She was Max Branning's long suffering wife. She loved him, he loved her but he just couldn't help himself cheating. Jo Joyner joined EastEnders in 2006 - and the chemistry between Jo and Jake as Max and Tanya was instantly electric. They quickly became one of the most popular couples in British soap and it felt like they and their kids had always been in Albert Square. Here Ashley Byrne is joined by our own Soapy Simon to take Jo through her turbulent times as Tanya.

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He’s starred in several great British sitcoms but playing Spike in Hi-De-Hi is his most famous part. Here Ashley Byrne talks about the birth of one of our best loved sitcoms with Jeffrey Holland. Jeffrey also chats about his connections to Are You Being Served, Dads Army and of course You Rang M’Lord and Oh Dr Beeching. Oh and also his one play about comedy legend Stan Laurel.

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After a hiatus due to our main host Ashley Byrne going down with Covid-19, we're pleased to announce he's on the way to recovering and Distinct Nostalgia will be back in action from next week. Here's a teaser of just some of the film, soap, comedy and other tv nostalgia interviews, reunions, quiz shows AND new drama in store over the autumn and winter months. Have a Listen now

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Today we’re marking the 35th anniversary of the death of Hollywood legend Rock Hudson with an award winning drama about how the superstar was manufactured by notorious agent Henry Willson. Bette Bourne plays Willson with Michael Xavier as Rock. It’s not all drama though, Tim Fountain’s wonderful writing and the actors’ performances mean the story is delivered with a degree of comedy throughout. Paul Kendrick plays Dale the publicist with Iain Mackness as Phyllis. Matthew Ganley is the newsreader.

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Peter Dean played Ian's dad and Kathy's husband Pete Beale for 8 years. He was one of the original EastEnders cast until his character was killed off in the early 1990s. Here he has a fascinating chat with Ashley about some of the original roots of EastEnders. He's has fond memories of his co-stars including Adam Woodyatt and the late Wendy Richard. And he recalls his time in another British soap.

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Sylvia sheds light on the little explored divide in the family at the heart of the suffragette movement in Britain in the early part of the 20th Century. It charts Sylvia Pankhurst’s split with her own family over the issue of class involvement in the struggle for women to get the vote - her belief that the suffrage movement should include working women was put into practice when she founded a toy factory in the East End of London. Here, she employed only women but paid them a man’s wage. Written by Lesley Strachan and directed by Colin Guthrie, Sylvia is a powerful exploration of the relationship between Sylvia, Emmeline and Christabel.

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All Creatures Great and Small is currently enjoying something of a revival on Channel 5 but what was it like to work on the original iconic series? Carol Drinkwater played Helen, James Herriot's wife alongside Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy and Peter Davidson. The show became a huge hit around the world and together with other shows like Emmerdale Farm and Last of the Summer Wine, helped to put the beautiful county of Yorkshire on the world map. Carol's been reminiscing with Ashley and telling him what she makes of the successful Channel 5/PBS re-boot which is made by production company Playground Entertainment.

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Jean Rogers became a regular in Emmerdale Farm exactly 40 years ago this year as the second person to play Dolly, the wife of Matt Skilbeck played by Emmerdale original actor Frederick Pyne. The audience took to Jean's portrayal of Dolly very quickly and she soon became a household name. In this interview with Ashley she takes an affectionate trip down memory lane and compares the Emmerdale she joined in 1980 with the one she left a decade or so later.

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He's one of Britain's big success stories. From This Life to Hollywood, Jack Davenport has had a fabulous acting career. Here he gives an exclusive and very candid interview to Ashley for Distinct Nostalgia. Known for Pirates of the Caribbean films to sitcom Coupling, Jack reserves a particularly special place in his heart for two projects - playing Miles in seminal BBC 2 drama 'This Life' (which launched his career) and his role in the classic Anthony Minghella movie thriller 'The Talented Mr Ripley' which also starred Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow. He pays special tribute to the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

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Chloe Newsome played Vicky in Coronation Street. She was Alec Gilroy's grandaughter who eventually went out with Steve McDonald. Chloe first landed the part as a teenager, working immediately with some larger than life characters both on and off screen. 25 years after first leaving the show, she's been reminiscing about her Corrie days with Ashley and Simon for Distinct Nostalgia.

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Juliet Bravo burst onto our screens on a Saturday night exactly 40 years ago. It was an almost instant success with its tales of policing in the northern fictional town of Hartley. Late last year we brought together Inspectors Darbley and Longton (aka Stephanie Turner and Anna Carteret) for a fabulous hour of memories about the ground-breaking show. As it's the big anniversary month, we thought we put it out again. Enjoy!

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It was one of the most successful British films of the 1990s. Brassed Off - with its real life tale of the struggles of a colliery brass band during the UK pit closure crisis, became popular all around the world. It helped to introduce the classical piece Concierto De Aranjuez to new audiences and to rejuvenate brass band music. It also had a stellar cast including Pete Postlethwaite, Ewan McGregor, Tara Fitzgerald and Stephen Tompkinson. Stephen has been chatting to Ashley…

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Irene Marot played the feisty and rather moral and religious DD Dixon in Brookside from 1990. Infact it's exactly 30 years in October since the Dixons first arrived in the Close, much to the annoyance of their posh next door neighbours The Farnham's. Irene joins Ashley and our new 'Simon Soap/Soap Simon' expert for an hour of hilarious memories.

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If you've watched TV or listened to the radio over the past 50 years, you're sure to have seen or heard Jonathan Kydd. He was a presenter on ATV hit children's show Pipkins in the 1970s, he was the voice of Paddington Bear for a time, played characters in Noddy in Toyland, was the voice of L'Oreal and Ferrero Rocher (the Ambassador ads) and many more. He's also starred in lots of TV shows including One Foot in the Grave. And regularly you will still hear him voicing trails on Channel 4, Channel 5, Film 4 and sometimes the BBC. Jonathan has spent a lifetime in VoiceOvers which is why he decided to create VoiceOverGuy. Listen here to this hilarious pilot sitcom based on his experiences - and listen afterwards to Jonathan in discussion about the inspiration behind it. Enjoy!

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Doreen Mantle played Mrs Warboys in David Renwick's masterpiece comedy 'One Foot in the Grave' for more than a decade. A constant annoyance to Victor Meldrew (played by Richard Wilson), Mrs Warboys soon became an iconic, much loved and now much missed sitcom character. Here Doreen reminisces with Ashley about some hilarious moments both on and off screen.

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Tom Watt was there right at the start - one of the original EastEnders' actors when the drama serial began 35 years ago! He played the likeable but hapless Lofty. Tom stayed for 3 years but the character he helped to create remains one of the most iconic in the show's history. He's been reminiscing with Ashley.

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It was 1987 and Merchant Ivory (with help from Channel 4) embarked on an adaptation of EM Forster's novel Maurice - a story of forbidden gay love in Edwardian England. It had an all star supporting cast including Simon Callow, Denholm Elliot, Billie Whitelaw, Barry Foster and Ben Kingsley, A landmark movie for Merchant Ivory (producers of, among others Room With a View and Howard's End), it launched the careers of three young stars - James Wilby (as Maurice Hall), Hugh Grant (as Clive Durham) and Rupert Graves (as Alec Scudder). Here James reminisces with Ashley Byrne about playing the lead.

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He was in Coronation Street from the very beginning. Phillip Lowrie was Dennis Tanner, Elsie's unruly and wayward son. He started as he meant to go on as his mum accused him of stealing money from her purse in the very first LIVE episode. Phillip - a bit of a heart-throb at the time - became a household name overnight as Coronation Street was an almost instant hit. He stayed for 8 years and then returned an amazing 43 years later. He's been reminiscing with MIM's Ashley Byrne.

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Desmond's ran from 1989 through to 1994. There were six series and 71 episodes making it Channel 4's longest ever running sitcom. Set around a black family who ran a barber's in Peckham, it starred the late, great Norman Beaton and Carmen Munroe in the lead roles. Desmond's shop was a gathering place for an assortment of hilarious local characters! Matilda Thorpe played Mandy and she's been remembering the sitcom. Bizarrely nothing like it has been seen on British television since.

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Hevva burst into EastEnders in the 2000s and became one half of an amazing female double act on the show. Heather and her friend Shirley would get into some hilarious scrapes during her time in Albert Square. They were as different as chalk and cheese (and Hevva loved Cheese) but sometimes opposites make the best of friends and so they proved for five glorious years until Hevva was bumped off by Ben Mitchell. Here the lovely Cheryl Fergisson recounts playing one of EastEnders' most popular and sorely missed characters.

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