Famous People You've Never Heard Of
Our podcasts are a mix of conversations with a wide range of subject matter experts and enthusiasts, interspersed with the occasional audio drama. Each episode focuses on one person, a group of people or a genre from the world of entertainment that we wish to bring back to the spotlight and who has been lost to history or is in danger of being so.The Arts industries are currently in peril but this is nothing new. The Entertainment industry in all its guises has seen it all before. Political turmoil, plague, poverty, overnight success, sudden failure and the long term closure of theatres are not unique to the 21st century.We are not academics (although luckily some of our prestigious guests are) so don't expect forensic analysis or ground breaking research in every episode. We are entertainers, passionate about our craft, its heritage and its future. And we want to share our enthusiasm with you!
Episodes
41 episodes
Stand and Deliver!! An introduction to the world of the Dandy Highwaywoman with Sara Hiorns
They are the stuff of legend and song - the dashing women who defied gender stereotypes to plunder stagecoaches and acquire ill-gotten gains.But was it all as romantic as movies such as "The Wicked Lady" would have us believe...?H...
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Season 5
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Episode 43
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34:51
The Ghost of White Hart Lane - Rob White, Martin Murphy & Callum Lewis-Newman talk about John White
What decision did you make today that had implications on the rest of your life?For Tottenham Hotspur and Scotland star player John White a simple choice to play golf made a devastating difference to the lives of his family when a freak ...
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Season 5
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Episode 42
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34:30
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Arts for Art's Sake - Marianne McNamara & Dr Dan Weinbren talk about Jennie Lee
“In any civilised community the arts... must occupy a central place. Their enjoyment should not be regarded as something remote from everyday life” What a quote - what a woman!Jennie Lee was an MP before she was old en...
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Season 5
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Episode 41
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45:38
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Women's Own (How to Kill Your Husband and Get Away With It
We've all enjoyed those chatty radio and TV shows and podcasts where the presenters are mates in the real world or have a good rapport and every so often allow a little of their real lives to slip into the show's content. But has anyone h...
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Season 4
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Episode 40
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7:33
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Call Backs
Call Backs takes us back to that weird post lockdown era when we were still sort of locked down. All sorts of relationships were affected in all sorts of ways…This is a fun look back on those very strange times!W...
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Season 4
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Episode 39
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14:48
The Hackneyed Detective
Released to coincide with the Hackney History Festival The Hackneyed Detective is an audio drama about Daniel Ludlow, a modern day private eye based in East London.Daniel is down on his luck and takes solace from the...
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Season 4
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Episode 38
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16:51
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Bly's Spirit
Nellie Bly was an American journalist who is famous for her record breaking 72 day round the world trip.Before that though she went undercover into an "insane asylum" to report on the appalling conditions to which the patients were su...
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Season 4
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Episode 37
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11:33
Songs From the Shadows
A while ago we spoke with Dr Mary Shannon about Billy Waters and Mary's upcoming biography of him - "Billy Waters is Dancing".Well the book is now out (and a jolly fine read it is, too) and Mary has joined forces with historian Dr. Ben M...
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Season 4
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Episode 36
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59:21
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Her Father's Daughter - Stephen Bourne & Patricia Hammond talk about Avril Coleridge-Taylor
Avril Coleridge-Taylor (1903-1988); Wikipedia says she was a "pianist". She was. She was also a composer and conductor (in fact she was the first female conductor of the band of the Royal Marines). She was also the daug...
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Season 3
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Episode 35
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26:12
"Damn Tom & Jerry" - Dr Mary Shannon Talks About Billy Waters. With Charlotte Campbell.
We're delighted and privileged to be releasing today's podcast on the 200th anniversary of the death of Billy Waters.Born in 1776 Waters was a familiar sight on the Strand in London. He was a black ex-sailor who had been inval...
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Season 3
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Episode 34
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31:55
"The African Mahler": Chenoa Murphy talks about Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) was a British composer.His mother was English and his father from Sierra Leone. He referred to himself as "Anglo-African" and was referred to by white musicians in the US as the "Black Mah...
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Season 3
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Episode 33
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18:03
Blood, Sweat and Vaginas , with Paula David - One Woman Wednesdays
Paula David's one woman show is a journey through menopause and a discovery of self.It is poetic and musical, has movement and dance and examines something that all women experience and few have the courage to speak about. It is also ...
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Season 3
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Episode 32
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11:06
She Wolves with Laura Careless - One Woman Wednesdays
This one-woman show, based on the book and television series She-Wolves: The Women who Ruled England Before Elizabeth by historian Helen Castor, depicts the lives of five of England’s most famous medieval queens (Empress Matilda, Elean...
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Season 3
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Episode 31
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14:12
Testament of Yootha - One Woman Wednesdays
Yootha Joyce, best known for "George and Mildred" was one of the best known TV stars of the 1970's. But she was so much more...Award -winning actress Caroline Burns-Cooke tells her story in the brilliant one woman show "Test...
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Season 3
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Episode 30
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9:30
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Isadorable! Elizabeth Blake Talks About Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan: dancer, muse, innovator, political activist and so much more was born in the USA in 1877. She died in Nice, France in 1927 in a freak accident that is sadly the thing that she seems to be most remembered for. W...
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Season 3
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Episode 29
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43:17
Sex, Love and Classical Music - Elena Mazzon talks about Clara Schumann
Clara Schumann, a pianist, composer and piano teacher. And wife of Robert Schumann.Clara Wieck had a fascinating life- a child prodigy, like Mozart before her she was touring as a concert pianist under the watchful eye of her domi...
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Season 3
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Episode 28
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38:12
Ally Sloper's Half Holiday
Ally Sloper's Half-Holiday was the name of a weekly comic strip which first appeared on 3 May 1884. Before Superman, Spiderman, Desperate Dan and Dennis the Menace came Ally Sloper. From 1884 until the 1920s,...
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Season 3
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Episode 27
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40:53
Who's Army...? David Crump talks about Fred Karno
Who was Fred Karno? and what was his army?We talk to David Crump whose biography of today's subject reveals all - and some!Karno was a giant personality who had a giant effect on theatre and cinema as we know it. The...
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Season 3
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Episode 25
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1:10:19
The 2nd Best Whore in London. With guest contributions from Moira Buffini and Lyn Brown
Back in the dark days of Lockdown number 2 at the end of 2020 Lottie and Linda were enjoying the TV series Harlots. Whilst chatting about it Lottie remembered seeing the blue plaque that is dedicated to Priss Fotheringham, th...
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Season 2
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Episode 24
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38:16
The Forgotten Talent of Amanda Ira Aldridge, with Stephen Bourne & Patricia Hammond
Amanda Ira Aldridge, one of the most important female composers of the 20th century has been all but forgotten.Daughter of the groundbreaking actor Ira Aldridge, Amanda, was also a singer and in her latter years a voice teache...
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Season 2
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Episode 23
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37:57
"It Seems That I'm Interested in Lots of Things"; In Conversation with Christopher Green
For this special episode we've moved away from talking about our long forgotten heroes of history to talk to our very much up to date award winning theatre-maker - and hero - Christopher Green.Christopher is a huge adv...
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Season 2
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Episode 22
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31:44
The Black Sheep of the Family - Christopher Green & John Orchard talk about Fred Barnes
Fred Barnes was a huge star in his time, but his fame, fortune and undeniable glamour hid a tragic story and self-destructive nature.Christopher Green and John Orchard talk to Lottie about Fred Barnes' tragic life and death, how h...
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Season 2
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Episode 21
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51:36
Jolly Good Luck! Ann-Lindsey Wickens & Chris Jaeger talk about Vesta Tilley. With Jessica Danheiser
Vesta Tilley was possibly the most famous male impersonator of all time and a huge star of the Victorian Music Hall. The girl from Worcester, who was treading the boards from the age of 3 was also the wife of an MP and "Britain's best rec...
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Season 2
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Episode 20
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23:03
"The Funniest Book in the World" & How We adapted it for the Stage - with Tim Shaw & Andy Smith
"The Diary of a Nobody" has long been a favourite book of both Tim Shaw and Andy Smith. They've seen it on stage, listened to it on the radio and, of course, read it.So one rainy August day in Edinburgh after seeing Rodney Bewes i...
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Season 2
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Episode 19
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43:03
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The Diary of a Nobody by George & Weedon Grossmith; adapted by Tim Shaw
This season's audio drama is :The Diary of a Nobody, by George & Weedon Grossmith, said by Evelyn Waugh to be the "funniest book ever written".The book has never been out of print and is available at all good bookshops.T...
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Episode 18
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56:15
