Podbit · Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe
Rob Beckett's childhood school experience was bad enough that hearing any enthusiastic teachery voice still makes him tense, even in his kids' lovely school. Therapy has made him aware of the trigger — but awareness, he says, is as good as it's going to get.
Where this was said
At 4:14 · chapter starts 3:53
The episode proper begins with a charming Year 3 class intro recorded by Mrs. Burrows at Herewood Primary School in Loughton, Essex — 29 seven and eight-year-olds saying Rob and Josh's names in unison. Rob immediately admits the enthusiastic teacher energy transports him back to a school experience he didn't enjoy, and that even in lovely contexts his brain still briefly wants to say 'fuck off' before catching itself. He credits therapy with giving him the self-awareness to recognise the feeling without acting on it, landing on the view that awareness is as meaningful as simply not having the reaction. Josh then reveals he is genuinely unwell — achy, tired, and walking hunched like Mrs. Overall from Acorn Antiques. Rob attempts to present himself as a sensitive friend who could sense the illness, before immediately confessing that Josh had simply texted him earlier to ask if they could record sooner.
Josh Widdicombe turned up to record feeling genuinely rough, shuffling around like Mrs. Overall from Acorn Antiques. Rob blew his cover as an intuitive friend almost immediately — Josh had simply texted him in advance.
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