Dear Lovejoy Podcast | Mark 'Billy' Billingham

Tim has a conversation with 'Billy' about life in the Special forces

[@cameronnewell80]

Must say a truly brilliant podcast, started to watch billy with Ross Kemp podcast but unfortunately ross made it more about him and didn’t let billy finish a sentence, thankfully this one was miles ahead we listen to hear about Billy’s experiences and that’s what we got brilliant podcast

[@smokeyj1656]

Cameron Newell spot on, Ross wouldn’t shut up the whole time 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@stayspicy9456]

Exactly why I'm here too

[@jerryoshea3116]

Yes,RK wouldn't STFU..Quite embarrassing really..RK should stick to acting&then it can still be all about him! .Where as Mark"Billie"Bingham is the real "McCoy"(No Soap Opera's for him)

[@simonhainsworth3490]

Same here 👍🏻

[@ads2211]

I got about 4 minutes in and Kemp was doing my head in! Had to find an episode of Ultimate force to remind me what a potato he is . Billy is the real deal, his book was a great read too 🇬🇧

[@l-jshikingbootslippy3431]

Totally loved this, Billy is a gentle spoken unassuming guy because he has nothing to prove, he doesn't need to brag nor has he let it go to his head, because he doesn't need too. If his entire army career was allowed to be told...he'd be THE real super hero that Hollywood films can only dream about. He's doing a tour and I can't wait to go and hear his story x

[@AD-kv9kj]

Oh ffs, they aren't "super heroes", they're just normal people who've been relentlessly trained for years to do a very strange and unpleasant job, and a job that is not always used for just ends by governments either. There are all kinds of wildly different people in the forces and not all of them are good people by any stretch of the imagination. Some are lovely, some really aren't, some are really annoying, some are egotistical, others aren't... They don't have super powers, they don't always do good things for good people in these jobs. Some of what they do deserves serious praise and respect, yes, some of what they do absolutely does not. The reason these people are so unassuming and don't brag is because they know all this first hand - they know full well a lot of what they've done is not something to boast or be proud about, they know they're just ordinary folk who have been trained to do a weird job and that masses of other blokes have been through the exact same meat grinder. Basically, get your rose tinted goggles off and stop worshipping.

[@primoholzfeller8844]

Thank you for letting Mr Billingham talk.

[@cstock7624]

Billy has such a kind, gentle voice. And a wicked sense of humour

[@erickaiza874]

These are the kind of people I would like an autograph from.....instead of a stupid celebrity

[@seandealy7432]

Exactly mate

[@BradPitbull]

I am a u.s. MARINE This was an excellent interview Thank u

[@Manos-de-Piedra]

Really interesting listening to Elite special forces soldiers talking about their lives. The SAS are cut from a different cloth though in my opinion, the best of the best.

[@garryharriman7349]

They are blue print for all SF globally that's for sure. As for their members being cut from a different cloth.....I don't think so. They flesh and blood human beings and as falible, vulnerable and imperfect as anybody. They passed selection because they chose to while other candidates simply chose to give up. That's really about it!

[@martinvalentine9228]

@@garryharriman7349 Passing selection isnt what makes an SAS soldier the best. Its the work they do from the point of passing selection that makes them better than everbody else.

[@garryharriman7349]

@@martinvalentine9228 Martin. I wouldn't know about that. My military background is purely ammature hour compared to UKSF. I've met a few lads though. My comment related to passing Selection though and not the work of SF operators (as they are now collectively and individually known as). It goes without saying that are clearly the best at that they do. They have been there doing it before anyone else after all! Cheers mate.

[@martinvalentine9228]

@@garryharriman7349 This reminds me of a story from a documentary about the SAS. On getting asked to do the Bravo 2 zero scud hunt. Seal team Boss was asked how long will it take to put teams in. Response was 3 weeks for recce and preperation. Asked the SAS boss which would have Peter de La billire I think. The lads can be ready to cross the border in the morning if you want.

[@garryharriman7349]

@@martinvalentine9228 I know the Israiles were reassured and agreed not the drawn in to 'war' (because of the Scud threat) when they were told it was the British SAS that was the SF unit tasked with locating and destroying them. I can see why a SEAL Team would take longer to prep' , they are not really desert experts, are they. Again, the SAS had been operating in this environment since the days of the LRDP.

[@Misanthrope84]

That's a true alpha male if I've ever seen one. Legend.

[@kiely4561]

He’s alpha without trying to be alpha, calm, controlled and very self assured, a man with life experience running through his veins

[@seandealy7432]

Proper bloke.

[@jonjones1170]

Top man if people could only now what this man is capable ov he’s a legend within para reg and Sf 👍

[@adriancaldwell]

such a great idea being interviewed in a kitchen environment - the familiar space I think makes people open up more than a TV studio

[@thespeckler1]

The nausiating advertismennts kind of sully the interview..

[@adriancaldwell]

Bob Keaneits called promotion ,it’s his channel ffs 😂😂

[@leewalsh1666]

Just read Billies book great read.. Very humble guy but obviously very talented and strong minded. Got to admire the guy. God bless

[@sumitkommando355]

Really good interview. Great questions and approach from Tim and Billy sounds like a great bloke, very humble & very interesting. I was very proud and lucky enough to have joined and served with 3 Para. I left far too soon as a young lad. That was 24 years ago and i still miss it. Respect Billy.

[@Antbiffy]

Tim is such a great interviewer, big respect to Billy.

[@rhythmsaint73]

Superb Tim!! I have always enjoyed you on “something for the weekend. A show I miss! As I moved from Ireland to the states. I live in Nashville now. Delighted to have come across this today well done. It’s superb

[@tedbuckingham693]

this is great, it was a pleasure meeting you billy.

[@steffiraf]

I went to see Billy a few weeks ago in Blackburn. I love listening to his stories about his life. What an inspiration. I suffer with PTSD and it was the the first time ever i have gone anywhere on my own, but i simply couldnt miss it. I wish i had been brave enough to stay and talk to him in the bar afterwards but i wasnt. Nevertheless, i'd love to sit and chat with him over a few beers as he just resonates with me. Fantastic interview Tim, as always x

[@GlasgowIsBlue]

Well done! small steps at a time. Good luck with all.

[@jakhaughton1800]

A proper role model for any child who just can’t hack school.

[@jamesspicer5628]

A great interview! Thanks very much

[@dileas4892]

What a great interview!!!! Billy is so knowledgeable from military to transfer to civi and have and use the skills, his mental toughness and confidence is at the extreme high...great !

[@leeneale8776]

Utmost respect sir, to all our armed forces. We love and salute you all.

[@jt.8144]

Thank you for this episode. Saw the Foxy episode !

[@sammcknight8671]

He radiates Mental toughness

[@DMWBN3]

MK Sthenics he went home & cried like a baby.

[@sammcknight8671]

@@DMWBN3 Look up David Goggins Crying

[@coops9871]

I know Billy......he is a top man

[@SoloVagant]

Nice work Tim ..... I watched the Kemp podcast prior to this and yours is so much better ..... More please mate.

[@michaelevans4985]

Really enjoyed this. Really great fella. Cut from a different cloth the special services.

[@danielmarshall4587]

Thank you good interview.

[@kris71uk]

autoplay got me here. A proper interview. Well done Tim.

[@quasi7314]

Listen to him all day, what a good fella

[@trading-university.]

Excellent interview and Billy is a top bloke as well. Gives a lot more insight into SAS selection than I have heard before too

[@benpaynter]

I agree with his point about people jumping on the mental health bandwagon. There are lots of people, and working in the fire service I know some, who have genuinely experienced traumatic events which haunt them. But like Billy eluded to, there are lots of people who have easy lives and as soon as something doesn't go their way they suddenly have anxiety or the like as a tool for getting attention. But in this day and age it's becoming taboo to call anyone out or tell people to grow a pair and stop feeling sorry for themselves. During the Covid outbreak I've been seconded from the fire service to the ambulance service to help with the response and whilst we're seeing people with genuine mental illness who are struggling under lock down, there's definitely a sizable portion of fuss making, mainly younger people who growing up in the age of social media are becoming increasingly narcissistic and constantly need to feel important and attract attention and they use mental health as a way to get the attention they crave.

[@crawfs83]

Your countrymen should be proud of people like you, I certainly am. Respect.

[@Giantist]

This was an excellent podcast!! Mark is a top lad

[@nevets7152]

My Dad was 13years 9month with the colours 1933/1952 7 campaign medals . Lucky no problem with PTSD.

[@mrf8480]

What a fantastic interview

[@neiltaylor8289]

Great interview, great guest

[@rover214i4]

Good guy , looks after the country and his family xx let's big these blokes up yeah xxx

[@chriswestern1309]

Legend and a really nice humble guy

[@steveh5005]

Really good indepth interview. Billly total professional. Agree so much bull sh*t in civi street

[@pinkpagan71]

Brilliant podcast 👍

[@hhb6022]

better then grant Mitchell's interview

[@martinharvey3990]

Because he was allowed to speak and not be interrupted every 5secs!

[@CLARE238]

Yep he was actually allowed to talk this time

[@anotheruser5011]

You mean Ross Kemps interview lol which tend to be more about Ross Kemp than the people he interviews.

[@hhb6022]

@@anotheruser5011 it was so embaressing and cringy hearing mark talk about missions then Grant cutting him off and start talking about places he's filmed on 😂

[@andysmith8774]

I couldnt watch it all it was like the Ross Kemp show and what was that laugh all about

[@GhostofCTC]

What an absolute top drawer individual

[@neil5006]

Incredible man 👍

[@stephenhicks578]

Great interview

[@canoerichie1]

Legend!

[@djmistapete]

great interview

[@simonpaskell4460]

Top man well done Billy

[@tcs313]

Fantastic interview. Even through the video you can tel Billy has an aura about him.

[@thesheperd7567]

Fantastic

[@gavinsimnett7606]

Brilliant

[@evolvedmindset4163]

Tim why did you stop doing these podcasts? Your interviewing skills are on point mate 💯

[@wellers3429]

Class cheers lovejoy

[@Obscurealternatives999]

Thanks Mark. Better than the Kemp interview. You had a chance to talk ;-) you’re a good man, you’re off camera on who dares wins, says a lot. Meanwhile you’re the DS, guess the production company has their own ideas ?

[@HoperehabcenterthailandAsia]

Top man Billy, I like what he has to say, I knew one of his comrades DP

[@seandealy7432]

The more I see if this bloke the more I love him.

[@sassquatch72apeape10]

Just once, to hear from someone who regrets going near it. One day, maybe.

[@andymc6127]

Good guy, absolutely spot on about body-guarding, very good summary of what makes a good close and personal protection officer, AG SO14 (2) rtd

[@jerryoshea3116]

Yes..I know someone(from a family perspective)who is of another Nationality(and i'm not trying to sound all Mysterious,but some things are best left unsaid)And was hired within a security Comp in 2007 to advise the Brit Royal family as Security consultants,mostly in London and they took care of the singer Madonna as well. .There is one country where they're really "Shit hot"at this type of business,I'm sure u can work it out.. So what Mark said is"Spot on"..And he's a very unassuming down to earth fella who certainly has lead a interesting life..Somehow I get the impression when the "S!!t hits the fan;and where many people panic,this guy is in his element,an ideal person to have ur back..

[@warriorb6733]

Agreed, very good👍 , billy s the man👊

[@BradPitbull]

I wanna hug BILLY!!!!

[@tgchan]

Thank you/

[@deacomblue8712]

Well done Billy

[@sleepindragon179]

Fantastic honesty, spoken with humility. Very interesting to hear a man speaking about a job which has to be the most challenging on the planet. I know a man in Billy's regiment who is very similar to hear when recounting his work. Good lads. Thank fuck they haven't kicked off my front door! Tough, skilled, disciplined, relentless, focused, extremely capable, warriors. Long may they continue doing what they do. Because they are the best in the field, absolutely peerless. Thanks gents.

[@DannyB497]

Great interviewer, and Billy what a guy

[@inquisitivehound6108]

How many CSMs and RSMs does the SAS have on regular service?

[@medjones5557]

A CSM for every Sabre Sqn. One RSM for the whole REGT.

[@alcoyne3333333333333]

Good interview

[@matthewmathers2944]

My grandad fought in the Falklands war back in the day.

[@kiely4561]

That Tom Cruise story was brilliant

[@jmcc2k10]

Love Billy and the Sas who dares team. Real men

[@IrishTechnicalThinker]

Could've asked better questions myself. Great guest!

[@MrUltrasound]

enjoyed

[@geoffsaunderson5766]

How about “de programming” them after years of programming, you can’t expect a race horse to take kids on donkey rides.

[@INTJ91]

omg he took down Penelope Cruz lmao what a guy

[@warriorb6733]

Some man

[@originalsyn2056]

I would like to be his friend

[@mattcartwright8272]

All armchair gym warriors think SF is all about being hench and a hard man. As Billy says, of all the SF operators I've met, all of them to a man talk about it being a mental challenge. Years ago I had a friend that got all the way through to the jungle phase. He was a very strong candidate and days away from being badged. He'd spent 2 days in a river doing a ATC or CTR (not sure which) and was physically and mentally wrecked - hungry, hallucinating in the dark, shivering etc etc. He wanted to give up and despite the best efforts of his patrol to dissuade him, he just stood up, got out of the river and after some time came across the DS to tell them he was jacking. To be fair to them, they tried to dissuade him and give him time to think it over, but he'd had enough. So that was that, back to the DS camp and then on a bedford the next morning to return to the UK. Game over.

[@djmiserablecunt7932]

sort the sound out ffs please. army guys talking calm n quiet n interviewer is loud in comparison

[@marksieczko7766]

True.

[@connorknight6776]

Much better than Ross Kemp, the baffoon

[@nevets7152]

Really nice bloke, why is Andy Mcnab ( not real name ) insisting on incognito.

[@richardnixon4345]

I peeled potatoes behind the lines for 20 years, don't talk too much about it, can't say too much about it, but you can draw your own conclusions, sort of like this podcast

[@brewster2188]

You need lights

[@tgchan]

[@INTJ91]

Great chat. But I do despise the idea that women shouldn't be allowed into the SF because it would affect the way men work. That's not the woman's fault. Maybe men need to learn to control their impulses and their ideas of women in general?

[@zooperstar1996]

He wasn't talking about men only. Women have those same impulses that men do and that dynamic is just simply unsustainable under battle conditions. Furthermore, even when women pass military selection, they bodies tend to break down quicker, especially in the hip region, due to carrying high loads on their backs. Men's bodies break down also, but slower and therefore they are more useful long-term. You can watch what military women actually say about the SF and almost all those with military experience say that they would never subject themselves to that harsh, physically and psychologically demanding job that SF do on the daily basis.

[@INTJ91]

@@zooperstar1996 But that should be the choice of the woman. You can't not allow all women into the SF. If they're aware of the effects, and still choose to sign up, then that should be allowed. Also by allowing men to join and not women, with regards to the sexual thing, it automatically becomes the woman's problem/fault, because men can still join and women can't. So it's the women who are missing out.

[@zooperstar1996]

@@INTJ91 Of course they should be allowed to join and they actually can. They changed the rule in 2018 and not a single woman passed the selection yet.

[@INTJ91]

@@zooperstar1996 I thought one woman had passed, but resigned from the course at the last moment? Or maybe I'm thinking of the marines.

[@zooperstar1996]

@@INTJ91 There are some that are in training, but I don't think any of them pass to the final stages of the training. There was a one off programme where a woman was participating, but the standards were altered. I have nothing against women joining as long as the requirements are the same, and if some manage to pass, that means they are good enough. What you do not want to do is dilute the ranks of these elite soldiers by changing the requirements to get in.

[@jamescan2518]

Yeah I think people are interested in the military but most people like myself want to hear about the stories where you guys kill. It’s interesting to know about a trained murderer who is allowed to walk the streets and can switch it off. It’s unreal what you guys do. Would hate to be a terrorist seeing you guys kick the door down. Bravo

[@simongb7897]

How has Lovejoy made it I mean zero talent and has the cheek to be on the front cover of the Sunday Brunch cook book.,and on Sunday Brunch he cant cope on his own.Simon can.

[@user-xz3iv6tw2i]

talking about about mental health doesnt help people .

[@tescoasda3879]

Men on average have better visual skills, visual spatial skills are required for being a sniper, stronger on average, strength is required for being a sniper, men that are snipers have to be stronger and smarter than the average man, they need good visual spatial skills like the average man and stronger than the average man. The chances that there's a woman out there, who's stronger than the average man combined with a high spatial IQ is very low, women are underrepresented in high IQ ranges, and even more so in high spatial iq ranges. So women's 0 representation in some areas in sniping isn't due to sexism, its because those who have the innate skills to be one are far more likely to be men

[@sammcknight8671]

I think women will be used for covert operations

[@tescoasda3879]

@@sammcknight8671 yeah, but it's just stupid how the exteme left and not even exteme ones automatically assume any job with low female representation or pay differences is due to sexism, always not considering innate factors and reasons

[@sammcknight8671]

@@tescoasda3879 I totally Agree, there's a very real Scientific reason as to why the strongest person in the World is a Man. I believe Men have more of an ability to Visualise dangerous scenarios of a situation while keeping calm, like before a Martial Arts Tournament or before Battle. Do you think there's any truth behind the saying 'Women can't Drive'? They clearly can drive but again I think they Lack certain Visualisation skills.

[@tescoasda3879]

@@sammcknight8671 exactly, it's like, they think hur dur why all da strongest people in da world men strongest person competitions are sexist Lol, and same with nobel prize winners, they see that most nobel prize winners in maths are men and assume its due to sexism when really it's because to have a nobel prize in the sciences and math you'd have to have a pretty high IQ, it's unlikely that hard work would compensate, and evidence shows that the majority of mathematically gifted people are men, so it's nothing to do with sexism, even on average men show to be better at maths and women in languages based off IQ and standalised fluid tests. They think that high positions in society are arranged such that its easier for men to be in them, but it's nothing to do with sexism, it's due to personality differences, men tend to be more industrious, assertive ect and such traits help one get to high positions regardless of their sex, they are then stupid enough to think hur dur so those positions are set up so that you need male traits to achieve it, they go that far to play the sexism card, it's as retarded as saying that racing car drivers need good depth perception and if you lack depth perception you couldn't compete amongst the best and then saying racing car driving sports discriminate against people with bad depth perception When it's not that anyone chose good depth perception to be essential for racing car driving or that it was systematically set up that way to discriminate against people with bad depth vision it just happens to be that good depth perception is required. And the way they just ignore the fact that what society percieve as at the bottom of society like homeless people are mostly men is sexist, they are more bothered by women not represented in high positions as much due to reasons other than sexism than they are by men being more likely to be at what is considered at the bottom of society partly due to sexist reasons , it's insane how wrong their understanding is either that or they are just straight up sexist

[@armigity3072]

First

[@leewalsh1666]

This guy went through hell and doesn't brag.. But this tool is elated cause he commented first 🤣

[@YorkieLad]

Great interview

[@anitastephenson1199]

Brilliant

[@billydickson4571]

Great interview