Interview: Made in Chelsea’s Jamie and Francis

You can expect excruciating revelations, mega LOL moments and interactive, fast paced jinks from hilarious TV twosome Jamie Laing and Francis Boulle during their first ever UK tour.

Fans are used to hearing these lovable gents bare their souls, reveal all their secrets and even read their diaries on their Private Parts podcast: now they’re ready to reveal the most intimate and sordid details of their lives, including the on and off-screen gossip from BAFTA-winning Made In Chelsea, in front of a live audience. Here they tell us why absolutely nothing is off limits, even though their parents will be watching, and what they hope to achieve from the 20-date tour of Private Parts Live.

Why are you are touring Private Parts?
Francis: We get a great buzz from making people laugh. We’re so overwhelmed by the podcast’s positive feedback. It may surprise people that we’d put ourselves out there on stage, but we performed at school and university and share an urge to push out our comfort zones and hone our acting skills.
Jamie: It’s one of those things I’ve wanted to do forever. I went to Leeds to do theatre and performance and we’ve always loved the stage. We started the podcast to do something different. Everyone always talks about lovers but there’s no greater thing than a friendship, it is the undying thing. Francis is one of my best friends and we have so many stories together.

What’s behind the success of the podcast?
Jamie: It’s very revealing. And we have great guests.
The name Private Parts is about us all trying to protect ourselves. We all have skeletons in our closet, funny stories and silly things we’ve done. It’s so relatable. There’s this barrier – that so-called celebrities don’t want to be honest – well, we do. We have around 500,000 listeners a month, people love it.

Are you embarrassed about stuff you reveal?
Jamie: Some of the things. We talk about the naughtiest things we’ve ever done. We basically chat about our lives without worrying what people are going to think or say. I think that’s what is so great about it.

And what can the audiences expect from the live show?
Francis: Olivier-worthy debut performances from two D-list reality stars with rank delusions of grandeur.
Jamie: We’re honest about everything, so it really is no holds barred. It’s about revealing stuff that you never talk about.

And what’s the format of the show?
Jamie: We’re having a chat and showing lots of clips of stuff we’ve done in the past – and we’ve created some new ones. It’s going to be very interactive and fast-paced. There’s a lot going on – there’s loads of shocking content and loads of really embarrassing stories but we’re just going to reveal them because, why not?

How are you feeling about being on stage?
Francis: Very excited – I think it’s going to be such an incredible and cool thing to do. I never in a million years thought I’d be doing a live UK tour. I hope we’re pretty self-aware, we realise we’re not comedians but we’re both excited to give it our best shot and put on a great show.
Jamie: People love the podcast and this is our first chance to bring it to the stage. It’s super exciting.

And what do you hope will come out of it?
Francis: I hope it will be well-received and might lead to a follow-up tour. Maybe a world tour if it goes really well.
Jamie: I’ve always wanted to have my own chat show. I love finding out about people. So hopefully this is a little starter of what’s to come.

Any special guests appearing on the podcast or tour?
Francis: Yes, Jamie Laing will be making a special guest appearance supporting me on my UK tour.
Jamie: We are asking Hugh Grant to come onto the podcast. The guests are going to get bigger. I’d love to get Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd. Huge comedians love doing it. We’re going to have some surprise faces make an appearance as part of the live show which we’re not going to reveal…

Are any towns or regions particularly important to you?
Francis: I studied at Edinburgh so I’m excited to get back to my old stomping ground. It amuses me how much it annoys proper comedians that two jumped-up reality TV stars would deign to perform there. We’ll be performing in Hertford on my 30th birthday.
Jamie: I’ve got my birthday on 1 November in Corby! In London we’re going to have lots of big names in the crowd. I can’t wait.

What do your friends and family think of it?
Francis: Wholehearted ambivalence, for the most part. But our co-stars are clearly seething with jealousy.
Jamie: My mum’s probably going to watch, that’s the worst thing. I don’t let my mum listen to the podcast because I’ve said things that I’ve lied about. I did an internship which she fought tooth and nail for. It was two months and I lasted a day and a half before I quit. I woke every day at 6am, put my suit on and pretended I was going to work. She found out on the podcast!

What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve revealed on Private Parts?
Francis: Jamie has regular ‘sex’ with a silicone vagina called a flesh light.
Jamie: You don’t want your parents to know these things. But we just do it. That’s what’s great about it.

Are any revelations off-limits?
Francis: We keep no secrets – this is something of a tell-all. Lots of juicy stories – the real inside scoop.
Jamie: We don’t edit it. That’s the great thing. It’s all the stories from when we lived together. We talk about fame a lot and what it’s like to be a reality star: dealing with comments on social media, the criticism and the glory. Someone once said: ‘That Jamie Laing – he really is a short, balding dwarf.’

Private Parts Live is sponsored by streaming service NOW TV and visits Bristol University’s Anson Rooms on Oct 12. For more info, visit www.privatepartspodcast.com/privatepartslive and www.bristolsu.org.uk/groups/bristol-su-live/events/private-parts-with-jamie-laing-francis-boulle