Well hello there,

Series two has arrived and we're kicking off with a big 'un. Graham Linehan is quite simply one of the most important figures in modern television comedy. His shows have influenced pretty much everybody working in comedy in Ireland and the UK today. And we were delighted that he agreed to come down to our show at the 100 Club and have a chat.

Episode 17 is available on iTunes, Soundcloud and ACast.

I was lucky enough to work with Graham a couple of years ago. Myself and my Diet of Worms group mates met him at a Matt Berry show in Crawdaddy and nervously mumbled that we made comedy videos online. He said 'hello' and politely took down the deets. We certainly weren't expecting him to actually go home and look at our stuff. But he did. And it when an email from 'Graham Linehan' dropped in our email inbox, it took a bit of staring and blinking for it to actually register.

He liked our web series the Taste of Home and wanted to see if it could be developed into a TV show. It took years of back and forth, writing and re-writing but eventually it was. The Walshes was piloted for ITV but eventually picked up by the BBC. Two floors of a West Dublin terraced house were built in a studio in Teddington and before we knew it, cameras were rolling and we were fulfilling our live long dreams. The show only ran for a mini three episode series but it changed everything for a group like us.

The five of us wrote the show with Graham and throughout the process he was completely and utterly generous with his valuable time and considerable know-how. What we learned in one week sequestered in a function room in a Norwich Holiday Inn with Graham and a roll of Magic Whiteboard completely dwarfed what we had picked up over ten full years fumbling around on the comedy scene.

It's one thing to have such a talent and expertise for an endeavour, but to be so willing to share that expertise and give younger upstarts a chance to learn and grow as a writers and performers. Pulling up ladders is not something Graham has any interest in doing. And if all that's not enough, he's one of the sweetest people we've ever met.

In this week's episode Graham chats to Níal about his work, his process and lots more besides. If you like the show please tell someone... ANYONE about it. Rate, comment and subscribe on iTunes. It really help us grow the show.

Enjoy...