Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware - S12 Ep 4: Jade Thirlwall
Episode Date: November 3, 2021It was an HONOUR to have our first little mixer in the house! We welcome the wonderful Jade Thirlwall to mum's for her fave meal, a roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings. Jade turned up in ...full glam after a long photo shoot so it was just what the doctor ordered for our girl. She talks about her mum’s mince pies - and not the Christmas kind - her penchant for putting crisps in a tuna sarnie, drinking Malibu and always wanting the economy meal on the aeroplane. We discuss her beautiful relationship with the LGBTQ+ community and her obsession with Diana ross. It’s all in there! Thank you Jade, you gem x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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hello and welcome to table manners i'm jessie wet and i'm here with my mum in clapham mum we've got
exciting news darling because you don't have a kitchen can you remind us i think everyone knows
if they listen to this that i don't have a kitchen yep i'm bored of it they're bored of it i'm bored
of it you're definitely bored of it yeah six weeks mum six weeks then i'll be a nigella i don't think we have something to
celebrate i know i don't know if i know little trepidation here why darling we're going on tour
finally it's what is this two years after it was meant to happen we are doing our table manners
live tour we are going to be in edin, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham and London.
All the hot spots.
It starts on the 28th of April in Edinburgh.
And go down to finishing on the...
Sunday night at the London Palladium.
Oh my God, we're doing the London Palladium.
Oh wow.
Wow.
I forgot we were doing quite a big venue.
Jesus.
Maybe I should sing a little number.
Maybe you should.
You know what we saw at the Palladium?
What, darling?
Joseph and his amazing Technicolor dream coat.
I close my eyes.
I close my eyes.
Dropped at the curtain.
Ah.
Maybe we'll get the whole crowd to sing a version of drum.
I just go into Jason Donovan.
Anyway. Maybe we should get Jason Donovan. Anyway.
Maybe we should get Jason Donovan.
He could come in his Joseph jacket.
I can be the narrator.
Some folks dream of the wonders they'll do before the time.
Darling, do you know which guests we're having yet?
Or are we keeping this a secret?
I think we're going to keep it a surprise.
But we will have a special guest for each date.
And when can people buy
tickets they can buy tickets from friday fab so please buy tickets i don't want to be on i feel
a bit stupid if no one was there yeah i don't know if i can fill the palladium just with family
and friends we'll try um but yeah we are so excited This was a sold out tour a while ago
and we haven't been able to do it.
So yeah, anybody who wanted to come two years ago,
well, I guess now it's going to be even bigger and better.
Well, please come and don't leave us standing there on our own.
So two years ago,
we were meant to be doing the Shoreditch Town Hall.
Now we're London.
We're West End, baby.
Showbiz, get a new outfit.
You're making me feel a bit sick. but we have somebody fabulous coming on today i know and what have you cooked for this person
i've done a roast dinner because that's what she asked for she didn't ask for it but they
her management said she likes home-cooked food italian food and she loves a roast and i thought i'll do a nice roast chicken it's friday
night i've done it with all the trimmings i'm really happy and i love a friday night roast
dinner um and then i made panna cotta with spiced cherries why did you decide to do that because
i've made it with yogurt because i tasted it when i was away and i've made a Greek yogurt panna cotta. That's a good idea. Does it mean I
can have two of them? No. And what did you spice your cherries with? With allspice, cinnamon and
nutmeg. Frozen cherries? Yeah. You told me to get those. Yeah I have them in the freezer all the
time they're brilliant. Yeah. So today we have a little mixer we have somebody that i've
wanted to have on the show for so long she's hysterical she's a brilliant singer songwriter
part of one of the most successful bands ever and she's a huge ally for the lgbtq plus community and
i loved her on drag race i loved her on bake off i loved her on Drag Race. I loved her on Bake Off. I loved her on X Factor.
She's entertaining.
She's talented.
And she's coming around for dins.
Yeah, I want to know what's on her rider.
Maybe she'll give you some advice on how to perform.
Yeah, because I'm going to wear fishnets, darling, and miniskirts.
Wow, Mum.
Now you really want to buy tickets, huh?
Jade Thirlwall, coming up on table manners you've rocked up you've been kicked out of your cab i don't understand what happened there
they wouldn't wait for me thank you to ascribe to the listener what you're wearing. So I am wearing a very colourful, bougie tracksuit.
Oversized, colourful.
The rainbow colours are fully in there.
What's on the front there?
Skull with a knife through it.
Oh, a skull with a knife.
It looks like you're going to go skateboarding.
Yeah, it's giving Ed Hardy.
Is it Ed Hardy?
No, it's a cheaper version, I think.
Yeah.
So that, and then I'm giving you an Ariana Grande ponytails.
I love those.
It's a freaking pony.
It is, isn't it?
I mean, it's...
Is that all yours, darling?
I wish.
Well, a lot of it is, but to here...
Well, Cheryl Cole, when we said,
is that your shell, she said, I bought it.
Oh, did she?
To be honest, I don't usually wear extra pieces and things,
but I've been at a photo shoot today,
and I had to give them all.
Do you like photo shoots?
I hate them.
Not really.
They're quite tedious, aren't they?
They're around your face.
I know.
We did seven looks today.
Wow.
How long have you been there?
Seven looks?
Yeah.
So I've been there since this morning.
You're knackered.
You need a good...
I'm cream cracker.
Yeah, I bet you are.
I made you a roast chicken.
Have you actually? Don't, because that could bring. I'm cream cracker. Yeah, I bet you are. I've made you a roast chicken. Have you actually?
Don't, because that could bring a tear in the eye.
Oh, God.
I've made you roast chicken stuffing, roasties.
Cauliflower.
Cauliflower cheese.
Do you know what?
That's honestly my favourite meal in the world.
We did get told.
It's one of my favourites as well.
Northern stodge, Sunday roast.
Anything roasted is right up my street we thought
that's what you needed after hard days work i really do oh i'm thrilled to be here um cheers
we've got champagne cheers it is lovely to have you oh i'm so happy you've made this happen it's
been a long time coming it has but you're here now and that's all that matters um but i just
have to say this this that this ponytail is sensational
and the eye makeup's sensational.
I kind of feel like you're wasted being in Clapham today
when you should be going out to a gay club.
I've actually, I've wiped a lot of this off in the car with the baby wipe
because before it was like a big dramatic glittery situate.
I like all that.
But do you like those full lashes or do you like the individual?
I like the individual i like the individuals usually
mom's a bit more au naturel yeah um yeah i'm not au natural as long as i have red lipstick on i'm
happy oh if you've got a lip on you're good yeah um how's life life is lovely actually i'm having
a ball at the minute you're doing loads of promo Doing lots of promo The promo's around The Greatest Hits
Yes
So we've got a sort of
Greatest Hits album
Happening
With a few new tracks
We've just released
Well we've got a song out
Called Love Sweet Love
And obviously both the girls
Are on maternity leave
Yeah so how's that working out
Are you basically
Is that why you're doing
Seven Looks babes
I'm just woman womaning
the force so so they're not doing the promo so you literally are taking one for the team doing
the whole shebang yeah you're a good girl no i'm happy to because i'd hate to be at home twiddling
my thumbs i like being busy i like working so i'm more than happy to do it while they're resting up
but i feel like you're quite... Well, not resting.
Have you seen the babies?
Definitely not resting.
Have you seen the babies?
I have.
Are you godmother to both?
Well, the fabulous rich auntie is the title, I think.
I've seen Lee's bubba so far.
She's got twins.
She had twins, yes.
She wasn't even that big.
No, she's diddy.
She managed that well, didn't she?
I know, I know.
And she kept that quiet as well, very well.
Once.
Yeah.
That's the way to do it.
Although for me, it was quite obvious to us
because she is so tiny and she had this big belly.
I felt like to us it was obvious she was having twins.
But yeah, I went to see them not yeah, not so long ago, actually,
and they're beautiful.
I haven't seen Perry's yet.
I'm going to go and see her soon.
But I was also, like, you know, I wanted to give them a bit of space
because we are literally sisters and we're obsessed with each other,
but I didn't want to, like, intrude and remind them of work too soon.
Do you know what I mean?
So I give them a bit of time.
But, yeah, it's very strange
seeing them as mums because i always see us as like kids still i don't know why i feel like it
never leaves you the moment you get famous how old were you when you got chosen i was 18 to lisa
it wasn't yeah it was to lisa she was our mentor you were 18 i was 18 probably was 17 bloody hell
yeah and like they say don't don't like when you get famous at the age, you kind of stay a bit.
That's quite good, isn't it?
I'm not.
So, okay, so let's talk about you and your food and growing up in Newcastle.
South Shield.
South Shield.
Just outside Newcastle, yeah.
Okay, sorry.
No, no, it's fine.
And what's that famous thing they all eat there, palmy?
Palmy, yeah. That's what sorry. No, no, it's fine. And what's that famous thing they all eat there, palmy? Palmy, yeah.
That's what Cheryl talks about, isn't it?
It's like chicken with cheese on the top.
Yes.
And it's very slimming.
It is, yeah.
Well, I mean, I'm not so sure about it.
It's a Geordie food.
Yeah, I've grown up loving northern stodge.
Mince and dumplings.
Have you heard of that delicacy?
Yeah, I've heard about it.
Can you get it anywhere very good in London?
No, very rare.
I don't think anywhere does it.
Do you make your dumplings with suet?
Suet, yeah.
Do it properly.
Have you tried to make it yourself?
Yeah, I can make a mince and dumplings.
And does Jordan like that?
Well, he doesn't eat red meat, so I try doing a veggie one, but it's just not the same.
With corn, it's not going to do the same.
Sorry. No, it's got to be one, but it's just not the same. With corn, it's not going to do the same.
No, it's got to be the proper lamb or beef mince.
Yeah.
I bought some mince by Richmond's.
You know who make the sausages?
And it looks exactly like beef mince, the way they've done it. What is it, pork mince?
No, it's soy mince.
Oh.
And it looks exactly like, have a look.
I would try Richmond's because I've tried their vegan sausages.
And are they good? They're all right, actually, yeah. The vegg try red meat because I've tried the vegan sausages. And are they good?
They're all right, actually, yeah, the veggie sausages.
But I love a vegetarian sausage.
It's so annoying being with a vegetarian if you're not.
No, because as a northerner, we love red meat and lamb and mince
and mince pies and steak bakes from Gregg's.
Steak bakes.
We love it all.
The stodgier the better So yeah
But also being part Arab as well
I grew up having a lot of curries
Yes so my mum
What's your own heritage yeah
My mum's half Yemeni
And quarter Egyptian
How exciting
So then I want to know
What was on the dining table
So well my grandad used to cook a lot for me
And he'd make
It is literally just called
yemeni chicken soup which is like chicken on the bone um and it's quite a watery texture a broth
yeah kind of brothy and it's just goodness lots of spices flavored with Lots of flavour. Cardamom. What else is in there?
Turmeric.
Cumin.
Cumin.
Cinnamon?
Not cinnamon.
All the Arab spices.
Raghun-Mu probably.
Yeah. Or something like that.
Or sumac or something.
And then you make with it Arab bread, which is so easy to make.
It's literally just butter, flour and...
I'd love to try that.
Is it like a flatbread?
Yeah, very flat, very buttery.
Can you make that?
I can make that, yeah.
Jay, will you give us your recipes?
I absolutely will.
Because I absolutely would love to make them.
Are you a good cook?
No.
You did Bake Off, didn't you?
I did Bake Off.
How did you do?
I actually won it.
Oh!
But it was like best of a bad bunch.
I really lucked out that week because I went into it thinking you're going to be terrible.
I love to bake, but I'm not that good at it, but I just really enjoy it.
What was your showstopper that really stopped the show?
Actually, I did a gingerbread and meringue little mix concert.
Oh.
Yeah, it was really cute.
But on the day, I'd prepared and prepared and I thought, it's okay, I can do this.
But I can see why when people get in the tent,
they have meltdowns, because it is quite stressful.
Is it hot in there?
It's hot.
Why is it so hot?
You're just in a little baking oven, I guess.
And there's loads of ovens going.
And they do it in the summer.
Always in the summer, yeah.
I suppose it adds to the drama, doesn't it,
when you have them melt down all the chocolate.
What was Paul Hollywood really like?
I fancy him.
Me too.
What is it?
It's the eyes.
It's the eyes.
He's so gorgeous.
And you know he's a badon.
Yeah.
But the eyes are gorgeous.
I think he loves that he's the one that walks around
and watches you and puts you on edge.
Is he quite fit?
I mean, when he walks, is he good looking?
Yeah.
Yeah, he is.
He was a bit shorter in real life.
Oh, it's so disappointing, isn't it?
They're always short, aren't they?
He was definitely shorter than I thought he was going to be.
But he was lovely.
But yeah, it puts you on edge a bit
because you're trying, you're already flapping
because you know if you're cooking for someone,
well, you'll know exactly what it's like.
You want to impress them, don't you?
Yeah, you do.
When you've got them peering over you every two seconds
as you're doing it and then asking you questions as you're cooking. You're like, I'm sifting. I'd say. You want to impress them, don't you? Yeah, you do. When you've got them peering over you every two seconds as you're doing it
and then asking you questions as you're cooking.
You're like, I'm sifting.
I'm measuring.
And he's talking about,
don't we swear all the time?
Oh dear, that's all right then.
And did he talk about your soggy bottoms
and things like that?
Yeah, because I think for the,
it's not the technical,
the one where you can't see it
until they reveal it to you.
Oh yeah.
It was a cherry lattice pie.
Oh my God.
But luckily for me, in lockdown,
my mum had literally just taught us all over FaceTime
how to make a pie.
So I looked out there as well.
It was like all the stars aligned.
The gods were on your side.
Really did.
And I was like, oh, I know just how to make a pie.
Not a cherry one, but...
So you had your mum cooking a lot?
Yes, my mum loves to cook.
And so she was kind of doing
lattice pies yeah and then any sort of pie any pie any pie you know corned beef pie all right
mince pie but that's mince meat pie yeah yeah not a christmasy one it's literally like mince
meat with gravy and onions that sounds lovely anything with gravy on is a winner for me. So were you a
fussy kid? I mean, Jordan seems to think I'm quite fussy, my boyfriend, because I think
I grew up just liking what I like. I feel like my mum only made us what she liked as
well. So it was, you know, Sunday roast, mince and dumplings, you know, pies, fish and chips,
very like standard, you know, British cuisine, I suppose standard you know british cuisine i suppose and then on
the other hand it would be like curries and arab food where's your dad from so my dad's from england
yeah he's white british probably a bit of irish and where did they meet so they actually met via
my uncle who was in the army and was friends with my dad and introduced my mom to my
dad and that's how that kind of came about yeah but there's like there's quite a big Yemeni community
in my hometown because we live right on the port of time and so my granddad was in the merchant
navy as a fireman came over to the UK and met my nana who was Egyptian oh how lovely yeah but I think my nana died when
my mum was really young so we remarried but um yeah so that's kind of so when you marry Jordan
are you going to have a bit of an Egyptian theme to the wedding maybe I don't know you're gonna
come in on a throne like Cleopatra? Maybe I should.
I mean, I love being as extra as possible.
Yeah, I think the Cleopatra look would be... The eyes are already there.
But you're obsessed with Diana Ross.
Yes, she's my idol.
This is your ultimate.
Absolute idol.
How did that happen?
So, I genuinely believe growing up that my mum was Diana Ross.
Because she looked the spit of her.
Really?
Your mum has big hair.
Yeah, she had the big hair,
and she's got big, dewy eyes.
And she let me believe that she was Diana Ross.
And every time she'd, like,
go to the bingo with her friends,
she'd be like,
I'm going to do a concert,
and I'd be obsessed.
Oh, my God, I love this.
So I wanted to be just like her.
She's so naughty.
I know, I know.
And this went on for a while.
Did you feel let down
when you found out she wasn't Diana Ross?
Yeah, a little bit.
And you had the most amazing fancy dress birthday party.
Yes, I dressed up as her.
Mum, you need to see this picture.
I'll show you.
It was pretty iconic.
How old were you?
Oh, it was only a couple of years ago.
Oh, it was two years ago.
But I did, all growing up, I'd go to the school disco
and all the cool kids would be like,
Hult and X in rah-rah skirts
and I'd turn up in a chiffon Diana Ross
gown. I love this. Yeah, so
extra. So did your mum know you were going to
be a star from a young age? I think so.
She definitely believed in
me a lot. Did you go to ballet? I did
ballet, yes. Did you see Jessie?
And tap. So what grade did you get
to? Well, I remember there was a
conversation about doing an audition for Royal Ballet,
because I was really dizzy.
Royal Ballet?
I mean, it never happened.
I didn't have me Billy Elliot moment.
This is very similar to Cheryl.
Yeah, no, I loved it.
And I think I just didn't love it enough, though, to, like, do it properly.
Because I got to the point where everyone started, you know, when you go on points,
and it's so damaging for your feet.
You only want to do it, really, if you want to be a ballerina yeah and you know mess your feet up like that yeah because I
had friends that had like ingrown toenails and you know it was a hot mess and I just thought at that
point I said me mom oh nah I can't be bothered so when you when you went for that audition you'd
obviously watched X Factor yes I'd done it I'd auditioned for the first time
when I was 15
and I got through to boot camp.
And they made me do that awkward thing
where all the camera crew came to school
and I had to stand on stage assembly
and be like, I've got the X Factor.
And then I had to come back a few weeks later
and be like, oh, I didn't get through.
And it was mortifying.
Oh, babe.
I know, they really hyped it up.
But then you did get
through yes and i auditioned again yeah got through it why did you decide to audition again
because you just wanted it i just thought you didn't know anybody in the industry no like you
know i'm from a very small working class northern town and i'd write songs and i knew i wanted to
be a singer and i'd send in tapes to you know lond London in the hopes I'd get scouted or whatever so for
someone like me me and my family I could never have afforded to move to London yeah so that's
why I really did appreciate shows like The Ex-Fat back then because it gave you know people like me
an opportunity to you know try and make it so yeah I went three times and then third time got put in the group third time lucky baby yeah
so life on the road yes are you missing it yes massively how do you do I mean I believe like you
are mega pop star girl girl group pop star I believe that you know you're doing arenas like
I want to know what food is on your rider what you're demanding I mean I don't believe that
you demand anything Jade you're too polite but but what you're demanding. I mean, I don't believe that you demand anything, Jade.
You're too polite.
But I need to know,
because, I mean,
mine's an academy tour
and I'm going to have
a lovely time,
but I just need some tips
of something that's excellent
on your rider.
I mean, we're not that diva-ish,
to be honest.
It's like...
Do you have anything
that you can't live without?
I always have popcorn
on the road.
Oh, that's nice.
I like popcorn as a snack yep that's
a good idea um but it has a bit gassy though no yeah and there has been a few times where like
there'll be like popcorn in my teeth when i'm performing i'm really feeling it's one of them
they get stuck on your teeth oh baby it's a bugger to get out but it's like a good light snack i
think but i always have yorkshire tea have you love yorkshire tea on the rider that's the only
one i have.
Are you an airplane eater?
We love airplane food.
Do you know what?
I'm the one that gets,
because obviously we're allowed business.
The budget allows it with the label and stuff. But I always ask for the economy menu.
You're kidding.
Why, Jane?
If you're just doing bog standard chicken curry,
that's all I want.
I don't want this posh, chewy beef off the airplane.
Oh, I love it.
Do you know what? Sometimes they can't make posh, chewy beef off the aeroplane. Oh, I love it.
Do you know what? Sometimes they can't make posh food nice on an aeroplane.
Does that make sense?
So what is the posh food that you've been introduced to that you actually quite like?
That I like?
Yeah.
You're like, oh, I kind of like this life.
I don't know.
Are you a sushi girl?
No, I don't like sushi.
I don't blame you.
I was a bit scarred.
Give me a dumpling.
A dumpling any day of the week.
We went to Japan once and we had a team.
I presume you're quite big in Japan.
You're big everywhere.
Yeah, we do quite well in Japan
and Japan's like my favourite place in the world.
Why?
It's just like a different world
and they don't care that you're British.
It's like you either learn our language
or you get lost in Japan.
I love it. Is your audience older there or younger a bit of everything actually we did a festival once and I remember seeing in the crowd a lot of like grown men in little mixed t-shirts and this was
back in the early days was this in Japan yeah yeah how did you feel about that were you like
finally the men yeah mate I don't know were you like fuck off
the majority of my
personal male fans
are usually like LGBT
yeah
you know
and we love that
yeah
but in Japan it was
it was different I think
I don't know
they just love pop culture
though they love girl bands
they love boy bands
but yeah
there was one time I went
and they
made us do this live TV
thing
and in their culture
it's very rude
to not accept food.
Like, you have to eat it.
And we went to a fish market.
Oh, babes.
And it absolutely fucking stunk.
And I'm very bad with bad smells.
I'm wretched very easily.
It was in Tokyo.
Yes.
The famous fish market.
Yeah, the famous fish market.
If you get up at four in the morning or something, yeah.
And then we sat down.
And this was live TV.
They presented us with, like, raw sushi.
But it was, like, raw chicken sushi as well.
Oh, my God.
You'll get bloody salmon.
But it's rude not to.
I had to eat it and pretend I loved it on live TV.
And then go through it all.
Oh, honestly, it's given us watery mouth thinking about it.
Oh.
So maybe that's God as a bit.
What's your favourite drink?
As in alcohol?
Yeah.
I keep a classy and have a Malibu.
Do you know what I know what do you like it
with malibu with pineapple pineapple yeah or like orange juice i do love you should have got some in
i know but it's like i feel sometimes i'm embarrassed asking for it because it is a very
like 14 year old drink isn't it it's definitely kind of a holiday romance is that what you mean
i think that's why i like it it It reminds us of being on holiday. Yeah.
I was drinking lots.
I'd just been to meet my other daughter in the Bahamas.
Only because I couldn't get into America.
I didn't need another holiday.
My tiny violin is...
Oh, shush.
Oh, that's such a shame.
So we went and it was all cocktails.
It was Bahama Mama,
Yellowbirds with...
Yeah.
I like a Mai Tai.
Mai Tai and a daiquiri.
I love a daiquiri.
I want to know how this relationship,
like this beautiful relationship between you and the LGBTQ community happened
because it is a thriving, beautiful, real relationship.
Like particularly you have.
Yeah.
How did, when did you notice that this was um a romance I feel like it's always
been a part of my life like being an ally but it's not until like the past few years that I've
understood what it means to be an ally and how to do that properly but I suppose if I was like going
right to the root of it I think even from my first love was drag culture before you know the sort of LGBT scene and
as at a very young age I didn't really obviously understand what that was I would just see these
divas like Diana Ross or Cher and be obsessed with them. Have you ever been to Sunny Girls in Blackpool?
No I haven't but I know I'd love it I know I'd love it. It's absolutely it's like being in Paris
yeah obsessed obsessed I mean is ish. Ish, okay.
But with a little, a sprinkle of Blackpool,
but we love that.
I love a bit of Blackpool.
But, you know, once a year,
me and my family would always go to Benidorm
and we'd go and see all the drag acts.
Oh, they have drag acts?
Yeah.
I didn't know that.
And they'd always emulate, you know, the big queens.
And I'd watch it and I'd be fascinated.
So was there any Diana Ross?
Yeah, there'd be loads of Diana Ross drag queens,
obviously Cher. They'd do the Spice Girls. And I'd just watch it and I'd be fascinated. So was there any Diana Ross watches? Yeah, there'd be loads of Diana Ross drag queens, obviously Cher.
They'd do the Spice Girls.
And I'd just watch it and I'd be like,
who are these amazing adult cartoons?
And I'd love the big hair
and I'd try and copy it and the makeup.
So that was kind of like my first love of drag culture.
And then I always found I'd come home.
Like my dad and all these cis, hetero men around me would love it
and then we'd get back home and it was like suddenly not celebrated anymore it was very bizarre
so I would always associate Benidorm with this magical land where like anyone was accepted and
then you'd come back home and it'd be like oh no we're not into that you know what I mean
so and then I'd get into musical theatre and I had a lot of LGBT friends you know during my teenage years a lot of
gay friends who couldn't come out or I would have to be their beard or they'd have to move out of
South Shields to feel like they could live somewhere. Do you think it's hard up north? It's really hard I think
it's that like yeah a bit more small-minded a bit of an old-fashioned mentality and I don't think
it's necessarily that for a lot of people they are old-fashioned mentality and I don't think it's necessarily that
for a lot of people they are willing to listen but they just don't understand it because it
you know it's like passed through generations isn't it so if your granddad is like you know
being brought up to be homophobic then of course their son is going to then you know listen to
that until that guy yeah exactly and that toxic masculinity just seeps through each generation until somebody tries to, you know, change it.
So, yeah, it was it was very like that growing up.
And so from a very young age, I sort of understood that it was wrong and I didn't agree with it.
But I didn't know how to express, I suppose, that I didn't agree with it.
And then I moved to London.
You're so articulate when you explain it.
Oh, thank you.
Really, you explain it beautifully oh that's
lovely to hear actually sometimes i worry about my being articulate being abroad georgie
but no also you feel that such a level of responsibility as an ally yeah yeah and i
think i moved to london and of course it was my gay friends that took me in and took me out to
all the gay bars and you know i i was what I would consider like a basic bitch ally at that point
so you know very much loved the scene loved my gay friends would turn up to every event but wasn't
really an active ally so to speak so um yeah that kind of went on for a bit and then as the band
grew our lg our LGBTQ audience grew.
And then I think it just got to a point with me where I thought,
we're very much benefiting from this audience
and not giving much back in return.
And so that's kind of when I decided I wanted to be a better ally.
I'd get messages from fans who were in the closet
or were struggling or were from a country where it's
illegal and so I was
like oh wow I've actually got a platform
here and I could really be doing more
about that. So would you perform
in Russia?
I would initially say
no but then for instance we got a gig
in Dubai one time
and in my mind it was like I either
don't go or I go and make a statement
and give my fee to a charity and you know so I think it's case by case I've got no intention
of going to somewhere like Russia anytime soon because I obviously don't believe in
you know what's going on there but at the same time those places more than anyone else kind of
need people to turn up and be an ally and you know
fly that flag for them so they don't feel so alone and I think as an Arab woman as well it's
very important for me with my Middle East fans to show them that they can have someone you know to
look up to and realize they're not alone in it sort of thing so yeah I guess it depends but
yeah I reached out to Stonewall initially and asked to, like, meet with them
and, like, sort of teach me how to be a better ally
and just learn more about it and the history behind, you know,
LGBT rights and all that stuff.
Amazing.
And it's just been, like, a gradual thing.
And now, yeah, I feel like I have sort of
organically cemented myself in that world.
And, yeah, I feel like there's obviously still a lot more I probably
could be doing but I'm doing my best and that's all that matters I think you are doing your best
yeah and you explain it beautifully but back to food obviously um what would I mean I'm getting
an inkling that you like like you, you know, quite scodgy.
How often do you go to Gregg's, honestly, Jade?
Honestly, I live in Canary Wharf
and they've just, they're just about to open one.
Oh my God.
I love that you're not interested.
I thought it was that because of me,
because nobody else in Canary Wharf is asking for a Gregg's.
Forget Garcho Grill.
Forget all of that.
I'm shocked.
She wants Gregg's.
I'm shocked it's happening.
I absolutely understand that because they're sandwiches. They're actually good, aren't they? They're brilliant. They're tuna crunch. They're tuna crunch. It's the back. I'm shocked. I'm shocked it's happening. I absolutely understand that because they're sandwiches.
They're actually good, aren't they?
They're brilliant.
They're tuna crunch.
Their tuna crunch is the best.
I think I've stopped it.
Why?
I don't know.
On a bloom of bread.
It's very good.
It's gorgeous.
It's very good.
Sweetness to the tuna
and I appreciated that.
And they're just lovely.
I love that they're quite old school
that you turn up
and they've still got the hats on and stuff.
Yeah.
You know, every time you go there,
it's like, oh, can I have a fresh one?
I give her five minutes.
But they're now doing a sausage roll
that is that long.
Fucking Ed Sheeran at his wedding
had Greg's sausage rolls
piled up in a fucking pyramid.
I feel like I would do that.
That and Toby Carvery
as a roast.
Oh my, Toby Carvery?
Yeah.
Yeah, all the gravy.
I'm going to make a good gravy tonight.
Now, I just need to understand
Toby Carvery because I... They don't have them in London, I don't think. I've seen... I think I've going to make a good gravy tonight Now I just need to understand Toby Carvery Because I They don't have them in London I don't think
I think I've been to one in Isle of Wight
I love them
You eat as much as you want
Yeah I do like that
You know that we love that
But is Toby Carvery a chain
Or is it a style
It's a chain
No it's chain darling
Okay
But I don't think many do that, like, buffet style, do they?
There used to be one on the corner in Dulwich.
The Grove was a carvery, yeah.
Yeah.
I love a carvery.
Same.
Well, I guess we kind of got our fix with the BHS Christmas dens when we go and serve
our, we love that.
I used to love British Home Stores Christmas dinner.
But I'm so sorry they closed down.
Their canteen.
You go there for your Christmas dinner.
You have a little chipolata with your stuffing.
I loved it.
I love it.
So I'm getting...
You want bake-off.
She likes normal food, darling.
Normal food.
So let's go into your last supper.
You're about to go to a desert island forever
and you're having your last meal.
No, darling, six months.
No, I feel like we need to make the stakes a bit higher.
A year.
Start a main pud drink.
Start would have to probably be a soup.
Really?
Not many people say that.
Danielle Heim said it and I poo-pooed her and then i
realized that yours is my chicken soup so i don't like if you make a good soup like anyone can make
a soup it's quite easy yeah but you know when you get an elite one and you get a gorgeous bread with
it a dip in are you going like yemeni like are you going that yeah like a yemeni chicken with
the flatbread with the flatbread? With the flatbread.
Okay, I like it.
Buttery as hell.
Dipped in.
I need to make this.
Is it lemony?
No.
It's just Yemeni.
It's just Yemeni.
It ain't lemony, it's Yemeni.
Okay, so that's your starter.
Yeah.
With bits of chicken in it.
Yeah.
So it's almost like stewy.
Falling off the bone.
Beautiful.
Love it.
I'm really into this.
I'm going to Google doing a soup like that.
It's so easy to make.
Is it?
Yeah.
Will you send us a recipe?
I will actually.
Do you know what?
When my granddad died,
we all were looking for a recipe
and we couldn't find one anyway
because he wouldn't tell us.
He wouldn't tell us.
And I thought,
you've tucked that in your grave.
How dare you?
That's so neat.
And it was only like two years ago
we finally found the recipe online.
And it's a decent one.
And what's it called?
And I cried when I had it. Because you know when a taste takes you back, I'd not had decent one. And what's it called? And I cried when I had it.
Because you know when a taste takes you back,
I'd not had it for years.
What's it called?
Yamini?
It's literally just called Yamini Chicken Soup.
And the bread's called Khubs.
Khubs?
Yeah.
Arab bread.
And yeah, it was like,
it took us back to being a little girl.
It was amazing.
I think it's amazing when food does that actually.
You know, it kind of reminds you of a beautiful memory.
Ask Jessie. Oh yeah. Food is her most important thing. My swag bowls and everything. Yeah. I think it's amazing when food does that actually you know it kind of reminds you of a beautiful memory ask Jessie
food is her most important thing
my swag bowls in every
European country
okay so Maine
Maine is probably a Sunday roast
and by your mother?
yeah because nobody makes it like your mum
don't you think?
I mean I think yeah
I think my husband prefers his mother's
like mums just make the best food i feel like when when you give birth you're given like the superpower of like best cook best shoulder to cry on i mean my kids would disagree with you
because they've never fucking eat my food at the moment it's a mine yeah they eat mum's though but I think there's like
an emotional connection
between mothers and food
because like
I always remember
no matter what would happen
if I'd come in
crying from school
my mum would be like
do you want
mince and dumplings
and that would be like
she sounds like
my kind of woman
do you know what I mean
like they just know
what to make you
she's solving
through food
yes
and it's very much like
you know
when you walk
in a northern house
it's like if you
don't get offered a cup of tea then that's quite rude so anything can be solved with a cup of tea
yeah is your mum a bit like my mum was that if you open the fridge door there's enough to feed
at least five people honestly for two days during covid i feel like my mum then we thought she was
like gonna be housing south shields to feed them for the unforeseeable yeah i'm a bit like that and my brother like walks in
the house and he always goes in the freezer and picks out what he wants and leaves with it
it's very that we've actually got arab hubs that my granddad made in my mom's freezer
that were just that are just there forever yeah and mum's like, if anyone dares touch them and thinks it's like rubbish.
God, the freezer better not bloody break down.
Do you know what I mean?
So listen, you like Greggs and you obviously like a sandwich.
I love a sandwich.
What's your best filling?
Of a sandwich?
Yeah.
This is a bit weird.
Go on.
So the first bit's normal.
Tuna and salad cream with sweet corn with cheese and onion crisps.
Inside?
Inside, yeah.
It's honestly stunning.
I understand it's like a tuna melt.
It's stunning.
White bread or brown bread?
White bread.
White bread.
That is an elite crisp sandwich.
An elite crisp sandwich.
Yeah.
I like,
maybe we should make a cookbook
of all the elite sandwiches.
But Jade's,
Jade's coining elite crisp.
Elite crisp sandwich.
Okay, I like it.
And what would...
We haven't got...
We haven't got beyond, we've got soup.
So what's your main...
Yeah, we've got the roast.
You know, with all the trimmings.
Which meat?
And then you put...
Lamb and gammon.
You have them together?
Yeah.
Oh, wow, she really does cook.
I double did.
Oh, I should have...
Maybe I should have done lamb tonight.
But I love chicken as well, by the way. Do you? Yeah, yeah. Chicken's my go-to. Yeah, but I would... yeah oh wow she really does i double did i should have maybe i should have done lamb tonight but i
love chicken as well by the way yeah yeah but i would yeah but i would if you're treating yourself
yeah lamb is like yeah lamb's like what you get for your christmas dinner yeah it's a posh occasion
okay so you big pud fan yes wow apple crumbling custard yeah see i should have done like a school
dinner pudding for me so i, Mum has tried something tonight.
I've never made it before.
Panna cotta.
I've never made it before.
But we're a bit worried
it hasn't got enough wobble.
What do you mean
we're a bit worried?
No, you...
Well, we both are.
Yeah.
You are and I am.
No, I think I put slightly...
So, I've just been in Greece.
So, we had...
Because before she was in Bahamas,
she was in Greece.
Right.
Mum's really... I'm setting a theme here. Excuse excuse me i should be retired what's that woman called shirley temple it's given that so um i have this greek yogurt panna cotta so it's a mixture of cream and greek
yogurt i do love that it was so delicious so i've made panna cotta, Greek yogurt panna cotta, with spiced cherries.
Oh, darling.
So, but I don't know how well the panna cotta's done.
But it still tastes creamy, innit?
It will taste nice.
It'll still be lovely, I'm sure.
How do you get them out, though, of the mold?
I did put the vegetable oil around the thing.
I'm sure I have to maybe melt.
I'm sure they'll be great.
I have to read what Lorraine Pascal said.
Have you ever had a northern cornflake tart?
Yes, with treacle.
Oh, you've had it with jam.
I've had it with treacle.
So the cornflakes are in treacle.
A treacle, you put the cornflakes on the top.
Delicious.
And a drink of choice.
Is it going to be Malibu?
Yeah, probably Malibu and just a normal cup of tea, actually.
If it was my last meal.
Nobody said a cup of tea. Yeah, if it's my last one, I want to go out with the best cup of tea, actually. If it was my last meal. Nobody said a cup of tea.
Yeah, if it's my last one,
I want to go out with the best cup of tea I've ever had.
Do you have sugar?
No.
Oat milk as well now.
I've crossed over because Jordan's super healthy
and gradually he's trying to make me healthier.
So, okay, how was that when you...
You live together, right?
Kind of, yeah? Kind of.
Yeah, pretty much.
But how does it work?
When you're trying to really impress Jordan with a meal,
what would impress Jordan?
He likes healthy food.
So I can make him a good roast chicken mormon with nice herbs.
But does he eat chicken?
Yeah, he'll eat chicken.
He doesn't like chickens, he doesn't mind.
But the reason why he doesn't have red meat
is because he likes cows and pigs.
Oh, he doesn't like...
Okay, got it.
Yeah, don't ask.
I've had this conversation as well.
But yeah, chicken is fine.
Fine?
Yeah.
So you do chicken.
Okay, fine.
And is he a good cook?
Yeah, he's quite good.
I think he's like...
Jordan's a tighter person
where you can like throw something together and it's great.
Rassle it up.
Do you know what I mean?
He's one of them.
But where's his family?
Are they in London?
Yeah, so his...
Was he Brighton?
Did I make that up?
He lived in Brighton for a bit, yeah.
So he was born in London.
I think he lived in Brighton through all his teenage years
and that's how he ended up with being friends with Harley
and Rizzle Kicks and all that.
And then now he lives in Margate. Oh, wow. Wow, do you think it's trendy? Yeah. With being friends with Harley and Rizzle Kicks and all that. And then now he lives in Margate.
Oh, wow.
Wow, do you think it's trendy?
Yeah.
Do you know what?
He bought that house years ago before it was cool as well. Clever boy.
Do you go down there?
Do you like Margate?
I do.
It reminds me of home, actually.
Because it's a little seaside town.
Yeah, it's really beautiful, actually.
And it's nice for me to have best of both worlds, you know.
So I work in London. I've got a flat in London. And it's nice for me to have best of both worlds, you know. So I work in London.
I've got a flat in London.
But it's nice to escape to Margate.
There's good food in Margate, too.
Yeah.
It's definitely getting a bit bougier as well.
They do really good fish and chips.
Oh, do they?
I love how they put bougie and fish and chips together.
Yeah, no, but like...
I mean, a seaside town should do a good fish and chips.
But they've got, you know, really nice trendy, like, coffee shops now
that do, like, you know, nice trendy like coffee shops now that do
like you know
sourdough bread
everywhere
but you know
every time you blink
I see a little
sparkle
do you
yeah it's this
light and her
sparkles are there
there's probably
a bit of glitter
left from the shoot
yeah I think
I want glitter
for your birthday
yeah
you can never
go wrong with glitter
no
but be warned
you'll never
which is your
best Diana Ross
song of everything which would you put when you're never escape it. Which is your best Diana Ross song of everything?
Which would you put, when you're dressed up,
which would you do your karaoke to?
I mean, I love Chain Reaction.
Oh, it's not bad.
Yeah.
Upside Down's up there for me as well.
Yeah.
And then my...
I'm coming out, no?
Oh, surely.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But mine and my mum's song is
When You Tell Me That You Love Me, the ballad.
When you tell me that you love me. Yeah. But you don me that you love me yeah but you don't do little
mix do you do it do you sing it together when i was little we used to sing oh stop can your mom
sing no not really was that not a giveaway with the old diana ross switch not at that age because
she'd just say she was going out to sing so i love i didn't put you into it together little
mix concerts you've not done reach out
and touch someone and then they everyone i went to a concert and we all had to do it and i hate
reach out and touch and that's probably the cheesiest one to be fair she didn't want to
touch the stranger i'm starving i'm feeling a bit pissed sorry darling it's coming god actually
i've not yet much to do no god it's almost ready
this will sort you out don't worry yeah absolutely don't worry we'll all be
shluffing and watching like you know telly i'm just going to make the gravy oh okay
and i'm going to put the the things over here in the microwave and then they're ready is your
mum always this glamorous yes oh god i love it yes, I mean, have you got the red lip on?
Ish.
Of course.
It's come off because I'm drinking.
You need to reapply.
No, she's always, always glamorous.
And I did not learn that.
Because I'm lazy.
Like, my hair's still wet because I, you know, washed it.
I know, but for me, I like, I'm very all or nothing.
It's either very, very natural or it's super glam, drag queen vibes.
And that's what I like.
Jade, how many potatoes, darling?
Oh, how long is a piece of string?
Two.
Three.
Three, please. Yes, girl. I love a darling. Oh, how long is a piece of string? Two. Three. Three, please.
Yes, girl.
I love a potato.
There's the gravy for you, my love.
Oh, this looks absolutely stunning.
I'm thrilled.
This is so lovely.
Is it?
Yeah.
Just what I needed after a long day away.
So where would be your first point of call,
apart from Greg's?
When you get to South Shields,
where do you go?
Apart from your mother's house,
what would be the first point
of call for food?
Is there one place
that you absolutely adore?
So there's a famous road
in South Shields
called Ocean Road.
Sounds fabulous.
It sounds very exotic.
It sounds like LA.
Malibu. It's got like, it sounds like... LA. Yeah, Malibu.
It's got like, it's a road basically full of curry houses.
Okay.
And they're usually open like through the night
so you can have a night out and then go and have a curry after.
Would you do that?
Absolutely.
I mean, your belly won't thank you the next day.
What's your best curry?
Again, plain Jane.
Just chicken?
It's like a chicken tikka masala situation.
Do you know what I mean? Which naan do you go for? Peshawari? Not even that, hun. Butter? It's like a chicken tikka masala situation. Do you know what I mean?
Which naan do you go for?
Peshawari?
Not even that hun.
Butter?
Yeah.
Or a paratha.
Okay.
But I also
there's a place in South Shields
called Coleman's Fish and Chips
it's like
voted the country's
best fish and chips.
Really?
Yeah it's the best.
And that's
I always go there.
And what's your order?
Cod and chips obviously.
No but you wouldn't...
There's a theme here.
No, Sam.
Sam Smith's is a battered sausage.
Actually, Sam Smith's is the whole fucking menu, but...
Yeah, I mean, they also do, like, mushy pea fritters,
so it's basically, like, battered mushy pea.
That's a bit fancy.
That sounds amazing.
Yeah, it's so good.
This sounds great.
Yeah, phenomenal.
And that's, like, one of their things that they do
that they're quite famous for.
Where do you eat in Canary
Wharf? They've actually got a lovely Indian place
called Chai Kee. Oh, I don't know it.
It's kind of like Dishoom. Oh, we love Dishoom.
Yeah, it's very similar to Dishoom.
What else have they got there?
They've got a rocker there, which is quite nice.
I've never been to rocker. It's lovely.
Oh, they've got like push places.
Yeah. Of course they do. They've got like push places. Yeah.
Of course they do.
They've got like Shake Shack and stuff as well, but they've got lovely restaurants.
I've never had a Shake Shack either.
Is it good?
Yeah, it's good.
I prefer In-N-Out.
Have you had In-N-Out before?
Yes, I have.
It's clean, isn't it?
Yeah, it's like, obviously not great for you, but it feels fresh.
Fresher than like a Macchi D's, isn't it?
Now, you know, we've nearly asked you all the food questions that we asked.
But I do need to know what your lunchbox was when you were little.
What was on the front?
What were your school dinners?
What was my... Probably Groovy Chick.
There's a box.
What's Groovy Chick?
Remember Groovy Chick?
She wore, like, bell buttons.
Bang on the door.
She, like, had...
No.
She was blonde.
How do you know this, Mum?
Checked her arms out.
I don't know. she had like bell bottoms
you'll know when you see her
she was an absolute hun
who is she
they did like a whole like
birthday cards with her on
I had a groovy chick lava lamp
remember her
yeah I do
you are younger than me Jade
so that is really sharing that
so yeah I had a groovy chick lunchbox
and then inside it there would usually be
a cheese string
I've tried them on my kids and
they like it
it's more because it's fun you peel the bits and you make a little wig
so you have a cheese string
and then what would be your
would you have the sandwich filling of the
tuna mayo and cheese and onion?
No, I hadn't discovered that beautiful recipe until a later age.
Fine.
So it would be, like, ham or something very basic, you know, tuna.
Now, I want to talk to you about songwriting,
because I know that you and Leanne were kind of the...
I remember when I was doing my own sessions,
it would be like, I'd be working with people that were working with you.
Camille, who we love.
Love Camille.
Yeah.
Shun.
Love Shun.
Brilliant, I love her.
But you and Leanne became kind of the main little mix of writers.
Yeah.
Was that because you were writing...
You were saying you were writing songs when you were little, weren't you?
Yeah, we've always written
I think Leigh has as well
Just enjoy that process
But you were working with really brilliant women
Before lots of people were working with women
Always very important for us
I think I was always
From the very beginning that was our message
We looked up the Spice Girls
And we felt like it had been a minute since there was another girl band
For young girls to look up to.
So we embodied that in every aspect of our career,
with anyone creative.
We worked with Camille in the very beginning
before she really took off.
Yeah.
Megan Cattoni, who we did Salute with,
she was initially our vocal coach and then we brought her in.
Who's this?
Megan Cattoni.
I don't know her.
You've probably met her before.
She wrote
Salute for Us, with us. We were all pretty girls together actually, which went to Britney Spears.
Then that was like our first cut with another artist. Amazing. Not a bad one. Would you like to
write for more artists? Love to, yeah. I love it. I've got a few cuts coming out soon, which is like
really exciting because I think as a girl band member it took a long time for people to like take me seriously as a songwriter I think people just
assume that you get given songs um so it took a long time to get a publishing deal you know yeah
me and Lee only got a publishing deal like three years ago and like the 10 years have been
yeah so like which songs were you like presenting when you went to these publishing meetings?
I mean, you would have had like...
Every single, basically.
Besides Shout Out and Black Magic, it's been written by us.
I do love Black Magic.
Same.
Well, Camille's pretty much saved our career with Black Magic.
We thought we were going to get dropped.
Really?
So it was the third album.
We wrote a whole album and then we decided to scrap it
because it wasn't good enough. The label didn't think it was the third album. We wrote a whole album and then we decided to scrap it because it wasn't good enough.
The label didn't think it was good enough either
and it was just like,
it was like third album problems, you know.
The second album had done good
but we wanted to change it up.
Which ones were on the second album?
So that was the Salute era,
so it was like Salute, Move.
No, you're not Shout Out To My Ex.
No.
That was later, wasn't it?
Yeah, later on.
Because that was with Camille, wasn't it?
Yeah.
So it was Move on there.
What else was
the Salute album?
Little Me.
We did the charity
single that year,
the Word Up cover.
And so going
into the third album
we felt a lot of pressure.
And I feel like
the label put a lot
of pressure on us as well.
And then it got to the point
where there was like
rumours going around
that we were going
to get dropped
and we were like
shitting ourselves.
But they hadn't said that you were getting dropped. They hadn't officially said it. where there was rumours going around that we were going to get dropped and we were shitting ourselves.
But they hadn't said that you were getting dropped? They hadn't officially said it.
But there was rumours?
Yeah.
Oh, Jesus.
Which is even worse, isn't it?
The idea that you think people are...
I know.
I mean, I suppose it's quite hard, isn't it, for those expert artists?
Two albums in already was quite lucky for us.
I mean, babe, not lucky.
No.
You are a great great group no we are
but it's like it's just is it's quite hard gravy darling oh my god if there is any yeah don't worry
um sorry i am the slowest eater in the world i'm gonna have seconds love it if there's some
carry on speaking yes sir and so we sat in a meeting.
It was kind of like a...
It was a very important meeting and we were thinking,
oh God, this is it.
And then he said, Camille's just sent in a song
and we think it's going to be the game changer
and it was Black Magic.
And that was that.
Did you love it?
I didn't at first.
Did it feel too cute?
Well, we'd just done a kind of more R&B album,
and then Black Magic was like the poppiest we've ever been.
Yeah.
Which I didn't necessarily mind, because I do genuinely love pop music.
Yeah.
But I didn't get it at first.
It felt a bit cheesy for me.
No, I mean, I fucking love it.
But now, no, now I absolutely love it.
And the more I listen to it, the more I fell in love with it.
And then I was like, okay, I get it.
And actually, to be fair to Psycho at the time,
they put a lot of money into it.
They had so much faith.
They flew us out the US.
We did a big budget video.
And so it was like, oh, yeah, thank you.
So yeah, it really felt like it was taken off again.
And yeah, it was all thanks to Camille.
That was the first time we took a song that wasn't written by us as well and i think i i was a bit
proud in that moment too and i had to put my pride aside and be like no this is a hit but that took
to album three for you to take a song from someone else for a single yeah and people just don't
realize that i didn't realize that wow well i it's just, it's not what people,
I think people have...
They definitely don't.
...assumptions.
Yeah.
Of...
And I get it, you know.
Because I suppose history does sort of...
But then saying that, people thought about the Spice Girls
and actually they did write a lot of them easily.
Did they?
Yeah.
I need to ask you, Jade,
is there one particular scent or smell?
You were talking about nostalgia and crying over your, you know, eating that Yemeni chicken soup.
But no, like, is there any other kind of smell that can just take you somewhere so vividly?
Did you see Carol Birkin?
Sorry, sorry, that was a burp.
It's only a podcast with pros here darling is there a smell or a taste that just kind of can take you back somewhere oh
um do you have dixon's here what the savalloy shop. No. No, I haven't.
So up north, there's a shop called Dixon's.
It's kind of similar to Greg's, actually.
Do you know what a Savoy is?
Yes.
Like a Savoy sausage?
Yes, I do.
So you have like a Savoy dip and it comes with peas pudding.
Oh, nice.
I didn't know about that.
Right, it's quite famous up north.
But I actually can't remember the last time I had one,
and probably years and years ago.
But that smell of that shop
always reminds me of my grandad again
because bless him
as you can probably tell
I was very close to my grandad
he passed away when I was like 13
and yeah I feel like
it was funny with me grandad
because he was a very devout Muslim
but he would do anything to please us
and i was
obsessed with savoy dips so he had made of poor which i made of shit so he would take us to the
after school he would take us to dixon's for a savoy dip and he'd wait outside the shop
and all his muslim friends were all past him like how dare you anything to please his granddaughter
and so that smell always reminds me of that
so maybe several and i think do you know what i do really miss is like the smell of like a
bakery but like a family bakery and not one in a supermarket because they're a dying breed aren't
they i've got the best family bakery like you've got you've got done okay yeah you mustn't have one really no no canary
wolf doesn't have one no and that's like the smell of fresh bread yeah well we have one last question
to ask you and then i'm gonna make dessert before we delve into dessert yeah um do you have good
table manners jade i think so I don't know all the rules.
Like I'm not good with there's rules about
your knives and forks
and that isn't there
but I was never taught that.
But I think I do have
nice manners.
I think you do.
I say please and thank you.
Did your mum
drill this into you?
Yeah.
And I usually do wait
before everyone's sat
before I eat
unless I'm given
the blessing to eat.
I mean I ordered you.
You did?
Yeah I did.
I was forced to eat you were forced to eat
and what is your
worst table manner
in somebody else
people eating with
their mouth open
like chomping
oh god I think
I might have done that
no you didn't
I would clock it
you're sure
because it's a thing
that I really despise
and I would clock it
straight away
the sound
yeah
I can't stand
but I usually
lately and I think
it's an age thing i have things dropped
down my mom it's been for the last like 20 years okay fine it's a big bosom thing
my bosom doesn't connect with my mouth to make this stuff drop out i'm very flat chested so
maybe if that happens to me you don't see it mine's right down yeah do you end up with it on your lap yeah okay so like a tits
yeah okay so mine ends up here penicillin's on an ironing board
what is that what you call it yeah i've never i've never heard that one aspirin's on an ironing
board i've honestly never heard that phrase and it's phenomenal you're welcome yeah aspirin's
on an ironing board all the boys at her school used to call her that.
Really?
No, fucking Jack used to get the whole coach to sing,
ah, flat chest.
No, I used to get bullied for my flat chest.
I fucking love it.
It's chic.
Oh my God, I love it now.
But when I first joined the band,
I was convinced I was getting a boob job.
Really?
Yeah, because I just wanted to feel more womanly,
which is so ridiculous.
And now I love my fashion tits yeah
they're fashion but it's good enough for kate moss do you know what i mean exactly i mean kate still
has bigger boobs than me but fuck it fuck it diana ross didn't have big boobs didn't she
no she was not when she's in the supremes i don't know she was kind of a very thin neck here was
very thin really how did you know this darling because she was my era, wasn't she, darling?
Do you like the Supremes?
I do.
Let's talk about Dreamgirls.
Of all the Tamla Motowns, they're not my favourite, favourite,
but I love Tamla Motown.
But I do love all their songs.
But when you saw Dreamgirls, did you think,
Danny, you're a bit of a bitch? A little bit, but I mean... You their songs but like when you saw Dreamgirls did you think Diana you're a bit of a bitch
a little bit
but I mean
you kind of loved her more
yeah I mean
she could read me a filth
and I'd love it
I did actually meet Diana Ross
oh my god
it was the best experience ever
I went to see her
with my mum in Las Vegas
oh wow
you know
at the Wynn Theatre
and then we got to meet her after
and she was really lovely
did she know about this love
you had for her?
I think she must have been told
that there was like a super
What were you wearing?
What were you wearing?
What was I wearing?
Ball gown.
No, I wore a lovely suit
with a glittery vest.
I didn't want to, you know.
You didn't want to upstage her?
No, did I?
And I didn't want to, you know,
look too try hard.
My mum obviously
had her best dress.
I think she had her
favourite jumpsuit on.
We did the sellers up
and I didn't
tell me mum
that we were
going to meet
her as well
so when we
went back
to stage
me mum was
just like
oh this is
lovely this
and then in
walks Diana Ross
and me mum
was just like
oh wow
and I did that
really
you'll know this
when fans come up to you
and they like
try and get a picture
and the phone
doesn't work
and they're like
oh no
I was doing
all of that
and I was like
oh look
I dressed up
as you
and it wasn't
Lord
and I was like
oh fuck
no
it was just the best
it was the best experience ever
and then like
the whole of the rest of the evening
me and my mum
were literally just in shock
like we've just met Diana Ross
maybe you should play her
in a biopic
I'd honestly
I would die
maybe you should do that
I would retire after that
if I ever did do my own record
I'd have to have Diana Ross on it somehow.
Or I'd love to write a song for Diana Ross.
She's just done a new record, hasn't she?
I know, and I'd try my best to get involved somehow.
Oh, babe, we all did.
I know, I'm not really...
Did you get the email being like,
Diana's looking for songs?
I didn't even get that far.
I wasn't taken seriously enough yet in the songwriting world.
I don't understand this.
You've written absolute bangers.
I think maybe because we do a lot of choral rites, like, because I do genuinely just love
collaborating with people.
Me too.
But sometimes people then see that as like, I don't know, maybe because they're
weird, the artists think, oh well they probably just like wrote one line and then got a cut
when it's obviously not that weird.
But I've got a,'ve written billy port as new
singer yeah me and eminiki and invisible men have you worked with them before no but i've heard
about them um yeah we wrote a song that's amazing i know and i mean gag at that billy's supposed to
be doing it next week isn't he is he so he's probably going to talk about his single yeah
well then we can just thank you very much for that piece of info. Tell him that I love him.
I've never met him yet.
What?
I met him at a fashion thing
and he was really fabulous.
Yeah, he's amazing.
And actually that song,
which would be good to know for him actually,
I don't think he knows this.
So me and Uzo,
I mean he went in a session together
to write for Billy.
And I was like,
so tell me a bit about Billy
because he's met him before.
I was like,
tell him about his personality
so I feel like I'll write a better song if I he's met him before I was like tell me about his personality so we can get
I feel like I'll write
a better song
if I know him
and so he was telling us
all about Billy
and he was like
he was doing impersonation
of when he spoke to him
that's fine
and he was like
oh he was saying to me
like you know
we've got to let the children know
and I was like
that's the song
and so the song is
got to let these children
know what time it is
and it's all about
how he's like been there done that I think the lyric is been there these children know what time it is And it's all about how he's like
Been there, done that
I think the lyric is
Been there, done that
Worn that dress
You know mama knows it best
And it's very calm and fabulous
What clever
Did you love Pose?
Oh yes
Will you try a panna cotta?
Absolutely
Of course I will
I'm excited about this one
Me too
But I'm going to try And get them out the mould
Do you need any help?
Because you basically
When you go on
When you see them
On the MasterChef
They look for the wobble
But I don't think
Mine's going to wobble
Do you want to pass your plate?
So maybe it'll be like
A creamy Haribo
Oh piss off
Maybe
Jessie
That was honestly
That dinner was gorgeous
Was it nice?
Good darling
Thank you so much
Got a little bit of a wobble Oh mum yeah Thank you so much.
Got a little bit of a wobble.
Oh, mum, yeah.
It does.
It's wobbling.
It looks lovely.
Does it?
The presentation's just... Oh.
...squeezy.
Mum, this is delicious.
It's actually beautiful.
Is it?
Yeah.
Does it taste of Greek yogurt?
Yes.
It does actually.
Hints of Greek yogurt. Light. Yes does actually. Hints of Greek yogurt.
Light.
Yes.
Very light.
Sourness.
And I'm really getting the spice chariots.
Wow.
No, it is nice.
It tastes yogurt-y.
It is.
Whose recipe is this?
Lorraine Pascal?
Yeah.
Thanks, Lorraine.
I changed it slightly.
How did you change it?
I had to add some ingredients.
Why?
Because I wanted more yogurt.
Mum, this is great.
It's nice and light, actually.
Yeah.
I know what your karaoke song's going to be,
but just confirm.
Diana Ross and the Supremes, Baby Love.
Did you know that?
Ooh, baby love.
Well, we're not a little mixed, are we?
What key are we in?
Wow.
It does start high
doesn't it
ooh
baby love
my baby love
I need you
oh how I need you
you're an angel
okay but
if you were going to do
a little mixed song
on karaoke
what would you do
and whose part
would you take
oh wow I feel like power is a good karaoke song because I feel like song on karaoke what would you do and whose part would you take oh
wow
I feel like
Power's a good
karaoke song
because I feel like
with karaoke as well
you want to big sing
sometimes
yeah you've got to sing
Power
okay
which bit would you do
I mean I'd attempt
Perry's but probably
not very well
Perry's got the range
Leah's too to be fair
but lord knows
I'm an alto
are you
well I'll belt if I have to but but it's an effort, you know.
Are you the blender?
Yeah, I love a harmony.
I'm the harmony girl.
And I feel like my head voice is my strong thing.
I love your head voice.
Yeah, that's my thing, I think.
I can belt, yeah.
But I definitely, like, if I do it too much,
if I do a really high note, I'll feel like I'm going to shit myself.
And on that note...
LAUGHTER
We finally got a little mixer in the door.
Wow, she was a banger, wasn't she?
She came in with that outfit on.
I thought she was going to skateboard across the kitchen.
I mean, you're making out that she's like in airwalks and fucking like...
It was an odd outfit, Jess, I have to say.
Hummies.
Had a skull on the front and roses.
It's fashion, look it up.
It looked like a tattoo.
the front and roses it's fashion look it looked like a tattoo um it's funny that her and michelle both gay icons came in in similar baggy baggy stuff baggy stuff yeah underneath there was a
glimmering glittery sequined leotard do you think i believe so. She had sparkly eyes. She did. Sparkles on her eyes.
She was lovely.
She was so sweet, so polite, so tired.
Bless her.
I think she was exhausted.
Gorgeous girl.
But just lovely and so open.
That's what I love about Jade.
She's such an open book.
Like, you know.
Yeah.
She's honest.
Should we go up to the northeast for a kind of northeast cuisine?
And we'll go to Dixon's.
Yes.
We'll have palmy
chicken and the battered um the battered mushy peas yeah I've never heard that one I like it
I like this oh sorry keep you up darling that roast has done me in mum panna cotta very nice
I didn't mind the lack of wob wobble I think it was pretty good actually I know you've said that
I'm rather pleased with it.
And it didn't taste too creamy, did it?
It tasted like... It had a tartness.
Yeah.
I appreciated it, thank you.
A bit disappointed with the cherries.
No, I liked them.
I would have liked them a bit more sour.
Were they supposed to be sour?
No.
Why would you have sour with the yoghurt?
You didn't need sour.
No, okay.
It was good.
Fine, all right.
Warming on this autumnal evening.
Thank you to Jade Thirlwall for coming on the podcast this has been in the mix see what i did there um for a while and we're
so thrilled to have had you and little mix's greatest hits record is out oh so their records
call between us and it marks their 10th anniversary and she's about 12. So that's out on the 12th
of November. Give it a listen. I'll make you happy and I can't wait to see what Jade does next. Me too.