Episodes

On this week's episode, we're joined by Victoria Hislop, bestselling author, honorary Greek citizen, and the woman who celebrated her 60th birthday waterskiing with a glass of champagne in her hand. Victoria's been through the lot in her sixties: losing her mum, breast cancer, lockdown, the empty nest hitting like a train she swore she was ready for. But here's the thing nobody expects her to say: she found all of that easier to handle than her own success. The overnight bestseller who was more...

On this week's Midweek Catchup, Kaye's in Milan playing loyal assistant on Donna May's business trip (hairbrush already cleaned, wash bag already judged), while Karen's at home trying to save her voice before a nurse appointment that could delay her chemo jab. She's not above putting half an onion in her sock to make it happen. Karen survived the John Lewis foundation counter: a 23-year-old who made her look like a ghost, offered her casket perfume, and said "anti-ageing" without flinching. Kay...

On this week's episode, we're joined by Wendi Peters - Corrie legend, current star of the touring theatre production Glorious, and living proof that the best stuff doesn't always arrive on schedule. Wendi talks finding love again after 33 years of marriage (via a wine-fuelled evening and a very niche dating app), why being told to lose weight at 16 by a headmistress eating chocolate digestives only made her more determined, and how approaching 60 as a leap year baby (she's technically 14 and a ...

On this week's Midweek Catchup, Kaye nearly video-calls a professional contact from the loo (don't judge - you've done it), Karen's losing her voice to zero sympathy, and both of them are quietly jealous of Karen's sister Ag, who's just casually bouncing between Australia, Japan and New York with a glass of white wine permanently in hand. There's a Milan trip on the cards, which dredges up the time Kaye was dumped mid-pasta by a gorgeous Italian who put down his cutlery, said "this isn't working...

On this week's episode, we're joined by Jo Hamilton, the village sub-postmistress who was wrongly convicted of false accounting in the Post Office Horizon scandal — and who spent nearly two decades fighting to clear her name and the names of hundreds of others. Jo talks about running a little shop that was more drop-in centre than convenience store, the moment a faulty computer system started destroying her life, remortgaging the family home to cover money that was never actually missing, and s...

On this week's Midweek Catchup, Kaye bought a Peter Kay VIP package, forgot about it entirely, and queued in the rain like a mug. Karen lost her earbuds for three days, bought replacements, then found the originals in her dressing gown. There's eyelid surgery chat, a three-wheeled electric bike that defeated two grown adults, building work that so far involves moving junk from one room to another, and a place called Kinky Cottage that we're not getting into. Happy Tuesday. Get in touch with you...

On this week's episode, we're joined by Tessa Peake-Jones, one of Britain's most beloved actors (yes, Raquel from Only Fools and Horses, and yes, she knows you were going to say that), who's currently starring in a new comedy drama called Invisible Me about three sixty-somethings navigating love, loneliness and everything in between. But this isn't just a conversation about dating apps and swiping left. It's about what happens when the kids leave, the relationship ends, and for the first time i...

On this week's Midweek Catchup, we're reporting live from separate corners of Spain (well, almost) with tales of holiday chaos that'll feel painfully familiar. Kaye's mango obsession has turned the kitchen into a crime scene, her Duolingo is fooling nobody, and her daughters have started doing that thing where they look at each other and just... laugh. At her. For no stated reason. Karen and Stephen's romantic Seville getaway involved a phone that doesn't work, an iPad with no Wi-Fi, and accommo...

This week Kaye and Karen are joined by Donna Ashworth. Bestselling poet, wellbeing advocate, and author of Loss: The New Collection. Donna talks about the family diagnosis that rewired everything. Dropping the perfectionism. Saying what she actually thinks. Building a life that's calmer and more honest, even when it's messy. They get into grief beyond bereavement. Outgrowing identities, letting go of roles that no longer fit, and why walking away from something takes more courage than anyone t...

On this week's Midweek Catchup, we're recording across borders — Kaye at home, Karen on a sunny balcony in Seville, and honestly, it's never felt more deserved. Because behind the coral sandals and the cold red wine is a week that nearly didn't happen. Karen shares the full story of her three-day hospital stay, the scans, the scares, and the moment she ran out the door with the cannula still in. We talk about why "you've finished chemo" doesn't mean you feel finished, why therapy in real time m...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Rosie O’Donnell, who opens up about building a life that finally feels like her own - from leaving America for Ireland, to raising a teenager in her 60s, and redefining what really matters. It’s never just about getting older, it’s about what you carry with you. Rosie reflects on losing her mother at a young age, how that shaped her drive, and why every birthday now feels like “extended play.” There’s honesty, humour, and a refreshing refusal to pretend t...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re coming to you from a Glasgow hospital waiting area — because life doesn’t pause neatly for podcasts, does it? Between tests, tetchy staff, smuggled snacks and rearranged furniture, we chat Mother’s Day highs, birthday surprises (including tap-dancing ambitions), and the strange domestic dilemmas that somehow follow you even into hospital — from rogue garden branches to whether a beloved scooter or baby grand piano defines your legacy. Whether you’re jugglin...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Sheila Nollert, who decided that turning 65 was exactly the moment to do something many people said she shouldn’t. After retiring from her job with the Ontario government, Sheila found herself searching for purpose and wondering who she was without work. Then a chance sighting of a woman paddling alone into the Canadian wilderness sparked an idea she couldn’t shake: could she do that too? Four years later, she pushed off in a canoe and spent four days na...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, Kaye and Karen chat about the things that creep up on you in midlife — from unstoppable snacking (hello oatcakes and popcorn) to the strange habits we develop when the afternoons get a bit too quiet. But it’s never just about food. Kaye also talks about navigating an unexpected change with the BBC, the wave of support she’s received, and why she’s turned to journaling to make sense of it all. Because sometimes writing things down is the only way to clear your hea...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Daisy Goodwin, novelist, screenwriter and creator of Victoria, who joins Kaye and Karen for a candid conversation about anxiety, ambition and what life really feels like in your 60s. Daisy has spent decades creating powerful stories about women, but in this conversation she turns the lens on herself. From a childhood shaped by her mother leaving when she was five to building a prolific creative career, she explains how what’s now called “high-functioning ...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we unpick the drama that gripped absolutely no one but us… Loggate. Yes, the missing firewood, the woodyard showdown, and why sometimes it’s never just about the logs. But alongside the axe-wielding determination (don’t ask), things take a more tender turn. A bruised neck after a thyroid biopsy. That familiar spiral when you’re waiting on results. The strange competitiveness of “who’s got the better medical story” when you’re both trying to stay upbeat. We talk ...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Suzi Quatro, who at 75 is still doing exactly what she loves ... releasing new music and heading back out on tour. Suzi talks about the determination that drove her from a big Detroit family onto the world stage, why she’s never seen age as a barrier, and how finding your own voice can shape an entire life. It’s never just about success - we also talk about family tensions, heartbreak, divorce and the difficult choices that come with staying true to yours...

On this week's Midweek Catchup, we need to warn you. The first ten minutes involve Karen, a stomach bug, and a decision no woman should have to make between a toilet and a sink at speed. Stephen was downstairs on Duolingo. He did not come up. From there it's Kaye's renovation nightmare (seven and a half grand for a gas pipe, just the pipe), the lost ring saga taking a beautifully unhinged turn thanks to a listener called Tracy and a sewing needle, and Kaye forcing Ian to turn the car around bec...

On this week's episode, we're joined by Olympic gold medallist and all-round legend Sally Gunnell, who, just months out from her 60th birthday, is proving that the woman who once held every major athletics title simultaneously has absolutely no intention of slowing down now. Sally opens up about what it really feels like to approach 60 when your body has been your career, your identity, and your instrument. She talks candidly about the strange grief of losing elite fitness, why pregnancy was ac...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we wander cheerfully off-piste — from the unexpected thrill of blue duck eggs and medication-induced hunger, to Valentine’s gestures that don’t quite go to plan. But it’s never just about the small stuff. Kay opens up about losing her mum’s ring and why it’s shaken her more than she expected, sharing listener stories that prove lost things have a habit of turning up when you least expect them. Along the way, we get into inherited superstitions, magpies, lucky man...

On this week's episode, we're joined by journalist-turned-celebrant Mandy Appleyard, who shares the extraordinary story of what happened when her fiercely independent mum suffered a devastating stroke at 81 and then asked her daughters to help her die at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. Mandy opens up about the gruelling reality of becoming a carer overnight, the slow heartbreak of watching her mum lose her speech and independence, and the moment she and her sister Kay realised they couldn't...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re talking about the strange emotional whiplash of midlife — from Valentine’s Day expectations (or lack of them), to the shock of realising how attached we are to things we swear don’t matter. Kay opens up about losing her mum’s ring — and being blindsided by how deeply it hurts — while Karen reflects on the small, handwritten things you’d be devastated to lose, even though no one else would understand why. Along the way, there’s chat about ageing bodies, dodg...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Michaela Strachan, TV icon, wildlife champion and a woman very clear on who she is at nearly 60. Michaela talks openly about early career labels, imposter syndrome, surviving breast cancer, menopause, mobility fears and the freedom that comes with no longer needing to perform for approval. Whether you’re still carrying old narratives, adapting to a changing body, or quietly wondering what the next decade is really for, this conversation goes deeper than a...

On this week’s Midweek Catchup, we’re waving goodbye to January, welcoming a galloping Year of the Horse, and asking whether manifestation actually works, or if you just need to press the button and hope for the best. We talk big life decisions, house projects, pensions, and that moment when you realise your home really is your future, alongside small but strangely emotional wins, clean rugs, tomato seedlings, and the unexpected joy of a cancelled Sunday. There’s also knitting, the £40, still-...