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The Following Through PodcastBecoming a British Sign Language Interpreter – Guest: Hayley Brown – Ep5 S2The route to becoming a professional British Sign Language interpreter is a long one with many challenges on the way. It can take more than a decade to get enough experience to turn pro, making it an ideal topic for an episode of Following Through.
Alex Love and Siobhan Dodd welcome Hayley Brown to the show. Hayley is a podcaster (her series is called Inadequate Mothers) and creates video content that incorporates BSL. She tells her story and unconventional pathway into BSL, being a single mother at the time with no experience of sign language. Hayley and...2025-07-211h 06The Following Through PodcastBeing Homeless – Guest: David Ferguson – Ep4 S2Homelessness affects hundreds of thousands of people in the UK and many millions worldwide. And this is the subject of this episode. Alex Love and Siobhan Dodd speak with comedian David Ferguson from the Believe podcast. He tells the story of how he ended up homeless for more than seven months and shares his experiences. David also explains how, thanks to the support he received, he's turned his life around and gotten things back on track.
If you'd like to donate to one of the charities that really helped David in north-east London, visit: www.forestnightshelter.org.u...2025-07-0752 minThe Following Through PodcastLearning Languages – Ep3 S2Learning languages is the topic for this episode, and it certainly gets harder with age.
Alex and Siobhan discuss their experiences of learning languages at school and later as an adult. They cover learning Spanish, German, and French, as well as how Duolingo can give you a false sense of security with your language abilities.
Warning: This episode will feature very bad pronunciations of words and phrases in different languages.
Siobhan also speaks about her challenges with learning British Sign Language to qualify as an interpreter, and Alex recounts learning shorthand as a tra...2025-06-2353 minThe Following Through PodcastEp2 S2 – The University EpisodeUniversity is the theme of this episode, with Alex and Siobhan travelling back in time to reminisce about their student days.
Although anyone expecting a constructive discussion about academia will be sorely disappointed, as Alex and Siobhan talk at length about undergraduate bowel movements. They also cover their experiences of campus life, moving away from home for the first time, stupid diets, and too much drinking. They do talk a bit about their courses.
In Sh*t or Miss, we hear about what happens after a meal at a restaurant goes wrong and your housemate is...2025-06-0958 minThe Following Through PodcastEp1 S2 – Going TravellingThe podcast about poo and perseverance returns. Comedians Alex Love and Siobhan Dodd discuss travelling in this first episode of season number two.
Siobhan is back from her holiday in Hong Kong and has stories to share, with a particularly disappointing flight that involved navigating the awkwardness of plane toilets. In fact, the subject of toilets comes up a few times – unsurprisingly.
They also talk about other trips they’ve been on and countries they’ve visited, including Siobhan’s Inter-Railing trips throughout Europe, and Alex backpacking around most of New Zealand – eventually, after three separate v...2025-05-2652 minThe Following Through PodcastEp13 S1 – Dating in your 30s and 40s – Guest: Aideen McQueenDating is the theme for this season finale, and the experience doesn’t get any better in your 30s and 40s. Alex and Siobhan are joined by Irish rising comedy star, Aideen McQueen. They discuss awkward dating stories, the issues with apps, sober dates, and the more philosophical aspects of this necessary evil of modern life.
Plus Siobhan sets Alex a speed-dating challenge. Will he accept? (I mean, probably).
In Sh*t or Miss, Siobhan tells a submitted story that involves a rugby night out and a bed. That surely won't get messy.
Mus...2025-04-141h 03The Following Through PodcastEp12 S1 – Learning to Ride a Bike in AdulthoodThey say you never forget how to ride a bike, but what if you get to adulthood having never learned? Siobhan is one such adult, who never learned to ride a bike as a child and had to do so when she was in her 20s.
Before they get to the cycling discussion, there are about 18 minutes of preamble chat where they discuss comedy gong shows, actual Shakespeare, and listener numbers.
Later on, Alex tells a tale about a horrible holiday in Madeira that involved a 30km mountain bike trek that he thought would be...2025-04-0753 minThe Following Through PodcastEp11 S1 – Social Media Uses – Part 2: Grief and AddictionGrief and screen addiction are two areas covered in this second part of Alex and Siobhan’s discussion about social media, as they delve a little deeper into this fascinating subject.
Warning: This episode features open discussions about death and giving CPR to a parent that some may find distressing. Although perhaps not as distressing who was actually there and administering it.
Siobhan tells how social media has helped her deal with grief, while reluctant-sharer Alex remembers how much nonsense he has in fact shared on his blog over the years as a coping mechanism for...2025-03-3140 minThe Following Through PodcastEp10 S1 – Social Media Uses – Part 1Social media is an integral aspect of daily life these days, but how do you manage your use of it properly? Be warned, this episode features some very strong language.
Siobhan describes herself as a social media addict, whereas Alex tries to keep a healthy distance. But doing comedy increasingly requires a social media presence for admin and promo (hello there). How do you strike the right balance for mental health? And when did it stop being fun?
They also discuss their history of social media, all the way back to MySpace (shout out to...2025-03-2443 minThe Following Through PodcastEp9 S1 – Ross Kemp: The Musical – Guest: Rich ShillitoeRoss Kemp: The Musical? Yes, it is a real thing that exists - at least partially. In this episode, Alex tells Siobhan how he developed this ridiculous project with his old musician mate from school, Rich Shillitoe, who is the guest of this episode.
Alex had the idea for the musical in 2018 during the Edinburgh Fringe. But it wasn’t until lockdown that Rich got in touch with Alex to see if he wanted to develop it further. We learn about the storyline and the songs that were written, with some played in this episode. In 2024, the pr...2025-03-171h 02The Following Through PodcastEp8 S1 – Becoming a Doctor After Quitting Comedy – Guest: Dr Nadia KamilDr Nadia Kamil is the guest in this episode. In her 30s, Nadia decided to leave her successful comedy career behind to enrol in medical school and become a doctor with no scientific background. She speaks with Alex and Siobhan about the challenges of adjusting to a totally new culture and industry that was very different to anything she was used to.
Nadia and Siobhan have known each other since they met as students aged 18, when Siobhan used to go around campus disguised as her twin sister.
And if becoming a medical doctor wasn’t en...2025-03-101h 03The Following Through PodcastEp7 S1 – Crohn's Disease and Running – Guest: Kelly FordCrohn’s disease or colitis affects an estimated one in 100 people. One of the consequences of the inflammatory bowel condition is the need to make multiple visits to the toilet to go for a poo, often with minimal warning.
In this episode, Alex and Siobhan chat with comedian Kelly Ford, who has Crohn’s disease. They hear all about Kelly’s experiences of managing the condition and her overwhelming determination to not let it hold her back. Kelly is also a keen runner, which can be challenging with Crohn’s.
*** Warning: This episode features by far the...2025-03-0354 minThe Following Through PodcastEp6 S1 – Moving to Paris – Guest: Luke ThompsonParis has become home for the guest of this latest episode. Alex Love and Siobhan Dodd welcome Luke Thompson, a successful podcaster, comedian, and TEFL teacher.
He hosts Luke's English Podcast, which has many thousands of regular listeners worldwide. In 2012, Luke moved from London to Paris to live with his girlfriend.
More than 12 years later, Luke talks about his time living in France, the cultural differences, and what it is like to perform comedy in English to a non-English audience.
Plus there are two sh*tting stories. One is from Luke and features a r...2025-02-171h 11The Following Through PodcastEp5 S1 – Making a Sitcom – Guest: Hatty AshdownMany comedians aspire to write sitcoms, but very few ever achieve it. Hatty Ashdown is one comedian who has succeeded in getting her work from page to screen and is the first guest in this series.
Alex and Siobhan talk with Hatty about the making of her 2014 sitcom, Give Out Girls, based on her experience of working in the world of promo. They cover the long drawn out writing process, frustrations with development, the timelines, and how different ways of writing result in greater variations in the way material forms.
The conversation also covers Hatty’s...2025-02-101h 00The Following Through PodcastEp4 S1 – Going on a DietThe latest in this anti-lifestyle lifestyle series sees comedians Alex Love and Siobhan Dodd discuss the need to go on a diet for health reasons.
Alex had never been on a diet before he was diagnosed with high blood pressure in January 2024. Despite living pretty healthily, family history provided an incentive to do something about it. To avoid going on permanent meds, he reluctantly had to make some lifestyle changes, alter his diet, and lose weight. What did he do? And did it work?
They talk about their favourite snacks and biscuits. Just how many...2025-02-0344 minThe Following Through PodcastEp3 S1 – Driving LessonsIn episode three, Alex Love and Siobhan Dodd discuss something that they both really struggled with and hated: learning to drive.
They discuss their instructors – many, in Siobhan's case – and all their quirks. Did they both see it through? And how many attempts did it take to pass their tests?
Later, they discuss the car crashes they've been in – but just how does this transition to a chat about the difficulties of uploading pictures of yourself to the internet in the very early 2000s?
Alex also recounts his nightmare of a car journey to do a...2025-01-2743 minThe Following Through PodcastEp2 S1 - Doing Stand-Up ComedyIn this Number Two Special of Following Through, comedians Alex Love and Siobhan Dodd explain how and why they got into stand-up comedy and what keeps them going after a bad gig.
They talk about their first-ever gigs – why was Siobhan dressed as a bear? And what was the new act scene like in 2005 pre-Facebook? – along with their favourite comedy gigs and the best toilets on the circuit. Find out what it is like doing a show at Edinburgh Fringe when your bowels are chronically imploding.
Going back earlier, Alex recounts the surprise manifestation of Bruce...2025-01-2053 min
The Following Through PodcastEp1 S1 - New Year's ResolutionsIn this first episode of the anti-lifestyle lifestyle podcast, comedians Alex Love and Siobhan Dodd discuss New Year's Resolutions past and present, as well as a lot of talk about Lego and poo.
Music is by Rich Shillitoe.
2025-01-1338 min