When Charlie Higson was 18, his mother died, his father moved to Hawaii and he decided to become someone else entirely. He dyed his hair, renamed himself Switch and threw himself into the punk scene in Norwich, where a chance friendship with Paul Whitehouse would eventually help change the face of British comedy. None of it was planned.

In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with Charlie to trace the remarkable journey from a shy, bookish childhood to punk rock, The Fast Show and, eventually, James Bond. Charlie recalls the devastating loss of his mother, the freedom and uncertainty of leaving home, and the unlikely beginnings of a career that would take him from touring America with his band to creating some of the most recognisable characters in British television.

He reflects on his lifelong friendship with Paul Whitehouse, the influence of Monty Python and the extraordinary chain of events that brought him into the orbit of Harry Enfield and Vic Reeves. Along the way, he reveals how The Fast Show came together, why its success was less obvious at the time than it seems today, and what made his creative partnership with Paul so enduring.

Charlie also talks about his lifelong love of writing, from inventing fantasy worlds as a schoolboy to becoming the author of the bestselling Young Bond series. He explains how fatherhood helped draw him away from television and back towards books, and what it's like to take on one of fiction's most famous characters while trying to remain faithful to Ian Fleming's original creation.

It's a funny, warm and surprisingly moving conversation about loss, reinvention, friendship and the strange accidents that shape a life - and about how sometimes the most extraordinary things happen when you have absolutely no idea where you're going.

Find out more about King Zero by Charlie Higson here

Full Disclosure is a Global Production

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This episode includes discussion of sensitive topics, including addiction and alcoholism, that some listeners may find distressing. Please take care while listening, and feel free to pause or step away if you need to.

John Robins has spent much of his life making people laugh. But behind the award-winning stand-up, broadcasting and podcasts was a relationship with alcohol that he spent years trying to understand, manage and ultimately escape.

In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with John to trace the experiences that shaped him, from a childhood marked by anxiety and an intensely religious father to Oxford, gambling and the discovery of stand-up. John reflects on growing up with a sense that something wasn’t quite right, learning to use humour as both attack and defence, and becoming fascinated by alcohol long before he understood what it offered him.

He talks candidly about the progression of his drinking and the years he spent trying to control it: counting drinks, crossing days off calendars and comparing himself with people who seemed to drink more. Looking back, John describes alcohol not as the problem but as his solution to something deeper - a way to quieten his mind, relieve discomfort and, at times, disappear completely.

John also recalls the night in 2022 when, exhausted by years of fighting his drinking, he searched the word “sober” in a podcast app. Hearing two recovering alcoholics speak with calmness, warmth and humour gave him a glimpse of another way to live. He went to his first AA meeting the following day and hasn’t had a drink since.

Now, John reflects on the strange and painful process of learning how to live without alcohol, from relationships and work to simply being alone with his own thoughts. He talks about therapy, recovery, meditation and spirituality, and why accepting the things he cannot control has begun to make life feel a little less complicated.

It’s a funny, thoughtful and strikingly open conversation about addiction, anxiety, childhood, shame and recovery - and about what happens when the thing you’ve relied on to escape yourself is no longer there.

Find out more about Thirst by John Robins here

Additional support:

If you've been affected by anything you've heard in this episode, please take a moment to read the resources listed: We Are With You, Change Grow Live, Turning Point

Full Disclosure is a Global Production

Listen or watch every Friday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Eric Idle has spent a lifetime finding the funny side of almost everything. Long before he became one of the defining voices of British comedy, he was a boy shaped by loss, separation and a brutal education. His father died when Eric was just two years old, and at seven he was sent to boarding school in Wolverhampton, where discipline could be violent and laughter became something more than entertainment - it was a way of surviving.

In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with Eric to trace the remarkable journey from a post-war childhood to Cambridge, the Footlights and, eventually, Monty Python. Eric recalls discovering the liberating power of rock ’n’ roll and Beyond the Fringe, learning the mechanics of comedy alongside some of the brightest talents of his generation, and the unlikely chain of events that brought Python together.

He reflects on the extraordinary people who have passed through his life, from John Cleese, Michael Palin and the rest of the Pythons to George Harrison, whose friendship changed the way Eric thought about life and death. Along the way, he talks about fame, friendship, family, creativity and the instinct that has repeatedly led him towards the places where the best times were being had.

Now in his eighties, Eric also considers ageing, the friends he has lost and the life he has built away from the noise, including the home in Provence at the heart of his latest book.

It’s a funny, warm and unexpectedly moving conversation about loss, escape, friendship and the strange turns that can transform a life - and about why, after everything, it still helps to find something to laugh at.

Find out more about Idle In Provence by Eric Idle here

Full Disclosure is a Global Production

Listen or watch every Friday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.