Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

Episodes page 2 of 6

1. Ralph Fiennes

   15 May 2026 · 1 h 03 min · Explicit

   At Rosebud we know how lucky we are to meet and talk to so many talented and fascinating guests. And this week we are especially lucky, as our guest is one of our greatest living actors: Ralph Fiennes. In this…

2. More Rosebud - Dame Rachel De Souza, the Children's Commissioner

   12 May 2026 · 55 min

   Our More Rosebud guest today is the Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel De Souza. Dame Rachel advocates for children in parliament, and on May 8 published a major survey of 1 million children in the UK -…

3. Rosebud Live at Riverside Studios - Sir Lenny Henry

   8 May 2026 · 1 h 13 min

   Our guest today is Sir Lenny Henry, the pioneering comedian, entertainer, actor and campaigner, who tells Gyles his story, and it's an impressive one: from the streets of Dudley in the West Midlands, to winning New…

4. More Rosebud - New York City Diaries with Gyles and Harriet, and Tales from Broadway with Josh Ellis

   5 May 2026 · 51 min

   Rosebud has been on its first international road trip, to New York City. In this episode, Gyles and Harriet chat about their trip... about how they gossiped for 15 hours straight on the flight over, about being guests…

5. Jeremy Corbyn

   1 May 2026 · 1 h 13 min

   Jeremy Corbyn MP is our guest on this May Day morning. Now an independent MP and the leader of Your Party, Jeremy has been in Westminster for 43 years - for 41 of those as a Labour MP. He was leader of Labour Party…

6. More Rosebud - Gyles's Diaries episode 40

   28 Apr 2026 · 51 min

   An action-packed edition of Gyles's diaries, from 1974 and 75. Gyles masquerades - very convincingly - as the European Monopoly Champion, and wows the crowds in New York City. He tosses the world's smallest pancake…

7. India Hicks

   24 Apr 2026 · 1 h 09 min

   It's the second of our guests this week with a royal connection: India Hicks. India is the granddaughter of Lord Mountbatten - the last Viceroy of India who oversaw the transition to independence, and his fascinating…

8. More Rosebud - Major General Alastair Bruce

   21 Apr 2026 · 1 h 21 min

   Today - Tuesday 21 April 2026 - would have been Queen Elizabeth II's 100th birthday, and we're marking the occasion with two regal Rosebuds. Our guest in this episode is Major General Alastair Bruce, the former Army…

9. Hayley and Juliet Mills

   17 Apr 2026 · 1 h 19 min

   On Hayley Mills's 80th birthday weekend, Gyles speaks to the legendary actress and her sister, Juliet Mills, about their remarkable lives and careers. They talk about their parents, Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell.…

10. More Rosebud - Gyles's Diaries episode 39

    14 Apr 2026 · 53 min

    Gyles continues to have success, failure and everything in between with the Oxford Theatre Festival... and even gets to open some plays in the West End. We hear from a listener in a far-flung location, and we chat…

11. Amol Rajan

    10 Apr 2026 · 1 h 16 min

    In this episode, Gyles is charmed and fascinated by Amol Rajan, the podcaster, broadcaster and host of Radical and Radio 4's Today programme. Amol tells Gyles about his family background - his parents moved to the UK…

12. More Rosebud - Gyles's diary, episode 38

    7 Apr 2026 · 52 min · Explicit

    Yes, diary fans, it's a big one, because this episode describes some of the most stressful months of Gyles's life. It's spring 1974, and he's desperately trying to put together a stellar line-up of plays and stars for…

13. Monty Don

    3 Apr 2026 · 1 h 18 min · Explicit

    This week's guest is the utterly wonderful Monty Don, and this is one of our warmest, richest, most delightful and most touching episodes yet - full of insight, wisdom, stories, laughter and - of course some tears.…

14. More Rosebud - Jean Campbell

    31 Mar 2026 · 59 min

    Our guest today is the model and podcast host Jean Campbell, who talks to Gyles about her wild Scottish childhood and about her experience of living with chronic pain as a result of hip dysplasia. Jean tells Gyles the…

15. Tom Allen

    27 Mar 2026 · 1 h 11 min

    Our guest today is the comedian, author, actor and presenter Tom Allen. And this is a truly charming edition of Rosebud. Tom tells Gyles about his childhood in suburban Bromley and opens up about what it was like to be…

16. More Rosebud - Gyles's Diaries episode 37

    24 Mar 2026 · 54 min

    It's time for another riveting edition of Gyles's diaries, which give a unique perspective on life in Britain in the second half of the twentieth century. We start with some chat from Gyles and Harriet about Lord…

17. Wes Streeting MP

    20 Mar 2026 · 1 h 06 min

    In this episode, Gyles meets the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP. Gyles hears about Wes's remarkable life story so far, which begins in a council flat in East London and ends at the…

18. More Rosebud - Michael Heseltine

    17 Mar 2026 · 1 h 04 min

    We've got two political interviews for you on Rosebud this week, and this is the first. In the week of his 93rd birthday, Gyles is talking to Lord Heseltine - one of the so-called "big Beasts" of the British political…

19. Richard E Grant

    13 Mar 2026 · 1 h 16 min

    We at Rosebud are thrilled about today's guest, and we know you will be too: it's Richard E Grant. Actor, writer, influencer and star of one of the most loved British films of all time, Withnail and I, Richard talks to…

20. More Rosebud - Gyles's Diaries episode 36

    10 Mar 2026 · 55 min

    We've reached the end of 1973 in Gyles's diaries. But we begin this episode in 2026, celebrating Gyles and Michèle's birthdays, and they unwrap their presents from Harriet. We hear about Gyles's birthday plans - he…

21. Naz Shah

    6 Mar 2026 · 1 h 10 min

    It's International Women's Day on Sunday 8 March, and our guest is the Labour Member of Parliament for Bradford West, Naz Shah. Naz tells Gyles her extraordinary story; about her father, who left the family when she…

22. More Rosebud - Dame Mary Archer

    3 Mar 2026 · 1 h 17 min

    In the first of our Rosebuds in the week of International Women's Day, Gyles meets Dame Mary Archer, the scientist and former Chairs of Addenbrooke's Hospitals Trust and the Science Museum Group, made a Dame for her…

23. Justin Welby

    27 Feb 2026 · 1 h 24 min

    Gyles talks the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and as this is a Rosebud conversation, we begin by hearing about Justin's fascinating family story. We hear about Justin's father - the charming, but…

24. More Rosebud - Royal Special

    24 Feb 2026 · 56 min

    This is a one-off episode, in which Gyles and Harriet discuss the British royal family and their future, in light of the recent scandal surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his arrest last week. Gyles has known…

25. More Rosebud Special - Kenneth Williams at 100, with David Benson

    22 Feb 2026 · 1 h 12 min

    In this special edition of Rosebud, we celebrate the late, great, self-proclaimed cult that is Kenneth Williams - on what would have been his 100th birthday. One of the greatest British entertainers of the twentieth…

26. Julian Fellowes

    20 Feb 2026 · 1 h 16 min

    Julian Fellowes, the creator and writer of Downton Abbey, Gosford Park, The Gilded Age - among other brilliant television series and movies - is our guest today. You'll know Julian's work - because he is one of the…

27. More Rosebud - Gyles's Diaries episode 35

    17 Feb 2026 · 53 min

    It's 1973, and Gyles is still working hard: putting on his star-studded son-et-lumières, appearing on Opportunity Knocks and... getting married. Yes, in a low-key and very private ceremony in London, Gyles Brandreth…

28. Rosebud at Valentine's: Leslie Caron

    13 Feb 2026 · 1 h 07 min

    Gyles meets one of his teenage idols: the French-born ballet dancer and film star Leslie Caron. In this conversation, Caron tells Gyles about her childhood in Paris, under Nazi occupation, (and gives Gyles her…

29. More Rosebud - Love Letters

    10 Feb 2026 · 1 h 02 min

    It's almost Valentine's Day - Gyles's favourite day of the year (the old romantic...) - and we've got a special episode for you: all about love letters. We start off with some romantic Gyles and Harriet chat, featuring…

30. Sir Derek Jacobi

    6 Feb 2026 · 1 h 11 min

    Gyles has been an admirer of this guest since the 1960s: it's the great actor, Sir Derek Jacobi. Ever since he was recruited into Sir Laurence Olivier's bold new National Theatre at the Old Vic, Jacobi has been at the…

31. More Rosebud - Antony Penrose: growing up with Lee Miller

    3 Feb 2026 · 1 h 05 min

    This is an extraordinary edition of Rosebud - from the first memory to the last, it is peppered with legendary names, great artists and wild stories. Which isn't surprising, as our guest is Antony Penrose, the son of…

32. Sir Ed Davey

    30 Jan 2026 · 1 h 06 min

    Joining Gyles on this episode of Rosebud is the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey. But this isn't a conversation about politics, it's about Ed's life, his family, his experience of profound loss, and his…

33. More Rosebud - Gyles's Diaries, episode 34

    27 Jan 2026 · 47 min

    1972 comes to a close, and Gyles is still building his unique portfolio career: touring the country dressed as Snoopy one minute, being the star columnist for Woman magazine the next. At one point, Fanny Cradock writes…

34. Dame Siân Phillips

    23 Jan 2026 · 1 h 21 min

    Dame Siân Phillips transports Gyles back to her childhood in Wales in the 1930s and 40s, where she grew up in a Welsh-speaking mining village, of which she paints a vivid picture. She describes hearing her policeman…

35. More Rosebud: The Winnie-the-Pooh special

    20 Jan 2026 · 1 h 00 min

    Last Sunday, 18th January, was Winnie-the-Pooh Day. It was the birthday of its creator, the author A A Milne. And Winnie-the-Pooh, his most famous book, was first published 100 years ago, in January 1926. Pooh became…

36. David Baddiel

    16 Jan 2026 · 1 h 05 min · Explicit

    David Baddiel joins Gyles this week to tell his unconventional family story. David paints a vivid picture of his childhood home in Dollis Hill, north-west London, and of the unusual people in it: his parents, and two…

37. More Rosebud - Gyles's Diaries, episode 33

    13 Jan 2026 · 54 min

    Another entertaining edition of Gyles's diaries for you, from 1972, in which: Gyles is upstaged by a man playing the spoons in Dorset, complains about some poor service in a restaurant, and has an upsetting encounter…

38. Dominic West

    9 Jan 2026 · 1 h 09 min

    Dominic West, one of the talented British actors who has had success both at home and in Hollywood, is our guest today. His breakout role was in the cult U.S. gritty crime drama The Wire, in which he played the…

39. More Rosebud - Dame Joanna Lumley at the Henley Literary Festival

    6 Jan 2026 · 1 h 07 min

    It's More Rosebud, and this episode is a conversation that took place at the Henley Literary Festival in 2025 between Gyles and Dame Joanna Lumley, about her Book of Treasures, which had then just been published. This…

40. New Year Rosebud - Thelma Ruby, still a star at 100

    2 Jan 2026 · 1 h 22 min

    We're starting 2026 with a remarkable person: an actress who is 100 years old, and still a bundle of enthusiasm, vibrancy and joy. It's Thelma Ruby, born in March 1925, and acting since the 1940s. In this episode she…

41. More Rosebud - Gyles's Diary, episode 32

    30 Dec 2025 · 45 min

    It's time for the very last Rosebud of 2025, and we're leaving you with another warm, wonderful and witty edition of Gyles's diaries. In this episode, Gyles starts off by tellling us about his recent encounter with Sir…

42. Rosebud at Christmas - Mathew Horne

    26 Dec 2025 · 1 h 02 min

    If you're British, the chances are that last Christmas you watched the Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special. And Gyles's guest this Boxing Day is one of its stars: Mathew Horne, also known as the kind-hearted, loyal…

43. Rosebud at Christmas - Anna Lapwood

    23 Dec 2025 · 1 h 25 min

    We have another Christmas treat for you today - an interview with the prodigious musical talent that is Anna Lapwood. Anna is the official organist of the Royal Albert Hall in London, a successful recording artiste and…

44. Rosebud at Christmas - Treat Episode - Murder at the Palace

    21 Dec 2025 · 38 min

    We have an atmospheric Christmas treat for you this Sunday afternoon: it's Gyles reading 'Murder at the Palace', an original murder mystery story, set in Victorian England, with Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle in…

45. Rosebud at Christmas - Charles Dickens

    19 Dec 2025 · 1 h 09 min

    Today we get to meet and know an author who is synonymous with Christmas - Charles Dickens - brought to life in this episode by his great-great grandson, Gerald Dickens. Yes, that's right - you're going to hear an…

46. More Rosebud - Gyles's Diary, episode 31

    16 Dec 2025 · 50 min

    It's time for another entertaining chapter of Gyles's diaries, this time from the end of 1971 and beginning of 1972, with Gyles's wife Michele as our special guest. We hear about liquid lunches, see-through blouses,…

47. Jimmy Carr

    12 Dec 2025 · 1 h 11 min · Explicit

    A man who needs no introduction: comedian, writer and TV host Jimmy Carr. In this conversation we find out what makes Jimmy tick and hear about his origin story: he tells Gyles about his childhood in Slough, and his…

48. More Rosebud biography special with Roger Lewis

    9 Dec 2025 · 1 h 02 min

    On this episode of More Rosebud we meet the celebrated biographer and journalist Roger Lewis, "a bundle of nerves and rage and disappointment". Roger is the author of several acclaimed biographies, including Erotic…

49. Tony Blackburn

    5 Dec 2025 · 1 h 01 min

    If you're a fan of pop music, radio, or the legendary "Sounds of the 60s" show, then you'll know and love our guest today: Tony Blackburn. And Tony is part of broadcasting - and music - history: he was the first ever…

50. Gyles's diary, episode 30

    2 Dec 2025 · 56 min · Explicit

    In this episode, we join Gyles on a research trip to the sex shops and shows of Copenhagen with Lord Longford, other members of the Pornography Commission, and assorted members of the press. Because of that, this…