Nobody Panic

Creators and hosts of the hugely popular podcast ‘Nobody Panic’, Stevie Martin and Tessa Coates are celebrating the publication of their debut book with a UK tour that will culminate in a night at The Bristol Improv Theatre on Saturday, November 20.

Martin and Coates are both successful writers and performers with solo standup careers; together they also made up two thirds of sketch comedy group Massive Dad, along with Liz Smith – and are amongst the ‘female millennials changing comedy’ (The Guardian).

Formerly known as ‘The Debrief Podcast’, Nobody Panic has earned a loyal following and a deserved reputation for being a funny, relatable and no-holds barred guide for functioning adulthood, tackling questions of all kinds with a characteristic lack of judgement and lightness of touch.

Tessa Coates and Stevie Martin – photo: Paul Gilbey

The pair tell Bristol 24/7 how the idea for the book was born, and outline what audiences can expect from going to see a podcast, turned into a book, on a live stage…

Nobody Panic began life as a podcast and audio-guidebook to ‘being a fully functioning adult without screaming all the time’. Over 170 episodes later, how are you managing?

“You know what, you’d think we’d be full life and wellness gurus now that float in and out of rooms and quote Confucius at random but no. To be fair, the podcast has helped both of us hugely in the sense that we no longer cry on buses regularly and have figured our lives out a little better. But the other day Stevie put a can of beans in the microwave and nearly exploded the kitchen so y’know.”

Can you chart how Nobody Panic has evolved since you started?

“The topics we look at are much more varied now, and sometimes we redo old episodes to include our life experiences now we are a bit older and not so completely clueless. We also get more guests in which is fun and the episodes tend to be listener suggestions these days which we really like. Someone last month yelled HEY, COULD YOU DO HOW TO STACK A DISHWASHER at us at a gig and it turned out to be a very fun episode actually.”

What is your relationship like to your podcast audience?

“When we’re recording it just feels like we are talking to each other, its the live episodes that remind us of how a) people listen and b) people actually take the advice. Listeners have told us they’ve quit their jobs, left toxic relationships, got back in touch with old friends and completely overhauled their lives because of the episodes and really it’s best we don’t think about that too much or we would freak out. Imagine someone listening to you and QUITTING THEIR JOB.

But it’s really cool – and during the pandemic it became difficult to connect with people listening because we couldn’t be in a room with them. Halfway through the lockdowns we found a page where people had donated and left lovely messages and both of us, independently, had little cries. Those lockdowns were HARD.”

You are unafraid to ask ‘life’s biggest (and smallest) questions’ with honesty and humour. How would you characterise the tone of your conversation? Is there anything that you’d steer clear of as a conversation topic?

“We tackle anything from how to leave a WhatsApp group to how to cope with grief. Nothing is too big or small! The conversations are always as focused as possible, but we bring in our own life experience and then expert advice where necessary – if there’s a topic we obviously can’t speak on, like for example being a trans ally or how to budget, and we get in someone who can teach us. And then listeners get to hear us asking all the stupid questions they feel they wouldn’t be able to ask!”

How did the idea for the book start to take shape? Which of our friends and family should we be buying it for?

“It was a natural progression because both the episode structure and the tone lend themselves so well to a book – the audiobook especially. We wrote the book we would have wanted to read when we were younger so it’s definitely helpful for women in their twenties but to be honest it is for anyone who is struggling to get a handle on daily life, maybe needs a confidence boost or a reminder that we are all in the same boat – while having a laugh. No preachiness and lots of silliness.”

And lastly, what can we expect from the live show at The Bristol Improv Theatre?

“Lots of laughing, lots of helpful advice, at least one anecdote where Tessa starts it by saying, “well haven’t we all…” to which Stevie replies, “sorry nobody has ever done that” and, if we’ve done our job properly, you’ll leave feeling thoroughly uplifted.”

The Nobody Panic Book Tour is at the The Bristol Improv Theatre on Saturday, November 20 at 8pm (doors 7.30pm). Tickets are available at www.seetickets.com. 

Main photo: Paul Gilbey

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