It's one of them books that can stay in your family forever.

Hello there, this is Mel Giedroyc.

Now, I don't know about you, but I love getting lost in a really good book, usually on public transport, and escaping to another world.

That's what it's all about.

Now, one of the best things I've ever read is One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss.

It's a book, I would say, about the topsy-turvy nature of the world.

The fact that the world is absurd, and we try and make sense of it, and sometimes it's best just to kinda go with it.

Because you're both very honest, actually.

But you look like you have the best time.

It's so fun.

It's quite old school in the sense that it's prizes and it's a game show and it's a shiny floor and it's Saturday night ITV.

But we kind of love that and it feels good.

And I love the fact that

do it.

Yeah.

Richmond.

Four years ago, I was in my own home on the outskirts of West London.

She wasn't neglecting a cat, for example.

No, the cat was fine.

I had pyjama trousers on and a normal jacket.

I was walking the dog.

And I saw in the distance, I'm not joking, it said, it was the 65 bus, and it said Leatherhead.

I know the

It was like an epiphany for you, wasn't it, Mel, when you first went to the pantomime and your whole life seemed to change

in that moment.

Panto at the Leatherhead Theatre, which was then called the Thorndyke Theatre when I was growing up in the 70s.

Going to Panto was, I'm going to put this out there, it was the best day of the year.

I mean, I looked forward to that day for months, for absolutely months.

And I remember just wearing always quite scratchy clothes in winter, scratchy tights, scratchy sort of, some sort of kilt or something, scratchy jumper, you know, all clothes were a bit scratchy in the 70s.

And...

I would have given up after rejection one.

Of course.

So I kept it with me at all times, and then I just popped it on the back, forgot about it.

Went from, you know, pillar to post.

And blow me down, literally Greg Davis went da-da, da-da, and Mel and Sue.

Two steps onto the stage, and I thought, the backpack's on.

I thought, I thought, yeah, it's too late.

What?

Yeah, she was a performance artist, and Sue and I had shared a dressing room with her.

[laughs]

... about the rights for car park attendants and everything therein.

So she's kind of, there's a lot of the '80s, I would say, in Jill Piper.

She's a lady of a certain age.

I hate that expression.

I'm sorry for using it.

She's in her late 40s, and she never quite made it as a performer, but she's coming back to Leatherhead to try and reignite the youth theater and recruit.

... she's gonna talk to you about the book and maybe talk about some memories 'cause you did Edinburgh a lot together, didn't you?

But what was that like for you to go through that with her?

It's an odd one because I suppose when I had children, I was so taken up with that and so diverted and distracted by that.

Looking back on it, I probably maybe should have been a bit more aware of how she was feeling, actually, now we're talking about it.

I think she did the right thing because actually what she did was I was taken up with that for, for, you know, however many years, and she made the wise decision actually to just, to just work, and she had my blessing.

She had my absolute blessing to go and do brilliant stuff, which she did on her own.

And again, you know, I'm sure there were moments when I sort of was at home thinking, "Oh, you know, I wish I was, you know, I was doing that." I'm sure.

I'd, I'd be lying if I said there weren't.

Right.

Did seeing yourselves on screen change how you felt about your bodies? AJ, can I come to you on that first?

Hmm.

It definitely did make me analyze myself more, for sure, you know? I, I'd be, I'd be confident about my appearance and what I look like, and go out and do this show, and then you hear comments, you get public scrutiny.

Everyone's all of a sudden got an opinion on your body, on your image, on what you're wearing, on how you sound, literally everything.

And so to be honest, yeah, I do feel like it made me Nitpick at myself a lot more.

But over the years, I have trained myself to be kinder to myself.

You know, I felt good in that moment.

But how much has your mother and have your sisters taught you about women supporting women?

Ugh.

Yes.

"But she's horrible." [laughs] She's horrible in real life.

She's... and really humorless.

Really humorless.

Yes.

That's it.

Yeah.

[laughs]

We walk into Castel Gandolfo.

Down the far end of Castel Gandolfo...

Have I said it enough? Castel Gandolfo.

I see, like, eight blue lights, and I think, "Hang on.

That, that's police cars." And then I'm like, I put two and two together, Miss Marple, and I-

I'm so sorry it's so heavy.

It's in my bag though.

[laughs]

We walk into Castel Gandolfo.

Down the far end of Castel Gandolfo...

Have I said it enough? Castel Gandolfo.

I see, like, eight blue lights, and I think, "Hang on, that, that's police cars." And then I'm like, I put two and two together, Miss Marple, and I start-

I'm so sorry it's so heavy.

Do you mind? Don't worry, though.

No.

Where are we going, Mel? Where are you taking us?

So anyway, we're going.

We're taking a right.

We're going down New Oxford Street and we're heading for, oh, on the left is the Museum of Comedy, which is so great.

Have you ever been there? It's got a sort of chortling face outside.

It's underneath a church.

It's in a crypt.

Mel, what are we doing there?

Where are we going, Mel? Where are you taking us?

So anyway, we're going.

We're taking a right.

We're going down New Oxford Street and we're heading for, oh, on the left is the Museum of Comedy, which is so great.

Have you ever been there? It's got a sort of chortling face outside.

It's underneath a church.

It's in a crypt.

what are we doing there?

Yeah.

He'd create some sort of extraordinary, you know, stamp.

Um, I thought, "I'm not ...

No, I can't, I can't really do that." Anyway, I was working in the West End.

I was doing a musical.

And, um, the stage door lady, um, Tish, as she was called, as she is called.

Tish.

Yeah, yeah.