Pottering with Tom Allen

Henry Agg Jul 2, 2026 2993 An absolute joy this week to be joined among the hydrangeas by gardening guru Henry Agg! 🌸Garden designer and social media sensation, I love Henry’s accessible approach to gardening and was thrilled when he agreed to pop by for some Pottering.Listen in as we discuss Henry’s rather dramatic career change from the glamour of IT recruitment to the garden shed, the mental health benefits of spending t

Ginger Johnson Jun 25, 2026 2980 Joining me in the garden this week is the glorious Ginger Johnson! 🌿😍Champion of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, MasterChef maestro and all round delight, it was such a joy to chat with Ginger. I cannot wait to see her brand new show, Show Pony, hit the road later this year! Tickets are available at gingerjohnson.co.uk. 🎭 We chat about theatrical beginnings, depressing queer cinema, the noughties drag scen

Philippa Perry Jun 22, 2026 4881 Joining me this week in the gentle summer rain is the fabulous Philippa Perry! ☔ Author, psychotherapist, artist and agony aunt, Philippa is perhaps best known for the captivating The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read, and now her brand new cosy crime novel, Shrink Solves Murder, is out too! 📖Join us for a fascinating conversation, and an occasional visualised therapy session, where we chat wri

AJ Odudu Jun 11, 2026 3220 Oh, what fun was had this week when the delightful AJ Odudu popped into the garden for a potter and a chat! Brilliant presenter and joyful human being, AJ has graced our screens presenting hit shows such as Big Brother, The Big Breakfast, M&S: Dress The Nation (ah, lovely M&S), and of course, cha cha cha’d her way to the Strictly final in 2021! 🌼💃 This week we chat the thoughts and feelings of pl

Kiri Pritchard-McLean Jun 4, 2026 2954 This week I was joined in my Pottering patch by the glorious Kiri Pritchard-McLean! Stand up comedian, podcaster and all round delight, I’ve known Kiri for a long time so it was such a joy to catch up. 🌸 🐓🌾 Straight from the countryside in her transit van, Kiri arrived with tales of dead rats, learning from the past in her own farming adventures, and her wonderful fostering work. There is also

Sara Cox May 28, 2026 3873 The superb Sara Cox joins me this week for another day of sun in the garden! ☀️🌻Presenter, author and radio extraordinaire, Sara is such a joyful and calming presence, and we had a glorious time chatting about everything from the Radio 1 fax machine to the backside of a bird, and, the sometimes rather arousing, writing process. 👀Sara’s new book The Truth of Us is available to preorder now, and we'

Laura Checkley May 21, 2026 3638 This week we welcomed the wonderful Laura Checkley in to the garden! A glorious actor and brilliantly funny, you’ll know Laura from King Gary, Action Team, Screw, Detectorists and, well, so many things besides! 🎬 🪴 We chat firing guns in Bulgaria, neighbourhood Facebook groups and what growing up gay did to our wardrobes. My bathroom birdsong also gets another mention, what a successful purchase

Alan Carr May 14, 2026 3158 Oh, what a joy it was to welcome my dear friend Alan Carr into the garden for a spot of Pottering! 🌻 Comedian, presenter and turret-loving TV sensation, Alan is always a delight! You’ll know him from the brilliant Changing Ends on ITV, his Mediterranean makeovers with Amanda Holden on BBC One, BAFTA-award winning The Traitors, and of course so much more besides. We shoot the breeze (or should that

Cariad Lloyd May 7, 2026 3507 Joining me this week in our little Pottering oasis is the delightful Cariad Lloyd! Comedian, author and podcast sensation, Cariad is co-host of the brilliant Sara & Cariad’s Weirdos Book Club with Sara Pascoe, and part of the all-star improv show Austentatious, which is in the West End and on tour throughout 2026, so do check that out! 🌷🎭We chat nineties nostalgia, the wonderful world of improv, y

Carol Klein Apr 30, 2026 2403 Oh what a treat it was to chat with true gardening icon Carol Klein! Presenter, author and gardener extraordinaire, Carol is so gloriously entertaining and a true horticultural hero of mine and so many others. It was an absolute pleasure to chat with her, even if the spring sunshine soon swapped out for sleet! ☂️❄️🌸 We discuss the promiscuity of the primrose, the dangers of the Chelsea Flower Show

Ashley James Apr 23, 2026 2937 Joining me this week in the garden is the delightful Ashley James! Broadcaster, campaigner and Sunday Times Bestselling author, Ashley's debut book Bimbo is out right now! 🌸 We chat about turning our hands to gardening, sometimes at the expense of Dad’s daffodils, the surprisingly fascinating origins of the ‘Crazy Cat Lady’, and the highs and lows of being a woman online. 🐈 🌻 So, switch off This

Jonny Hincks Apr 16, 2026 3124 This week joining me for some Pottering is Horticultural Hercules, social media sensation and author of Garden Yourself Happy, Jonny Hincks! 🪴 It was a real delight to have a true green-fingered great in the garden, and we had a lovely chat about the intoxicating smells of nature, the power of planting for our health and wellbeing, and Jonny’s lessons for lawns: don’t go too short! ✂️ It's rathe

Sarah Hadland Apr 9, 2026 3710 Oh what joy to have the marvellous Sarah Hadland joining me in the garden this week. 💃🏼🪩 Strictly sensation, such fun sitcom star and a truly fabulous actress, soon to be lighting up the London stage in The Truth.🦊 We chat fox poo, the perils of Slip 'n' Slide and, of course, getting pissed with Alan Titchmarsh. And stay tuned to hear all about a rather alarming encounter with a bull in East Croyd

Lou Beckett Apr 2, 2026 3135 Umbrellas at the ready, dear listeners, as the brilliant Lou Beckett joins me in the garden on a rather dreary spring morning. ☔But fear not, spirits remain undampened. We chat reality television, the delightful side of social media, and, with plenty of thoughts on motherhood along the way, discuss Lou’s wonderful new book, Lessons from a Default Parent. Out right now! 👈So, pause Real Housewives,

Dr Amir Khan Mar 26, 2026 3010 Oh hello, and welcome back to the garden, lovely listeners. 🌱 Spring has sprung, the daffodils are doing their thing, and the doctor is in! Yes, joining me this week is the ever-delightful Dr Amir Khan. 🩺 We had a lovely chat about grief and gardening, his work with the RSPB, and what it’s like being the nation’s favourite GP. Plus, listen in to discover why a rather unfortunate rash brought Amir

The Clippings: Part 3 Mar 19, 2026 4422 Whilst Pottering is taking a little break, we’re bringing you some of my favourite moments from the first series, some Clippings if you will. 🌱 Join us this week to hear from Jo Brand, Gareth Howells, Phil Dunning, Fay Ripley, Angela Scanlon, Amy Annette and Giovanna Fletcher. Expect chats about ghosts and gravy, Edinburgh Fringe adventures and fancy dress, hun culture and hypnosis. Yes, Pot

The Clippings: Part 2 Mar 12, 2026 4380 Whilst Pottering is taking a little break, we’re bringing you some of my favourite moments from the first series, some Clippings if you will. 🌱Join us this week to hear from James Acaster, Kerry Godliman, Nish Kumar, Jess Wright, Amy Gledhill, Harry Hadden Paton, Charlie Baker and Sam Battersea. A truly glorious collection of guests. Expect National Trust nostalgia, Catio chat, and plenty more bes

The Clippings: Part 1 Mar 5, 2026 4184 Whilst Pottering is taking a little break, we’re bringing you some of my favourite moments from the first series, The Clippings if you will. 🌱Join us this week to hear from Rob Beckett, Suzi Ruffell, James Gill, Gabby Best, Phil Wang, Lee Peart and Natalie Cassidy. A truly glorious gathering for the garden. We cover everything from Christmas chaos to cocktail creation, with a few horticultural mu

A Message From Tom Feb 26, 2026 159 Hello lovely listeners. Pottering with me, Tom Allen, is taking a short intermission. Yes, I’m stepping away from the garden for a few weeks, swapping my much loved Crocs for something altogether more seaworthy as I step aboard the West End stage in Titanique! But fear not. We shall return, and when we do there are plenty more delightful guests lined up, which I am very much looking forward to. Wi

Charlie Baker and Sam Battersea Feb 19, 2026 3561 What a treat it was to welcome the glorious Sam Battersea and Charlie Baker into the garden for this week’s episode. An entertainment power couple and long time friends of mine, we share our gardening secrets, chat the world of TV acting, and get a glimpse into Charlie's superb showbiz knowledge, covering everything from Pat St Clement to Lionel Bart! Arriving laden with gifts for the garden, Sam

Gareth Howells Feb 12, 2026 3544 This week, founder of Hunsnet and meme extraordinaire Gareth Howells joins me in the garden for a delightfully fun, and occasionally naughty, chat I am very much looking forward to taking Benidorm by storm with our Pitbull / Steve McFadden tribute act. Watch this space. Warning. There is some choice language in this episode, so perhaps best saved for the greenhouse, away from younger listeners. We

Amy Gledhill Feb 5, 2026 3485 Joining me this week among the perennials is the fabulous Amy Gledhill! An Edinburgh Award winning stand up, actor and writer, Amy recently appeared in Netflix hit Run Away, and is very soon to be the star of Last One Laughing UK and Taskmaster! Yes, she is very busy, which makes me even more grateful she popped by for a chat. Melancholically meandering from Dungeness to dungeons, we chat the ter

Giovanna Fletcher Jan 29, 2026 3697 Oh it was truly a delight to have the wonderful Giovanna Fletcher join me in the garden. Actress, author, podcaster and gardening enthusiast, Giovanna is an absolute joy and it was a real pleasure chatting about mulch, motherhood, and most things in between. We discuss the correct way to deal with slugs, late night compost purchases, and the anomaly of audiobook accents. Once again the gazebo made

Phil Dunning Jan 22, 2026 2933 The brilliantly talented and very funny Phil Dunning joins me this week for a drink and a chat in the rain. A wonderful friend, superb stand up, and creator and star of BBC hit sitcom Smoggie Queens (series 2 on the way very soon), Phil is a complete delight. It was an absolute joy chatting with him, as always, even if we were both slowly soaking through. Listen in as Phil gives us the recipe for

James Gill Jan 15, 2026 2694 Another week, another fabulous guest to get us through these winter months! ☃️ This time it was the turn of the ever-so delightful James Gill to join me in the garden. Superb comic, podcast host and founder of the unbelievably brilliant Always Be Comedy, as I say in the episode, they're truly the best comedy nights in London so do check them out! Our conversation takes us down memory lane, via Ho

Gabby Best Jan 8, 2026 3046 Welcome back to the garden, where we are kicking off 2026 properly with the gloriously funny Gabby Best. A brilliantly talented actor and a very good friend of mine, you may know Gabby as Alan Carr’s neighbour in the wonderfully funny Changing Ends. Series 2 is available now on ITV and ITVX so do please take a look. We chat holiday tomatoes, norovirus with Noel Edmonds, and the audience crossover

New Years Message Jan 1, 2026 215 Hello, and a very happy New Year to you. It is New Year’s Day, which feels like the perfect moment for a little post Christmas pottering, a calming walk, a satisfying sort of the recycling, or a nice cup of tea in the garden. Perhaps, like Kerry Godliman, you are lucky enough to have a potting shed, the perfect place to unwind, away from the chaos of Christmas, and maybe settle in with an episode

Christmas Message Dec 25, 2025 245 Oh well, a very merry Christmas to you, my dear friends. Thank you so much for listening to Pottering this year. It has been an absolute delight to spend time in the garden with such a glorious parade of guests, and I am simply thrilled that you have been enjoying it too. By now, Fay Ripley will almost certainly be elbow deep in the preparation of a truly spectacular feast, Lee Peart has very like

Harry Hadden-Paton Dec 18, 2025 3525 It was my absolute pleasure to welcome the ever so charming Harry Hadden Paton into the garden this week for another episode of Pottering. A superb actor, Harry is perhaps best known for his turn as Bertie in Downton Abbey and as Martin Charteris in The Crown, both of which would make wonderfully classy Christmas viewing. Harry also appears in the brand new film Downton Abbey The Grand Finale, ava

Natalie Cassidy Dec 11, 2025 4033 The utterly fabulous national treasure that is Natalie Cassidy popped into my garden for a spot of Pottering this week. EastEnders legend, cultural icon, podcaster and noted trumpet aficionado, she was, as you would expect, an absolute delight from start to finish! Her joyous new book Happy Days is out now which, may I say, would make a marvellous Christmas present. We chat Ronnie Corbett on Stric

Lee Peart Dec 4, 2025 2513 The lovely Lee Peart joined me in the garden this week for a spot of Pottering! A splendid stand up, actor and presenter, Lee is the ever charming warm up for Loose Women on ITV and has just popped the cork as co-host of brand new podcast, Bottoms Up, where he shares his wine wisdom with Alan Carr. We chatted LGBTQ+ in comedy, classic soap actress scenarios and seeing Adele in concert. Lee also sh

Amy Annette Nov 27, 2025 2288 Oh, I had such a lovely time pottering with my dear friend Amy Annette, a marvellous comedian, writer and broadcaster and an all round delight. Amy joined me fresh from the triumph of her Edinburgh show Busy Body, and if you have not yet seen it, do catch it on tour early next year! It's always a delight to see Amy! We discuss Mr Blobby, the rise of misinformation and why the future of streaming m

James Acaster Nov 20, 2025 3504 What a joy it was to be back in the garden for another episode of Pottering, this time with none other than James Acaster. A splendid stand up, author and of course everyone’s favourite genie waiter!It was an absolute delight to spend an afternoon in the sunshine with James. We discuss mindfulness apps, the trials and tribulations of home decorating, and the fascinating world of anime. I also enco

Jess Wright Nov 13, 2025 2215 It was my absolute pleasure to welcome the radiant Jess Wright into my garden for a spot of Pottering. You may know her best from her hugely successful tenure on The Only Way Is Essex or perhaps from her many glamorous ventures in fashion, beauty and the world of television!On a delightfully sunny day amongst the hydrangeas, we discussed being a part of the dawn of reality television, dream podcas

Phil Wang Nov 6, 2025 2385 Another week, another brilliant guest joining me in the garden, the fabulous Phil Wang! Brilliant comedian, author and old friend of mine, Phil's stand-up specials on Netflix are not to be missed, including his most recent Wang In There Baby, which is an absolute joy.On a very blustery day in the garden, we chat guttering, goose stepping, and of course, as all good podcasts do, serial killers. Phi

Angela Scanlon Oct 30, 2025 3388 On Pottering this week, things take a splendidly spooky turn as we celebrate Halloween in the garden with broadcaster, author and bewitching presence Angela Scanlon! There are pumpkins among the perennials, spirits stirring in the shrubbery, and nachos in a Le Creuset – a terrifying treat indeed! As darkness falls, our hauntingly horticultural conversation covers crystals, carveries and Angela's b

Fay Ripley Oct 23, 2025 2737 Ah, what a lovely time we had pottering in the garden with the brilliant Fay Ripley! A wonderful actor, brilliantly talented cookery book writer, and all-round lovely person! The umbrellas were out once more; however, as we filmed earlier in the autumn, it was pleasantly warm, so even in my Crocs I didn’t get 'cold feet'.We chat about the joys of a British garden, the pitfalls of the pizza oven, a

Nish Kumar Oct 16, 2025 2313 This week on Pottering, I had the pleasure of being joined for some 'Alfresco Therapy' by the gloriously funny Nish Kumar! Superbly satirical stand up, you may also know him from Radio 4, his hit podcast Pod Save The UK, or from television (The Mash Report, Taskmaster, Joel and Nish vs The World).On a rather changeable day in the garden, we chat “oh dear thoughts,” men’s culture, and podcasting du

Suzi Ruffell Oct 9, 2025 2081 It was a delight to welcome my dear friend, the hilarious Suzi Ruffell into the garden for a chat and some light manual labour. You’ll perhaps know her from the brilliant Big Kick Energy podcast, her gloriously funny stand-up, and of course as my co-host on the Like Minded Friends podcast. She’s also written a beautiful and thoughtful book, Are We Having Fun Now?, which we discuss in this episode,

Jo Brand Oct 2, 2025 1687 What a joy to be back in the garden for another episode of Pottering, this time with the wonderful Jo Brand. I know her very well from our time together on Bake Off: An Extra Slice, but you may perhaps know her as a stand-up legend, the mind behind Getting On, and the author of numerous best-sellers. In our chat we cover growing up in the countryside, the spookiest of sleepovers, and the toxicity

Kerry Godliman Sep 25, 2025 1639 On this episode of Pottering I’m joined by my dear friend, the brilliant Kerry Godliman. You’ll know her from After Life, Whitstable Pearl and, oh yes, the brand new Spinal Tap movie OUT NOW!We chat about all sorts of glorious things: our obsession with Gardeners’ World, the splendour of the National Trust Gift Shop, and, of course, Handkerchief Trees. Kerry even shows me how to do a bit of tomato

Rob Beckett Sep 25, 2025 2497 Well, here we are, the very first episode of my brand-new podcast Pottering! Who better to kick things off than my brilliant friend, the hilarious Rob Beckett. You’ll know him from Rob & Romesh Vs, Last One Laughing, the hugely popular Parenting Hell podcast, and plenty more besides. He’s also currently out on tour with his stand-up show Giraffe, so catch him when he’s near you! Filmed earlier thi

Introducing... Pottering with Tom Allen Sep 17, 2025 126 Join Tom Allen as he invites you into his garden for a chat and a potter with some very special guests. Launching Thursday 25th September. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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