S4 EP21: Ben Elton

What Did You Do Yesterday? with Max Rushden & David O'Doherty

Keep It Light Media

Comedy

4.8 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 23 May 2026

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Joining us on this episode of '⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠What did you do yesterday?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠' is a legend of comedy. Writer, actor, comedian - Ben Elton. We asked Ben what he did yesterday? He told us. That's it... enjoy! Ben's critically acclaimed autobiography What Have I Done? is publishing in paperback 21st May 2026. For the first – and only – time, Ben opens up in his frank, forthright and entertaining autobiography. Taking a deep dive into his life and times, both private and public, to reveal the true stories behind iconic hits such as The Young Ones and We Will Rock You, his pioneering routines hosting Saturday Live, which birthed a revolution in stand-up comedy, and so much more. Ben recounts his life and uniquely varied career from his Catford childhood and being the BBC’s youngest ever sitcom writer at 21 right up to the present day, with yet another hit sitcom, Upstart Crow; a surprise late-life BAFTA; and his most critically acclaimed stand-up comedy show to date. The book is full of anecdotes, such as when Ben met Emma Thompson and became infatuated with her on set, his creative partnership with Rik Mayall, and working with Richard Curtis, Rowan Atkinson et al on Blackadder. It was an instant Sunday Times bestseller and critics' pick of the best biographies and memoirs published in 2025, with fantastic peer endorsements from other comedians: Get in touch with the show: EMAIL: WHATDIDYOUDOYESTERDAYPOD@GMAIL.COM Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@yesterdaypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ A 'Keep It Light Media' Production Sales and general enquiries: HELLO@KEEPITLIGHTMEDIA.COM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Podcasts, there are millions of them.
0:08.2	Some might say too many.
0:10.7	I have one already.
0:11.8	I don't have any, because there are enough.
0:14.1	Politics, business, sport, you name it.
0:15.9	There's a podcast about it.
0:17.2	And they all ask the big questions and cover the hot topics of the day.
0:20.2	But nobody is covering
0:21.6	the most important topic of all. Why is that? Are they scared? Too afraid of being censored by the
0:28.5	man? Possibly, but not us. We're here to ask the only question that matters. We try and say it
0:35.8	at the same time, Max. What did you do yesterday? What did you do yesterday? What did you do yesterday? That's it. All we're interested in is what the guests got up to yesterday. Nothing more. Day before yesterday, Max? Nope. The greatest and most interesting day of your life? Unless it was yesterday, we don't want to know about it. I'm Max Rushton and I'm David O'Daheherty. Welcome
0:55.8	to What Did You Do Yesterday. Hello and welcome to What Did You Do yesterday. My name is Max
1:03.5	Rushton, alongside me, David O'Dohaddy. Welcome, David. Ben Elton, Max. He wrote the young ones.
1:10.0	Like, we're just about to do this.
1:11.5	Normally we would record the intro after.
1:13.5	So we know what's happened.
1:14.7	But we haven't done that now.
1:15.8	And this is very exciting because I would say Ben Elton is pushing on the National Treasure Door.
1:21.0	Like Blackadder, certainly.
1:23.7	But then the Friday Night Live shows on Channel 4, the fact that they sort of introduced me to stand-up comedy as we know it.
1:34.6	In particular, he introduced an Irish stand-up called Kevin McAleer.
1:40.4	I mean, it's just, it's such a huge seminal.
	...

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