Once Upon a Time

Content warning: this episode includes discussion of childhood sexual abuse & addiction Season Two opens with a bumper episode. Gok Wan joins Scott as guest co-host, and they're talking to DJ Fat Tony. This week we swap books for music. Tony picks three tracks from the recovery playlist in his new book, Recover Me: No More Drama by Mary J. Blige, Together Again by Janet Jackson, and Believe by Soldiers of Twilight.Tony is honest about the abuse, the addiction and the people he lost to the AIDS crisis. He also shares wild stories, from blagging his way onto the decks at the Lyceum to partying with Andy Warhol in New York. He explains why music is the one thing that has never let him down. It's raw and funny, and Tony calls it one of his favourite podcasts ever.

David and Scott look back at Season One of Once Upon a Time. They revisit six standout book picks from our guests, including Juno Dawson's Yesteryear, Sally Lindsay's A Taste of Honey, Matt Cardle's Perfume and Gok Wan's Prick Up Your Ears. They also share Season One highlights, a bit of bickering, and their dream guests for the future.Season Two is coming. Follow us here:📸 Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/uponatimepod/🎵 TikTok: @https://www.tiktok.com/@uponatimepod▶️ YouTube: @https://www.youtube.com/@uponatimepod🌐 uponatimepod.com

Something a bit different this week... our summer reads special before we take a break. We're joined by bestselling author Juno Dawson and Waterstones Brighton bookseller and podcaster Phil Adele, and asked everyone to recommend their summer reads for August.

Erim Kaur — founder of haircare brand ByErim and influencer  — joins Jamie & Scott to share the three stories that shaped who she became, spanning grief and grace, the hard work of confronting yourself, and the search for a cultural home you weren't quite handed.Her choices: Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess, Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry's What Happened to You?, and Thoughts to Heal. Together they trace a journey from a nine-year-old reading about a motherless princess who "remains regal, humble, respectful" through hardship, to the science of staying "regulated".

We're re-sharing one of our favourite episodes: our conversation with Gok Wan. Settle in for a funny chat with one of the UK's most-loved TV personalities.

Actress, writer and producer Sally Lindsay MBE — star of Coronation Street and creator of The Madame Blanc Mysteries— sits down with Scott & David to share the three stories that shaped who she became, spanning a grandad's bookshelf, a working-class childhood in the 1980s, and the 18-year-old from Salford who changed British theatre forever.Her choices: Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, Sue Townsend's The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾, and Shelagh Delaney's A Taste of Honey. Together they trace a journey from a terraced house in Gorton to the bar of the Rovers Return to the stage of the Royal Exchange.

Chef, restaurateur and the godfather of Spanish cuisine in the UK, Jose Pizarro — the man behind Jose, Pizarro, Lolo and the Royal Academy's dining room — sits down with Once Upon a Time to share the three stories that shaped who he became, spanning ambition, quiet persistence, and the belief that food is how you tell people who you are.His choices: Marco Pierre White's The Devil in the Kitchen, Ildefonso Falcones Cathedral of the Sea, and Claudia Roden's The Book of Jewish Food. Together they trace a journey from a farm in Extremadura to Bermondsey Street — via kitchens that nearly broke him.

Singer-songwriter and West End actor Matt Cardle — winner of The X Factor in 2010, Whatonstage Award winner for his debut role in Memphis, and a man who was tricked into his first audition by his girlfriend — joins Scott and David to share the three stories that shaped who he became.His choices: George Orwell's 1984, Patrick Süskind's Perfume, and Steve Coogan's I, Partridge. Together they trace a journey from building bunkers in the Essex woods to winning in front of 20 million people, through rock bottom and out the other side — with Alan Partridge on audiobook the whole way.