Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast (RHLSTP)

Monday 15th June 2026 - V-Maxxing - Rich and Ally are back, though for Rich, maybe not for long, as Ally blurts out what he’s going through this week. Ever the pro, Rich pushes onwards despite attempts to make the whole show nothing but same phrases to discuss the controversial topic of Vagina-maxing. Is this the right medium to discuss this? Yes it is. Remember, Rich thinks whatever you think about this and is very much on your side. Unless you’re one of the dead-eyed people doing the operations.

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RHLSTP Book Club #184 - Get Ahead of Being Dead - Rich catches up with Evie King (if that is her real name) to talk about her unique job and the books she has written about it and why we need to get prepped for our own deaths. They chat about organising funerals for people who die with no one to do it for them (and how that could be you), whether it’s necessary for her to work as hard as she does on this, how you need a strong stomach for her job, but also why you need to...

RHLSTP #614 - You’re Already Grown Up - Rich talks to musical genius, actor and comedian Tim Minchin. They discuss the possibility of a reboot of another kids’ classic and Tim’s possible involvement in it, how Ernie Herring responded to Matilda, the technical changes made to the film version of the musical, the gentle pivot into more serious songs, what the devil is up to and the incredible sacrifice of Judas, Richard’s favourite ever guest and why Rich shouldn’t judge his colleagues too harshly, some Shrek based content and a promise from Tim to compete the circle, how...

#437 Adelaide Clowns - Richard has had a wonderful Saturday night without his wife doing what most men can only dream of. His guest is ubiquitous comedy actor and extremely good guy, Kiell Smith-Bynoe. They talk about the best acting job in the world, appearing on Death in Paradise, with some insights into what goes on off camera, getting intimate with an ex-Doctor Who assistant on the ace new series Dreamland, searching for real ghosts on the set of Ghosts, rating the catering on different TV shows, making too many omelettes and a rare career mis-step in Australian theatre. Plus th...

Tuesday 9th June 2026 - Milked in a Basement - Rich has been too busy or tired to do Newsround for a few days and to be honest probably should have given it a miss today. But news doesn’t wait for someone to be in the mood to tell you what the news is and luckily one person on this show can enunciate. The boys are talking about creating sperm in a lab and what that might mean for humanity. It’s an all time classic. Thank you Moriarty.

Wednesday 10th June 2026- Scooby DUMB - Rich...

RHLSTP Book Club #183 - Bad Deeds - Richard talks to novelist and former QI Elf Andrew Hunter Murray about his funny page-turner Bad Deeds. They chat about him no longer being like John Wyndham, how to break into BAFTA, how Richard broke into Buckingham Palace and the much repeated truth about what Michael Fagan got up to in the Queen’s bedroom, giving up on a novel after 30,000 words, planning plots, writing in Costa, the parallels with this book and the brilliant London Falling and why breaking into posh houses is acceptable behaviour.

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RHLSTP #613 - Predicting the Future with Urine - Richard is at the Podcast Room with the one-of-a-kind diamond that is Ronni Ancona. They chat about the disappointments of the Blue Peter studio, performing together at the Edinburgh Fringe 1992, how Ronni`s unlikely professional partnership with Alistair McGowan bore fruit, even after their romantic relationship had ended, having a part especially written for her on Eastenders, working with the amazing John Sessions, failing to impress her kids with her social media successes and producing movies with Sally Phillips.

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#436 Too Much Farage Piss - Rich is mourning the Veneziana pizzas that he bought and the terrible effects they have wrought and the loss of a man whose friend assumed he was joking. His guest is historian, comedian and puppeteer, Al Murray. They talk about the evolution of the new Spitting Image live show and, hosting a chat show with proper famous guests, the toll of touring in your 50s and Al’s first proper serious history book Command, including the impact that VD had on the British fighting forces. Plus why being a conformist in real life allows non...

Monday 1st June 2026 - Cloaca Room - Rich and Ally are back for another month and today they are reporting on a story that you won’t find in the lame stream media (unless you read the Guardian), the onanistic habits of birds. There is a lot of prejudice against wanking birds and we hope to do our bit to stop that. So do spread the important message of today’s report. It’s OK for birds to get off on themselves.

Tuesday June 2nd 2026 - Question Time - Rich and Ally cover another story that the el...

RHLSTP Book Club #175 - The Last Pebble - Richard is in the Podcast Room with Taskmaster genius Alex Horne to talk about his kids’ book The Last Pebble. How did he find time to write a book? Was he worried about looking like another celebrity cashing in? Is it OK to take pebbles from the beach. Plus how the book changed with the help of an editor and could have been about a talking stone, the incredible life cycle of pebbles and how every book is a bit like a pebble in the ocean. Plus lots of chat about th...

RHLSTP #612 - A Special Place in Hell - Rich has an apology to make regarding bird genitals. His guest is RHLSTP favourite David Mitchell. There’s lots of rarely if ever asked emergency questions and chat about John Kearns’ eight stone rabbit, a joke about Ludwig that one listener will enjoy, returning to sketch shows and whether this might see the return of another nineties double act, what it’s like to work on Rick and Morty (if you don’t know anything about it), the easiest audiobook job of all time, some chat about what the Hell Satan is up to...

#432 Womblin’ Free - Richard has had a crisp and a field disappointment, but it won’t stop him interviewing the heck out of director, writer and omelette chef, Joe Cornish. They talk about offending Claudia Winkleman’s listeners, how Channel 4 messed up a sketch show with an incredible cast, (briefly) having the number one Netflix show (check out Lockwood and Co), whether being a director is all it’s cracked up to be, how losing a Fiat Punto led to Attack The Block, working with a Young One and whether ageing is something to fear. Plus the surprise of finding o...

Monday 25th May 2026 - No News

Tuesday 26th May 2026 - No News

Wednesday 27th May 2026 - No news

Thursday 28th May 2026 - Badly Burnt Penis - Rich and Ally are back from their holidays with all the news that the mainstream media won’t touch. Because they won’t touch penises. Is that all we do on this? Finally the truth about the people of Harpenden, plus touching up the Cerne Abbas Giant’s private areas. It’s absolutely pathetic.

Friday 29th May 2026 - Ulterior Mammoth - Rich and...

RHLSTP Book Club #181 - Reading The Room - Rich talks to comedy historian and former stand up and agent, Jonathan Grant about his much needed work about the state of stand up comedy in the 21st Century. They chat about Jonathan’s reasons for writing the book, who he talked to, the difficulty of summing up two decades worth of stand up, how we’re at a place of opportunity and variety in stand-up but how doing the actual job is being squeezed, whether comedians come from doing proper jobs like in the old days, how online comedy can be a...

RHLSTP #611 - Smell The Magic - Richard is podcasting in the middle of his run of 8 performances of a play. His guest must be in awe, it’s one of the brains behind and up front in Operation Mincemeat (which may have run almost as long) Natasha Hodgson. They talk about the work that she took on during lockdown, having to eat inky eggs in her first acting job, the phenomenal success of Mincemeat and the toll it took on her, Rich’s experience of musical and musical grades (you are treated to several songs from him and not much...

#430 The Imp from Impington - Rich has a problem with his daughter’s favourite song, and shows that he is up to date with all the music playing at the discos nowadays. His guest is the irrepressible timkey, back for a third time in 18 months!. They talk about Tim’s time as a white van man, a woman who survived eight days in a snow drift (for a bit), the places that Tim is and isn’t going for his (basically sold out) tour https://www.plosive.co.uk/events/tim-key-mulberry-tour-2023, where he gets his crazy ideas, the incredible baguett...

Tuesday 19th May 2026 - Scott Baio’s Tapestry - Rich and Ally are back with news of a very important study on the Bayeaux Tapestry, but then have to stop as Rich has to go to a parent teacher thing at his kids’ school. Never happened to John Craven. That’s why it’s under 5 minutes today though.

Wednesday 20th May 2026 - Spygate - Rich is back in more cheerful mood and there’s finally been a major development in his puppetry skills. But how many cocaines has he taken? And is his real viewership waiting for him, u...

RHLSTP Book Club #180 - How To Lay an Egg with a Horse Inside - Rich talks to the Banksy of poetry (though he’s happy to be seen in the video, so that blows that), Brian Bilston (if that is his real name) about his career in poetry and his latest collection How To Lay an Egg With a Horse Inside. They chat about where this fantastic title came from and the probable obliviousness of its creator, how Twitter used to be a great place to post creative content and be inspired by others, how the book is a sar...

RHLSTP #610 - Cake in a Graveyard - Richard is excited about the breaking news (at time of recording). Broken years ago by this podcast and treats the audience to his poem about the disgraced Randrew Andrew. His guest is a woman with a life that feels like it has been moulded by Greek Gods fighting with a genie, the very open and frank and incredible Jameela Jamil. And she is not alone. She brings two further guests, one of whom has been vomiting blood. All in a day’s normalcy for Jameela. They discuss he brilliant podcast Wrong Moves wit...

#429 Chlorine Allergy - Rich has some cold hard truths for any murderers out there and is also glad to see that his eventless zombie story idea has been so quickly embraced, with a twist. Today is a momentous meeting of Champions of Champions because his guest is Josh Widdicombe. They talk about the worst thing you can take to the hospital when your wife is giving birth, being related to Henry VIII and a man who wiped a king’s bum, what Josh’s disability is, the true motivations of role players, bumping into Beaumont, Josh’s inability to swim, wheth...

Monday May 11th 2026 - Pert Nipples - Rich and Ally are back after a weekend away and Rich is determined to keep the show to its 5 minute time slot. With all the news from the Met Gala. So should be a nice quiet one.

Tuesday 12th May 2026 - Llama Farmer - Rich and Ally are back to get to the bottom of whether the Prime Minister will stay on and whether he is a damp rag or something else all together.

Wednesday 13th May 2026 - King’s Peach - Rich and Ally have ne...

RHLSTP Book Club #179 - Thirst - Part two of the interview with John about his new book Thirst. They chat about why alcohol is addictive because it doesn’t quite work, how annoying it is when authors don’t translate stuff in different languages, Swarfega and lathes, whether it’s OK to still like Woody Allen films (at least the good ones) and what the rules are for all of this, because it isn’t clear

Buy the book here - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/thirst-twelve-drinks-that-changed-my-life-john-robins/24157e3cdfc6ba19

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RHLSTP #609 - Comedian Cancer Frankingstein - Rich hasn’t got much to say at the start (hooray) and even then he is not as funny as a man in the audience. His guest is impressionist, comedian and podcaster Matt Forde. They talk about Rich’s Mastermind failure (again?), working on Spitting Image and how weird it is that out of all the characters that show has done, it’s the puppet of Paddington that has got them into the most trouble, working with the divine genius Alice Levine, interviewing the Prime Minister and other dodgy political figures, why there’s a better...

Tuesday 5th May 2026- Mrs Doubtfire - There’s news of an upcoming royal birth and suspicions of a clever ruse going on, but you can hear about it straight from the shamed-horse’s mouth with a special interview with the grandfather to be.

Wednesday 6th May 2026 - Hypnotherapy Lies - Rich and Ally have breaking news about the most mendacious politician there has ever been and why we must never vote for anyone who tells lies. You will be shocked to the core by these accusations. Plus find out how to get bigger breasts. It's the s...

#427 Retribution - Richard is hoping to get a bridge named after him in Great Yarmouth and hopefully his fans will do better than they did in getting him nominated for a British Comedy Award. It’s an incredible guest to start the new series, making his first appearance in almost 10 years, Stephen Merchant. Stephen has some questions for Richard about his first stint on the podcast and Richard doesn’t really have any answers. But after a bit of squirming the pair get talking about meeting your heroes, your parents meeting your heroes, how an omelette was the clincher in ge...

#2 The Bagging Area with Dr Sara Kayat - Richard continues the story of his testicular cancer diagnosis and this week reveals how you maintain your dignity whilst having your balls scanned. He also talks to Dr Sara Kayat about why men are so reluctant to talk to their GP and the myriad of things that go wrong in a scrotum.

Find out how to examine the testicles of yourself or a consenting friend here https://uk.movember.com/men-s-health/testicular-cancer

For even more bollock facts and funny stories from Richard’s own diagnosis, Buy...

RHLSTP Book Club #178 - Thirst - Part one of a two part chat with John Robins about his book about his relationship and troubles with alcohol, Thirst. They chat about why he wanted to write this book, whether it was difficult to go back over the subject, why it made Rich want to gamble, how it’s helpful to deal honestly with your shame and the stupid stuff you’ve done in your life, epiphanies in stand up careers and why Jesus shouldn’t run a social media account

Buy the book here - https://uk.bookshop...

#438 Naked Beach - Richard reveals whether Great Yarmouth has given him a multi-million pound honour or not. His guest was having a bad time last time they were on, let’s see if they’re doing any better now, it’s the brilliant Catherine Bohart. The pair talk about their respective visits to Iceland and whether Rich’s depleted genitals might end up in a museum, appearing at the ghost Edinburgh Fringe of 2021, whether OCD had any influence over he choice of college, whether the point of life is to experience joy, cats in washing machines and the AI questions...

Monday 27th April 2026 - Distraction - Rich doesn’t let exhaustion stop him bringing you all the news that matters - no prizes for guessing today’s top stories. Though it may not be what the lame stream media is concentrating on.

Tuesday 28th April 2026 - What BP Do With Their Profits - Rich and Ally are back again with all the big news stories. Today, record profiteering from BP, from a war they didn’t pay for and what that means for democracy to the chagrin of feudal kings. It’s a very clever show, but we’r...

#1 Shelling Peas with Charley Boorman - A brand new podcast series that’s happy to admit that it’s a load of bollocks. Uniballer Richard Herring tells the story of how he came to lose one of his Chuckle Brothers, talks to other monoballs and teste experts (testperts) about these remarkable and vulnerable organs. In episode one Richard recounts what happened when he first became concerned about his weird big bollock and talks to Richard Herring lookalike and fellow motorcycle enthusiast and womble, Charley Boorman to find out how his dog helped him diagnose his own testicular cancer.

To...

RHLSTP #608 - Enter Pursued By A Crow - Richard is celebrating the month of his 14th wedding anniversary and questioning if the Pope is soft on crime. His guest is exceptionally funny US stand-up Michelle Wolf. They talk about helping a Kardashian to sell merkins, the awful thoughts you have about your baby and your phone when you are a parent, starting a show with challenging material, why Michelle was advised to stop liking otters, accidental racism, the brilliant set she performed at the Correspondents’ Dinner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRgrLFNXa84 and how she upset Trump and other pro...

#414 Thid - Richard returns to his old stomping ground of Balham to take part in the Cheerful Earful Festival at the Bedford pub, a place that holds a lot of memories, some of which occur to him as he’s speaking. His guest is the fabulous Ria Lina. They talk about the power of being an outsider in comedy, gigging whilst pregnant, working for the serious fraud office, why the coronavirus helped propel Ria into the spotlight, some behind the scenes secrets from Have I Got News For You? and the extra demands put on female performers.

...

Tuesday 21st April 2026 - Bullseye! Rich and Ally are back after a brief hiatus with the biggest news story from Spain, involving serious injury to a Spanish man, so no laughs in this one. What do you mean, just like normal?

Wednesday 22nd April 2026 - Ma-kak-que - It’s been a difficult week with no sleep for Rich, but luckily he is a pro and none of that makes it to the screen and it’s another serious news day covering Barbary Apes, Finnish sky penises and the interview that all the media wanted. Everything is OK. Yo...

RHLSTP Book Club #177 - Witch Trial - Rich talks to best selling author and brilliant and terrifying Traitors contestant Harriet Tyce about her phenomenal fifth novel, Witch Trial. Obviously there’s a bit of Traitors chat as they discuss the decision to go in and whether it’s helped with book sales, but mainly we’re looking at the effect of taking an MA in creative writing and why it might help you write a best selling novel, Harriet’s decision not to put out her second novel (or her earlier work that I would really like to see), the insp...

RHLSTP #607 - Next Stop: Very Green Park - Richard has written his one joke for 2026, so don’t miss it. His guest is writer, performer, wit and possible Satan, Andy Hamilton. They chat about why the dentist in Peppa Pig never does any dentistry, how Andy got on to the writing team of Not The Nine O Clock News, why his first sitcom taught him some important lessons (whilst not being the most remembered of his work), how the BBC bodged getting Drop The Dead Donkey and the incredible casting story of the kids from Outnumbered, the incredible story of...

Monday 13th April 2026 Lord of the Dance - Donald Trump has declared himself the new Jesus, which is totally normal. But is he the real one? And who will challenge him on this? And why weren’t religious people annoyed about him before? You con’t get this on the grown-up news

Tuesday 14th April 2026 - Who Doctor?- Sometimes on a fast moving show like Newsround we get it wrong. Today we make a sincere apology to anyone we have offended. It looks like tomorrow we might have to do more sincere apologies. But more up t...

#434 - Big Nick - Richard is back at the Leicester Comedy Festival for the second week in a row, concerned about the historical figures that they venerate here. His guest is Michael Sheen stand-in, Nish Kumar. They discuss the physical and mental health scares they’ve had since last they met and the secret that Richard was harbouring back then, plus whether therapy helps of hinders comedy, cowardly potholers, horny followers of the alien Jesus, getting to sit in Richard Osman’s chair, how little control we have over our lives and an hilariously angry and potentially lethal encounter with B...

Bonus 3 - In this resurfaced subscriber-exclusive podcast from 2022, Richard is asked a series of emergency questions by his ventriloquist dummy Ally Sloper, including his most mundane encounter with a famous person, and whether he would prefer a talcum powder tit or a finger that could travel through time. There's even a podcast world first, in which the host fully vacates the studio for a number of minutes to answer his front door.

If you like this sort of thing - why not consider becoming a badger? You'll get access to loads more of these, a monthly...

RHLSTP Book Club #176 - Slags - Rich talks to author and screenwriter Emma Jane Unsworth about her newest novel, Slags, a tale of teenagers, sisters and secrets. They chat about writing about the 1990s and the changes in sexual mores and social media judgement that made our lives both harder and easier, writing about serious subjects in a very funny book, using teenage diaries and poetry for inspiration, using real-life details in fiction, why Emma went for this bold title and how doing an MA in Creative Writing helped her at the start of her career. Also her dad’s...

Tuesday April 7th 2026 - King of the Farts - Rich and Ally are back on Rich’s 14th Wedding Anniversary to finally determine whether men or women have the worst smelling flatus. Yes, it’s as bad as it sounds. If you need to get up to speed on Baggy Pants and the Nitwits head here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmZj7m_u74g&t=3s

Wednesday 8th April 2026 - Knicky-Knacky-Knocks - A clearly tired and emotional Richard Herring celebrates the end of the war and the great man who has brought about peace, whils...