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Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe

S12 EP49: I love the buffet

23 Jun 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What parenting misadventures are shared at the beginning?

2.765 - 18.224

Hello, you're listening to Parenting Hell with... Arlo, can you say Josh Widdicombe? Josh Widdicombe. Can you say Rob Beckett? Rob Beckett.

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18.244 - 34.811 Josh Widdicombe

Poo Beckett. Rob Beckett. Way A, man. Is that Geordie? If it's not... Well, we don't know, actually. We know. Oh, no. Oh, no. Yes. Doesn't say. Pardon? I thought I deleted the email. Oh, no, oh, no.

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34.831 - 46.997 Rob Beckett

But you know you can shake. We learnt that. Oh, yeah, yeah, you can shake. Also, people have been commenting that we're on our phones too much when we do this podcast. And I just want to let everyone know that's because... That we don't get on. No, we do get on. We have our notes on there.

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46.977 - 66.526 Rob Beckett

about things we want to talk about we have small business shout outs on there and we also have the voice notes on there other podcasts and Instagram other podcasts slash TV shows name me no names have Romesh GK Barry autocue autocue we do not have autocue because we don't know what we're going to say exactly Anything can come out.

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66.727 - 70.737 Rob Beckett

Do you think he's out there writing my crude retorts for me and sticking them on all the time?

71.097 - 81.102 Josh Widdicombe

I have only just discovered your podcast and I'm way behind in series three. Blimey, this person, Callie, is not going to find this out for years. What series are we on?

81.082 - 108.304 Josh Widdicombe

michael 12 12. all the way there that's a lot of it hoping you still found we're not in series 12 we're on series one we've never stopped no we haven't have we yeah hope you still do these intro clips and look forward to seeing if we make it on when i eventually get there i have a four-year-old arlo and a one-year-old ezra here is arlo's alternative attempt at your names thanks for the laughs cali thanks cali michael when is the end of series finale

109.718 - 122.842 Rob Beckett

Soon, actually. Okay, good. What was the cliffhanger last time? No, we sort of... I have two espressos to pump up the energy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I don't know what the cliffhanger could be. Yeah, well, we'll see. We'll work it out when we get there. Yeah, we'll work it out when we get there.

122.942 - 140.071 Josh Widdicombe

You're looking pretty relaxed, refreshed. Got a bit of a colour on the cheeks. Well, yeah, that's true. But... Been on holiday. Yeah. I wouldn't describe it as relaxing or refreshing. Okay. Where did you go? We went to Greece. What's your problem with Greece? Oh, do you know what?

Chapter 2: How do Rob and Josh navigate their recent holiday experiences?

175.857 - 176.398 Rob Beckett

How is Rich?

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177.16 - 178.904 Josh Widdicombe

He's all right. He's okay.

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179.426 - 181.19 Rob Beckett

Have you been invited to go to Necker Island?

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181.691 - 185.22 Josh Widdicombe

No, I haven't. No. So you're on holiday with a celeb.

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185.2 - 215.19 Josh Widdicombe

well not with well not that celeb I can say recognised me as much as Rory Stewart recognised me when he saw me at Oxford Station he just stared through you stared through me like Rory Stewart on a Saturday afternoon like a lively bombastic student trying to get you to donate to a charity yeah bombastic bombastic so Shell who used to be our nanny yeah she's moving to Australia yeah she came out for a few days yeah we had a lovely time Rose's mum was there so she came out

215.17 - 219.364 Josh Widdicombe

Yeah. Was a friend? Yeah. Did you make a look after the children? No, we didn't actually.

219.384 - 230.802 Rob Beckett

No. One night. So it was like a come out because she's your friend. Yeah. For a holiday. She went early. Did you pay for her to go out? That's nice, as a leaving present. Well, yeah. That's nice.

230.942 - 232.064 Josh Widdicombe

But we'll probably go next year.

232.084 - 239.132 Rob Beckett

Do you think she was under the impression that she may be sort of being taken out to do sort of secret childcare, but you didn't do any of that anyway?

Chapter 3: What challenges do they face with their children's activities?

298.283 - 305.607 Rob Beckett

And they've basically put red boards up like someone's having a cardiac arrest. Yeah. And he's just sat around there with his family. With his family.

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306.11 - 315.951 Josh Widdicombe

And they can hear him and his family behind it. And get this, there's another celeb. Yeah. Bleep this. Right. Complaining that he hasn't got as many boards around him as the other celeb.

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316.272 - 331.499 Rob Beckett

No way. Yes way. And you're just sat there going, guys, I'm the host of Strictly, actually. No, no, I wasn't there. Right, so if you were there drinking, you would have got bored. I don't know. Who's organising these boards? So do you... Right, so how famous do you have to get for people to see you walk in and then go... I'm miles off boards.

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331.519 - 342.15 Josh Widdicombe

They need boards. I am miles off boards. Or do you request boards? Because I'm going to say it. When we got on the plane, I was there. So was Adam Lallana, the footballer. Neither of us had a sniff of boards.

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342.19 - 350.778 Rob Beckett

No, I mean, you know, no offence to Adam, but he retired about five, six years ago. You know what it's like with athletes. No one cares. You drop. Yeah, yeah. Okay, yeah, so no sniff of boards.

350.798 - 367.91 Josh Widdicombe

I cared, but yeah. So isn't that wild? We'll put that picture on our Instagram. Oh, yeah. You've got to put that picture up. I'm going to say it. Yeah. Being behind those boards is worse. than being in front of the boards. I'm replying to a text message. I can see you're texting.

367.93 - 371.859 Rob Beckett

There's the actual criticism. It's correct. I was going to try and style it out.

372.019 - 375.446 Josh Widdicombe

You went to look at the boards and you got a text message.

375.466 - 387.729 Rob Beckett

I've got my agent. I've got a reply. You've got an agent? Yeah. What's it about? Is it about work? It's about work. It's my work phone. And I'm at work. So this is my work. Yeah, because it's time sensitive because it relates to something that's happening tomorrow morning.

Chapter 4: How do they handle celebrity encounters during their travels?

438.364 - 439.086 Rob Beckett

Yeah. Yeah.

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439.387 - 440.229 Josh Widdicombe

Yeah. I'm like the Danish.

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440.249 - 449.368 Rob Beckett

I think you've got a bit of a problem with money, haven't you? No. I think you're scared of it. No. You're scared of it going now that you had it because you never had it. Yeah, that is true. So you're panicked of it.

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449.788 - 463.664 Josh Widdicombe

Yeah. That's normal. That's normal, yeah. It's worse in my head now than it was when I was on 14 grand on Dora the Explorer. Yes. When I didn't give a shit. But then that's a problem, isn't it?

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464.626 - 467.669 Rob Beckett

That is... Because it's actually your life's got easier, but your mind's telling you it's harder.

467.689 - 473.496 Josh Widdicombe

Oh, my life's got way, way easier. Yeah. Yeah. Where are my boards? I think you need boards just at home.

474.455 - 489.24 Rob Beckett

So would you sit behind the boards? I would say no need for a board. If someone said, come this way, we've got a calling off. Speedy boarding. If it was a separate room that existed as a room already, and they said, would you like to wait in here? Absolutely, line it up, all over. Who wouldn't want a separate room?

489.54 - 495.53 Josh Widdicombe

If it was, will your family go in this metre square space so that no one can look at you, but they can hear you?

495.551 - 502.144 Rob Beckett

It's the kind of boards you'd use to cover a dead body. If someone had just died, they'd just put that in the corner until the paramedics came.

Chapter 5: What parenting lessons emerge from their recent experiences?

653.531 - 661.062 Rob Beckett

Then I had to go to Tenerife filming. I've been so busy. I had to go to Tenerife to film. Yeah. I've never left England.

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661.042 - 679.962 Rob Beckett

and arrived in someone like tenerife and it'd be colder in tenerife than england so i i left england in like just shorts and a t-shirt like didn't even take a jumper right the person i was meeting out there they were like i literally picked up a jumper to bring but it was so hot in england that i just thought i can't even hold this yeah never mind think about packing it got there it's cold

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680.06 - 686.366 Rob Beckett

Breezy and cold. I was like, I'm in Tenerife and I'm colder than I was in England. Oh, Rob. So I did that. Well, I can't think what's going on.

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686.386 - 689.228 Josh Widdicombe

So you would normally go away for half term, but you were working.

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689.328 - 707.085 Rob Beckett

Yeah, I was working. And then Lou was working. She was at the Hay Literary Festival. Yeah. Did she enjoy that? Yeah, she did. It's well far, isn't it? I'm quite enjoying work and travel really far and be like, it's hard, isn't it, travelling to all these places just for the night and come back? I'm like, is it?

707.385 - 707.485

Yeah.

708.578 - 728.592 Rob Beckett

Wouldn't know. Would have no idea. Yeah. It's a little bit, isn't it? Yeah. And that's one you did this week. In the UK. Yeah. Imagine four of those a week for a year and a half. Just imagine it. It's really hot in here, Josh, isn't it?

728.612 - 737.843 Josh Widdicombe

Yeah, it's boiling in here because the heating's fucked up at Spotify. So was the holiday good, though?

737.863 - 739.505 Rob Beckett

You had to be in the pool the whole time?

Chapter 6: How do they discuss their financial responsibilities as parents?

887.225 - 887.745 Rob Beckett

It's a buffet.

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887.765 - 907.961 Josh Widdicombe

I don't have to have yogurt with fruit and nuts. I'll have a white chocolate mousse. So you've been having fruit and nuts for breakfast? Yogurt, fruit and nuts. Do you know what I like to do on holiday, Rob? Go on. It's my favourite breakfast. Go on. Slice of bread. Yeah. Thin cheese. Are you toasting the bread? No. Okay. Like an open sandwich.

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908.021 - 913.731 Rob Beckett

An open sandwich. So butter? Yeah, butter. Butter. Thin cheese. White bread. Butter.

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913.795 - 940.63 Josh Widdicombe

vary the bread up sometimes brown sometimes white whatever they've got yeah butter thin cheese what cheese do you know like they have the thin cheese at breakfast buffet no you know like the the thin cheese it's all like is is it it's not a type of cheese that's a way of cutting no it's just like gouda or emmental or one of those kind of mild no flavor one you know the really thin ones with the holes stop saying well yeah the holes is way more of a clue than the thin yeah so yeah gouda

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940.61 - 940.971 Rob Beckett

Yeah.

941.411 - 965.807 Josh Widdicombe

Okay, so you're having gouda on bread. Yeah, with bits of tomato. Bits of tomato? Bits of tomato. Cut up a cherry tomato. Cut up a cherry tomato, yeah. And maybe a few capers. And that's your... That's my breakfast. That's your treat breakfast. That's my treat breakfast. That's some sort of Dutch evacuee. I'm like, do you know what? This is living. This is living. Do you know what, Josh?

965.827 - 974.455 Josh Widdicombe

You've done well for yourself here. So that's your treat, so you wouldn't have that every morning? Well, after about day three, I'm like, do you know what? You're on holiday, Josh. Let rip. Have it every morning.

974.475 - 978.621 Rob Beckett

Why is that? It feels so not letting rip. So you're not having any warm or hot breakfast?

978.701 - 990.606 Josh Widdicombe

No. At all? I don't really like hot breakfasts. You don't? Porridge? Yeah, but it's so boiling. You can't have porridge in Greece in May. But that's the only hot breakfast you'd have.

Chapter 7: What humorous moments arise from their discussions about food?

1021.229 - 1028.47 Josh Widdicombe

What am I having for lunch? Pasta? Yeah. Just what kind of pasta? I don't know. Tomato-y pasta?

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1028.671 - 1035.321 Rob Beckett

Right, okay. No, I'm finding this quite fascinating, but I don't know if it's just me.

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1035.341 - 1041.671 Josh Widdicombe

What do I have for dinner? We go to a different restaurant each night, and then I'll have what they're serving there. You'll have what they're serving there.

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1041.952 - 1061.884 Rob Beckett

I don't go off-menu. Yeah, but what did you have? Talk to me for one of your meals. Like a kind of load of Greek stuff. I feel like I'm doing a BBC News report, right? Talking to a nan that's on a state pension that's not enough and she's talking us through what she eats each week to try and make the money go further.

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1061.904 - 1064.687 Josh Widdicombe

So, I don't want a full English breakfast every day when I'm abroad.

1064.707 - 1066.108 Rob Beckett

No, no, I'm not saying you have to, Josh.

1066.389 - 1070.332 Josh Widdicombe

But I'm just saying that the way you're talking about... I've told you I had a white chocolate mousse one day.

1070.432 - 1073.996 Rob Beckett

I don't even feel like you have the capers on it either. I think you've just added that in to try and look different.

1074.016 - 1075.417 Josh Widdicombe

No, no, I do. Not every day.

Chapter 8: How do they reflect on their changing perspectives on life and parenting?

1187.467 - 1205.095 Josh Widdicombe

But Rose has got thoughts about... Because it just felt a bit disparate. Do you know what I mean? It felt like you were... The kids wanted to be in the pool. Do they make friends with the other kids when they're there? That pool's not good for making friends as well. Because it's too deep. Because it's too deep. So you know, the way kids make friends is if they're splashing in and out of the pool.

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1205.115 - 1215.394 Josh Widdicombe

The shallow bit. Yeah. Okay. So we're probably going to go to a different bit of that resort or a villa or a different resort. Okay. But then I will miss out on seeing my favourite celebrity every year.

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1215.714 - 1225.733 Rob Beckett

Well, and see if the balls have changed. Well, you know, next time you go, if you go next year, you'll have done Strictly. So maybe. Yeah. I don't know how popular Strictly is at Thessaloniki.

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1226.185 - 1252.255 Josh Widdicombe

Well, obviously not that popular. No. Because, actually, in the UK, this is the first time in my life, Rob, people have been coming up to me in the street to congratulate me. Really? But not in Thessaloniki. No, but in the UK. Someone congratulated me in Waitrose last night. What did they say? Congratulations. It's mad, isn't it? How big that show is. It's mad. It's weird.

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1252.536 - 1265.682 Rob Beckett

What did you do with your kids then? Well, so Lou was in France for a friend's 40th. They went to South France for a few days. So I was solo parenting. Yeah. Some would call default parenting. Yeah, some would. Don't know when the seesaw swings, but it's starting to swing.

1266.123 - 1266.524 Josh Widdicombe

Yeah, exactly.

1266.544 - 1284.373 Rob Beckett

Now I'm working less and she's working more. um we went so we went to tom we went to tom allen's oh yeah for uh he had like a book celebration because his books come out yeah common decency yeah um very very funny that's the name of the book not just your view on him holding an event for his it's just common decency to have a book celebration anyway so we

1284.353 - 1296.025 Rob Beckett

I was like, I texted him, I said, what is this? Is this a, it was four o'clock on a Saturday. Oh no, four o'clock on the bank holiday Sunday. And so I text, cause Lou weren't coming back to the Monday, but my Monday night, my, my, I had big pants on Monday.

1296.466 - 1310 Rob Beckett

Cause what I like to do when Lou's away is make sure that I do loads of the kids and dedicate an entire day to making the house even cleaner and nicer and better than it was when Lou left. So I could say, look, I've managed to do all this. I've done this better than you.

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