Comfort Eating with Grace Dent

Funny guy Phil Wang joins Grace this week for another helping of Comfort Eating. Phil has a textbook comedy career: president of Footlights at Cambridge University, graduating with agents sniffing at his heels; sell-out Edinburgh shows; and now purveyor of two Netflix comedy specials. Phil and Grace talk about how to supermarket shop with crocodiles in the aisles, how garlic sauce pervaded his student days and his justice campaign for reheating rice. If you liked this episode then have a listen to Grace’s conversations with Jayde Adams, David Baddiel and Jamie Demetriou

Grace is joined by broadcasting legend Vanessa Feltz. From BBC breakfast to BBC London to LBC, she has graced our airwaves – and our TV screens – since the late 80s. Grace and Vanessa take a trip down memory lane to discuss her granny’s secret Jewish recipes she’ll never pass on, her mother’s ‘bombe surprise’ pudding, and how being in the public eye has shaped her. If you liked this episode then have a listen to Grace’s conversations with Graham Norton, James May and Krishnan Guru-Murthy

This week on Comfort Eating, Grace is joined by one of the most successful and enduring film stars of the past 40 years: Richard E Grant. The Swaziland-born English actor made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy Withnail and I, and has since starred in the likes of Star Wars, Gosford Park and Saltburn. Richard and Grace chew over the food he ate when he ran away from home as a child, the breakfast he eats every single day but hates, and what exactly he cooked Melissa McCarthy for brunch before the Oscars ceremony. If you liked this episode then have a listen to Grace’s conversations with James Norton, David Harewood and Tamsin Greig

TV presenter Rob Rinder joins Grace in her east London home to share his comfort food. Rob has been on our TV screens for a decade as Judge Rinder on the hit ITV show and, more recently, making documentaries. His 2020 BBC documentary My Family, The Holocaust and Me, about his Jewish heritage, garnered him an MBE for services to Holocaust education and awareness. Listen in as Rob swigs scotch and regales Grace with tales of his baker grandfather, his friendship with Benedict Cumberbatch, and how he turns to takeaway food at times of stress

Joining Grace for a big serving of Comfort Eating is Bafta nominated actress Leila Farzad. Leila is best known for her performance alongside Billie Piper in I Hate Suzie, her Netflix hit show KAOS, and is set to star in the next Bridget Jones film. Grace and Leila ruminate on the moot question of batter versus breadcrumbs, travel back to the Iran of Leila’s childhood, and chew over the best consolation Pret order after a terrible audition.

Hollywood royalty Stanley Tucci shares his ultimate comfort food with Grace this week. Born in America to Italian parents, Stanley and Grace discuss his love of Italian food, the lows of British food in the 1980s, and exactly which aphrodisiac he and Meryl Streep ate a lot of on set together

Maisie Adam joins Grace in her east London home to share her ultimate comfort food. Maisie is a comedian, writer and actress and one of the most exciting rising stars on the UK comedy circuit. Her critically acclaimed comedy sells out theatres across the land, and has bagged her a regular spot on the TV quiz show circuit. Maisie shares memories of pies at Elland Road, home of her beloved Leeds United; how she tried to emulate her school puddings; and just how many different types of gravy her dad had to rustle up every Sunday.

Rag’n’Bone Man joins Grace for a new serving of Comfort Eating. Rag’n’Bone Man, AKA Rory Graham, shot to fame in 2016 with his song Human. A couple of albums later, he’s collaborated with an incredible roster of stars, from Gorillaz to P!nk, and his back catalogue has been streamed billions of times. He and Grace discuss how oven chips are always either too burnt or raw, his dreams of opening a pub, and the day Shania Twain asked him out for lunch

Season eight of Comfort Eating with Grace Dent will kick off on Tuesday 24 September. Join Grace and her celebrity guests, including Richard E Grant, Rag’n’Bone Man and Vanessa Feltz, as they delve into what they love to eat when nobody is watching

The Comfort Eating team is taking a break. So for the next few weeks, we’re looking back at a few of our favourite episodes. In this episode of Comfort Eating, double Bafta winner Big Zuu goes round to Grace’s house for a plate of his ultimate comfort food. They talk about his ‘scandalous’ mother, growing up between extreme wealth and poverty, and the wild success of his show Big Zuu’s Big Eats. And, of course, the comfort foods that have seen him through it all

The Comfort Eating team is taking a break. So for the next few weeks, we’re looking back at a few of our favourite episodes. In this episode of Comfort Eating, Eastenders actor and all-round hun Natalie Cassidy pops over for a chat with Grace. She and Grace remember the 90s London club scene, discuss the perils of having a fitness DVD, and how being part of a soap for so many years shapes your identity. And, Natalie lets Grace in on the comfort foods that have seen her through it all

The Comfort Eating team is taking a break. So for the next few weeks, we’re looking back at a few of our favourite episodes. In this episode of Comfort Eating with Grace Dent, comedian Nish Kumar tells Grace about some of the most important moments in his life – and the comfort food that saw him through them. They lament the ‘golden years’ of Pizza Hut, discuss the ‘spicy’ period during his 20s, and Nish tells Grace how it feels to be pelted with a bread roll for his views on Brexit

The Comfort Eating team is taking a break. So for the next few weeks, we’re looking back at a few of our favourite episodes. In this episode of Comfort Eating, the pop star Rebecca Lucy Taylor, AKA Self Esteem, drops into Grace’s kitchen. Their riotous afternoon includes ‘northern women eating carbs’, the joy of buying expensive jumpers, and some unexpected tears. And, as always, Self Esteem revels in the comfort foods that have seen her through her life and music career

This week, Grace takes us on a trip down memory lane to hear some of the best bite-sized tidbits of food tales from seven glorious seasons of Comfort Eating, featuring the likes of Rafe Spall, Scarlett Moffatt and Russell T Davies. We hear the stories of Jay Blades’ school pudding obsession and Russell Tovey’s teenage love of brussels sprouts, and listen to clips that shine a light on how food and love are intertwined. We travel back to wild and youthful moments – a time when Siobhán McSweeney accidentally ate caterpillars, Adjoa Andoh was in a squat cooking for the masses on her dole money and Stephen Fry was on the run with stolen credit cards eating room service in the Ritz

This week, Grace is joined by east London’s plant-based princess Bimini who shot to fame in 2021, after the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, where they captivated the BBC audience with quippy one liners, high fashion runway looks, and death drops. Although Bimini didn’t snatch the crown, they remain the most-followed UK contestant. Since filming the show, Bimini has released several singles and a book, signed modelling contracts and become a mainstay at fashion shows around the world. The question still remains: what is this British drag icon eating when the knee-high 10-inch heels are off?