Josh Widdicombe On Using Stand-Up To Get Into Writing Comedy

Comedian, and co-host of The Last Leg, Josh Widdicombe, joins Rob this week. They chat about their favourite childhood TV shows, how Josh threw himself into stand-up as a way to get into writing comedy, and what it was like supporting Stephen Merchant on tour. They also look back on when they first met on The Rob Brydon Show, which was one of Josh’s first TV experiences, and talk about his new book, Watching Neighbours Twice A Day...
Josh Widdicombe’s book, Watching Neighbours Twice A Day…, is available to buy now: bit.ly/3oFgpg9
Listen to the full episode free and exclusively on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0KDy...
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Rob Brydon is best known for his work on The Trip, Gavin & Stacey and presenting the BBC One comedy panel show Would I Lie To You?
Also check out Rob’s other Social Media pages:
👉 / robbrydon
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🎥 Edited by Greg Bernstein
This channel is a co-production with The Talent Bank thetalentbank.uk/
#RobBrydon #JoshWiddicombe #RobBrydonInterview

[@RobBrydon]

Listen to the full episode free and exclusively on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0KDykGPzBHzrruKhpmMf5k

[@DanRuns]

Already done!

[@automotivetales]

This line broke me “Lee Mack, he’s a lot of things, he’s not appealing… well, he’s appealing for help” 😂😂😂

[@julieprior3126]

Two delightful men! Another great interview Rob. Thank you. This format is so refreshing because Rob knows how to relax the pace and to really listen, properly, to each guest. More please!

[@Tysto]

Word is that Josh is still recovering from the third degree burns received from the sun during this interview.

[@kikivolauvent1]

I love the very English and laid-back rooms of both these artists. I'm falling in love again and again with everything reminding me of my great time I had when I lived in Devon.... A beautiful, friendly interview, between the 'young 38' and the 'youthful 56' year old, with overlapping TV viewing and such. Thank you for these brilliant talks.

[@andyb6866]

@sid m Oh dear.

[@sams8674]

Can you change that to British pls

[@paulharrison3926]

Rob is WELSH not English

[@BimalTailor]

Lovely bloke Josh.

[@longingfordetritus]

Rob beckett says that Josh's comedy is like damp... the punchlines creep up on you! Love Josh widdicombe, love his podcast too ❤

[@rustysquid]

Mr. Brydon - The shorts, oh the gods!!!! LOL!

[@fargodavilleitnotd6729]

The Zippy connection is priceless :)

[@exessex3522]

Didn't know who or what Zippy was. Now I do.

[@SCLOUD3112]

What a truly generous interviewer you are Rob. Reminds me of Parkinson.

[@rustysquid]

Two of my favorite comedians! YAY1.

[@living4ward2it]

I appreciate you allowing me in on your pleasant relaxed chat--refreshing! Thanks

[@jonnysupreme]

Really enjoying these Rob, you're doing great 👍

[@sadhanadhavamani8044]

How comforting that was

[@luminair11]

Nice to see Josh in this video. Have only ever seen him in Last Leg or QI & and didn't think much of him. But nice to see here that he has a brain and is interesting Rob does a great job in these interviews and brings out the best in his guests.

[@pattimercer9357]

Awesome interview! So now I have to add another Brit book to my list… Josh’s, Jimmy Carr’s, Tom Allen’s…

[@thesimpsons17]

Rob: How old are you now josh? *me expecting late 20s* Josh: 38 🤯🤯🤯

[@coffeeguy6673]

Not a lover of Josh Widdicombe's stand up and I cannot say I dislike him as a person as I don't know him. I've watched his sitcom "Josh" which initially I didn't find that funny, however, it's a grower and with the great supporting cast in Jack Dee, Ellis James and Beattie Edmondson there is a gem of a chuckler of a sitcom going on which I have now watched a few times over, some great guest comics and actors in the two series as well. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing some new episodes. Cheers.

[@matthewarnold5531]

This means Zippy is Josh's brother-in-law! 🤯🤪 Oh deary me, Geoffrey 😋

[@ArnoldClarke]

Favourite part is the way he holds a mic

[@millardfillmore241]

Really enjoyable interview. I love the laid back almost folksy style of all of the interviews.

[@JohnSpo]

I love Josh Widdicombe!

[@jBownz]

Love these. Looking forward to you having Acaster on (please please please).

[@stevej1154]

They had puppet versions of themselves on an episode of Hypothetical. I’m sure Josh’s wife keeps his one in pride of place. Romesh had the funniest one, with a lazy eye.

[@CUMBICA1970]

Josh's one of those guys who'll look like a teenager till like 60.

[@jeannieK1117]

Josh's book is a delight! Just finished it on Kindle, here in New York, it got me through a concussion. Really!

[@bradmodd7856]

Zippy has taken human form...life imitates art again

[@janef7297]

Great interview! I loved Josh’s book and look forward to more of The Last Leg. 🤓

[@danstone6871]

Love that he went to Manchester because of The Smiths.

[@janehollander1934]

What a lovely chat🥰

[@jennaolbermann7663]

I have subscribed to the podcast and really find these interviews are so enjoyable and entertaining. They are pleasant, Rob Brydon is charming and the discussions are great. Thanks for these and keep them coming!

[@DragonFire360Media]

Well, as Lee would say Rob, you and R2 probably seen eye to eye! Cheers from across the pond! Love WILTY and am upset that not all are available on prime here in the USA. Even with britbox. Can you make that happen Rob? Pretty pretty please?!

[@jakeriese4862]

Personally I don't find Josh too funny, but I like how kind and innocent he is. You laugh at his laugh. I honestly think he is too kind to take the piss out of peeps sometimes

[@Lynneheal]

Amazing to see that Josh is related to the #TheRoyalFamily #JoshWiddicombe

[@paulnutter1713]

brilliant... let me know how it goes Josh👍👍

[@VGScreens]

love you both!

[@meinjapan]

“tres bien” “yes, yes “ I wish I was better at languages as well🤣

[@adamvanderriet9669]

Howzit, from Cape Town, South Africa! Lekker podcast \m/

[@jakerubino3233]

Scooter-esque for sure!

[@lynn9496]

The common denominator is tons of things on the walls with random framing and then....more pictures on shelves and furniture.

[@ctogogo2736]

Great to have the model for the creation of 'Zippy' on -where does Rob find all his guests?

[@notreya]

Oh hey! I didn’t know you were doing this cool

[@twsx]

Oooooh I like the beard!

[@spankflaps1365]

OMG Neighbours in the 90’s, I still haven’t got over Daphne dying. ☹️

[@NotThatOneThisOne]

But if she hadn't died, we wouldn't have had Bronwyn!

[@sh8736]

What Daphne died! I’m a bit behind on catch up TV…….. 😂

[@BusterMcT]

Seeing Elvis over Rob's shoulder is sort of expected. Curious to see Babe Ruth also staring out towards his audience.

[@wefash]

rob's cable management says fuck it it's working at least. I'm in love with the series tho

[@sh8736]

Love these interviews but It does make you appreciate the camera crews, editors and other technical staff who would not have filmed Rob bobbing behind his mic nor Josh being over exposed with blown high lights 😁

[@simonpentwyn]

Tbh I love the unfiltered characters...rather some bunch of technicians idea of what we should see.

[@protocol6]

I expect most people assume hosts do things like this in their pants but I don't think we needed a special camera angle to prove it.

[@BobbyLCollins]

Oy, did you see that ludicrous display last night?

[@MightyMouse350]

Zippy 😅

[@WheezyJoe]

Rob’s home studio setup sounds great - I’d like to know what kit he is using and if that room is ‘treated’ in any way? It’s a long shot I know but maybe someone that watches will know about these things ;)

[@toddcmcintosh]

Room doesn't look treated from the camera views I can see. Sound quality is mostly due to using a high quality large diaphragm condenser microphone (looks like his is a Neuman TLM 102) into a decent audio interface (Focurite Scarlett), plus he's positioned fairly close to the microphone. Makes a huge difference compared with Josh's voice through his ear buds.

[@taranis1964]

He’s also using a lav mic clipped to his shirt. I suspect audio is from the lav, but he may be recording with both.

[@toddcmcintosh]

@@taranis1964 You're right but I don't think we're listening to the lav sound. Sounds pretty full like you'd get with the large condenser mic.

[@racistpandagod]

@@toddcmcintosh I concur

[@taranis1964]

@@toddcmcintosh Agree. Looks like he's running thru a focusrite audio interface. Probably going through a limiter as well to squash and background ambience. Bit of compression in post.

[@AlfredBilling]

Good luck with your acting, you should be on television maybe you can be the next Doctor Who on day or maybe the next James Bond.

[@tribalpeacock]

Can someone please explain the Zippy reference

[@52memor]

"Scooter"

[@chrisolagrim3597]

Rob Brydon reminds me of HR Puffinstuff.

[@MusicInWideScreenCOM]

scooter!

[@butterflymoon6368]

Agreed but 90s TV was very insular. Lad TV basically.

[@SL-fd5fp]

Designed by Jim Henson! 🤣

[@Gid-J]

linguistics isn't always languages. It's more about how language works.

[@JeremyForTheWin]

I bet Rob does a good Fozzie

[@davidsmith5523]

Anne Widdicome hss changed.

[@verribarry]

Rob kinda looks like a Muppet too.

[@exessex3522]

8:54 Linguistics is a fascinating discipline concerned with the scientific study of languages. It deals with aspects of languages such as semantics, phonetics and syntax and there are sub-disciplines such as psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and the history and development of languages. As soon as someone like Brydon hears the word 'linguistics' he thinks of the word 'linguist', used to mean somebody who speaks a foreign language and spouts out a phrase in French phrase showing he's got no idea what 'linguistics' implies.

[@arkieda]

That's the blandest "very bright" shirt I've ever seen haha.

[@Bizz55]

Oh dear. Rob forgot his trousers.

[@reedermusic3927]

first

[@matthewmoggridge5221]

How annoying! I commented underneath another Rob Brydon interview, stating that it would be good if Rob Brydon had a television chat show, bearing in mind that these interviews, like this one with Josh Widdicombe, are fantastic. And then, in this very interview, it turns out that Josh and Rob first met on what I'm guessing was a Rob Brydon chatshow on television. Now I just feel foolish. Very foolish.

[@kdpwt]

Damn Rob lockdown hit you guys hard

[@franksimon8375]

The production values look like Josh is 56

[@SuperSupasi]

Doesn't josh look like his mum?

[@franksimon8375]

Put trousers on ffs

[@danmoo360]

How on earth did this guy pass as a comedian ?

[@quantumeseboy]

Does Rob always talk like he just administered general anesthesia?

[@jasonwebb7978]

He obviously is not a "Taggert" fan. Frowns all round.

[@jasonwebb7978]

Until you have seen that scene where he stabs himself with a wine glass..... seriously!

[@peterweaver1248]

I quite like Josh, but I have to say I don't find him the least bit funny.

[@aaronwoodhead2964]

I see the word comedy being used in its broadest sense....I don't wish to offend fans of Josh, or all the other "comedians" that frequent the panel, chat shows and the Dave channel, but in my humble opinion these are not comedians in the traditional sense, they find themselves far more hilarious than anybody else does,

[@stevej1154]

If someone makes a good living from spending their time writing and performing jokes or sketches, I’d say that qualifies them to call themselves a comedian doing comedy. Even if you don’t personally find them funny because you prefer ‘traditional’ comedy.

[@exessex3522]

@@stevej1154 Agree. Especially if they are making a very good living from it, are constantly in demand on COMEDY shows and are becoming well known.

[@philroberts7238]

It's not actually a "humble" opinion that you are expressing; it's more like an incredibly arrogant one, whether you realise it or not.

[@kamilarosinska5404]

Josh is a hobbit.

[@jimspencer363]

Ah, Rob. I think if you're going to ask your guest when you first met, you really ought to find out first. Especially when he appeared on your show as one of his first television appearances. Perhaps he was so insignificant you didn't remember him!

[@chrisb8075]

Along with Mark Watson and Nish Kumar, Josh is desperately unfunny. Saw him live once, that's an hour of my life that could have been better spent cleaning the bathroom.

[@TheProfplum]

Can"t watch anything with Josh Widdicombe in it, including this.

[@chrisolagrim3597]

@@isolationstation5157 having a personal opinion is the action of a loser?

[@exessex3522]

So what did you think of this video you couldn't watch?

[@TheProfplum]

@@exessex3522 I thought I couldn't watch it because Josh Widdicombe is in it. So I didn't.

[@jackabalas]

“But he’s witty in his private life because some people don’t make the effort” I have a couple of follow up questions