Mel Giedroyc

Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

Gyles Brandreth / Plain Jaine Media

Society & Culture, Unknown

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 18 July 2025

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mel Giedroyc is Gyles's special guest on this episode; and she talks about her amazing family story. Her father and his family were taken from Eastern Poland to Siberia by the Russians in 1939 - Mel's grandfather was shot, but her grandmother, dad and aunts made an extraordinary journey and eventually reached London, where Mel's father settled and met her mother. It's a fascinating, moving and sometimes shocking tale, and a very special edition of Rosebud. Mel also talks about meeting Sue Perkins at Cambridge, about being flashed at in Italy, and about her love of walking holidays.

Mel Giedroyc is the host of the brilliant Where There's a Will There's a Wake podcast, in which guests plan their perfect funeral and talk about the manner in which they're going to meet their maker. It's a surprisingly uplifting podcast about death and is highly recommended.

Enjoy this.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Get 3% cash pack when you transfer your pension to free trade.
0:04.6	Switch to one of the UK's cheapest SIP providers by the 31st of August.
0:08.9	With a free trade pension, there's just one flat fee, zero commission, and access to over 6,200 shares, guilts, mutual funds and more.
0:17.4	Visit freetrade.io slash pod to start your transfer. Capital at risk, other charges may
0:22.8	apply. Sip eligibility rules and tisancies apply. 10,000 pounds to qualify. Cashback capped at
0:28.0	£1,500.00. I'm giggling for two reasons. One, I want to clear my throat so that I can be clear as well as concise when talking to my guest today, but also because my physiotherapist, Finola, is encouraging me to drink more water because it's good for me. The problem is, these rosebud conversations, they tend to last an hour.
0:56.8	And if I've drunk too much water, I don't want to break the flow, if you're pardon the expression,
1:02.1	by having to leave the room to go to the loo.
1:05.2	So I'm gurgling.
1:09.9	Just keep the music. Cue the music.
1:13.6	Cue the music. My guest today is Mel Gidroich.
1:38.9	I think I've got the pronunciation right.
1:41.2	Mel Gidroich.
1:42.5	And indeed, we're going to discuss the pronunciation of Mel's surname
1:46.3	and her father's proud Polish heritage in the episode. For the story of Mel's family is
1:53.5	totally fascinating. It's a tale of exile, of courage, and of triumph over adversity. You may think you know Mel, by virtue of the warmth
2:04.1	and wit she brings to everything she does on television. For the many shows, she's hosted with her
2:08.9	long-standing comedy partner Sue Perkins, including, of course, the great British break-off.
2:13.7	But once you listen to this episode of Rosebott, I think you will know her and her family,
2:19.7	very much better,
2:21.0	and you will be fascinated,
2:23.3	moved at times.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Gyles Brandreth / Plain Jaine Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Gyles Brandreth / Plain Jaine Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.