Chapter 1: What is Jack Rooke's background and what recent achievement did he celebrate?
Hello and welcome to Tobin Manners. I'm Jessie Ware and I'm here with Lenny and it's a windy spring day. Are we still in spring?
It should be summer by May but absolutely it's not summer. I nearly have the heating on. I had it full glassed all over. It's blowing a hoolie out there.
I know and that's a cold wind. We're doing a breakfast episode today. So someone's coming over for breakfast. It's Jack Rook, who I absolutely love. He created one of the best TV shows on Channel 4. Brilliant British... I don't know, would you call it... It is comedy, but it's also completely touching and beautiful, called Big Boys. Had three seasons. I adored them all.
But started in the Edinburgh Fringe with winning, I think, lots of accolades for his... his stand-up called Good Grief, which has its 10-year anniversary this year. And that's why he's going back to Edinburgh to do it. How old is he? He's one of them ones. That started young. He's a bit Lena Dunham-y, do you know what I mean? Very clever and successful at a young age. Has he reached 30 yet?
Yeah, I think maybe he is 30 or something. He's just very good. And he's coming over to talk about Good Grief coming back And I hope big boys. No, big boys is wrapped up, Mum, if you haven't.
I know, but he won't talk about that?
He says he's done with pretending he's at uni now. So he's not a big boy anymore? He's a big, big boy now. He's a big boy, yeah. So we have Jack Rook coming on to talk about, yeah, stand-up, good grief, big boys, all of it. I love seeing Jack and can't wait to chat to him. And I've been on food duty. Let me get the cookbooks. So, Itamar and Sarit, who I love, they are Honey & Co.
They are just the most beautiful couple, but also amazing, amazing chefs. They've got a new cookbook called Honey & Co. Daily. And they've got Eggs the Daily Way, which is just kind of, you know, we're doing breakfast, so why not? There's peas with basil, spring onions, garlic, and a bit of Aleppo chili. And then you just do it on toast.
I didn't make my sourdough because I haven't done my starter. I know. I'm sorry. You're slipping.
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Chapter 2: How did comedy help Jack Rooke cope with the loss of his father?
Did you buy it? I did. And I got nice M&S bread.
Okay.
Because it is good.
Yeah.
And then you just do a fried egg, but you kind of coat the toast with some goat's cheese.
How would you describe the crust? Is it a veneer removal crust? This one, yeah. Yeah, okay. Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely. And then we've done, I say we because Rosie, my sweet Rosie, has helped me with the custom. So another amazing chef, Helen Graham, has this new book.
She's not related to James, is she?
She's not, but she did go to university with your son. Oh, wow. And she was the head chef at Bubbala, that amazing vegetarian restaurant. And Centrepiece is her cookbook. And it's really beautiful. And it really complements Sarit and Itamar's food. And I've done hot apricots and cold saffron custard. Oh. But Rosie, sweet Rosie made the custard yesterday.
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Chapter 3: What unique culinary experiences did Jack share during the episode?
You're a chatter. So I was chatting. I met Martin Lewis many, many years ago.
Oh my God, his speech was so beautiful.
Oh, his speech was so nice.
And quite like, I mean...
Did you talk about? Yeah, we spoke about his speech. And he was like, we really love big boys. And it was so nice. Everyone loves big boys. It's very, very sweet.
Can we just say, firstly, congratulations. You won a BAFTA. Thank you so much. A BAFTA craft. A BAFTA craft. A BAFTA for comedy writer.
Yeah.
For big boys. For big boys. Which you know I love.
Well, thank you, darling.
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Chapter 4: How does Jack Rooke describe his creative process and writing style?
So you have the BAFTAs. The ceremony is so long, everybody is sick of it. That's the Royal Festival Hall. At the Royal Festival Hall. Yeah. Then you have a dinner. You kind of get through that because no one's eaten in about four or five hours. Then you have a party sort of on like the concourse of the South Bank. And it was amazing. And everyone's there. And then everyone goes at 2 a.m.
to the Sea Containers Hotel where the rooftop is from 2 till 6.
When you say everyone... I mean, genuinely, everyone. Was the older ones there? Yeah. Oh, interesting.
It was a really lovely... I felt like this year was one of the loveliest BAFTAs I've been to. It really felt like everyone there just wanted to sort of celebrate. And I think it's been quite tough, the TV and film industry.
Why?
I think there's been a lot of stuff that hasn't been able to get, you know,
crossed the line it's been tricky for a lot of workforce i mean a lot of people sort of struggling with like sort of unemployment like there's been definitely been a decline i think post covid there was a boom of making loads of film and tv and then it's been a bit of a tricky one so if you're managing to make work and then you're managing to be nominated for a bafta and then you're managing to win them you want to have a bit of a booze up you know what i mean so what were you drinking and who were you dancing with
I was drinking, because I'm very classy, a lot of Negronis, which is my favourite drink. Is it? Why? Because I sort of think, I'm not a big drinker, but if I'm going to drink, I want it to taste like booze. Yeah. I want it to hit the back of my throat.
So what's the main spirit in a Negroni? It's quite bitter.
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Chapter 5: What themes does Jack explore in his comedy, particularly in 'Good Grief'?
With a bit of Prosecco in it. Do you put Prosecco in it sometimes?
Yeah, but I think that's the one that fucked me up the other day and I had the worst hangover on.
Yeah, I have got a slight hangover still. I hope you don't mind. That was never what I ever wanted to bring to Table Manners.
You look clean.
Thank you. You look happy.
No, you're not sparkly. Okay, brilliant.
Yes, bright-eyed. So who was the most interesting person you spoke to?
Do you know what? When you get nominated for BAFTAs, you sort of do like a week of events before. So this is why I'm exhausted. We did like a big Vogue party on Wednesday. It was a downhill dinner. I actually dressed myself. You are good at dressing yourself. Yeah, I think because as a bigger person, it's quite difficult to get a stylist who's going to find brands that work.
You know what suits you.
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Chapter 6: What insights does Jack provide about the importance of arts funding?
Look, Better Things is a hugely... When I first started writing Big Boys, I was watching Better Things. And I think the way that they play out... relationships and those moments in which, and maybe particularly, like, I sort of feel like I come from more of a matriarchal family than anything. Like, I've got a lot of aunties, a lot of female cousins, nieces. My mum's a big presence.
And I also feel like you really celebrate that in Big Boys, by the way. Like, that beauty of, like, your mum.
It's, like, it's a beautiful, beautiful... I think that's why I want to write big girls. I prefer writing women in a weird way. Do you? Yeah. Even though the show's called Big Boys, Cousin Shannon.
She had such a great, like the arc.
Yeah. It was beautiful. Well, thank you. I mean, yeah. I don't even think better things in particular.
Okay, so did you dance with Celia in it?
Dance with Celia Imrie. Then met Celia Imrie the next day at this Dunhill dinner. She was still raging. She was in Vauxhall. And we were still talking about better things.
She lives just up the road from us.
Can I confess something? Yeah. So I've done something really bad and you should tell me off for this.
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Chapter 7: How does Jack Rooke view the evolution of his relationship with grief?
Oh, yeah, because she's kind of losing her mind, yeah.
And then there's a beautiful funeral episode. But I just think, on the whole, to have somebody like her in an American show... To me, I'm like, that's a very classy casting.
Yeah.
I think Pamela Adlon is a very classy writer, maker.
Do you feel like Seth Rogen really didn't know who she was?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, then he's not watching enough telly.
He's not watching enough TV, actually. Seth Rogen. Yeah. Watch some more telly.
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Chapter 8: What are Jack's plans for his upcoming tour and the future of 'Good Grief'?
Doesn't exist. None of it exists. In fact, the week Big Boys Series 1 came out, they pulled that stream of funding. And so I feel like I've been really lucky. But every time I've got my foot in the door, something's been pulled up. And I do think it's particularly bad. And that Edinburgh stat is real. There was a fund to help new artists go to the Edinburgh Fringe. It's been cut by 93%.
And I'm worried that in state schools particularly, it's not even that drama and music is being cut off the syllabus, which it is in some places, but it's being discouraged.
And I think if you have that disparity between what people are getting in the private education sector and what kids are, you know, fostering there, like we've got to also make sure that we are giving arts and drama and musical opportunities to people who aren't from those sort of backgrounds. Absolutely. So it all just came out of me.
It was fantastic. They'll be asking you to be the next leader of the Labour Party soon.
I'd advise.
There's an opening for a good orator.
Congratulations.
Well, thank you so much. And it was, yeah, it was lovely.
Well, let's bring it back to your childhood. Yes. And who was around the dinner table and what was a very memorable dish?
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