Speaker
Josh Widdicombe
Appearances over time
6 episodes
Episodes
6Podcasts
Quotes & moments
Josh attended six separate social events over one weekend after moving to Devon/Exeter, a transformation he himself found surprising.
Josh's daughter broke her arm doing a cartwheel and had to go under general anaesthetic to have it reset — a proper break, not a minor fracture.
Josh's departing nanny encountered two celebrities in a delayed airport waiting room, one cordoned off with privacy boards — and a second celebrity complained he had fewer boards than the first.
Josh Widdicombe gets up at 6:45 AM and leaves the house at 8 AM, giving himself 75 minutes — with a buffer he says he probably doesn't need.
Josh's cat Fluffball was found panting like a dog, rushed to emergency vet, and placed in an oxygen chamber — the vet found a heart murmur that later disappeared.
Josh concluded that being on the non-famous side of celebrity privacy boards at an airport is actually worse than being the celebrity behind them.
After moving to Exeter, Josh's wife Rose had to wait eight months just to get a driving test booked, partly due to post-COVID backlogs and a black market for test slots.
Mark King, bassist of Level from the Isle of Wight, had his thumbs insured for a million pounds due to his distinctive slap bass technique.
Josh's daughter's children's triathlon comprised a 50-metre swim, 1,000-metre bike ride, and 500-metre run — a format Rob said he'd happily compete in himself.
Josh Widdicombe revealed he has not been drinking for 3 years, correcting Rob's assumption that it had only been about a year.
After an emergency vet visit and a follow-up with a heart specialist, Fluffball's heart murmur could not be found — the vet suspects the hot weather triggered the episode.
Moving Josh's pre-booked summer holiday from July to mid-August would cost an extra £2,000 in flights alone, making it financially unviable.
Josh Widdicombe's Greek hotel offered white chocolate mousse at the breakfast buffet, which he ate once purely to prove a point, causing a subsequent sugar crash.
Josh gives his young son £5 a week in pocket money — the same as his daughter — which the boy saved up to buy an £11 megaphone.
As a student, Josh negotiated paying only £32 a week for the smallest room in his house, compared to his housemates who paid £56, but had to live without wardrobe doors.
Josh Widdicombe's daughter broke her arm doing a cartwheel and had to go under general anaesthetic to have it reset. She took it like a champion and is now discovering she can write with her left hand.
Josh's cat Fluffball was found panting like a dog during the heatwave and rushed to the emergency vet, where she was placed in an oxygen chamber after a heart murmur was detected. The murmur vanished by Tuesday — the vet suspects the heat gave her a panic attack.
Desperate for the toilet while his cat recovered in an oxygen chamber on Father's Day, Josh had to negotiate a padlocked outdoor vet toilet — then used it in complete darkness because the motion-sensor light only activated when he stood up.
Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe spent an exhausting day filming a TV pilot in Canterbury, pushing giant inflatable balls in 30-degree heat. Rob did 16,000 steps and couldn't walk for two days after.
Rob watched England's 0-0 draw with Ghana alone, eating a protein yogurt while his wife went to bed early. He admits that what he used to love about the World Cup was the excuse to get completely drunk with friends.
Rob and Josh both back the UK social media ban for under-16s, with Rob comparing future embarrassment at phone addiction to old photos of tube smokers. Crucially, Rob admits he and his wife are more addicted than their kids.
Rob Beckett missed his children's Sports Day for the third consecutive year after planning 10 months in advance and building his entire filming schedule around it — only for the school to cancel because of the heatwave.
Josh Widdicombe is currently living in the 25% of his house that is Phase 2 of renovations — one bedroom, one sitting room, a futon on the floor, no mattress, and 30 cluster flies. Phase 1 ends in July.
After years without a wallet, Josh finally got one again — and dropped it on the pavement on the very first school pickup. Rob's suggestion: just keep it in a drawer at home.
Since moving to Exeter, Josh keeps encountering people who say they're 'more of a rugby person' when he asks about football. He compares it to saying you prefer S Club 7 to the Beatles.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice for Portugal against Uzbekistan at the 2026 World Cup and screamed 'I'm back!' at the camera as he walked off. Rob is appalled — pointing out the opponent was Uzbekistan.
At a Greek airport during a delay, Josh Widdicombe's nanny Chelle found herself in a waiting room with a celebrity shielded by privacy boards — and then a second celebrity started complaining he hadn't got as many boards as the first. Josh and Rob then debated at what level of fame you get airport boards, concluding that both Josh and retired footballer Adam Lallana got zero boards on the same flight home.
At the end of the episode, Rob Beckett marvelled at how he and Josh went from sharing hotel rooms while gigging at Birmingham Glee Club to Josh hosting Strictly Come Dancing. The reflection came after 12 series of Parenting Hell and over 6 years of podcasting together — a genuine moment of gratitude amid the chaos.
Rob Beckett spent 5 gruelling minutes manually inflating a giant frog garden sprinkler with a bike pump in 35-degree heat while his pale, sun-cream-covered kids chanted 'Is it ready yet, Dad?' The valve kept losing air because the kids couldn't hold it, and his glasses slid off his nose with sweat — a perfect image of British summer parenting at its worst.
A drunk man at Victoria Station recognised Rob and asked him to settle an argument — which turned out to be him calling his girlfriend a horrible name in front of her. Rob refused to laugh, told him it wasn't nice, and she agreed.
Analysis
What they talk about
- Society & Culture 28%
- Comedy 21%
- Leisure 10%
- Health & Fitness 10%
- Business 10%
- Sports 7%
- Kids & Family 7%
- Arts 7%
Connections
Shows they appear on and people they share episodes with. Drag to explore.
