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Stephen K Amos: Me? I Blame The Parents

Stephen K Amos: Me? I Blame The Parents

Written by: Stephen K Amos
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Stephen K Amos’ Limited Podcast Series Me? I Blame The Parents, starring Stephen K Amos and his special guests including Ayesha Hazarika, Paul Foot, Jo Caulfield, Howard Read, Christine Rose and Terry Alderton.

We all have a thing or two to say about our parents. In this series, each episode features one of our hand-picked guests from the world of comedy talking about their mums and dads. Those folks born between 1928 and 1964, otherwise known as the Silent Generation and the Baby Boomers. From honest childhood stories and genuinely hilarious anecdotes we look to acknowledge our parents including the good, the bad, and the ugly. Do they share common traits? Have they indelibly scarred us for life? Is it all their fault? Just a little delving into what makes some parents tick, exploring the impact they had on us and trying to get to know them a little bit better. Listen in. You might even recognise your own parents.

That's Old Folks!

Stephen K Amos is touring the UK, Australia and New Zealand throughout 2026, with his brand-new stand-up show Now We’re Talking. Tickets available here! https://www.stephenkamos.com/home/#live-dates

Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
Episodes
  • Me? I Blame The Parents With Terry Alderton
    Jan 15 2026

    Actor, comedian and TV Presenter Terry Alderton chats with Stephen about how you can be good mates with your parents, even if your Dad's half asleep. Terry reveals being a little rotter to his sister, but how she'd still give him her last cream egg. And Terry reveals how his childhood imaginary friend became a major part of his unique stand-up.

    Terry Alderton is an award-winning comedian and former semi-profession footballer who has toured his shows worldwide; Europe, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the Middle East.

    00:00 Intro to Me? I Blame The Parents

    00:33 Stephen K Amos introduces comedian, actor, TV presenter and one-time semi-professional footballer Terry Alderton

    01:20 Terry Alderton, an Essex boy through and through, reveals that he was born in the same hospital as Jamie Cullum

    02:10 Terry introduces his mum Sandy, a bubbly personality and the source of Terry’s boundless energy, and his father, a dad of dad jokes.

    05:55 Terry Alderton mentions his older sister Katrina. Even though he was a bit of a rotter as a child, she would always give him her last Cadbury's Creme Egg.

    07:26 Terry was the golden boy growing up. First Child Syndrome means the older sibling gets treated more strictly.

    08:20 Terry Alderton and Stephen K Amos discuss the good and bad things about having big and small families

    10:19 Terry tells us about his mum’s early dating life and how a naïve mishearing of a word can lead to a hilarious misunderstanding.

    10:53 Terry’s parents are his good mates who he can discuss anything with.

    11:24 Terry remembers his mum and dad teaching him how to respect women, which set him up to be a good husband and father.

    16:12 Terry had a childhood imaginary friend called Bogey, who’s still around. These friends grew in number and sometimes he’d have full discussions with several of them at once.

    17:44 Terry got into showbusiness because his father worked so hard, falling asleep the minute he got home, and Terry didn’t want that for his own family.

    19:05 Terry’s earliest memory is of his mum comforting him during a lightning storm.

    20:59 Terry talks about his first interest in performing, wanting to be an impressionist and his first ever gig.

    24:20 Getting the approval of parents and a big moment for his mum and dad was when Terry got a recuring role on Eastenders.

    29:00 Terry gets into a spot of bother while gigging in Dubai.

    30:12 Terry found a new stand-up comedy voice later in his career, which went on to win many awards.

    34:07 Terry’s fond memories of Christmas, even when times were tough his parents always managed to make it special.

    34:54 Being lucky and grateful in life.

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    36 mins
  • Me? I Blame The Parents With Christine Rose
    Jan 14 2026

    Emmy Award nominated, multi-award winning comedy writer Christine Rose tells us her father was a veterinary surgeon. She jokes about how, one day, inadvertently taking animal drugs cured her eye infection. Christine talks about making up funny stories when she was a child, how she could always make her dad laugh. Her father finally understood her job when she got writing credit on ‘Have I Got News For You’. Christine remembers her dad was not good with technology and how her mother thought pausing live TV might somehow pause life itself. We hear about Christine’s childhood imaginary friend who lived in the airing cupboard and how the phrase ‘Cloudy Apple Juice,’ can never deter her from enjoying the odd glass of wine.

    Christine Rose has written for some of the most influential comedians on TV and radio and received an Emmy Award nomination for The Reluctant Traveler in 2024. Find out more about Christine here! https://www.gloriousmanagement.com/artists/christine-rose

    00:00 Intro to Me? I Blame The parents

    00:53 Stephen K Amos introduces Emmy-Award nominated comedy writer Christine Rose.

    01:36 Stephen K Amos jokes about how his father coming to stay with him during lockdown gave him the idea for making this podcast.

    04:51 Christine Rose introduces her father, born in 1935, a veterinary surgeon from Essex who relocated to Cornwall when they were children.

    05:43 Christine Rose mentions her older sister Catherine, who inadvertently inspired Christine’s comedy career.

    06:19 We hear about Christine’s childhood imaginary friend called Nano Kanan, who lived in the airing cupboard outside her sister’s bedroom.

    07:14 Christine’s father’s job was to medically treat large farm animals, and she jokes that when they were sick as children, her dad would just give them animal drugs.

    12:45 Christine’s earliest memories are of accompanying her dad to treat sick animals and Stephen K Amos’ earliest memory is of being in a house fire - all for the sake of a home cooked chicken.

    15:46 Christine talks about how her dad spotted her creativity from a young age and how she was always able to make him laugh.

    19:36 Christine reflects on whether her parents have mellowed with age and how women tend to relax as they grow older, but men can become fixated on little things.

    21:30 Christine talks about how her father could do anything practical and was drowning in skills, but he just could not be bothered with technology.

    24:02 Christine’s mum was very unsure about the option to pause live TV and wondered if she pushed the button, she might get stuck in the past and have to live 20 minutes behind everyone else.

    25:18 Christine’s dad was a frugal man who loved a good trip to B&Q, but he showed a strange display of ingratitude when she bought him some garden furniture.

    30:30 The moment Christine’s dad came to appreciate her job was when she got a writer’s credit on Have I Got News For You.

    31:46 Christine Rose recalls her father’s motto ‘There’s cloudy apple juice!’ as a way to stop her from drinking wine.

    #comedy #funny #jokes #fyp #pov #London #thereluctanttraveler #uk #england #scotland #veterinary #mum #dad #parents #interview #standup #television

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    34 mins
  • Me? I Blame The Parents With Howard Read
    Jan 14 2026

    Award-winning comedian, writer and animator Howard Read discusses how he got the stand-up gene from his mum’s family of firebrand preachers, and how his dad’s way of showing him love was to invest in him like a start-up. Howard talks about struggling with undiagnosed dyslexia as a child which, in fact, inspired him to become a comedy writer. Plus, how his animated comedy creation, Little Howard, is based on himself growing up. Howard reveals that his younger brother got away with murder and that his older brother dared him to jump down the stairs leaving him hanging, literally with a broken arm, for an entire day.

    Learn more about Howard Read here! https://www.howardread.com/ Get tickets to his New 360° show touring in 2026 and buy his books here! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Howards-Book-Howard-Read

    00:00 Intro Me? I Blame the Parents.

    00:39 Stephen K Amos introduces award-winning comedian, writer and animator Howard Read, whose creation, Little Howard, has featured in print, TV and radio.

    01:29 Howard Read introduces his dad who was born in 1939, the day Hitler invaded Poland and recalls a hilarious story of his father’s 60th birthday party at a Polish restaurant.

    03:14 Howard Read explains how Little Howard, his animated comedy creation of confused innocence about the world, is based on him as a child.

    03:51 Howard describes being diagnosed with dyslexia very late, though his terrible handwriting and spelling didn’t stop him from becoming an award-winning writer.

    07:44 Howard talks about his older brother, the sensible one, and his younger brother, a blond cherub who acted like Tweety Pie, super cute but violent.

    10:30 Howard says he and his wife are more likely to say ‘I love you’ to their children than his more reserved parents.

    12:08 Howard never had the sex talk, but his father showed him how to shave at the age of 10.

    13:36 Howard jokes about how, when he was about 5, his older brother dared him to jump down some concrete stairs and broke his arm. Howard’s mum just said he was making a big fuss and didn’t take him to the doctors for a whole day.

    15:49 Howard quotes Philip Larkin’s famous poem ‘This Be The Verse’ with the line ‘They fuck you up, your mum and dad.’

    16:16 Howard reveals his father would lend him money and invest in Howard like a start-up to show affection.

    18:45 Stephen K Amos shares that for years he couldn’t tell his dad he was a comedian, explaining that he went out every night dressed in a suit because he was a taxi driver.

    20:09 Howard’s parents accepted his career when he performed at the Royal Variety Show and met the Queen, but how he blinked when their photograph was taken.

    23:17 Howard states that if there is a stand-up gene, he got it from his mum’s family who were firebrand puritanical preachers.

    29:21 Howard’s mother had a grisly turn of phrase. When he came home late one night she said, ‘I expected to find you rotting in a ditch,’ which gave him nightmares for weeks.

    #comedy #funny #jokes #standup #interview #fyp #pov #animation #littlehoward #mum #dad #parents

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    34 mins
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