How To Be 60 with Kaye Adams

On this week's episode, we're joined by Mimi Anderson, who set off into the Canadian Arctic on a fat bike in minus 35 and turned back with frostbite. She didn't start running until she was 36, and only then because somebody told her it would make her legs thinner. It went from there to the Sahara and a world record between Land's End and John o'Groats.She tells us about the day a consultant showed her the hole in her knee, forty days into a run from Los Angeles to New York and on track to break the record. It took her over an hour to decide to stop. Her second book is called Limitless. She isn't pretending the body doesn't change, she just keeps finding something else to do with it.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Midweek Catchup, Kaye gets home from holiday to no power, no kitchen, no running water, and a chest freezer of the dog's raw meat that had been switched off for ten days. Six inches of blood at the bottom. She's calling it the abattoir. Karen, meanwhile, has spent the fortnight losing to a squash plant that's trying to take over the garden, washing up in a baby bath, and keeping an eye on her husband's brand-new pre-diabetic diet — which is going about as well as you'd expect when there's homemade ice cream in the freezer and half of it's already gone.They're also both Fringe-bound. How To Be 60 is on stage on the 7th, 8th and 9th of August, 2:45pm, at the Gilded Balloon at the Museum, and the tickets are going fast — 83% gone at the last count. Kaye reckons they ought to rehearse. Karen would like to know what exactly there is to rehearse about two people talking to each other. Tickets: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, we're joined by Russ Kane, who spent 20 years reporting traffic from a light aircraft and now conducts funerals for a living. He was Chris Tarrant's wingman on Capital Radio Breakfast, the flying eye on a show pulling four million listeners a week. He walked away from it after his wife Sally died at 43, leaving him with five-year-old twin boys. He'd already lost his dad. His mum's dementia came next, and lasted years longer than any doctor told him to expect. Russ talks about grieving privately while raising two small kids in public, why he stopped looking for a reason, and the thing he says people get wrong when they ask why me. There's also a raw chicken in a chest of drawers, which will make sense when you hear it.He's a novelist and he hosts the weekly podcast Walk the Talk: The Hero's Journey. He also declined, firmly, to tell us his date of birth. Then right at the end he mentions being sent to boarding school at nine, and the rest of the conversation rearranges itself.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kaye joins Karen from Puglia for a very relaxed midweek catch-up involving questionable Italian, a holiday glass-door incident, and Ian’s mysterious new lease of life.There’s talk of pasta-making fatigue, pillow protectors, Karen’s ongoing domestic standards, and whether Ian’s new phone screensaver, Vespa adventure and tennis match with “the man from Monaco” point to a full-blown midlife crisis.Plus, Kaye and Karen give a quick Edinburgh Fringe update ahead of their live shows on 7, 8 and 9 August with special guest Siobhan Daniels, the Retirement Rebel.Get tickets here: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/And on Friday, Russ Kane joins them for a moving and honest conversation about loss, love and his life now as a celebrant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, we're joined by Sky Sports legend Jacquie Beltrao, who was told seven years ago that her breast cancer had returned and spread. Her scans are clear now, but as she says, she doesn't know what the future holds, only that she has today. Jacquie talks candidly about the doom spiral of a stage four diagnosis, the antidepressants that pulled her out of it, and why she thinks her mind has been harder to conquer than her body. She also opens up about turning 60 as a cancer patient, why getting older feels like something to celebrate rather than dread, and the anxiety dream about a gymnastics routine that still wakes her up in a sweat.Whether you're facing your own health scare or just trying to make sense of getting older, this is a conversation about what changes when uncertainty becomes something you live with rather than something you fear. And if you're around in August, come and see Kaye and Karen live at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7-9 August at the Gilded Balloon at the Museum. Tickets at https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Midweek Catchup, we get Kaye's verdict live from the Amalfi Coast: stunningly beautiful, wildly overpriced, and Positano is basically Disneyland with a coastline. She's also two days into a self-imposed digital detox, phone banished to the bedside drawer, after Bonnie stopped her mid-scroll in the pool and asked if they could just take a moment to appreciate where they are. The child has a point.Karen, meanwhile, is not detoxing from anything. She's deep in a Vinted spiral, six pillow protectors down (new with tags, she'd like that noted), and fresh from a hygienist appointment she remembered eight minutes before it started, followed by an airflow clean she describes as a pressure washer to the face. Come and see us live at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7th to 9th August, 2:45pm at Gilded Balloon at the Museum. Tickets via the Gilded Balloon or the Edinburgh Festival Fringe website.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, we're joined by Bibi Lynch, who moved house 30 times in ten years, nineteen of them in a single stretch of 24 months, all while writing for the national press and turning up on live radio as if nothing were wrong. Bibi was hidden homeless for a decade after losing the flat she'd bought on her own, and she was carrying it alongside the death of her dad, the collapse of what freelance journalism paid, and the slow realisation that she wasn't going to have the children she'd always assumed would arrive. She calls that last one social infertility, and she is still angry about it, in the most articulate way you'll hear. Bibi turned 60 three months ago, and rather than the end of things, she's found it buoyant, her word, not ours. She talks to Kaye and Karen about looking back at two brutal decades with something closer to compassion than regret, why she reckons the worst has already happened so there's not much left to fear, and the book, the screenplay and the frankly excellent name story she's taking into the next chapter. If you've ever measured your life by what you didn't get rather than what you did, this one stays with you. We're also live at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on the 7th, 8th and 9th of August, 2.45 at the museum, with Retirement Rebel Siobhan Daniels. Tickets are at the Gilded Balloon.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kaye's had a nightmare. Cancelled flight, a 6.20am rescue seat, and a live telly show to present on no sleep, softened by a lunchtime pisco sour and a nap she snorted herself awake from.This week: Ian gets diagnosed by Dr Kaye and ChatGPT, then refuses the sedative for his endoscopy to save himself a phone call. Karen hunts for the perfect white tablecloth and earns a new nickname. And after a friend books Puglia entirely on the strength of Karen's holiday photos, a star is born.Plus: Charly turns 24, and a preview of Friday's guest, the spectacularly upbeat Bibi Lynch.Catch How to Be 60 at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7th–9th August, 2.45pm at the Museum. Tickets via the Gilded Balloon or the official Fringe website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How much time is left on your warranty? Cindy Sheahan, 64, left a 32-year marriage, packed a backpack, and turned a two-week hike into a whole new life in Sicily. She tells Kaye and Karen about travelling solo after 60, why her son cheered her out the door, and making friends with uncertainty. Plus we're bringing How To Be 60 to the Edinburgh Fringe this August, with retirement rebel Siobhan Daniels joining us fresh from her camper van trek to Alaska. Tickets on sale now at the Gilded Balloon. Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karen's back from her "sex retreat" in rural Italy (the most relaxing time, she swears, two trips to the beach and not a thing else), and she's convinced her feet have put on weight. Kaye's hosting an awards do in a jumpsuit so sheer it'll need industrial-strength knickers, which leads, naturally, to a deep dive on thongs versus hearing aids. There's the photo of Karen's backside disappearing through a first-floor window over a blocked water butt, Bonnie discovering cup-a-soup like it's a brand-new invention, and the great moral question of the week: your ice cream falls on the pavement, lands perfectly, only the underside touched down. Do you put it back on the cone?How To Be 60 is at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7-9 August, Gilded Balloon at the Museum: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/And this Friday, meet Cindy Sheehan, who walked out of her marriage in her late fifties and has been travelling the world ever since.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, we're joined by Donna Lancaster — therapist, author, co-founder of The Bridge Retreat, and a self-described "elder in training" who turns 60 next March and genuinely cannot wait.Donna grew up with violence, addiction and racism in 1970s Britain, became a social worker trying to save versions of herself, and was eventually "brought to her knees" by a breakdown at work. She talks about why she sees that collapse as a gift, the "turd-wrapped gift" buried inside our hardest experiences, and why getting older doesn't make you wiser unless you do the work.There's also the line that stopped Kaye and Karen in their tracks — it's not an old face, it's a new one — plus elderhood as a purpose, why she runs a workshop called Preparing for Death, and what she's planning in the forest for her 60th.How To Be 60 is at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7–9 August, Gilded Balloon at the Museum: Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected].  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karen's calling in from sunny Puglia, and after last week's second-hand pyjamas confession, the internet has voted: for once, it's Team Kaye. What follows is a spirited defence of "vintage" nightwear, the wearing of pants underneath it, and whether any of it is, frankly, minging.Plus crepey skin, why loud bars now feel like punishment, un-labelled moving boxes, and a lovely summer read: Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin. Look ahead to Friday's guest, Donna Lancaster, and catch Kaye and Karen live at the Fringe, 7th–9th August. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For her 70th birthday, Gail Rice booked a male escort. It was a toss-up between that and a skydive, and she went with the one that scared her more. But it was never really about sex. The Canadian-born psychologist tells Kaye and Karen why she needed what she calls a battery jump, the first encounter that was a disaster, the refund she asked for and got, and the thing that was actually brave, which had nothing to do with the escort. She has since turned it all into writing and a cabaret that terrifies her. See Kaye and Karen live at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7th to 9th August, 2:45pm at the Museum. Tickets via the Gilded Balloon or the official Edinburgh Festival Fringe website.Get in touch at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Midweek Catchup, Karen's back in Puglia on the annual trip, exactly a year on from the news that changed everything, this time with a cocktail in hand and second-hand Ralph Lauren pyjamas (£12, gusset thoroughly interrogated). Kaye runs Race for Life alongside Dame Kelly Holmes and films the road instead of the finish. Plus, we're coming to the Edinburgh Fringe, 7-9 August at Gilded Balloon. Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bestselling novelist Jane Green had it all. E18 New York Times bestsellers, over 10 million books in print, the beautiful homes, the blended family, the loving husband. And then, piece by piece, she lost most of it: the marriage, the financial security, the career status, and for a while, herself.This week Kaye and Karen sit down with one of the original queens of chick lit for a remarkably honest conversation about menopause, the empty nest, a crumbling marriage, the shame we lock away for decades, and what it takes to find your way back. As Jane puts it: you spend so much of your life wanting to be chosen by the right people, and then you reach a point where you no longer need to be chosen and realise you're allowed to choose. It's a glorious thing.Jane's memoir, Rewilding, is out now. Part memoir, part battle cry for any woman who's ever felt invisible in her own story, it's all about rediscovering the fearless, brave little girl you once were.🎭 See Kaye and Karen live at the Edinburgh Fringe — 7th, 8th and 9th August. Grab your tickets here:https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/📩 Got something to say? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kaye's spent £120 on running shoes she may never run in, Karen might finally be selling the camper van, and a "blackhead" turns out to be something else entirely. Then comes the row that splits the nation: is Kaye's kitchen pine or oak? Plus a look ahead to Friday's guest, bestselling author Jane Green. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, Pauline Campbell got in touch herself and said she'd be a good guest. She was right. Told at 15 by a teacher she wasn't capable, Pauline believed it for years. Until she didn't. In her mid-30s she started driving between a council job and a full-time law degree, qualified as a solicitor, and hasn't stopped since. Now 61, she's a legal hero, a pro bono Windrush advocate, a published author, and the owner of an accent she refused to lose even when a judge pointed it out in court.Pauline talks about silent strength, the parents who held back so their children could fly, why shedding your skin to fit in makes you less not more, and the erotic novel she wrote after a suave barrister told her it was always a pleasure, never a chore. Plus Karen forgets the email address. Again.Pauline's book Lefty Lawyer: Speaking Truth to Power is out now from Waterside Press. Her memoir Rice & Peas and Fish & Chips is also available. Find out more at paulineecampbell.com.How To Be 60 is at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7-9 August, Gilded Balloon at the Museum: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Midweek Catchup, Karen turns up in cut-off trousers she hacked herself and sandals that have been in the garden all week. She gets her nails done and the woman has to scrape the muck out on a bit of kitchen roll. Kaye's been to a glamorous event in London surrounded by 26-year-olds and her hearing aid starts whistling. She doesn't say a word. They check the air conditioning. Plus doggy goggles that don't work, the Joy of Sex drawings that put everyone off, and Kaye's knee falling out at 3K in trainers from the last century.How To Be 60 is at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7-9 August, Gilded Balloon at the Museum: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, we're joined by Sian Reeves — actor and host of the Who Cares? podcast.Sian talks about caring for her poorly dad, what it costs (£4-7k a month), and the Loose Women appearance years ago she didn't make because she'd been conned out of eight grand by a hairdresser and was too ashamed to come on and say it. Plus the acid yellow mini dress she bought in France that she's still not sure she'll wear.Sian's Who Cares? podcast is wherever you listen.How To Be 60 is at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7-9 August, Gilded Balloon at the Museum: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Midweek Catchup, Kaye Adams and Karen MacKenzie mark the death of Scott Hastings at 61, six months after he joined How To Be 60 to talk about losing his wife Jenny. Karen also opens up about starting counselling, and why "how are you?" is a question people only ask when they want the easy answer. Plus a David Tennant selfie, the great kitchen debate, and a teddy bear made from a mink coat.Whether you're processing something big yourself, or just tired of saying you're fine when you're not, this one is for you.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected] and book tckets for the Fringe show on the 7/8/9 August at https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cally Beaton was a high-flying TV exec, a single mum of two, and quietly falling apart in her 40s. Then Joan Rivers looked her in the eye over dinner and told her to try stand-up. Two weeks later, Joan died. Two weeks after that, Cally walked on stage. Now she's touring, bestselling, and says her 50s have been the best decade yet. Plus: the perimenopause misdiagnosis that had her on the wrong medication for nine years.Cally Beaton’s Sunday Times Top 10 bestselling book ‘Namaste Motherf*ckers' will be released in paperback on 21 May. Her nationwide tour of the same name continues with extended dates across the UK until the end of November. For more information and tickets, visit Cally Beaton’s official website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Midweek Catchup, Karen marks a year since her breast cancer diagnosis and admits she's only just starting to feel it. Because no one tells you that you don't process it while you're in it.Plus: Kaye's hearing aid has started whistling (her daughter keeps clocking it, much to Kaye's denial), Karen has befriended Amanda the pharmacist, and the great fringe debate returns.Friday's guest: telly exec turned stand-up Cally Beaton, with her paperback Namaste, Motherf**kers out this week.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa Perry on why adult children go no contact, what they wish their parents understood, and why the door might open again if you try a different one. Plus, her debut cosy crime novel Shrink Solves Murder is out May 7th. Whether you're the parent wondering what went wrong or the adult child wondering if they'll ever be understood, this one will sit with you.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Midweek Catchup, we're back together after Karen's Crete holiday and straight into the big questions: is Kaye developing a six-pack or just losing weight? Neck or arms first? And is hearting someone's dog photo actually rude? Plus holiday gifts, the Devil Wears Prada sequel verdict, and why daytime drinking at 60 is a whole different sport. Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, we're joined by Mia Mauge, who went from feeling invisible in her forties to walking onto a Marks & Spencer's lingerie set at 54 — and she still can't quite believe it either.Mia spent almost 20 years dyeing her hair out of shame, navigating single life in midlife, and wondering where women like her had gone in the shops she was still spending money in. Then she stopped. Stopped fighting, stopped hiding, stopped waiting for the gatekeepers to notice her. She went public on Instagram, got scouted by four modelling agencies, and became the voice a whole generation of women didn't know they were waiting for.She talks to Kaye and Karen about the two-year hair transition that involved a communal gasp in a salon and a bleach disaster her daughter still laughs about. About why "ageing backwards" made her walk away from a campaign. About being single at 60 and why younger men keep showing up while men her own age can't get past the silver hair. Whether you're embracing the grey or still clutching the box dye every fortnight, Mia's story isn't really about hair. It's about what happens when you stop performing youth and start showing up as yourself — and discover the world was ready for you all along.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Midweek Catchup, we discover that Kaye has been staring at her belly button in the mirror and what she found there is... haunting. Karen's reporting live from Crete - where she forgot her pyjamas and is sharing a bed with her friend Caroline behind a glass bathroom door that hides absolutely nothing. There's a big announcement: How To Be 60 is heading back to the Edinburgh Fringe (August 7th–9th, same museum, 2:45pm — mark it now). Kaye filled out the forms and had to formally confirm there'd be no pyrotechnics or scenes of a sexual nature, which Karen found debatable. There's a hair update, an onion-in-sock verdict, and a sneak peek at Friday's guest — the brilliant positive ageing activist Mia MaugéGet in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, we're joined by Victoria Hislop, bestselling author, honorary Greek citizen, and the woman who celebrated her 60th birthday waterskiing with a glass of champagne in her hand.Victoria's been through the lot in her sixties: losing her mum, breast cancer, lockdown, the empty nest hitting like a train she swore she was ready for. But here's the thing nobody expects her to say: she found all of that easier to handle than her own success. The overnight bestseller who was more shaken by a number one slot than a cancer diagnosis. The woman who poured the grief of not having another child into the novel that changed her life.She talks to Kaye and Karen about why happiness has to come from the inside (Aristotle told her, and she believed him), why "don't get above yourself" might be the most damaging motto our generation inherited, and why the secret to a 45-year marriage is never, ever going to the supermarket together. Plus: the real reason she sobbed in the toilets on Greek Dancing with the Stars, and what happens when your dance partner is younger than your own children.Victoria's new novel, The Wine Dark Sea, is out in September.Whether you've ever felt more rattled by something going right than something going wrong, or you're still figuring out what "selfish in a nice way" actually looks like in your sixties, this one's going to land.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Midweek Catchup, Kaye's in Milan playing loyal assistant on Donna May's business trip (hairbrush already cleaned, wash bag already judged), while Karen's at home trying to save her voice before a nurse appointment that could delay her chemo jab. She's not above putting half an onion in her sock to make it happen.Karen survived the John Lewis foundation counter: a 23-year-old who made her look like a ghost, offered her casket perfume, and said "anti-ageing" without flinching. Kaye went to Liz Earle's book launch and came home with the news that your bum skin is what your face could look like if you'd kept it out of the sun. Karen had follow-up questions nobody needed answered.There's new specs, a mystery telling-off from Lisa, a ballet that was not their thing, and a chronic arm itch that's now gone international. Victoria Hislop is coming up this week.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, we're joined by Wendi Peters - Corrie legend, current star of the touring theatre production Glorious, and living proof that the best stuff doesn't always arrive on schedule. Wendi talks finding love again after 33 years of marriage (via a wine-fuelled evening and a very niche dating app), why being told to lose weight at 16 by a headmistress eating chocolate digestives only made her more determined, and how approaching 60 as a leap year baby (she's technically 14 and a half) feels like the start of something rather than the end of it. Whether you've sworn off love for good or you're secretly wondering if there's one more chapter left, this one's warm, funny, and exactly the reminder you didn't know you needed. Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected] is currently starring in the 20th anniversary UK tour of Glorious!, playing Florence Foster Jenkins - the American socialite dubbed the worst singer in the world. The tour runs until June 2026. Dates and tickets at gloriousplay.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Midweek Catchup, Kaye nearly video-calls a professional contact from the loo (don't judge - you've done it), Karen's losing her voice to zero sympathy, and both of them are quietly jealous of Karen's sister Ag, who's just casually bouncing between Australia, Japan and New York with a glass of white wine permanently in hand. There's a Milan trip on the cards, which dredges up the time Kaye was dumped mid-pasta by a gorgeous Italian who put down his cutlery, said "this isn't working," and walked out - romance died in Lombardy and nobody paid the bill. But the real moment comes when Kaye finds a letter from 10 Downing Street confirming her interview with Margaret Thatcher, dated 15th April 1986 - forty years to the day, tucked inside a big book marked "Cuttings" with nothing else in it, because apparently nothing else measured up. Plus: should they do Edinburgh Festival this year, and this Friday Wendy Peters joins - Cilla from Crossroads, currently touring in Glorious as Florence Foster Jenkins. Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, we're joined by Jo Hamilton, the village sub-postmistress who was wrongly convicted of false accounting in the Post Office Horizon scandal — and who spent nearly two decades fighting to clear her name and the names of hundreds of others.Jo talks about running a little shop that was more drop-in centre than convenience store, the moment a faulty computer system started destroying her life, remortgaging the family home to cover money that was never actually missing, and standing in Winchester Crown Court genuinely believing she was going to prison. She tells Kaye about the village that clubbed together to keep her afloat, the extraordinary woman who paid off her mortgage with a six-figure cheque, and the moment she lay in bed after the High Court victory and looked up and told her late mum and dad: we did it.It's a story about shame, silence, and what happens when a fundamentally honest person gets trapped in an impossible situation. But it's also about discovering, in your fifties and sixties, a version of yourself you never knew was in there. Because sometimes the thing that nearly breaks you is the thing that shows you exactly what you're made of.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Midweek Catchup, Kaye bought a Peter Kay VIP package, forgot about it entirely, and queued in the rain like a mug. Karen lost her earbuds for three days, bought replacements, then found the originals in her dressing gown. There's eyelid surgery chat, a three-wheeled electric bike that defeated two grown adults, building work that so far involves moving junk from one room to another, and a place called Kinky Cottage that we're not getting into. Happy Tuesday.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, we're joined by Tessa Peake-Jones, one of Britain's most beloved actors (yes, Raquel from Only Fools and Horses, and yes, she knows you were going to say that), who's currently starring in a new comedy drama called Invisible Me about three sixty-somethings navigating love, loneliness and everything in between.But this isn't just a conversation about dating apps and swiping left. It's about what happens when the kids leave, the relationship ends, and for the first time in your life, the only person you have to answer to is yourself. Tessa talks about growing up as an only child with a bipolar mother, why she's never married, and how reaching 60 unlocked a freedom and a confidence she never expected. There's a listener email from Margaret that will hit you right in the chest (is it too much to ask at 63 for someone who'd ring you on a Tuesday and say, do you fancy the pictures?). And there's a proper conversation about the things nobody wants to say out loud: that solitude can be a privilege, not a punishment. That glasses genuinely make you invisible. And that sometimes, the starfish in a double bed all to yourself is the happy ending.Tessa Peake-Jones stars in Invisible Me at Southwark Playhouse Borough from 8th April.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Midweek Catchup, we're reporting live from separate corners of Spain (well, almost) with tales of holiday chaos that'll feel painfully familiar. Kaye's mango obsession has turned the kitchen into a crime scene, her Duolingo is fooling nobody, and her daughters have started doing that thing where they look at each other and just... laugh. At her. For no stated reason. Karen and Stephen's romantic Seville getaway involved a phone that doesn't work, an iPad with no Wi-Fi, and accommodation instructions on a scrap of paper. There's a bucket hat. There are hair straighteners that were hiding in a bathroom drawer for an entire week. There's a man bag purchase that raises more questions than it answers. And tucked inside all the nonsense, there's a moment that really matters: Karen's MRI results are in, and she's clear.Because no one tells you that the funniest thing about getting older is realising you've become the comedy act your kids never asked for. Whether you're the one buying the bigger trousers "just in case" or discovering GHDs on the last day of the holiday, this one's for everyone who's ever felt like the punchline in their own family.Plus, a look ahead to Friday's guest: the lovely Tessa Peake-Jones, who joins us to talk about her new London play Invisible Me and life well beyond Raquel.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Kaye and Karen are joined by Donna Ashworth. Bestselling poet, wellbeing advocate, and author of Loss: The New Collection.Donna talks about the family diagnosis that rewired everything. Dropping the perfectionism. Saying what she actually thinks. Building a life that's calmer and more honest, even when it's messy.They get into grief beyond bereavement. Outgrowing identities, letting go of roles that no longer fit, and why walking away from something takes more courage than anyone tells you.A conversation about permission, getting older, and why the best bit might still be ahead.Get in touch at [email protected]'s new book Loss: The New Collection is available now in hardcover, featuring nearly 150 poems including previously unpublished work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Midweek Catchup, we're recording across borders — Kaye at home, Karen on a sunny balcony in Seville, and honestly, it's never felt more deserved. Because behind the coral sandals and the cold red wine is a week that nearly didn't happen. Karen shares the full story of her three-day hospital stay, the scans, the scares, and the moment she ran out the door with the cannula still in. We talk about why "you've finished chemo" doesn't mean you feel finished, why therapy in real time might be smarter than toughing it out, and why nobody warns you that turning a corner still feels like looking over your shoulder. On the lighter side, Kaye reveals Ian's new tap dancing obsession (performed in a t-shirt that wasn't quite long enough), a mango-related betrayal at breakfast, and the news that a portaloo has appeared in the driveway. Plus, a heads-up that this Friday's guest is the brilliant Donna Ashworth. Whether you're mid-treatment, post-treatment, or just trying to steal five minutes of sunshine for yourself — this one's for you.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Rosie O’Donnell, who opens up about building a life that finally feels like her own - from leaving America for Ireland, to raising a teenager in her 60s, and redefining what really matters.It’s never just about getting older, it’s about what you carry with you. Rosie reflects on losing her mother at a young age, how that shaped her drive, and why every birthday now feels like “extended play.” There’s honesty, humour, and a refreshing refusal to pretend that life or fame has all the answers.Whether you’re questioning what success looks like now, juggling family in a different season of life, or quietly wondering if you’re allowed to want something simpler, this one hits home. Because no one tells you that peace can sometimes mean stepping away, not pushing harder.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected] brings her acclaimed show Common Knowledge to the Glasgow Comedy Festival, appearing at the King’s Theatre for her Glasgow debut on 26 March Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re coming to you from a Glasgow hospital waiting area — because life doesn’t pause neatly for podcasts, does it? Between tests, tetchy staff, smuggled snacks and rearranged furniture, we chat Mother’s Day highs, birthday surprises (including tap-dancing ambitions), and the strange domestic dilemmas that somehow follow you even into hospital — from rogue garden branches to whether a beloved scooter or baby grand piano defines your legacy.Whether you’re juggling health worries, family chaos, or simply wondering how your life became a series of oddly specific decisions no one prepared you for, this one’s a reminder that it’s never just about the big things — it’s the absurd, funny, human bits in between that keep you going. Because no one tells you that later life can feel both deeply serious and utterly ridiculous at the same time.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Sheila Nollert, who decided that turning 65 was exactly the moment to do something many people said she shouldn’t.After retiring from her job with the Ontario government, Sheila found herself searching for purpose and wondering who she was without work. Then a chance sighting of a woman paddling alone into the Canadian wilderness sparked an idea she couldn’t shake: could she do that too?Four years later, she pushed off in a canoe and spent four days navigating remote lakes completely alone, carrying her own gear, setting up camp in bear country and confronting both the physical challenge and the mental battle of being out there by herself.We talk about the quiet ways ageism shows up once you reach your sixties, the doubts other people project onto you, and the bigger question beneath it all: when did we start telling ourselves it’s too late to try something new?Because no one tells you that some of the most meaningful moments of your life might still be ahead - if you’re brave enough to go looking for them.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected] can find Sheila on Instagram at @sheilanollert and read more about her book No Expiry: A Woman Fights Fear and Ageism and Takes on the Wilderness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, Kaye and Karen chat about the things that creep up on you in midlife — from unstoppable snacking (hello oatcakes and popcorn) to the strange habits we develop when the afternoons get a bit too quiet.But it’s never just about food. Kaye also talks about navigating an unexpected change with the BBC, the wave of support she’s received, and why she’s turned to journaling to make sense of it all. Because sometimes writing things down is the only way to clear your head when life throws something completely off-script.There are also coughing husbands, mysterious nose-whistling, and a slightly chaotic hunt for logs for the fire — just another normal week.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Daisy Goodwin, novelist, screenwriter and creator of Victoria, who joins Kaye and Karen for a candid conversation about anxiety, ambition and what life really feels like in your 60s.Daisy has spent decades creating powerful stories about women, but in this conversation she turns the lens on herself. From a childhood shaped by her mother leaving when she was five to building a prolific creative career, she explains how what’s now called “high-functioning anxiety” became both her challenge and her driving force.The three discuss the strange mismatch between outward success and inner self-doubt, why many women never feel quite as confident as they appear, and how getting older can bring a surprising kind of freedom. Daisy describes this stage of life as a “second adolescence”, a time when children have grown up, routines loosen and curiosity returns.They also talk honestly about breast cancer, creative insecurity, the pressure success can place on children, and the relief of learning to be a little less hard on yourself.Whether you’re rediscovering independence, questioning the stories you tell yourself, or simply wondering if anyone else still feels like a teenager inside, this episode is a reminder that reinvention doesn’t stop at 60.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we unpick the drama that gripped absolutely no one but us… Loggate. Yes, the missing firewood, the woodyard showdown, and why sometimes it’s never just about the logs.But alongside the axe-wielding determination (don’t ask), things take a more tender turn. A bruised neck after a thyroid biopsy. That familiar spiral when you’re waiting on results. The strange competitiveness of “who’s got the better medical story” when you’re both trying to stay upbeat.We talk regrowth — hair, eyebrows, underarms — and the small, defiant joys of spring. A two-year-old’s birthday party with dumper trucks instead of pink plastic. Teenage daughters who quietly prop you up when life wobbles. An ageing dog who can’t hear you calling but still makes you laugh.Whether you’re juggling health scares, family shifts, or just the price of gas, this one’s about holding it together — badly, bravely and with humour.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Suzi Quatro, who at 75 is still doing exactly what she loves ... releasing new music and heading back out on tour.Suzi talks about the determination that drove her from a big Detroit family onto the world stage, why she’s never seen age as a barrier, and how finding your own voice can shape an entire life. It’s never just about success - we also talk about family tensions, heartbreak, divorce and the difficult choices that come with staying true to yourself.Whether you’re feeling confident about getting older or quietly wondering what comes next, Suzi’s story is a reminder that reinvention doesn’t stop at 60, and that freedom can come from finally being comfortable in your own skin.We also hear about her brand new album Freedom, a return to her original rock roots, and her upcoming UK tour this spring, including dates across the country and a final show at the London Palladium. Find out more about both at suziquatro.comGet in touch with your thoughts at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Midweek Catchup, we need to warn you. The first ten minutes involve Karen, a stomach bug, and a decision no woman should have to make between a toilet and a sink at speed. Stephen was downstairs on Duolingo. He did not come up.From there it's Kaye's renovation nightmare (seven and a half grand for a gas pipe, just the pipe), the lost ring saga taking a beautifully unhinged turn thanks to a listener called Tracy and a sewing needle, and Kaye forcing Ian to turn the car around because she forgot her lucky mandarin. He didn't say a word. Keeper.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, we're joined by Olympic gold medallist and all-round legend Sally Gunnell, who, just months out from her 60th birthday, is proving that the woman who once held every major athletics title simultaneously has absolutely no intention of slowing down now.Sally opens up about what it really feels like to approach 60 when your body has been your career, your identity, and your instrument. She talks candidly about the strange grief of losing elite fitness, why pregnancy was actually a smoother transition than retirement, and how she learnt, slowly, honestly, to stop being the centre of her own universe. Spoiler: it took a few years and three boys.We get into the messy, relatable stuff too: the menopause weight that won't budge no matter how many walks you take, the confidence that quietly disappears, and why Sally's online programme Life's Hurdle was born from exactly that frustration. Because whether you were a world record holder or just trying to get round the Great North Run, the struggle at this stage of life turns out to be remarkably similar.Sally's outlook, control the controllables, live in the now, look forward not back, is either deeply inspiring or mildly infuriating depending on your relationship with catastrophising. It's never just about fitness. It's about who you are when the thing that defined you has changed and how you build something new, stronger, and honestly more fun.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we wander cheerfully off-piste — from the unexpected thrill of blue duck eggs and medication-induced hunger, to Valentine’s gestures that don’t quite go to plan. But it’s never just about the small stuff.Kay opens up about losing her mum’s ring and why it’s shaken her more than she expected, sharing listener stories that prove lost things have a habit of turning up when you least expect them. Along the way, we get into inherited superstitions, magpies, lucky mandarins, and the strange rituals we lean on when life feels a bit wobbly.Whether you’re fiercely practical or quietly superstitious, this one’s about memory, meaning, and why objects — and habits — can carry far more weight than they should. Because no one tells you how emotional the “little things” can become as you get older.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, we're joined by journalist-turned-celebrant Mandy Appleyard, who shares the extraordinary story of what happened when her fiercely independent mum suffered a devastating stroke at 81 and then asked her daughters to help her die at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland.Mandy opens up about the gruelling reality of becoming a carer overnight, the slow heartbreak of watching her mum lose her speech and independence, and the moment she and her sister Kay realised they couldn't talk their mum out of her decision. Because no one tells you what it's actually like - the hidden costs, the bureaucratic maze, the private flight over the Alps, the Swiss chocolates before the final drink, and the knock on the door from police the very next evening.It's never just about one decision. It's about grief you can't process, guilt that lingers, a two-year criminal investigation, and somehow finding your way back to a life that looks nothing like before. Mandy's honesty about the messy, complicated reality of loving someone enough to let them go, even when every part of you wants them to stay, is breathtaking.Whether you've been a carer, lost a parent, or simply wondered what you'd do if someone you loved asked you for the unthinkable, this one will stay with you.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re talking about the strange emotional whiplash of midlife — from Valentine’s Day expectations (or lack of them), to the shock of realising how attached we are to things we swear don’t matter.Kay opens up about losing her mum’s ring — and being blindsided by how deeply it hurts — while Karen reflects on the small, handwritten things you’d be devastated to lose, even though no one else would understand why. Along the way, there’s chat about ageing bodies, dodgy mattresses, grand-puppies, hotel keycard chaos, and why some weeks just hit harder than others.Whether you’re quietly sentimental, fiercely unsentimental, loved-up, rolling your eyes at Valentine’s Day, or just having one of those weeks, this one’s a reminder that it’s never just about the thing itself — it’s about what it holds for you.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Michaela Strachan, TV icon, wildlife champion and a woman very clear on who she is at nearly 60. Michaela talks openly about early career labels, imposter syndrome, surviving breast cancer, menopause, mobility fears and the freedom that comes with no longer needing to perform for approval.Whether you’re still carrying old narratives, adapting to a changing body, or quietly wondering what the next decade is really for, this conversation goes deeper than ageing clichés. It’s never just about looks. It’s about authority, resilience, scars you stop hiding and the relief of finally being comfortable in your own skin.Michaela also shares why she’s very much not slowing down, as she heads out on her UK theatre tour, Not Just a Wild Life, starting this spring. It’s a live, reflective look back at an extraordinary career and the life lessons that came with it.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re waving goodbye to January, welcoming a galloping Year of the Horse, and asking whether manifestation actually works, or if you just need to press the button and hope for the best.We talk big life decisions, house projects, pensions, and that moment when you realise your home really is your future, alongside small but strangely emotional wins, clean rugs, tomato seedlings, and the unexpected joy of a cancelled Sunday.There’s also knitting, the £40, still-not-finished sock kind, the reality of post-chemo hair, ongoing side effects, and navigating travel insurance with forensic detail. Add in comfort TV you barely follow, and a proposed shared hobby that may or may not involve paddle tennis, industrial estates, and a firm demand for proper heating.Whether you’re downsizing, starting again, stitching slowly, or just trying to get through the week with humour intact, this episode is a reminder that it’s never just about the thing, it’s about finding momentum when life’s been on pause.Get in touch with your thoughts at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.