
How To Fail With Elizabeth Day· Staffel 20· Folge 178
Mel Giedroyc - I Lost My Biggest Fan When Mum Died
Mittwoch, 12. August 2026 · 58 min
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Shownotes
Mel Giedroyc is a comedian, writer and TV presenter who has been entertaining the nation for over 30 years.
Hired in 1996 as a writer for French and Saunders (alongside best friend Sue Perkins), Mel’s career took off and she went on to co-present hit Channel 4 series Light Lunch and Late Lunch, and then the Great British Bake Off.
Since then, Giedoryc has written a Sunday Times bestselling novel and fronts the podcast, Where There’s A Will There’s A Wake. Now she returns with a new book, The Comeback, a funny, big-hearted novel about second chances set in a community.
In this hilarious and moving episode, we talk about how she feels she is always ‘getting away with it’, life post-Bake Off, having children, not making it to her mother’s deathbed due to a big night out, and the recurring nightmare that she has never been able to shake…
IN THIS EPISODE:
Introduction
Getting Away With It
Bake Off
Life After Bake Off
The Comeback Novel
Theatre And Family Roots
Cambridge Degree Disaster
Mums Deathbed Regret
Strokes And Stolen Years
Boozy Night Missed Call
Work As Grief Shelter
Remembering Rosemary
VHS Shame Spiral
Goodbyes And Final Thoughts
LINKS + MENTIONS:
Listen to Mel’s podcast, Where There’s A Will There’s A Wake here: swap.fm/l/ZuaKfvomuCzS7P3cLJzx and watch here: youtube.com/@WhereTheresAWillTheresAWake
The Comeback is available to pre-order now: www.hachette.co.uk/titles/mel-giedroyc/the-comeback/9781472256263/
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
WANT MORE?
Miranda Hart - swap.fm/l/oTScN30b80GflJtO4rgu
Celeste Barber - swap.fm/l/qLmwfjyeSolWuFeaHGdt
Stephen Merchant - swap.fm/l/Lta5mlFbVnPHyFb8R1n2
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