Confessions of an Unlikely MP – Chris Bryant on his astonishing life

Oh God, What Now?

Podmasters

News, Politics, Society & Culture

4.6 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 25 August 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

One of the best-liked MPs in Westminster, Chris Bryant has led an incident-packed life as the title of his new autobiography A Life And A Half proves. In a frank, astonishing, sometimes dark but also very funny interview he explains how he went from a painful childhood to becoming an Anglican priest to winning a very traditional South Wales seat as an out gay man. From early encounters with Boris Johnson to bizarre stories in Brussels, it’s one of the most remarkable interviews we’ve done. “My mum looked after Shirley Bassey’s wigs, which may explain my sexuality,” he tells Seth Thévoz and Marie le Conte. • Don’t forget you can watch full video on Spotify. Warning: This episode contains discussion of sexual abuse which some listeners may find difficult. ESCAPE ROUTES • Chris saw the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Edinburgh Festival. • Marie recommends The Door by Magda Szabó. • Seth has been watching old episodes of Doctor Who with Tom Baker, some of which were good... ... and some of which weren’t. When you buy books through our affiliate bookshop, you help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here https://nordvpn.com/ohgodwhatnow. It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money back guarantee! • Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more • Back us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow for ad-free listening, bonus materials and more. Written and presented by Seth Thévoz and Marie Le Conte. Audio and video production by Chris Jones and Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Cornershop. Art direction: James Parrett. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Alison Phillips.
0:01.3	And I'm John Ewich.
0:02.4	And this edition of Oh God What Now is sponsored by naked wines.
0:07.5	A great tasting wine is one of life's little treats.
0:11.1	But it's not always easy to find.
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0:34.6	So you know you're always getting great wine at a great price.
0:37.5	Plus, there's no need to leave the house. Naked delivers the wine straight to your doorstep.
0:41.4	And if you ever feel like a wine doesn't quite hit the spot, you can always get a credit back
0:45.5	to try something else. Good luck doing that in a supermarket. Now today, we are going to be trying
0:51.8	Simpsons of Servian Rose.
0:54.9	Right, here we go.
0:56.0	So it's giving vibes of like hanging out in Provence with my family, which is lovely.
0:59.9	Which is nice memory to have on a Friday afternoon when I probably shouldn't be drinking wine at this time.
1:04.4	Oh, that's lovely.
1:04.9	It gives me sort of vibes of maybe sitting in a park, the sun's shining, which it is today.
	...

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