Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware

It’s our first episode of 2026 and we have the wonderful broadcaster and radio presenter Emma Barnett joining us for lunch after an early morning start for her at Radio 4. Emma has actually interviewed me before (and we got quite drunk together back in 2011), and it turns out that mum & Emma’s mum went to school in Manchester many moons ago! We covered everything from her breakfast routine, nostalgic Jewish food, being a colouring-in-book entrepreneur, her endometriosis diagnosis, the amazing guests she has interviewed over the years, and we reminisce about the time she got a Conservative MP to apologise live on air for lying! What a delight to share an afternoon with Emma, one day we’ll have to take a trip to Manchester to check out the bagels together. Emma’s fab new podcast ‘Ready To Talk’ is available on BBC Sounds and all other podcast platforms now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And just like that, it’s the end of 2025! But it’s not over yet, we have the fabulous Kate Hudson to see us out of the year. Kate joined us for breakfast in the midst of a whirlwind tour for the brand new film Song Sung Blue, which is a beautifully touching film. Over breakfast, we talked about everything from making the film with Hugh Jackman, her love of a dirty martini, the family’s epic annual New Years Eve plans, being caught in the LA fires, meeting Neil Diamond, when the perfect age is to watch Overboard, and we discover that Kate’s Italian family come from mafia roots! What a way to end the year, thank you for popping round Kate, hope you have a fabulous 2026! Kate’s new film Song Sung Blue is released in cinemas on New Year's Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s Christmas Eve and we’re sitting down with a glass of champagne to listen to the Queen’s (Lennie) speech. We're joined by some of our lovely listeners from around the world to hear about their Christmas traditions and answer their questions. We cover everything from Christmas games, desserts, roast potatoes, mulled wine, cocktails, oven space hacks and the age old debate of Yorkshire puddings at Christmas! Plus you may hear from a few friends of the podcast along the way, including Cheryl, Kadiff Kirwan, Benny Blanco & more. Wishing all of our fabulous listeners (and watchers!) a very Merry Christmas wherever you are! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have the thriller King joining us this week, international bestseller, Harlan Coben! You’ll find all his books in stores worldwide, and now his TV series are taking the world by storm on Netflix. His latest series 'Run Away’ also stars multiple previous guests of the podcast (James Nesbitt, Ruth Jones & Minnie Driver), and it’s gripping from start to the end! Mum was in love with Harlan from the moment he walked through the door. We discussed his writing process, his love of Bruce Springsteen, growing up in New Jersey and his mum being a terrible cook, writing ‘Gone Before Goodbye’ with Reese Witherspoon, his iconic Thanksgiving bagel party, and how his lead character Myron Bolitar is very much based on himself! Harlan’s new series ‘Run Away’ is released globally on Netflix on 1st January - don’t miss it! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have chef & Instagram sensation John Gregory-Smith on the podcast this week! John brought round the most delicious monkfish curry and beef coconut rice from his brand new traybake cookbook, and mum made a gorgeous pear and chocolate tart for pud. We laughed non-stop with John - he told us about training to cook with Gordon Ramsey, his absolute love of Christmas, how to make the perfect festive gravy, eating his way round the Middle East, the ultimate kitchen gadgets, when Delia Smith introduced him to pesto, and why East 17 play a very important part in his family’s Christmas traditions! Thank you for the most delicious lunch John, that recipe is absolutely going straight on the regular meal list! John’s brand new cook book ‘The Greatest Traybake Cookbook ever’ is released on the 29th January, and available to pre-order now! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.