The Noughties Podcast

What if you can't think of a favourite book, film or TV show but have agonised over the order of your top 10 adverts from the '00s? That is the predicament facing Noughties Podcast co-host Rob Comba. And, as it turns out, he isn't alone.For episode one, with help from advertising stars and enthusiasts, we take a deep dive into noughties ads and look to understand why they've lived so long in people's memories. It was a remarkable decade in advertising, one where bank clerks could become national treasures, cleaning product salesmen could release chart-topping hits and women couldn't expect any help on Thursdays.Join us on our journey, as we welcome special guests:Neil Burgess, aka Barry Scott from the Cilit Bang advertsHoward Brown, star of the Halifax adsAnthony Smith, who worked on Yorkie's 'Not for Girls' campaignPaul Pateman, who worked on Nuts magazine's launchStella Merz, advertising enthusiastMichael Lyons, advertising enthusiastThis podcast is a 4Kicks Production and presented by Tom Pooley, Sophie Donovan and Rob Comba. Find out more: https://www.4kicksproductions.com/

During the noughties, the August bank holiday was truly a tale of two cities: Reading and Leeds. Thousands of teenagers and early 20-somethings flocked to both of them for the festival weekend, armed with tents, sleeping bags, crates of Strongbow and their recently acquired exam results. The twin festivals were nothing short of chaotic: tents were set on fire, security fences were stolen to make wrestling cages and people fell into long drops (yes, that did actually happen). In episode two of The Noughties Podcast, we cover it all. We hear from Bloc Party's Matt Tong on the role the festivals played in shaping the band's career, we speak to Celeste Cruz (from Daphne and Celeste) about getting bottled offstage when she performed in 2000, and we hear 'war stories' from several festival goers, including BBC Radio 3's Elizabeth Alker. This podcast is a 4Kicks Production and presented by Tom Pooley, Sophie Donovan and Rob Comba. Find out more: https://www.4kicksproductions.com/

During lockdown, Noughties Podcast co-host Tom Pooley had the privilege of spending his days on Zooms calls with legendary broadcaster Tony Blackburn, recording his BBC Radio 2 Show. Each week, after Tony had recorded his links, the two of them would stay on the line for 10 minutes making small talk while the file was uploaded and sent over. One day, Tom decided to turn the conversation to the first series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!Tony was the winner - which took place in the summer of 2002 - and crowned King of the Jungle. It was the first reality TV show to include celebrities and it was an instant hit, with the finale reaching nearly 11 million people. Tom's conversation with Tony about I'm a Celeb leads him to speak to two other participants in that series: Rhona Cameron and Christine Hamilton (who made the final). The trio share their recollections from the time, how the show changed their lives and what impact it still has. This podcast is a 4Kicks Production and presented by Tom Pooley, Sophie Donovan and Rob Comba. Find out more: https://www.4kicksproductions.com/

Few things seem more noughties than the prank call. From Chris Moyles on the radio or Trigger Happy and Fonejacker on TV, to you and your friends in your bedroom - everyone was doing them. It felt like you could while away hours pranking people from school or even just ringing random names from the phonebook.Noughties Podcast co-host Rob Comba was no stranger to a prank call either. In fact, he was involved in one that made national news back in 2005. He and his friends got hold of the footballer Gary Neville's number and rang him incessantly. One of these calls was recorded and found its way into The Sun and onto TV show, Soccer AM, and its something of a social media sensation still today - Gary is frequently asked about it and how his number found its way into the hands of a group of school kids in the west country.The thing is, even they never actually knew where the number came from, and so Rob has made it his mission to find out how they came to have it and apologise to Gary once and for all. Join him on his quest for clarity, as he traces the number back to its source, speaks to a journalist who has covered the story and seeks advice from the master of the noughties prank: Trigger Happy TV creator, Dom Joly (though Dom isn't quite so keen on the title 'prank').This podcast is a 4Kicks Production and presented by Tom Pooley, Sophie Donovan and Rob Comba. Find out more: https://www.4kicksproductions.com/