Russell Tovey’s tale of two brothers is a tribute to queer lives

Donald is in a tizz. His younger brother Owen has turned up on his doorstep and their reunion is not a happy one. It’s more an awkward encounter, full of unspoken emotion that Owen himself doesn’t understand. Donald’s life as a gay man, not very successful drag act and full-time drama queen is incompatible with his brother, who’s only ever drunk water and has a tendency to take everything literally. It’s all too much.

Starlings, the story of Donald and Owen, their community and family, starts small and expands into something larger and more emotional, a tribute to LGBTQ+ lives. Russell Tovey, excellent actor and art-lover-about-town, wrote Starlings (he also plays one of the smaller parts). Forty-something Donald, played by Andrew Scott, is particularly delicious, his OTT bitchiness leading to many of the best lines, but the entire cast is on point.

Starlings calls itself a novel, albeit one specifically designed to be heard. The sound is immersive (a visit to a club is well done, noisy but not overpowering); the voices are written to be spoken out loud. The biggest barrier to Starlings is the terrible opening theme tune, but blast through that and enjoy.

Tovey has long refused to stay in his lane. And here are two more audio offerings from people known for their other work. Jamie East is, admittedly, a presenter, but a pop culture one, hosting telly about Game of Thrones, as well as the Tales from the Celebrity Trenches podcast. But his new podcast, Bad Blood, examines a different part of life. A year ago, East discovered he had blood cancer (chronic myeloid leukemia). It was a complete surprise.

You can hear his utter shock in the first episode of this four-parter, much of which he recorded in the immediate aftermath. The floor dropping away, the door slamming shut behind you. As he says: “We all know that cancer affects one in two of us. Poor fucker, we think, about the other bloke.”

Bad Blood is intimate stuff – a man speaking alone into a microphone, a personal diary – that broadens into a wider critique, not of the NHS but of influencers who blithely talk nonsense about health and “wellness”. East’s personal journey is one that’s familiar and will provide comfort to many. Others would keep such things to themselves but, as East says, that’s not his nature. His openness is admirable.

Here’s someone else branching out, and yes, that is a pun. Caitlin Moran, a writer known for her hilarious newspaper columns and books, is a keen gardener, and in Outsiding, a new podcast, she teams up with Adam Frost, garden designer, horticulturist and Gardeners’ World presenter.

Moran has a beautiful garden, which is where most of this show takes place. Behind it, she’s acquired another, non-beautiful garden, which is, she says, the secret reason for the show. “I’m starting to make it over from scratch with, I believe, your help all the way to make it look beautiful,” she says to Frost. “Yeah, but someone’s only just told me that,” he quips.

I kept waiting for this part to happen, but it didn’t (maybe the new garden development will be in Patreon-only shows?). Instead, Outsiding turns out to be an interview podcast where a celebrity sits with Moran and Frost and chats about gardening and being outdoors in general. The first guest is Bob Mortimer, who is excellent company, as ever. I enjoyed the horticultural asides, such as Moran explaining how oak trees are the reason for Britain’s empire (they grow to enormous heights, so the wood was long enough to make large boats).

Outsiding is sold as a visual-first show – though, as there isn’t much actual gardening going on, it works well on audio, except for the initial tramp around Moran’s undeveloped garden. Future guests include Charlotte Church, Alex James and Mel Giedroyc. The vibe will be different if it’s chucking it down, but no doubt the conversational warmth will continue.

Photograph by Dave Benett/Getty Images