“The stars have got to align when you make comedy. And they were aligning quite well. And then they just stopped aligning.”
Jimmy Donny Cosgrove co-wrote one of the decade’s biggest comedy flops: BBC 1 sitcom Warren, starring Martin Clunes.
The series was lambasted on social media and derided by critics, with the Daily Telegraph claiming it was ‘the final nail in the coffin for British sitcom’.
Jimmy’s agent dumped him.
He received death threats.
And he hasn’t had a show on TV since…
In this frank and funny conversation with Olly, Jimmy recounts how he blagged his way on to a comedy course at University, how his heart sank when his show was scheduled in a double-bill with the long-anticipated return of Alan Partridge, and explains why his experiences of the TV sausage-factory, with its endless rewrites and creative compromises, left him bruised and disillusioned.
Nowadays, Jimmy hosts a live game show experience. Find out more at showtimelondon.co.uk.
Olly Mann with Jimmy Donny Cosgrove, October 2025
‘Warren Thompson Driving School’ - the YouTube sketch that started it all
_____________
Olly with Ollie and ‘Mini-Ann’
Meanwhile, in the Zeitgeist, Ollie Peart, delighted to furnish the world with a Captain Spronk playlist, learns the latest trends in First Aid. 🏥
What’s the current advice for performing CPR? How do you apply for a free defibrillator? And how many heart attacks per year happen outside a hospital environment?
Equipped with a ‘mini-Ann’ and the Revivr app from the British Heart Foundation, Ollie has the answers…
Would you like to challenge Ollie to investigate a 2026 trend? Suggest it via our Feedback form.
_____________
Elsewhere, down the Foxhole, Alix Fox assists a listener who wants to know how to help his other half as she prepares for the menopause.
Explaining how the menopause’s three stages (perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause) comprise a profound physical and emotional transition, Alix reveals the hormonal shifts that can cause brain fog, anxiety, mood swings, sleep disruption, and changes in libido.
Along the way, Alix speaks to clinical sexologist Dr Angela Wright, and recommends the books Burning Up, Frozen Out by Joe Warner and Rob Kemp; The Little Book of HRT by Dr Ellie Cannon and Menowars by Fiona Clark.
If you have a sex and relationships question for Alix to answer in 2026, get in touch via our Feedback form.
_____________
Finally, our record of the month is Dead and Gone, the new single from Leigh-Anne’s debut album, Because My Ego Told Me To👇
_____________
Olly, Alix, Ollie and special musical guests will return with our annual, chaotic Christmas special on 10th December.
In the meantime, you can help support the show into 2026 by donating beer money and/or leaving us a review. Thanks!
