If man-heavy “I’m funnier than you” panel shows leave your comedy palate in need of a cleanse, try feasting on Do the Right Thing.
Soft-voiced but sweary host Danielle Ward describes it as “the podcast panel show that wants to do the right thing in any situation”, with funny guests responding to life’s common dilemmas. OK, not all of them are common. Or, indeed, real. “You cry Creme Egg filling. What’s the wrong thing to do?” is neither.
Furious vegan Michael Legge and the more measured – but just as deadly – Margaret Cabourn-Smith are team captains and neither is afraid to insult members of the public who seek advice. “My boyfriend saw the dentist for the first time in 12 years today for his rubbish teeth. When he came back, he told me how she kept resting her breasts on his face,” says one woman. “Should I be concerned?” It transpires that he doesn’t brush his teeth at night. “You don’t deserve tits in your face!” storms Legge.
Their latest guests are gently bickering couple Sara Pascoe and John Robins, plus bomb-disposal expert Steve, who, they learn, has never had the urge to diffuse his alarm clock. He was once shot at in Bosnia, but he didn’t notice. “We weren’t aware of it ’cause we were listening to Phil Collins on repeat.”.
Some jokes cause mild hysteria, while others flop, which is half the fun when you’re firing off gag upon gag. Moments of joyous bad taste and penis-based quips separate it from Nicholas Parsons territory. That and the liberal sprinkling of C-bombs. Random points are awarded and useful facts emerge occasionally, but the true appeal is its useless waffle masquerading as sound advice. Yes, vegans can kill wasps.
Do the Right Thing has a great back catalogue: the episode with Rufus Hound and Diane “Philomena Cunk” Morgan is a jewel. While conversation turns to gambling on how far you can get when your car’s running on empty and the pain of a school reunion, Morgan cuts through with understated bafflement. “Oh my God, this is awful,” she says. “I thought it was going to be like Loose Women.”
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