If you’re worrying about Covid, a good book takes you to another world
Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan chat to MARION McMULLEN about their Book Club podcast, celebrating a decade of bestsellers
Did you always believe your Book Club would be popular?
JUDY: We didn’t really know at first. We did the Book Club first during our Channel 4 show and it was very, very popular, but we did not know if it would work online, and on the high street without a television show. It was an experiment really. It is absolutely amazing it took off so well.
RICHARD: I think we thought it had a better than even chance at the start. It’s hard to believe that we’ve helped to sell so many books over the last 10 years and highlighted the work of new writers.
What is the secret of its success?
JUDY: I think trust is absolutely vital. We’ve been around for such a long time with This Morning and our Channel 4 show, and people know us and know what we like.
When you go into a book shop, unless you’re looking for a particular author or title, it can be intimidating with shelves and shelves of books. You often don’t know where to start and it’s quite nice to have a recommended list to hand. RICHARD: Someone told us they always pick two or three books off the lists and have never had a duff one.
Do you get many books sent to you?
RICHARD: We get unsolicited books all the time. Almost on a daily basis. Some are self-published and some are sent by authors and I have to say some are pretty dreadful. You get a few pages in and you think ‘what are they thinking? This is awful’.
JUDY: You can normally tell from the first few pages, if a book is good or not and we have told people they should submit work to WH Smith to be considered for inclusion in the Book Club.
How would you describe the new podcast celebrating the Book Club’s 10th anniversary?
RICHARD: It’s on the lines of our Channel 4 show. We have big name celebrity guests and authors coming on and talking like David Nicholls who wrote Us, which has just been on TV. It’s like a chat show.
JUDY: Gabby Logan was on the first episode and was brilliant, and we’ve got guests like Richard Osman, Alex Jones and Robert Rinder coming on.
Have books helped you during lockdown?
JUDY: For both of us, they have been a huge escape and a huge help. If you’re feeling a bit down and worrying about Covid then you can sit down with a good book, a good crime thriller especially and it takes you to another world.
RICHARD: We’ve been re-reading a lot of old favourites as well for the podcast and the books feel part of you. There’s the soup stain on one page, biscuit crumbs on another and notes in the margin.
A good book can help you through the vicissitudes of life. We went into quarantine after coming back from France after three weeks. We couldn’t go out of the house or meet anyone so there were no excuses not to work.
You’re both working on new books yourselves at the moment. What can you tell us about them?
JUDY: It is my third book and it is set in Cornwall. I love Cornwall and we have a house down there, but during lockdown we were in London and not allowed to travel down. Writing about Cornwall has been a great escape.
I found it hard to write during the first lockdown – so strange to be calling it that now, but like everyone, I felt in a state of anxiety all the time. RICHARD: Mine is set in the Cotswolds and is a revenge type called Father’s Day. I’m about halfway through. It’s about a troll, a middle-aged man ,who catfishes teenage girls into doing away with themselves. That’s how he gets his revolting kicks.
The father of one girl works out what is happening and tracks this guy down. The book actually begins with a Roman-style execution – upside down on a cross.
If you could only pick one book to read what would it be?
JUDY: There are so many, but I like The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. It is about a woman accused of shooting and killing her husband. She is tried and convicted, but refuses to speak after killing her husband.
RICHARD: The Tattooist Of Auschwitz by Heather Morris managed to show the triumph of love over pure evil. It is an extraordinary tale, based on a true story, and looks at love in the worst and most deranged circumstances. When I first read the synopsis, I though ‘how is she ever going to do this?’, but she pulled it off beautifully.
■ Richard and Judy’s Book Club in partnership with WHSmith Podcast is available on all podcast providers.