And so I went out there, lights go down, you know, like a GCSE play, and I'm like my whole life building up to this moment went boom and all I heard was big tits . I know. That's crawling. I know, and that's crawling. They would have said that regardless of who was on. Especially jumped on it. Um but yeah, no, I uh yeah, and I that was the first time I I ever did it and and everyone was kinda going I'd memorise it. Yeah, I'd learnt it. Fucking hell, that is mad. Yeah. And I I couldn't work out when I came off stage, I couldn't work out if I loved it or hated it. Is that but that's kind of what it is, isn't it really? It's like torturing yourself, it's like self harm. I I'm gonna be honest with you, what you describes I would call an anxiety dream. Yeah. Like the idea of the first time that you walk out on stage at all is for your first show. It makes me want to VOM. Yeah. So so and so but and it went well, I guess. It went great. And and Joel, he's getting so much airtime. Yeah. I actually said to Joel , I actually said to Joel and and I was a few gigs in and and he went, you know, um, and you how how do you feel when you have like a quiet night or a bad night? And I'm and I said, I've never had a bad night. I bet you don't even know. By the way, I bet you would have loved to hear that. But I don't you know people go and people, you know, when you die on stage, I was like, I've never died. Everyone just loved it. Because I knew I sorry I know, I know, I know how mad And you've taken a big old shit on it and I don't mind telling you. It's a fucking insult, I know. I know, but I was so naive and I d and I've just written all these like willy gags and like stuff about Hindus and and it was just a it was a load of women on Hendus with their little dick straws and all of that. And they just loved everything I had to say. I knew me all I knew me audience, you know. And I catered for those girls. It was it was the false eyelash wearing fake tan girls on Hendus that came up to me afterwards saying, I've n I didn't think I was posh enough to go to the theatre, oh my god, I loved it, I've never been to a comedy gig. I loved it. It was for those girls and they they loved it. Well I think I I think actually that audience that you're describing without again without trying to be patronising but I can do it accidentally and I do often. But I I do think you sort of think about the traditions of stand up comedy and I do think that's an audience that'd been underserved by by by stand up and live comedy. Yeah, I agree. And you sort of think it's been so you know, even in the rise of alternative comedy, it was so dominated by blokes talking about their wives and kids and all of that. So by the way, I'm speaking as somebody who st still does that in 2026. But you know, it was that that audience that you're talking about is it they weren't being spoken to. Do you know what I mean? And so or or they haven't been spoken to as much as as other audiences. So I do think that there is something in what you're saying that you're hitting that audience. But also the the other thing is in terms of your like your level of inexperience, and without getting too nerdy about comedy, is like a lot of stand-up comics they have this thing of like you've got to hit the clubs and you've got to hit you've got to hit the clubs and you've got to do the hard yards and blah blah blah. Don't bother don't bother kids. There part of the downside of it, I think there's a when you're doing comedy, there is two conflicting objectives, right? And one is to express yourself and say something interesting, and the other one is to make people laugh, right? And if you do the clubs too much, or you get too good at doing the clubs , you're so obsessed with hitting a punchline that actually what you're saying is less interesting. Do you know what I mean? Because you're so you're so desperate to undercut, undercut, undercut, undercut. And so actually I think there is some method to your madness. I mean, would I recommend that would I do I think that anybody should do that? No. No. Do I think you should have done it? No. But it worked out for you. It did. If you if you'd have said to me if you'd have said to me, Rom, I'm doing this thing and the first time I do it is gonna be in but's part of my I I would have genuinely I would have said to you like as a mate, you've got to start. Yeah. You've got to call your team. Yeah don't do it. Sean Walsh said that to me. Yeah, I bet he did. Yeah. Yeah. He said, are you fucking mentors? Like, well well yes . Um but yeah and that that's how I got my sketch shows. So I just I invited a load of execs and uh again fucking mental um not to the horse in crawley put him you didn't buy to the first one fucking hell Emily Are you serious? I did that's how I got my sketch show I fucking nailed it, Rom. How do you meditate three hours a day? How the fuck are you doing that? I know, and I I I didn't even drink any alcohol before it. And everyone was sort of saying to me, going, I think this is the one time where we're okay if you would like a drink beforehand. And I was like, no no, I I'm all right. I sort of pretended to have a drink on stage and I got absolutely arsehole afterwards, but that yeah, no. And I got all everyone from ITV to come and all the j ungle lot and and yeah and then they came and they commissioned my sketch show. Sorry. It's we had so many stand-ups on here. Talking about the how hard it is. Oh sorry. And the craft and working. And they talk about you just like it's an impossible craft. Turns out it's quite easy. Just write it and perform it. Yeah. Everything you've been talking about with all these comments. Just write the jokes, stand and say them, get a show. Just like say really funny things. Make it does make sense. Does that make a lot of sense? Sorry, anyway. We all about just like go out and say a load of funny things and then and then go right see in the bar afterwards and then get really arsehole and then do it again the next night. That's great. And then be even funnier the next night and then get funnier. Don't get not funnier, get funnier. That makes it does make sense. Why are you making I'm sorry? No, be honest. Be honest. No, because the way you did it. No, but the way you did it the way you said it was like there's a rumour. No, just I'm showing off. I can handle it. I'm showing off. I can handle it. Emily. No. Emily. Promise! You're untouchable. Great, great, great. You're untouchable. That is true. According to the Indian car system. Um but no, I that's how I got my sketch show. So but I'm sorry. No, you don't have to apologize. I mean don't apologise to me, apologize to the industry. But um but like but I mean it's incre that is amazing. Thank you. That is fucking amazing. You know, I'm taking the piss saying that's mad. It is mad but it takes fucking balls of steel to do something like that. And it fucking paid off, man. That's so good. Yeah, yeah, and I I I worked really hard on it. And I there have been some things in my life that I have blagged, and yeah, obviously to a to a degree I did sort of blag that, but like I worked really hard on it and I I love writing. I absolutely it made me realize how much I loved writing. I would sit there with Steve and it was just like a therapy session, just talking about my life and like um my dating life and all the things that all the things that the papers love to talk about. I sort of felt like I was kind of uh like taking that ownership. A bit like doing a podcast, but you know, on stage. I I saw people afterwards kind of doing it um that had never done it before and then I think I was doing what everyone else was doing about me going oh god why they're doing that and then I was like oh shit I'm that person you know but um but no I I can't I still can't work out if I loved or hated it. I d I don't like touring. Uh it's lonely. I don't like the dressing rooms. Yeah. Dressing rooms are grim. They're they're they're depressing and I get really late. Yeah, and it's all that it's like why does it have to be that grim? I don't understand. I think it's just um to make you sad. Yeah. I think it is. And like and and you'd sit there like afterwards and I'm like, Oh that's why comedians are all really weird and fucked up. 'Cause that sorry. But that is that every comedian I know I'm friends I'm literally friends with we're all friends with the same people. I just I went to Katherine Ryan's house the other day and I was there with all of them and uh I yeah yeah they they're all Was that for her Easter get together? Yeah. Yeah, I I'm gonna let me just tell you about what happened to me at that Easter get together. Um I'm really good friends with Catherine Warren. She's great, love her. She's great. One of the best. She's like, yeah, icon to me. Tom Davis. Yes, he was there. Yeah, he was there. He phoned me the other uh maybe a week and a half ago. And he said to me, Are you going to Catherine's Easter thing? Uh-oh. And I said, I would consider it if this wasn't the first I was hearing of it. She came to the renewal of your vows. You invited her to that, didn't you? I did, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She said I I then text her immediately. Because I don't play that shit. Yeah. And I said, why am I hearing from Tom Davis that you're having an Easter thing? I know. Right? And she said, Oh, I thought it'd be too far for you. Where do you where do you live? Just so I can rub it in a bit more. Just down the road from the Horth in Crawley. Mm. I live in I live out in the in the sticks, so I'm not sure if that's a good enough . So listen, uh I know Catherine Catherine's not Catherine's. I'm just here to make you feel great today. Catherine's another I think we're gonna get Catherine on at this point, but just in case she's watching. Fuck you. Probably do. So you got this you got this you did the sketch off the back there. What was that like? What was that like doing? And the sketch show, for people that didn't see it, it was you were doing sketches, but also it was interspersed with your stand-up as well, right? Yes. It was sort of Seinfeldy, wasn't it, in terms of like you would kind of set up a topic or a theme or yes. And I I am so proud of it. I did three seasons of it and it was such hard work. It was such fun work. I remember the first season we did in COVID, so the rules were crazy, like it it was it was nuts and I can't believe we we we did that in series one but it it I loved it I found it I found the scrutiny quite tough I've I found that really tough. And because I like'd this was the first time I'd put my blood, sweat, and tears into something. And like it was mine, it was my name above the door. And it was funny because the working title was the Emily A Tech Show. And when they came to me and said, What do you actually want to call it? I was like I want to call it the M8 actually. But there is a lot of you know narcissistic. Yeah. But yeah, but yeah big gold letters, yeah. And but then it the reality of that really sort of kicks in because you go, Oh my god, it's my name above the door, that's terrifying. And uh yeah. That the press went through a stage of like comparing it massively to my real life because I would talk a lot about real things that had happened. I spoke about like my sex life and love life and all the stuff that the media uh like to talk about. Um I I felt felt it was taking ownership of it, but then it does it when it sort of lived simultaneously alongside each other, it was like uh it would it would be like I'd I'd do a load of sketches about dating and then I'd get caught dating someone I shouldn't have been dating, or like I'd or I'd be rumoured to be dating someone or or do you know what I mean? So I saw I found that really difficult. Um it was a shame because I loved I loved writing it. The writer's room was so fun. There's nothing more creative and lovely doing that, you know, with all these incredible writers like Amy Gledhill, I had her in my Colin Polt, all these brilliant people. And I felt really special and I felt really like, oh my God, like I've this is the dream, you know. Um and it is just, yeah, I I I feel like I've maybe got a slightly thicker skin now, but at the time I I found the scrutiny really, really difficult. Do you think that um and by the way I'm not I've not se I'm not saying this from having seen it but like as in the any of the scrutiny but like I know we joked about it but the fact that it i it to to the outsider it you got that show quick right yeah you you you've been an actor and then you put on a stage show and then off the back of that you get this sketch show you are a performer that also had like a media like a gossipy interest. Did you know what I mean like the salaciousness. Yeah, yeah, yeah. In your life as there was you know and and I'm not saying that to diminish what you do professionally but i i you know, you were in the tabloids and stuff like that, right? So do you think that uh that probably exacerbated the screw? Completely and but I I thought naively that would kind of take a bit of control on it, but it just c yeah, it just made it. It j it was like um, you know, um a red rag to a with a bull. It was like the the press just kind of really went for me with it. Um and yeah, I and uh and in comedy I realised that like y you you just can't worry about that. But I do, I'm quite sensitive and I I yeah. I just and also when I was dating people, I I I would go on dates with people. Um it was like it was like at the t I was in top shagger mode. But it was really starting to it was starting to affect that because then men would kind of go, if I go out with her, I'm gonna be all in the papers and she's gonna write about it and a sketch show and blah blah blah. So it kind of did start to um uh kind of drip feed into my my real life, which became quite lonely and yeah, I was a bit like, oh no. I I didn't enjoy that bit of it, but yeah, it was my own fucking fault, wasn't it? So Well no, that that's not true. Well it's just it you know, it's and and that is it you just don't get that same scrutiny as a as a bloke. Uh a woman talking about her sex life and doing all that stuff. I felt really liberated when I was doing it and I thought it was just funny and just Well what I can tell you is almost certain nobody's ever googled Romashrang and Nathan Top Shaggir. I mean it's almost like Um So but I mean you've you've been really open about your the tre your treatment in the press and online and stuff like that. Uh uh and and you talked about having a thinner skin back in the past. Like do you think have you become more philosophical about it now, do you think? Um yeah, and I think I I I I've had a baby now which completely sort of don't get me wrong, I d it doesn't you don't become an adult overnight just because you have a baby and you and you start cooking tea for your partner and your child. Like I still I'm still affected by things like I was years ago, but it I definitely feel um I learnt a lot from that time and I don't have any regrets. I like I'm glad I spoke about all those things. I'm glad I made light of some of it. I'm glad I spoke quite seriously about some of it, like with the documentary I did asking for it. It it's my my main thing has always been I should be allowed to stand here and talk about these things and laugh about them and we can all have a good old laugh at my chaotic love life you know uh under my control of it. It's when uh people think that they can say what they like to you, send what they like to you. Um that's the bit that I have a problem with. And some people think that you don't deserve that kind of privacy. Well it's not even privacy, is it? It's just I I d don't want dick pics being sent to me. I don't want wanking videos being sent to me. But people think that because I've been this certain um this this person who you know has had salacious stuff written in the press and I talk about it seems that you're on target. Yeah, yeah. Um so I'm just always kind of that champion. Uh you know, I'll I still talk about things I the you know funny things that have happened in my love life and blah blah blah. Um I just don't look at the the at my Instagram as much, you know. But doing asking for it was like it was a great thing to do and a and I don't know how much you know, this is the document you did about, you know, kind of your the the First of all, when it fur when it came out i i I mean it it it was a it was a brave show to make and a brave thing to put yourself out there like that. Thank you. Thank God that somebody is talking about all of this. Because you know, like we talked about Catherine, who's, you know, who has been a friend but is now an enemy. But e e ev even even when I've seen you know, I I've been party to screen grabs uh you know, sometimes she'll share screen grabs of stuff that's been said to her. And women just get sent stuff that men don't have to you know uh that just don't and when I say get sent stuff, I mean routinely get sent stuff, right? Thousands of messages a day. Yeah and so I I get sent stuff. For you and I and I think it was it's it's so much that actually people can't they actually think this m can't be true. Yes. But you're not. No. And and so what what was was the the kind of what made you decide to it was a really great thing that you did and I think it really helped people actually. I hope it did. What what made you what put you through that that process of doing that? Well it was it was during COVID. I I I was living on my own in COVID. It was when it was like lockdown, lockdown, where you literally weren't allowed to see anybody at all. I hadn't touched a human being in weeks and I was on my own in my flat in Crouch End at the time. And um and I and obviously we were all living online, weren't we? It's the the online world became uh a great thing and a great tool to stay connected and watch funny videos and everybody, you know, we were all clapping the NHS on the you know , that feels mad now, doesn't it? Listen, listen, I do I do I do love the NHS and I support everything they do. But thinking back to banging a wooden spoon against a saucepan on your door on the little lorry. What the fuck was going on? I know. It's fucking insane. I know. I know. Get out there, kid kids! I know. Kids! And everyone really aggressive. Like I just don't know what children must have been thinking. They've gone fucking nuts. I know, and then you just go inside and get absolutely twated . Good times. I got I can say it now, but I've got it heavily into edibles. Oh did you? Anyway, let's not talk about that. Oh my god. So so anyway, so you let's talk about the so the documentary. Yeah, so and I I was I was online a lot um and I just I really realize and and I was taught I was talking to I was replying to like um I don't like using the word fans because it makes me sound like I think I'm Madonna but like people you know I was connecting more with um members of the public than I yeah followers. Obsessives disciples. Psychos um no I was I was connecting more with like followers um than I normally would because I was lonely and and I and we were all j everyone was there for each other and you know it was just that sort of thing. And I think it ramped up as well because it was locked down. I was used to getting um videos and pictures and really disgusting messages, but it was like it had really stepped up a gear. I mean, they were finding new things to shove up their arse or whatever it was. And um it was just getting what it was getting so bad. And it it it started to really affect me personally and it gave it gave me anxiety and um obviously, you know, m the the whole world was kind of um ending at the time as it was and it was like that just made it so much more lonely and awful and I kind of I started questioning my own uh who I was as a person and I was asking what is it about me what what do you think it is about me that they do that to like is it because I'm this way and is it because I'm that and am I asking for this kind of attention? Um because I I've sort of been told my whole life that that like I'm asking for that kind of thing. It's like if I'm you know, when I was younger at school and I wore a short skirt, my well it's my school uniform, I'd get h be you know, you g get the the horn tooted at you with in vans, lorries and stuff and like uh y y I was sort of told my skirt was too short, I wore too much makeup. I I always felt like I've always been told that that that kind of negative attention is um brought on by my by me, by myself. So uh that yeah, so when I was getting all these messages on Instagram , I then started s I started looking through my Instagram going, Well, do I post too many bikini photos? Am I bet and you know, don't get me wrong, like I was I was single at the time and I and I think for me personally I maybe I I did put sexier photos up or like you know, you sort of do carry yourself differently when you're single. But you're also allowed to do that. Yeah. Yes. But it's just but this is the system ic thing, isn't it, that's been drilled into us that that I it that it must be something I have to change or that I'm doing, you know. And so yeah, I I just started it was when I started questioning who I was as a person that I thought I'm gonna have to start talking about this. So I literally just started posting the stuff that was being sent to me just to see people's reactions. And I was kind of going, is this normal? Does anyone else get this? And it was met with it was like 50% of people going, I yeah, I get this all the time, it's fucking horrible, isn't it? To it was from that to like, oh my god, are you like this is the most horrific thing I've ever seen. Like, are you okay? And you know. Um, yeah, and then it it just kind of gathered all this traction and then uh I started to think about how I could do a maybe a documentary about it. Um and took yeah, so then and then BBC two came forward and said, you Wo likeuld to, you know, do a documentary? And I was like, Yeah. And I already had, I already knew exactly how I wanted to do it and and the people I wanted to see, I went to go and visit a school of girls to talk about w what they're sort of facing in their in their Gen Z era and how bad it is on social media and um i yeah, I really I wanted to it was so much harder than I thought it was gonna be because it opens a fucking can of worms. And it it it it was really um you put yourself in the firing line and the actually for a time when I did that documentary, the messages just ramped up. It was like it was I was making it worse for myself. I was making it worse . And um I was kind of going, oh my god, I'm now stuck in this whole I'm now this sort of spokesperson to talk about all these things, but people find that confusing because I've played all these sexy roles and I posed in my underwear for FHM and now standing. How the fuck can you have a problem with it now if you know that's the that's the I do the confusion. Men me men don't understand. They go, but I thought I was allowed to say this to you because I thought you were up for it. I thought you were fair game. It's a there's a bit of that. Um so when I do stand up there as a spokesperson going, uh this is unacceptable and I I don't like I don't like this treatment, yeah, they get c they sort of think that they because they've had it drip fed into them that that and this is the this is headlines, uh this is the media, how women are portrayed, especially women like me, girls like me, it's all the headlines are always Emily A Tatat flaunts her ample assets whilst on a stroll with her mum. Right. I'm not flaunting anything. I'm just walking down the road. But because those words like flaunting and stuff has it it's ingrained in people, it's been drip-fed into men that we are doing it for the male gays. We're doing it so that you can wolf whistle us at, grab our asses, whatever it is. Um and so when we turn around and go, fuck off, I don't want to be treated like that. Yeah, they d they they kind of think we're taking that right away from them and they don't understand it. Um so yeah, so sorry, I'm going off a bit but No no no but yeah that was the that was kind of the the crux of the um of the documentary it was really really difficult um do you think you would do any more I would I actually I want to do a documentary about intimacy coordinators on sets. Because getting rid of. Well, this is the argument. So people are um it's it's a very new, I'm sure you've experienced this, it's a very new thing in term s this has all happened since the Me Too movement. We now have people on set, if we're doing sex scenes or or anything, kissing scenes, anything that requires intimacy, we have a coordinator on set cock blocking us. Yeah. Right. Um but it's like it's just m it's but it's for so many different reasons and people get annoyed by it. People people say, Oh, I find it 's just an awkward chat. But Ramesh, let me let me tell you something. It's it's not just so we know, right, you're not a pervert, okay? We know that there are good men out there. We know there are great men. It's just that when you say it , it makes it sound like the ha there's a suggestion that I have. No , no. So we know the the You shouldn't say is you shouldn't you shouldn't have to say No, okay, no, right. No, no Can we caption that? Yeah. Yeah. We know know, we categorically I'm not a pervert. You're not a pervert. You aren't rumored to be a pervert. You are a good lovely person that everyone likes to work with, and you're professional. So to you, having an intimacy coordinator, yeah, that might be annoying to you , but some there are some men out there who have completely abused their position of power and they don't behave in a way that they should. And they and I I uh for girls like me, I've been on sets at you know, 19, 20, 21, where I've been treated appallingly by men . Um, not always, but it's the I've I've had more good experiences experiences than I have bad ones. But the times where it's been bad, I would have have given anything for someone just to s be there to make sure I was alright. One outside voice, yeah. Yeah. And it's not and it's not they're not standing there trying to already blame blame a guy for something that blaming you for something you haven't done. It's it's also for afterwards. So, like, for example, at Rivals, there was there was this one particular day I did three sex scenes back to back, literally. And I and it was it was an exhausting day, and I and even though all the men I worked with on rivals are nothing but gracious, lovely and professional, it's a new the intimacy coordinate thing. It is a new thing and people are finding their feet with it, finding how to navigate it. But I do think it's really important to show that w women and men are being listened to and just making sure that everyone's comfortable b during the intimacy scene and afterwards. Um because sadly there have been people who have abused that. But even even like from the serious. No, it's great. We need some of this on this fucking flux podcast. But even when like from a from Bloke's point of view, like not that I've d I've not done loads of sex scenes on camera, but I've not done loads of sex scenes full start. But when when when um they were laughing, I know, they love it. But when we did like when we did avoidance and we it was Ashton and I doing that that kiss, you you you're even like I'm fucking weird. Yeah, and I'm thinking to myself, I don't know we can talk about how f much of a kiss we want this to be, but it's a fucking weird thing. Like, you know, you're so frightened that you might not f frrightens the wrong because Ashing's a mate, but if it's somebody you don't know you might go to you might misinterpret and then that person feels violated and all of that. That's why that's also why an intimacy coordinate has to be there because if somebody was to say, Oh, I did that or that it that covers covers your ass as well. It's it's just to it's for everybody. It's it's so that it's so that uh it's yes, it there might be an element of uh feeling a bit awkward, but at least that takes away something that could be way more than a few. I mean it's it's a tiny price to pay for the benefit, isn't it? Yeah, I think so. Because it's way more awkward being fucking felt up on a set and like, you know, having someone whisper something in your ear that you know, people can't when no one's around, like that's worse. Yeah. Yeah. Um now Bollocking over. Yeah. Now listen, I would uh I'd love to have a better segu e. But my mum's got a question for you. Okay. She's on voice note. I've not heard this. Let's hear it, please. Great . Hi Emily. This is Romish's mum here. I loved your performan ces in Rivals . You are fabulous . Do you have any juicy gossip behind the scenes? Let me know, Raleigh. Have a wonderful day. Love you. Bye. Do you have any juicy gossips from Juicy Gossips? That's gonna be my next tour title. Juicy Gossips. Oh, I love her so much. It's a fun show. It's a fun group. There are so many of us. There are so many fun scenes. Um it's we're a happy bunch and we get on very well. Okay. And we like to Yeah. Yeah. No w yeah. It's we get on great. We have such a fucking hoot. It is a dream job. And Jilly Cooper, oh my god, Dame Jilly Cooper. We lost her in in the middle of making season two, so it's like that that has given it so much more heart for us and it's like a the re filming the rest of it was like a love letter to her and she loved drinking champagne and she had a twinkle in her eye. so And we will continue to drink champagne and you know and misbehave. No, not misbehave. Yeah, but no gossip, no there's no juicy gossips. Is it true that when they put out for casting that the the the call was for somebody like Emily Ata. Yeah, yeah. So it and I don't know whether to I don't know how to t 'cause at first I thought, Oh my god, that's great but then you read that you know she's a promiscuous fucking nightmare and you go, Oh no . Cool. Um but yeah, so Dominic, um Tradwell Collins, uh, Laura Wade, amazing writers. Um they really are they are such a duo. They they write they write it all. And uh yeah, they they told me that there was when the breakdown for Sarah Stratton came in, they said, think Emily so they they explained what Sarah was like. Um yeah, I think it was like extremely promiscuous, um uh badly behaved car crash of a woman um but fun and loving think emily atac I was like I'm kind of chilled um but yeah and then so then the producer said well why don't we just try and get Emily Atac in the room and I went in the full eighties get up. Um and yeah. So I hear stories about this. Like people do do this for castings. Yes, but th th you it's much cooler not to, but I I always do. Right, okay. I really go for it. Yeah. And the ones that I do, I always get the job. So I would actually give that advice to someone. I can't really give very good advice, but and do you think that overcomes a complete lack of acting ability, asking for a friend? I think it definitely distracts. So like but I th I think I think it just shows, you know, it shows good good willing. But also it's it's just fun, isn't it? And you get you get two minutes in the room. You might as well, you know, look as much like a tit as you as you possibly can. Absolutely. Yeah. Um n when you were making the first 'cause obviously it's a it was a I don't know I was about to say it was a surprise smash. Not a surprise, but like Yeah. It everybody was talking about it when it first came out. And um did you did everybody feel that I always am interested is if people know that they're making magic when it's happening. Well, we used to all look around and kind of be like, people are either gonna fucking love this or fucking hate it because it's so difficult to know especially how broad it felt and and you know like and some of it as well for in this in the cut you know current times we were like, oh god, are we, can we say that? Are we gonna get away with that? But it was when you see it as a whole and you realise how brilliantly written it is, you go, ah, it it was just, I think it was the perfect timing. Everyone needed that bit of fresh air. Everyone wanted to see some shagging on tell y and everyone, you know and and that's the thing, you're allowed to to to enjoy all of that stuff. Um you're allowed to watch bunking on television and be like, oh, oh I wish that was me. Um, you know, I wish I wish I was getting railed on a Concord by Rupert Campbell Black. You are allowed to think that. We all do. Railed is such a great word, isn't it? Um but yeah, so yeah, and it was it was naughty um but it was done it w uh I believe done uh done tastefully. Um and like the nudity and the sex, it's obviously that's the thing everyone's obsessed with, but it it's never unnecessary. It's always integral to the story. It's like the the naked tennis scene that I had to do. I it on paper you go, Well that's just it's that's bonkers and that's great. But it's it's such a famous scene in the book. It's such a huge scene. So I really wanted to get that right. Um yeah. It's it you're allowed to find it uh entertaining. You're allowed to you're allowed to enjoy sex and the sexiness of it. Mm. You know? Enjoy sexiness. Right, time for a game. This is misquoted. Yeah. Uh I have got five quotes for you. Some of them you said, some of them you didn't. Oh god. And you just have to tell me if you said them or not. The heart's racing. I've got a temperature. It's misquoted. There's no need to be known. Can I get my colouring book now? Yeah, there's no pressure on this at all. Have you done any colouring by the way? Um what in just just a Sorry it's that I went through a phase. You're talking about during COVID during COVID I went through. Yeah, like the adult colour. Not adult colour. But it was like they're they're much more like it's like really complicated. It's actually quite too difficult for me. Yeah, no, yeah, but don't please don't tell me you do that paint by numbers box. No. Let's play Miss Quoted. So we've got five quotes. Yeah. Something you said, something you didn't. Uh here's your first one. Good luck. No need to feel any pressure. Okay. You've done great in this chat so far. Thanks. So if this goes shit, we'll just won't put it in. Um Okay . Here's your first one. Yeah. I knew what I wanted to do, and I knew I didn't need a maths GCSE for it. I definitely said that. You did say that to the Guardian in 2024. This is about you leaving school age sixteen and moving to London. Oh you got that right? That's nice. Uh you know, maths is a load of shit, isn't it? Yeah. Maths is a fucking load of bullshit. Fuck maths. I I'm dyslexic with numbers. What is it what the X's What is it called when you're dyslexic with numbers? Thank you. Because I I for me, num you know, I'm not dyslexic with letters, but I am dyslexic with dyslexia. Isn't it just called numerically dyslexic? I don't know if there's a specific word for it. I am that. I don't understand numbers. Yeah. Yeah. Um but who cares? Yeah. Look at you now. Thank you. If I can live that countryside life. Yeah. That's why I don't like paint by numbers. No. Paint by what? Uh okay, here's your next one. You won for one, congratulations. Thanks. Uh here's your next one. Charlotte Hinchcliffe is made for me. This is my role. Yeah, I definitely said that. Apparently this is it's this is what you said in the audition room. I did. And now and now knowing it's that's funny to think, isn't it? Because I would never say that now, but I was so naive and I I I it was like I I think it was like my second ever audition and I was living on my I was living me and my sister were living in this flat um and I I had no money like I had to pay the rent and I went in there going well I have to I have to get this j So th this was just about disp pure financial desperation, I think. Yes, but and but also just desperately trying to make it. I I needed to become a famous actress quick because I had to pay rent. So I went in and I saw all these other girls that like I think hundreds of girls auditioned for Charlotte Inchliff. I had to even bang the door down to get an audition. And I just knew it was mine. And I and I said to them just on the way out, I said, I just need to say this, this role is made for me. There is nobody in that room that can do that better than me. And they just went, thank you. And I was like, I walked out, I was like, fuck, I shouldn't say that, but I got the part that day . Fucking hell . I know, I would never say that now. No. I didn't understand the etiquette, you know. You should be so dislikable. Do you know what I mean? Like purely based on how you've done it, you're a piece of shit. No, thank you. Like and I mean that in like a I mean that in a really envious kind of good for you way. Thank you. Like fuck you, man. Thanks, darling. Okay, well done. Uh you're two for two. Congrats. Here's your next one. When I told my mum about my nude scene in Rivals, she said just do whatever Jillie Cooper says . No, I know what she said . Uh I got the script for Rivals and I got the the I was going I was reading the tennis scene and I read out the tennis scene to Mum and it said there are two people play um uh uh Sarah Stratton is playing tennis completely naked. Um, you can see her bush, it was like describing my bush, um, and like my boobs flapping about and everything. And and I said to mum, I said I was like, I read out It says the word bush. Um it says the word bush, yeah. It says she she's um uh covering her bush with a tennis ball. And um it's very eighties. And uh and my mum said to me, she said there is no way on earth that they are gonna get my daughter playing tennis . So and uh that yeah. So When you read that, did you not slightly shit yourself about the tennis. Yeah. I was I was genuinely I was like, Oh my god, am I gonna have to have tennis lessons? Yeah. Um yeah. Uh well done. That was that well, you got that right as well. So you're three for three. Um it was nominated for most memorable moment at the 2025 BAFTAs. Does that mean I've been nominated for a BAFTA, technically? I know it's no. No. Yeah, surely. Does it? Thank you. You have been no, the moment was in the moment? Yeah, yeah, I am. Okay, Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben. We can all do this fucking flannelly bullshit. But when you submit for the BAFTA, you have to list some names, don't you? So will Emily's name have been on that thing? You're sounding a bit jealous at the moment. Why? Because Emily's breezed into stand up, breezed into acting, just found it all easy and done it. There's obviously been a bit more work. You've won BAFTAs, haven't you? Yeah, but not for fucking getting my bush out playing tennis. Um no but I'm genuinely asking the question 'cause you have to listen I had to find I had to I was I was a technical nom a BAFTA nominee. So I was at the nominee party. I was fine, yeah then the nominee group then you were nomed. Thanks. So that was easy as well. Straight in. Yeah. Straight in there. Just forgetting my knockers out. Big tits. See? They never fail me. Here's your next one. Unless it's for breastfeeding. Here's your next one. Um getting that job was quite tricky. Just kidding, you never would have said that. You did very well at this. I watched Downton Abbey every single day. I ate nothing but peanut butter sandwiches and pancakes. I don't know if it well I yes, I watched Downton Abbey. This is when I was pregnant. Yeah. And I watched Downton Abbey every single day. And I all I ate was um peanut butter sandwiches. But it was actually banana bread and pears, um, but uh yeah, and pancakes. Yeah. Yeah. Um Yeah, I did say that, yeah. Yeah, you did say that. Well done. Yeah. Um pregnancy, did it did that change your relationship with your body? Oh my god. Um my my body has been my best friend and my worst enemy throughout my fucking life. And like, because it holds everything. It's like it's done so much, it's worked for me, it's worked against me, it's pushed a child out, it's been ripped open. A woman's body tells such a fucking story, doesn't it? Um and I think yes, birthing a child when it all went horribly wrong at the birth and it was all very dramatic. Um but uh but still fucking nailed it. Yeah um yeah childbirth nailed it, yes. Yeah. Um yeah, I didn't even need a midwife, just did it myself. Yeah. Um yes, no yes, in answer to your question it it it it did. Um yeah. It's it's pretty nuts what women's bodies can do. Definitely. Um okay, you're four for four. Yeah. Here's your last one. Is this true or false? I'm a diehard believer, I'm sorry. No . Did I say that? Do you think you said that? I mean I I like Justin Bieber. I'm a bit worried about him. I'd like sort of want to give him a big cut-up. I mean listen, he's obviously he's not been you know, he's been pretty close to that loop, hasn't he? Bless him. But um did you think you said that or not? I don't think I said that. You didn't no. Uh what you actually said was I'm obsessed with aliens and UFOs. I'm a believer . Who's to say there isn't life elsewhere? And that was to the Radio Times in 2025, which makes me feel that interview went off the fucking rails. Nailed it . Um You believe in aliens and stuff? I do, yeah. Well I'm I'm uh engaged to a scientist. Um which you would think that that would mean that I would uh believe it no, but actually being with a scientist has has really broadened my horizon. Statistically speaking, scientifically speaking, it's incredibly unlikely we're the only ones here, right? And when you actually learn about the intricate details and the the complex ities of the world and the universe, it is fucking mental. And I do I I'm a big believer in in everything. I believed in mermaids for a bit. Did you? Yeah, I'm not I'm not a conspiracy theorist though, so What's the male mate conspiracy? Um well I don't know, just like you just Oh god. But no, I I'm qu I I like to believe in lots of things. I'm quite religious. I'm like a faith and I I but and also that's an interesting thing because people think that being with a scientist would would make you not hurt. Yeah. But it it kind of does. And and weirdly, 'cause I read all the books that he reads and I I try and learn as much as I can and listen to all of the podcasts that he listens to and stuff and it's it actually they talk about God way more than they do scientists. Like science and God is actually way closer than you think. But that will save that for another day. God, that feels like that's gonna be a fucking heavy second appearance. But no, it really I I remember I remember the the first time I listened to this insane science podcast, like it was like a Brian Cox thing, and like and I was surprised at how quickly they mentioned God. They mentioned God like straight away. Um yeah. So I'm yeah. I'm very interested in the universe and Al, your other half, right? Is he religious? No. No well, no, but he is very he's so intelligent, so his brain is so open. He would never say, like, there's no such thing as this, there's no such thing as that, but but he believes in he believes in facts and science, but he's also very kind of connected to the universe in like a very interesting way. There's been a lot of serendipity moments in our lives that have kind of brought us together and So he's so he's open to that idea because the idea of somebody that's into science, you just think if you go is Isn't it mad how the the world brought us together and just go, um well actually it's just coincidence because that's what the train was doing at that time. You know, you wouldn't know she's not. No, no, you should have to I was doing an impression of a stereotypical. Yeah, I'm sure. I bet he, of course he is. I bet he is. Um but yeah, no, he's he's very he's very open and very um he's just very smart. Yeah. Doesn't he doesn't shut anything down. He'll have a conversation and open end. As we all should be. Yeah. Am I right? Yeah. Um now Emily, you've been an amazing guest. Thanks. Fantastic, right? Fantastic. Thanks. Um he's sort of given Ben a bit of an opportunity to attack me. I haven't sort of commented on it much during the episode, but we will talk about how your how you've been during this episode. I think it's been disgusting. And I didn't want to make a big thing because I don't I didn't know. Well I we'll talk about it afterwards, but you've been a real Okay, so just to cl just to uh close off the episode, we I I'm I'm sure I don't know if you're aware actually, but we like to try and get an exclusive or a buttons something that you haven't said publicly before. Okay. Yeah. Anything. Yeah. Yeah. Um Is it have you got anything for us? I write poems and I was go read you a poet. Do you really write poems? Can you remember any? No, I I love poetry um because I'm not very good at reading books, I have to say. And so poetry, I just read I read thousands of poems because they're quick. Yeah. And I get through mountains of the call. I'll tell you what a uh a good thing to do, 'cause sometimes reading books can be intimidating. And I don't mean then are patronizing. No, no, yeah. Maybe they're just ampatronizing. I th I think you mean when some I think when somebody denies it as many times as I have done, you maybe just fucking But at least now you say sorry I'm be I might be being patronizing. But you wouldn't racist But um you know sometimes when you like I don't like reading books where the chapters are really long. Yeah, no. If they've got really short chapters, you think well I can tackle this. Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. Because I love I do love reading, but yeah, I can't be asked when and when the words are too small, can't be asked. Okay, okay, so I am a bit embarrassed. Right, go on. That's not the title. A limerick? No, it's quite it's right, okay. So this I write. My name is Emily Atac, and this is a little bit of payback. No right. I wrote this in COVID, okay. Okay. And it's a bit flimsy. Okay. And it's a bit but it's just quite nice. I just think it's nice to end on a nice note because there's so many sh so much shit going on in the world. Yeah, love it. And I'm not trying to be funny. I'm just I'll just say something nice. This is called When You Cannot Face the Day. Um I'm very much looking forward to you being named Poet Laureate after reading this Don't take the Mickey because I'll never this is the first time I've ever done this so it's great we're honoured. Genuinely and I mean that. I feel like it's cruelly all over you again. Yeah. Right. When you cannot face the day, a few things to remember. The months and seasons are here for you, January through December. When you cannot face the day, note the start of spring, take a moment and listen and the birds will start to sing bit basic . When you cannot face the day and the summer sky is blue, those blazing rays of luminous gold, they're shining just for you. When you cannot face the day, notice the colours of autumn. Those expensive leather walking boots You knew you should have bought em When you cannot face the day because winter is just too dark. Find the footprints in the snow where your loved ones left their mark, death. When you cannot face the day and you can't see through the mist, wondering when the last time was that you were hugged or kissed, know that this will pass, my friend, you'll begin to find the light. Just try a little bit harder, try with all your might. And when that day should come, take one small step outside. The beautiful day awaits you, and you can face it because you tried. So when you cannot face the day, I send my love to you and hope and pray that you will find this world is there for you. Emily ATAC, everybody! That was sick! Thank you so much for watching this episode of the Romish Ranger Nathan show. I've been told that some of you are watching this, enjoying it, wallowing in it, but you still haven't subscribed. That's mad behavior. You're gonna miss episodes. Very silly. So follow and subscribe to the Ramish Rang and Nathan show on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. We drop new episodes every Monday and Thursday. On Monday I'm here with amazing guests talking about their career, what they're up to, having a laugh with them, and then on Thursdays I'm joined by my mum, widely regarded as the audience's favourite Rangan