meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

More Rosebud - Wayne Sleep

Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

Gyles Brandreth / Plain Jaine Media

Society & Culture, Unknown

4.81.1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Wayne Sleep was once called "the finest virtuoso ballet dancer the Royal Ballet has ever produced" by the founder of the company, Ninette de Valois. In this episode, Wayne tells Gyles his remarkable story - raised by his single mother in Plymouth and Hartlepool, Wayne overcame poverty and his short stature to become one of the most well known and successful British ballet dancers of all time. It's a fairytale that includes David Hockney, Rudolph Nureyev and Princess Diana, and much more besides. Thank you to Wayne for your time, wit and energy. Enjoy this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello again. I'm Giles Brandruth. And this isn't quite Rosebud. This is something a little bit different. It's called More Rosebud. You can still get regular Rosebud every Friday. But on our Tuesday, we're bringing you something that's just a little bit alternative. So Phil Leppard, well, we told him to leave the orchestra behind and just play the theme tune simply himself on the piano.

0:25.4

He's done just that.

0:26.8

Phil, cue the music.

0:28.3

Music. It's Tuesday, it's more Rosebud. I'm Giles Brandreth, and I'm with my friend, my colleague, my producer, Harriet Jane. Harriet, as you know,

0:58.6

when I was a little boy, I used to appear in broadstairs in the summer holidays when I was quite

1:05.7

a little boy at the pavilion on the sands, also at the Bohemia Theatre, and at the, well, there was an outdoor place where you could perform as well,

1:15.9

doing acrobatic dancing.

1:17.8

I didn't, so I didn't know you did that at the theatre as well.

1:21.2

I are.

1:21.8

People were paying for tickets for that.

1:23.5

Well, I was just part of either a talent show,

1:26.5

or at the Pavilion on the Sands in Broadstairs.

1:29.9

There was a wonderful entertainer called Cecil Barker, who performed there for many years.

1:33.9

And there were three nights in the week when I would be up on stage, Carnival Night, novelty night, and Children's Night.

1:39.7

Three nights?

1:40.5

Three nights.

1:41.4

Gosh.

1:41.8

And I would just do a little turn, dancing.

1:44.7

And then one year I did appear at the Bohemia Theatre, which is another theatre in Broadstairs.

1:50.4

And what I remember vividly about that is I did my acromatic dancing and ended up landing on my knees.

1:56.3

Not realising that the floor of the Bohemia Theatre, unlike the floor at the building on the

2:01.7

sands, which was wooden, this was concrete. I can still feel, I mean, it's, we're going back

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

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.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.