Gyles Brandreth (who you may know from QI) has a podcast called Rosebud. The format is described as:

Legendary British writer, broadcaster, ex-MP and TV star Gyles Brandreth hosts “Rosebud”, in which he talks to famous and fascinating people about their first memories and first experiences. Expect laughter, nostalgia, memorable stories, revelations and, of course, the odd name-drop from Gyles.

Books mentioned (see Booklist)

• What Colour is Your Parachute: Your Guide to a Lifetime of Meaningful Work and Career Success – Richard N. Bolles
• Zen and the Modern Art of Living – not sure which book this refers to as there are lots with similar titles

December 12^th 2025 the episode with Jimmy was released – see here on Acast – and this podcast is a gentler style (sounding like the couple of old acquaintances, chatting, that they are).

Gyles doesn’t appear to post the episodes on YouTube so I think the audio is all we are going to get.

Jimmy’s arrival is about 3 mins 30 and, minus ads, this is about an hour of chat.

Update 2026-02-03: Appears the video version was posted on January 5th.

The topics covered would probably be quite familiar to anyone that has listened to a lot of Jimmy’s interviews – except this is Gyles. He is a better interviewer than I expected (not interrupting) but is VERY dogged about trying to get Jimmy to talk more about his father, who he’s been estranged from for about 15+ years.

Gyles is 77 now and I think there’s a certain amount of “wisdom of age” about the chat as he pushes past all of the affirmational quotes and expresses opinions as he goes along. I think he exposes some of Jimmy’s vulnerability.

For example – when Jimmy talks about “charm v charisma” Gyles wants to know whether he’d LIKE to be loved, as a comedian, and digs into it more, returning to it in his final summary.

I think the end result is this is a lot more personal than usual.

And, despite what the blurb below says, they only briefly touch on Fackham.

Worth a listen.

The episode blurb describes it as:

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 close relationship with his charismatic mother. We hear about his dyslexia, and how teachers at school encouraged him to apply to Cambridge. We hear about what, if anything, is off-limits in comedy, and the importance of being present for your children. Gyles and Jimmy also discuss the distinction between charm and charisma. Plus, we hear about Jimmy’s new movie, Fackham Hall, out in the UK on December 12 2025 (today!)

Other mentions…Keywords

Meningitis and spinal tap, Colin Carr, buying records, TOTP, Jeff Buckley, pancreatis, charm v charisma, friends, girlfriends, Farnham Common Juniors, sport at school, Burnham Grammar school, Brickwell Estate in Slough, 12 plus exam, Catholicism, faith, worrying, love of music, reading matter, alcohol, virginity, advertising, marketing, Johnny Vaughan, Tut ‘n’ Shive, Peter McGraw, Overton Window, Eric Morecambe, Bob Monkhouse, Neal Brennan, relationship with food and health, vanity, Ken Dodd, Bernard Manning (from Gyles), suits and liking his tailor, meeting Karoline, Jonathan Haidt, reading fiction, grief, Dave Chappelle, Alex Hormozi, writing Before and Laughter, quotes, Fackham Hall