Full Disclosure with James O'Brien

Sir Gareth Southgate: There were days I didn’t want to get out from under the duvet

From missing the most famous penalty in English football to leading the national team into a new era, Gareth Southgate’s story is one of quiet resilience, modern leadership and emotional intelligence forged under relentless public pressure. In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with Gareth to trace the long road that shaped him. From being an introverted, late-developing youngster released by Southampton, to captaining Crystal Palace, enduring searing public failure, and eventually becoming England manager. They talk candidly about masculinity in football, learning to lead without bluster, and why authenticity matters more than authority. Southgate reflects on the moments that changed him most. The heartbreak of rejection, the pressure of managing people older and wealthier than him, the lessons drawn from defeat, and the responsibility of becoming a role model far beyond the pitch. He explains how England became a mirror for modern Britain, why he wrote Dear England, and what leadership really looks like when things go wrong. Thoughtful, honest and quietly powerful, this conversation goes well beyond football. It is about growth, failure, emotional courage and the belief that leadership is something you learn, not something you pretend to be. Find out more about Dear England: Lessons in Leadership by Gareth Southgate here [https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/471152/dear-england-by-southgate-gareth/9781529958294]

Jan Ravens: “I lived with a nameless dread”

Jan Ravens, the acclaimed impressionist at the heart of Dead Ringers, grew up learning to change the mood of a room long before she ever changed her voice on stage. In this conversation with James O Brien, she reflects on a childhood shaped by humour, instability and her father’s illness, and how those early pressures sharpened the instincts that later defined her career. She traces the journey from school impressions to Cambridge Footlights, becoming the first woman to direct its revue, and the leap from Carrott’s Lib to Spitting Image and beyond. Jan talks candidly about ambition, class, resilience and the unexpected power of comedy to steady you when life feels uncertain. It is an honest, warm and often very funny look at how she found her place in British satire. Find out more about Dead Ringers 25th Anniversary tour here [https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/dead-ringers-live]

Hal Cruttenden: Divorce blew my mind- it hits harder than losing parents

Before he became one of the most recognisable storytellers on the comedy circuit, Hal Cruttenden was a shy kid from West London who spent years trying to be what he thought others wanted him to be. He trained as an actor, chased approval, and tried to outrun a gnawing sense that something in his life was not quite aligned. It took heartbreak, therapy, and a very honest look at himself to turn that tension into the comedy voice audiences now know so well. In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with the stand up to trace the path from drama school hopeful to seasoned touring comic finding unexpected clarity in midlife. They talk about navigating divorce in the public eye, the strange elasticity of masculinity, and the way comedy can both hide and reveal the truth about who we are. Hal reflects on family, fear, and the moments when laughter becomes a lifeline rather than a performance. It is a conversation about reinvention, vulnerability and starting again. And at its heart is Hal’s realisation that the most powerful thing he has ever done on stage is simply tell the truth- however messy, painful or absurd it happens to be. Find out more about Hal Cruttenden: Can Dish It Out But Can’t Take It here [https://halcruttenden.com/]

Stephen Mangan: When Mum died, I knew I couldn’t waste life being a lawyer- I had to act

Before he became one of Britain’s most familiar faces, Stephen Mangan was a bookish North London boy from an Irish working-class family- the son of a builder and a barmaid- who won a scholarship to a boarding school his parents didn’t want him to attend. From there to Cambridge, to RADA, and to the West End, his path looks polished. But behind it lies grief, grit, and a fierce curiosity about the world that’s shaped every creative choice he’s made. In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with the actor, writer and presenter to trace Stephen’s journey from a bullied schoolboy to star of Green Wing, Episodes and The Split. They talk about losing both parents young, finding refuge in acting, and why he now writes children’s books with his sister, Anita- stories that rekindle the magic of reading he discovered as a boy with a book wedged between him and his dad at the dinner table. It’s a conversation about loss, love, and laughter- and how Stephen’s career, from Cambridge plays to Hollywood sitcoms, has been guided not by fame, but by joy, curiosity, and the determination to make work that he’d genuinely want to watch, read, or share with his own children. Find out more about Barrie Saves Christmas here [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Barrie-Christmas-funniest-festive-adventure/dp/0702344176]

Toby Jones: I never wanted to feel desperate about acting

From Truman Capote to Mr Bates, Toby Jones has built a career on disappearing- an actor whose transformations are so complete they can seem alchemical. But behind that versatility lies a story of inheritance, self-doubt and quiet rebellion. The son of two actors, Toby grew up watching his father’s unpredictable career and vowing never to feel so exposed to fate. Yet the pull of performance, and the curiosity that drives it, proved impossible to ignore. In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with the actor to trace the path from an Oxford childhood to radical student politics in 1980s Manchester and a life-changing spell at a Paris theatre school that taught him never to wait for permission to create. They talk about class, curiosity, and the discipline of transformation; about how he’s learned to find meaning rather than momentum in his work; and why humility, not ambition, has been his most enduring guide. It’s a conversation about vocation and value- how an artist keeps searching for truth in an industry built on illusion, and why, for Toby Jones, the work itself has always mattered more than where it leads. An explosive new production of Othello at the Theatre Royal Haymarket stars David Harewood as Othello, Toby Jones as Iago and Caitlin FitzGerald as Desdemona- a gripping retelling of Shakespeare’s epic story of manipulation, jealousy, power and desire. Find out more about the production here [https://othelloonstage.com/]