Box of Delights

Julia is joined by Scottish giant (often mistaken for hot Santa) Stephen Oswald who tells her all about filming the excessively festive Netflix movie, A Castle for Christmas.It was lockdown, 2020, and an obsession with knitting was about to take a hold of the plucky thespian as he travelled back to his native Scotland for 3 months to film with a bunch of similarly confused actors and Brook Shields! This one is quite a (sleigh) ride.If you're looking for a podcast episode to put you in a Christmas mood, step right up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The brilliant author, Hattie Williams, joins Julia to recount her early experiences watching The X Files on BBC Two.No 9-year-old should see the things she's seen, but she finds the show's serial killer - Eugene Tooms - more funny than frightening now. Remember the yellow-eyed lurker who lived in nests made of his own lick and slithered through sewage pipes in search of his next victim?Well, Hattie does in great, gratuitous detail.Her gripping debut novel - Bitter Sweet - is out now in hardback and is totally unputdownable. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist and author Michael Hogan reminisces with Julia about the blink-and-you'll-miss-it BBC soap opera Eldorado. A costly experiment for the BBC which built a small village in which to shoot the sun-soaked Spanish saga that only ran for a year in the early nineties.Julia's never really gotten over the cancellation of Wogan to make way for it and for what?Michael's brilliantly witty and twisty debut cosy crime novel - The Dog Walkers' Detective Agency - is out now and available in paperback. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The brilliant actor Liz Bower asks you to push away your dinner and join her in the offices of Sterling-Cooper advertising agency in New York as a feckless employee mounts a ride-on mower, after one too many wines, and causes bloody havoc.A truly memorable moment from one of the greatest TV shows of all time. Is Jon Hamm still hot? How did production design get the blood to spatter so perfectly on the shocked faces of those extras? And a short Dave Grohl correction. Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The star of, among other things, Netflix's A Castle For Christmas, Stephen Oswald chats to Julia about being far too small to watch Hammer House of Horror in 1980 when it went out on ITV and the particular moment from his favourite episode which involved a children's birthday party and a lot of fake blood.If you have yet to watch A Castle For Christmas, go and check it out. An absolute delight of a festive film and it'll be good homework for our festive special closer to Christmas! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Actor and audio-book queen Liz Bower tells Julia (who is basically Zombie-phobic) about the time her favourite undead series killed off one of her favourite characters.Full disclosure, we recorded Liz's episodes ages ago and The Walking Dead universe may have thrown up several new iterations since we sat down to chat about it almost TWO YEARS ago. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Hattie Williams tells Julia about her formative love of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and how it broke her heart when Angel died. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join author Kate Weston as she remembers watching in horror the episode of Byker Grove (CBBC) where young Gemma touched a dodgy plug and died of electric to the horror of us all.Kate's latest novel - How to Make a Killing - is set in the sordid world of high-powered estate agency and has been described as "Selling Sunset with incident tape". And it's OUT NOW. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brilliant actor and voice of the Don't Make Me Laugh audiobook, Liz Bower tells Julia about the deep emotional scars left by watching Grange Hill's Zammo descend into heroin addiction.And she remembers the TV moment which, for a while, she was most recognised for. Listen to the end for a nostalgic reminder. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist and author Michael Hogan talks about his love of duffle-coated, accidental detective Jonathan Creek and how his fondness for cosy crime went on to inspire his debut novel.The Dogwalkers' Detective Agency is out now and follows the adventures of Charlie Boardman and his beloved Staffy, Ruby as they go on the trail of a killer after finding a body on their morning walk.It's been hailed by the likes of Claudia Winkleman and Marian Keyes and is the perfect Autumnal read, full of twists, turns and Hogan's trademark humour. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Surprise! Julia and Joel are jiving back into your feed for a special episode of COME STRICTLY DANCING. Hepped up on tinsel and at least two cocktails a piece, they discuss the whole Strictly 2024 shebang including the summer of scandal, what was going on with Wynn and Katya and how the nation and the show got the right winner in the end.Put another log on the fire and kick back for an hour and a bit of inconsequential dance chat. Happy Christmas! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the world's longest podcast hiatus (will verify with Norris McWhirter) Julia is back for a chat with regular guest (and, yes, he happens to be her husband), comedy writer Joel Morris.They reminisce about the TV of Christmases past and look forward to the new traditions they're making with their own family. But mostly it's just them bunking on about Blue Peter fire hazards, Victoria Wood, the big Christmas day film, Noel Edmonds, more Victoria Wood, dancing newsreaders and how excited they are about the Ghosts special on Christmas Day.If you're in a Yule-ish mood, why not scroll back to some of our Christmas specials from 2020 including THIS lovely one about The Good Life Christmas Special with Greg Haiste or THIS absolute beauty from Toby Davies looking back at the quite wonderful Children of Green Knowe. We hope you have a lovely Christmas free of disease and distemper and we'll see you in 2024! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TV producer Geri O'Donohoe remembers the utterly heart-wrenching finale to Six Feet Under and the personal resonance it particularly holds for her. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Comedian Mitch Benn talks to Julia about the time he saw the mighty Rik Mayall at the first ever Comic Relief live show in 1986. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brilliant actor and star of Home (C4) Youssef Kerkour joins Julia to recount the thrilling, often excruciating episode of Succession in which Logan Roy (Brian Cox) returns to his home town in Scotland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer and podcaster Chris Thorpe-Tracey joins Julia to discuss his deep love for the 90s blood-sucker butt-kicker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Novelist Jenny Colgan remembers the pure teen lust generated by Nick Kamen stripping to his pants in a launderette. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christmas is a time for ghost stories, so let's tenuously link to that by listening to the brilliant Tony Way reminisce about the bone-chilling terror induced by his viewing of Ghostwatch (BBC One) as a slightly tipsy teenager. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julia helps comedian Mitch Benn to revisit the trauma of that day in 1982 when his innocence was swiftly taken by the death of Doctor Who companion, Adric. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Podcaster and man Jake Yapp barely controls his emotions as he returns to the Wales of his boyhood to weep over Small Films' delicate wonder, Ivor the Engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.