Please Keep Me Anonymous with Phil Ellis

29 Oct 2025 · 40 min · 15 chapters

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In short

Phil Ellis discusses finishing Taskmaster Series 20, his stand-up tour “Bathmat,” and his kids show Funs and Games (including how it’s “for adults” with adult jokes). He also trades stories with Rosie Ramsey about comedy, touring, lockdown Zooms, and identity-anonymous listener emails.

Guest background

Phil Ellis is an award-winning stand-up comedian and Taskmaster Series 20 contestant. He’s known for Funs and Games, a kids-show-style performance he’s been touring/redoing for Edinburgh.

Key claims

Taskmaster’s team gives contestants space and is “the best team in telly,” with editing that preserves that dynamic. Phil says the show’s last-task arguments go on ~20 minutes. Funs and Games is structured like a Pixar film with a child layer and an adult layer.

Notable examples

Phil’s “Bathmat” tour (Soho Theatre Dec 9 start; UK run from Feb 2026). His Edinburgh entrance gag with two suitcases and “sorry… I don’t trust the people at the hostel.” A seafood-restaurant story about an old man “sucking” mussels for flavor and returning them untouched.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Phil's Comedy Journey and Tour Plans

1:06 to 2:35

Phil discusses his journey in comedy and upcoming tour dates.

“He's one of the good ones, and he's a funny fucker.”

Taskmaster Series 20 Experience

2:35 to 5:08

Phil shares his experiences filming Taskmaster and the dynamics of the show.

“Because you worry, like, obviously you guys have done it, and I've watched both your series.”

Behind-the-Scenes of Taskmaster

5:08 to 7:48

Insights into the production and team dynamics of Taskmaster.

“Like, whereas most panel shows, you're trying to jump in.”

Funny Encounters and Edinburgh Stories

7:48 to 11:20

Phil recounts humorous moments from the Edinburgh Fringe and his shows.

“We didn't want to do one of the fucking tourist attractions.”

Humorous Anecdotes and Comedy Philosophy

11:20 to 14:01

Phil and the hosts discuss various comedic philosophies and personal anecdotes.

“You wore him two massive suitcases and you make a big thing of coming through the crown and you put them in the corner and the first thing you say down the mic is, sorry everyone, that's got nothing to do with the show.”

The Rubbish Show Reviews

14:01 to 16:27

Discussion about two-star reviews and comedic misunderstandings.

“You're someone's girlfriend, a boyfriend.”

Memorable Comedy Experiences

16:31 to 18:51

Sharing personal anecdotes from live performances and audience reactions.

“And we're live from the living room as Doug eyes up the matchday spread.”

Funs and Games Revamped

18:52 to 21:33

Discussion on the revamped kids' show Funs and Games and its new direction.

“When we had our first son, we had his christening.”

The Challenges of Comedy

21:34 to 24:59

Exploration of the comedic scene in Edinburgh and personal struggles.

“And I go, I wonder why he's in the back of that one.”

Lockdown Reflections

25:00 to 27:57

Funny reflections on life during lockdown and the challenges faced.

“I looked at, do you know there's like an actual criteria to be working class?”
Show all 15 chapters

Humorous Anecdotes About Past Experiences

28:00 to 28:21

Listen as the hosts share funny stories from their past experiences, including memorable outfits and social interactions.

“I remember once, do you remember once I came on with like a big like heavy metal jacket with like studs on and a pirate hat and no one mentioned it.”

Anonymous Listener Stories

29:20 to 30:26

The hosts read an anonymous email from a listener recounting an intriguing experience at a pub.

“You are here for Please Keep Me Anonymous.”

The Seafood Platter Mystery

30:26 to 33:58

A story about an old man who orders mussels but never eats them, leading to a surprising twist for the staff.

“Chefs, like, if you want to shout at teenagers with BO, work at CX, fucking hell.”

Reflections on Work and Identity

33:58 to 37:58

Phil shares his background, discussing his family's history and his journey through education and work.

“I went to a seafood restaurant and it was like the prawns, you have to take the heads off.”

Discussion on Food and Experiences

37:58 to 38:46

A humorous debate about food preparation and the ethics of eating leftovers from customers.

“I bet he fucking tucks himself behind a curtain and his shoes just pop out and he's absolutely got them, got them again.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00This week on Please Keep Me Anonymous, we are joined by the hilariously funny Phil Ellis. Yes, Phil is a stand-up comedian. He's been a friend of mine for a long, long time. We both start at the same time, actually. And he's currently, he's on the latest series of Taskmaster, which you can catch Thursdays on Channel 4. You can also catch up on all the episodes on Channel4.com. Awesome line-up. Phil's doing very, very well. Yeah, you've been friends with him for donkeys. We do chat about that a little bit, don't we? We do. And we chat a lot about, irritantly, we chat a lot about his kids show, Funs and Games, which you can't say at the moment because he did it at the Edema Fringe, possibly for the last time this year.

0:33But if it ever goes again, go and say it. At the time that we recorded this, back in July, he hadn't actually named his tour. Classic Phil. But we can let you know now, he has named it and it is called Bathmat. Worth the wait. Worth the wait for that name. Classic Phil Ellis turns up to do PR about his tour without a tour name. Unbelievable. He's doing five shows in December at the Soho Theatre, starting on the 9th of December. He has then taken Bathmat, that's the name of the tour, all across the UK. Shocking. Man's a maniac. From February 2026, visit phillelliscomedy.com for tickets. Lovely bloke.

1:07We had a good chat. He's one of the good ones, and he's a funny fucker. Mm-hmm. We had a fight about the jingle. Jingle. We couldn't settle on a jingle. Jingle. So this is the jingle. Jingle. We hope you like the jingle. Jing-go. Bab-a-doo, bab-a-doo, bab-a-doo, ba - Jing-go. Hello, you're listening to Shagmar Denoid. Please keep me anonymous with me, Rosie Ramsey, and my husband, Christopher Ramsey. Hello, and we've got a very special guest again today. He is an award-winning comedian. He's a very good friend of mine from back in the day. Yeah. He's Taskmaster Series 20 contestant. It's Phil Ellis, everyone.

1:52Hello. Wow, great to be here everyone I don't know how many of these cameras are working Because you were looking like you had an autocue It's just a blank wall But it really freaked me out That's just a thousand yard stare That's fine I don't know what to do anymore though Because it is first and foremost a listening medium Audio medium How many times do we have to go to this? But now we're filming it And I'm like going to TV mode I'm sorry you haven't been in the middle of that I know I won't. Stop fighting. Stop fighting. Is it because I was born? Did I ruin your relationship? God, PTSD in the podcast.

2:32So listen, you've just finished filming Taskmaster series 20. Yes. It's amazing. It was really, really good. Oh, good. Yeah. Because you worry, like, obviously you guys have done it, and I've watched both your series. Excellent work. I was just saying earlier, Rosie, that I'm a little bit annoyed your series has been so well received because I was really hoping it would be dog shit. I thought, we can like go, well, we're coming back. Yeah, we're picking up. Like kind of like at a gig, at a stand-up gig, going on after someone who's just died on their arse. It's always the easiest gig. Oh, a guy with a ukulele.

3:02Give me that. Yum, yum, yum. But now. No, but they're different. So I was just saying, our gang, there wasn't, who's a stand-up? Stevie's a stand-up, but she's not, she's more kind of comedy sketch, isn't she? Yeah, Stevie's more. Fatty is stand-up. But the rest of us are just sort of like actor-y, podcast-y people. More acting. So it was very, ours was very, eee, twee, nice, nice. Whereas yous are hard-hitting comedians. Oh, it's funny that. Full set. So it was, it was. And genuine, bona fide, I would say, national treasures as well. Two national treasures. Yeah, yeah. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

3:36Me and Sandry, yeah. Sandry and Rhys. No, it was good. It was a good dynamic. It was really good. It's, what I found funny was, But Stevie, who's amazing, she messaged me when she found out I was on. So I'd gone to see Adam and John Kearns. Oh, yeah. Adam Riches. Adam Riches. Oh, my God, it's so funny. The Ball and Bell. They're doing the Lesser Swear Theatre to go and get tickets. It was the most fun I've ever had at a show. But I saw Stevie just before she came in with the dog or whatever. Well, actually, it was quite fun. I went into the dressing room and John Kearns had his shirt open. and he went, if you can't accept me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best.

4:16And I went, you thought I was Adam, didn't you? He went, yeah, I did, but I had to carry on with it. So then we both took our shirts off when Adam came in and he did not appreciate it at all. He just went, it's too hot for this. And he went, too hot for this. Then Stevie came in. Then the next day she went, oh, I didn't realise you're on Taskmaster. And she sent me really nice tips of how to deal with it. Because the records, as you know, are so different. like you do the tasks in the house and it's the most fun you've ever had as an adult and then you go, oh no, but I need to sell it. But it's such an interesting show where you kind of give each other space and it's just fantastic.

4:54But there's a live audience as well. So if you're like us, puppies, as soon as there's live audience, I'm like, turned on. Of course, yeah. But you've got to rein it in because you've got to seem normal. Yeah, well, you don't want to step on any toes, do you? But what's quite nice about this, I think it's like unlike any other show, that you want you've already you know they're gonna edit you that the team are amazing i say it so much i say it in every every interview i do and it's almost getting a bit it sounds a bit sort of trite now but i'm telling you it's the best team in telly yeah it is it really is and they're just fantastic like my mum and dad came to one of the records and the first night my mum my mum's in two episodes for some reason right but the first night i went and i came off and i was like going this is the fourth episode we all got in the swing of it we're going this is great and what I was trying to say was, like, you give everyone space, don't you?

5:42Like, whereas most panel shows, you're trying to jump in. Yeah. But that one, you like, you go, give everyone space, we can all find, and Mum came, and I went, I can't wait to see her, like, this is the big, I can't wait to see, like, when she comes off and tells me how great it was, and she went, oh, my knees are killing me. Big fat bloke in front of me kept pushing back on his chair, and I went, right, all right, Mum. And she went, oh, God, can you order us an Uber? I went, well, I'm a little bit busy, to be honest, Mum. I'm like, I've just done the show. And I went, oh, my God. And my friends would sat next to her going, she just whinged all the way through.

6:15She was going, oh, my God, he's so fat. I couldn't see around his head. So the next day, the team was so amazing. Vicky went, I'm going to give them the VIP treatment. And they took my mum and dad around. They gave him a tour, introduced them to everyone. Pick your seat. so they got to pick the chair for the next day for the morning and they were so fantastic and they had the best day the next day was fantastic and they loved it that's good but that's how good the team are they went we'll look after it Phil's a bit busy because my mum was saying to Vic at one point can you get Phil to get me an Uber and she went I think Phil's a bit busy I'll get you an Uber so they got him a car we'll get you a car and it was like they're so fantastic back down to earth yeah so anyway but what an experience I loved it what was your tactic with Greg Did you argue with the decisions?

7:05Because I didn't, personally. We all are. So weirdly, we all argue every day for the last task because they're all like, we just go, this is like bullshit. It makes no sense. So we all argue to the point that it actually gets a bit irritating for Alex and Greg. It goes on for like, we do about 20 minutes before the last task. Like, Maisie's going, this makes no sense then, and you'll go, but this is like, so can you? and then I'll go, can you just recap the rules again? I'm going to tell you right now, none of that shit's going to be in. I know, I know. So that was the thing. So what was interesting was Rhys, and Rhys is like a hero of mine.

7:40Like I went to the Taskmaster Experience, the live. Have you done the live experience? No, I did the TV show, mate. Yeah, I know, yeah. Well, I did both. We didn't want to do one of the fucking tourist attractions. Did you do it before or after? Before, yeah. Oh, cheesed. Free wine. I didn't go with it again. Oh, when it opened, did you go with it again? or did you just call us a punter? I love the idea. I love the idea that you did the experience and you are so good. They went, get him on the show. Oh, it's a comedian or even better. We thought he was just a punter. Genuinely a master of tasks.

8:14But I was in a team with Steve Pemberton and Steve Pemberton brought his kids to, so he knows me from the Funs and Games show. Yes. We've put a pin in that. We need to hear about the Taskmaster experience. Funs and Games is the greatest thing I've ever seen. Yeah, me too. So Steve brought his kids. And then so we were in the team and afterwards he was going, are you not allowed to tell anyone? It's so secretive, isn't it? You're not allowed to tell anyone. Yeah, about Taskmaster. Oh, yeah, yeah. So I was really sick. And I told Jason, because you know Jason's. Friend of the podcast. Jason's podcast, yeah.

8:41Jason is just so like, just tell me something weird. And I went, right, it's this. And I thought he would have told you, but he didn't. No. Yeah, no. He didn't tell me. When did we find out? I found out I was in the Taskmaster house after I'd done the podcast with Ed Gamble. Yeah. And I looked on the wall at all of the previous contestants and I knew, I recognised, but your series was little effigies of rubber ducks. Yeah, yeah. And I went, what series is this? And they went, that's the one that's filming now. And Phil, I'm not joking, right? I saw the rubber duck dressed as you. It was the haircut I gave it away.

9:10Yeah, the receding hair. And I went, that's not who I think it is, is it? And I didn't want to, I think I told you on the phone. Yeah. I was so excited that he was doing it. I didn't want to say his name out loud, like in case I was wrong. And Andy, the director, he went, you know him. And I went, do I? He went, you know him, Northern. I went, tall. He went, yeah, tall. I went, from Preston? He went, yeah. I went, it's not. He went, it is. I went, it's Phil Ellis. He went, yeah. I went, mate. I was, like, Gamble was like, fucking calm down, mate. I was so excited that you were on it. I know, you messaged me.

9:41It was a really sweet message. I loved it. I was awesome, dude. That sounds like you'd given a description to, like, a guy like this. So what is he? Northern? Preston, Northern. Tall. Receiving hairline? Yeah, yeah. Took both my suitcases. I saw him running away from the train. Got a beak? but I wanted to get hair plugs I nearly got hair plugs is that a transplant a transplant yeah because I want to keep this hairline I'm not that bothered about my hairline but I don't want this bald bit here I'm getting quite sat on this little hair island okay not happy about that you can't you can't shame in that if you want to get them well I wanted to do but I can't you couldn't I was going to do it after Edinburgh but you couldn't because then I was filming the tasks so I couldn't be like in the tasks like this And then all of a sudden, scabby, full head of hair.

10:29Full head of bandage. In studio. Bandage here. Baseball capper. I'm sure Joe Wilkinson, between the tasks and going to the studio, I'm sure he fully cut his hair or shaved his beard. He looked like a different bloke. It was madness. Really? I thought you were going to say he got hair plugs. I was going to say he's got a lot of hair. He's got a lot of hair in the world who needs eyes. If anything, he's got too much hair. All right, man. Yeah, I'll have a bit of that. It's getting triggered. Don't do that. Sorry. Sorry. So you've got Taskmaster coming out. Yes. You've got a tour. Yes. Yes. No title for the tour yet?

10:59He hasn't named it yet. Yeah, fine. That is pathetic, isn't it? I don't know. It's hard to think of a title. I actually looked at your titles to try and get an idea of what to do. Oh, God, don't look at mine, mate. I had a nightmare of mine. The first time I said I don't want to use a title, let's just name it after the year, it was 2020. I didn't do the best until 21. It was a nightmare. I remember that. It changed all the tickets. Oh, shit. It was horrible. Oh, yeah. Chris Ransky, the 2020 tour. I thought you made 2020 Vision. well that's what thankfully I put a I put a thing in it for some reason and people thought about cricket or something or they thought but then it was so triggering to people I was like 2022 everyone was like don't mention 2020 I was like oh Christ I finished it in 2022 it was a nightmare have you got any ideas I thought my favourite one at the moment is no refunds that's good that's nice very old brand or any requests I wanted to call it the farewell tour that's the farewell tour it's quite funny isn't it like the first ever but I did a tour I like any request that's good that's alright I like that I think that's quite nice why don't you write in well yeah put a little link there write in sorry we're not doing your admin sorry alright can I just say as well go fund me buy me a coffee you you you didn't see this so what was the show that I saw in Edinburgh yes we'll get the funds and games I mean but what was the show where you were in the it was you were in the beginning it was the it was the flute from Titanic playing over and over again as your entrance music the Titanic my heart will go on on the panpiles yeah that was the walk in so as the crowd would come and sit in I'm sitting there and I was like oh Titanic and it was just on a loop it was just the flute on a loop there's just enough of a pause and you go alright and it comes straight in again and it starts again and you own you have the best in my opinion it's the greatest opening gag I've ever seen you walked in remember you walked in with two massive suitcases.

12:56He's told me this story so many times. I love it so much. I remember this. You wore him two massive suitcases and you make a big thing of coming through the crown and you put them in the corner and the first thing you say down the mic is, sorry everyone, that's got nothing to do with the show. I just don't trust the people at the hostel. Oh yeah, that's it. Fucking, without a doubt. That was my first show, yeah. The best opening gag I've ever heard in my life. Oh, I appreciate it. Yeah, because you came, my first show it didn't get a lot of traction until very late on but you obviously have always been a really good supporter we started on the circuit in Manchester together which is you, me and Carl so I always appreciate your support but then we had I think Bill Burnham came towards the end and Josh Widdick and so that's kind of set luckily that set the president for Funs and Games because no one cared for it at all I had Mel Brown doing PR he's great, I like Mel Brown I was young, I didn't quite know how it worked so I said to her, we're going to get loads of bad reviews it'll be brilliant, and she was like no it's terrible, you can keep getting two star reviews I went yeah it's brilliant they just thought the show was rubbish but I was going no but it's purposely rubbish they don't realise so my favourite review was Paul Ellis' show is a series of errors Paul Ellis?

14:16Two stars and I had and as you know in Edinburgh so years ago in Edinburgh because I don't know Rose if you went up years but the loft bar it's not really a thing anymore is it not really but it was all the is that where everyone used to go for drinks after I've never done Edinburgh yeah yeah so like the gilded balloon so my poster weirdly you've come up with me as my gag hag excuse me you've been my gag hag on my own coming up with what I've been doing the fridge oh is that what it is that's what they call the my Oh, so you weren't actually married or nothing then? Gag hags. What do you mean?

14:51You shouldn't shame yourself. You're someone's girlfriend, a boyfriend. Comedian's girlfriend. Gag hag. Gag hag. That's disgusting. Isn't it? It is horrible. It's as if, like, the only thing that attracted you to him was his humour. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. If anything, my humour is, on a daily basis, pushing her further away from me. Absolutely. It's what's going to break us up. Babadoo, babadoo, babadoo, babadoo. Starting or growing your own business can be intimidating and lonely at times. Your to-do list may feel endless with new tasks, and lists can easily begin to overrun your life.

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17:27Fuel to start whatever's next. Quaker, official sponsor of FIFA World Cup 26. I, oh, let's go! So what are you saying anyway about a loft bar? So I was very lucky that my poster was right outside the front. Yeah. So you'd come out the steps drunk at 3am and my poster was the main one. Oh, nice. And I just put two star reviews on it, big. Like it was a big poster and I put like two star reviews. And I think people started going, who's this weirdo? What the fuck is this? I think Michael Legge, that was quite funny. He went, oh, look at this prick. And because I put starofyoutube.com and he went, look at this prick.

18:03And then someone went, no, it's a joke. and he went, oh God, I feel bad now. So he kept watching it and went, oh no, I get it now. So when I did Funs and Games, the kids show, he kind of fed into it because people went, he's not going to do a kids show. Because I kept walking past all these kids show posters that year and I went, wouldn't it be funny if this same idiot who's got the suitcases who doesn't trust the hostel does a kids show just to earn money? So that's why I did the kids show. We saw it. We saw it. Was that the first one? Yeah, of course. We saw the first Funs and Games. We saw the first one.

18:32Honestly. Oh God, yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely class. It was me, Rosie and Rosie's mum. Yeah, me mum still talks about it. Oh, really? Me mum saw you live. My mum came out to see you live. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah. She came when you did the stand. When you did the stand, me mum went to see you. Oh, did she? Yeah. She's like a mega fan. You don't know this. Oh, my God, I've never told him this. I'm going to tell him live on the podcast. When we had our first son, we had his christening. I'll say it wrong. We had his christening. And we were working out what to do afterwards. We genuinely considered trying to get you all to come and do funds and games.

19:09We genuinely considered trying to book it. We need to explain it for people who are listening who haven't seen it. Well, yeah. Well, Phil, do you want to explain it? Phil, do you want to explain it? Because you're doing Edinburgh again with it this year. Well, I've revamped it now, so it's a new cast. We've diversified it. It needed that. It was just white northern men. It was very white northern bloats. but um also i just think it needed a bit of like a new energy to it but um it's basically like a kids show that's not really for kids yeah yeah you know it's for the adults so the adults but the kids enjoy it and they don't get all the darker jokes that go over the head but they just enjoy the game and i i love kids i do genuinely really like kids i've not got any other things as you know but uh but i did that show one year when i pretend i had kids and you got really emotional thinking i actually i thought i was like i was like i haven't spoke with phil for so long i I had no idea he had kids.

20:02Like, I'm a really bad friend. And at the end, the whole thing was bullshit. I feel I was angry. Yeah, you were. I was genuinely quite angry. You were quite angry. I was like, you fucking arsehole. The way I would describe Funs and Games is, you know, if you're watching like a Pixar movie and there's two levels, there's the main body of the movie and the jokes and everything is for the children. And then there is always a level on top of the odd little bit that the parents can get and laugh at, which keeps the parents entertained. Yeah. Flip it upside down. That's Funs and Games. The kids are playing a game and they're getting involved in a game, but the main level of the comedy that's happening, they're not in on, they're not getting upset by, because they're not spotting all the stuff that's going over their head.

20:41But then how would you describe the moment when one of the cast members came in with a trolley that still had the pound in and you all fought to get the pound out? Oh, that's funny. That was good. So that was your second one? That was your second one? That was the second one that I've seen then. Yeah, that was the second one that I've seen then. I've seen more. too yeah we went up rosie we went up specifically the next year to watch the second one that was in the tent yeah yeah all right okay so mick fairway coming with a trolley and go and go what are you doing with the trolley goes there's a quid in it and we just like hit it for about two three minutes it was so good and then he'd go right nice one but um yeah it was fun it's um i think the new show's got the same kind of energy uh but it's got um we're trying we're bringing back some old bits but we're doing it's all new games all new uh stuff really um but um we've got the like i love the clown that's my favorite bit was when the clown would come in and go i've had a clown and then after about 30 seconds the kids are loving the clown but i realize i've accidentally hired a stripper and he just starts stripping and he puts cream when he goes it's one of the mums and goes rips his shirt open and goes like that and i go get him out get him out but the kids don't get it so afterwards always used to love it because we kicked the stripper out and i I go, oh my God, what magazine did you find him in?

21:58And I go, I wonder why he's in the back of that one. But the kids would be like, where's the clown? Because they don't know what's happening. I'm like, don't worry, you don't want the clown back. You brought Funs and Games back last year and I took our son. He was eight times now. Yeah, you did. I got you on stage. You got on stage and everything. And he, again, it was just that perfect thing of me and Daniel Sloss was sitting next to me and Daniel Sloss's kid was much younger than my kid. They were loving it. My son's getting up and getting involved. It's just like fun for all the family, but not in the way you expect it to be for the family.

22:28Do you enjoy Edinburgh? I do, yeah. I love it. Because it's like, I remember a comedian years ago, before I did the Funz and Games, me and Liam Williams were doing this gig in Harrogate and this other comedian, like a bit of an old school comedian, was just going, what's the point? Why are you going up to Edinburgh? And I was like, well, I said, and I was doing Funz and Games that year and I just went, well, I said, it's just an opportunity to do something you don't get to do. I earn my living from comedy so I have to do all the clubs and you've not got a lot of leeway to just experiment because you've got to hit the, you know, get the action.

23:03I remember seeing most of it. And he just went, oh, I'll be earning loads of money whilst you're up in Edinburgh. So then me and Liam, we both got nominated. Well, I got the panel prize, he got the newcomer. So it was that weird thing of like going, oh, he reminded me of it years later and I forgot about it. He went, do you remember that? And I went, God, yeah, I remember that. We had to like defend ourselves why we wanted to go to Edinburgh. So there's a lot of that on the circuit. There's a lot of what I call it. It's how I describe it. I don't know if you'll agree here, but it's exactly the same vibe and energy as the kids outside of the exam at school going, have you revised for this?

23:36I haven't revised for this. Yeah, yeah. Oh, well done, mate. Well done, mate. You're feeling like a legend, are you? Fuck off. We used to have our wonderful lockdown chats. We did. Oh, yeah. Friday nights, weren't they? Yeah, I know. I don't know what you were up to doing then, but I'm sure you haven't. I think I was in a less bleak time than this our lockdown stuff was I mean sorry to mention lockdown anyone listening or watching I know it's horrible but it was you me Scott Bennett Jason Cook Carl Hutchinson on a Zoom every Friday night suited and booted would get dressed yeah I'd dress up do my hair yeah although you were in I mean you were in the worst flat imaginable you were in the worst place it was a terraced house yeah but it was awful like sometimes I'd have to fight a rat off trying to get in to the door because I didn't have wifi fight.

24:21I had a really bad pixelated iPhone. Oh, I remember this. Do you know what he did? Can you remember? I used to have to put my phone on the bin, didn't I? Yeah, it was horrible. It was horrible. There were horrible people next door who were fighting and playing music really loud. I had to keep calling social. This sounds like a snitch, but I had to contact social services because I was worried about the child. And we're having our little chat and I'm going, yeah, she's calling a child a horrible thing. right I'll be back in a minute I'm going to record this for the social service genuinely true no word of a lie oh paint was peeling off the wall I was sat next to a washing machine I found I'd just got off strictly I'd just written a tour I was about to go on tour and then we got locked down we had a podcast tour arenas on sale that all got stopped I was feeling really down and bad and your situation made me feel so much better about mine I remember once we're having a chat and I'm going it's not as bad as you think I don't need Wi-Fi I've got like I've got 80 gig like seize me for the month and then this rat tried to get in I went oh no no no a rat's trying to get in I went I went do you remember because I was a chain smoker back then so I'd have the door open and I'd be sat there and then eventually on our Friday nights I used to have to put a big piece of wood so the rat couldn't get it it is so bad Rosie it was horrible man but we loved it were you renting it or did you were you renting there it was the house I grew up in, like the first day of lockdown, I'll tell you this.

25:51It's a lot, doesn't it? It's a lot. I'm like a Ken Loach film, mate. I think people genuinely don't think. I looked at, do you know there's like an actual criteria to be working class? And I absolutely nail every point. What your mum and dad do when you're nine years old, apparently. All right, okay. And I was like, Fortlifft driver, cashier at Asda, I'm in. Yeah. Tick, tick, tick. Still not got a bursary. Buy me a coffee. But, Did you not get full whack at college? I did. I got an extra bit of money for uni. Do you know what? Yeah, I got fuck all. But my parents, well, because me mum and dad, they didn't work.

26:31Me dad went back to uni when I was at school. So we got free dinners and everything. My mum and dad were on income support. Me dad was washing dishes in the local Italian restaurant and all that kind of stuff. But then when I went to college, they both got my dad finished uni got quite a good job so they were earning together like literally probably about £400 over the threshold of the AMA so I got nothing and it's a real bone of contention that I've carried round for years you should wear that on your shoulder I do and I left anyway I love that he's just talking about being fighting a rat out of a house as an adult and you're like when I was in college I didn't get money for beer I didn't get free chips I Sorry Speaking of bone of contention Can you remember When we did the Zoom Right There's one I don't think I've told you this Jason Cook talked about this all the time When you got Wi-Fi In the house finally And you were on the Zoom On the computer Oh no What I did was I increased my limit So I didn't have Wi-Fi I just got 100k Well you had something That he spent the full day Once This is January 2 He spent the full day Doctoring his background On Zoom Oh god yeah And he made He took a photo Of his background and he made his background, the house that he was in, but with him peering around the doorway at the back.

27:46Oh yeah, Jason brought this up the other day. We all saw it and all silently, collectively agreed not to mention it. And about half an hour into the Zoom, he spat his dummy out. He was like, you haven't even fucking mentioned my background. He stormed off. He was in a maid off. I didn't remember. He went outside for a cigarette. He wouldn't speak to him. He went to see the rat. I remember once, do you remember once I came on with like a big like heavy metal jacket with like studs on and a pirate hat and no one mentioned it. And I was like, you fucking know. They're not the maze for you. Someone better fucking mention this pirate.

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28:51If you've ever blasted synth beats from your boom box or burn CDs for your besties, this one's for you. As people get older, much like their music tastes, their health needs change. AG1 is the simple daily health drink designed to deliver over 75 essential daily nutrients in pre and probiotics to support energy, digestion and mood. So you can make the most out of every decade and dance break. Learn more at drinkag1.com You are here for Please Keep Me Anonymous. You are here to read out one of our emails that we get from our phenomenal listeners who literally will share anything with us as long as we keep them anonymous which we always do.

29:30Yeah. We don't know what this is. This is to Katie. Stop it. Katie Rees stop it 32 years old PR213B is the postcode I'm only joking here's a national insurance number

29:52I remember sorry I'll do this but I remember once trying to get a drink when I was about 15 years old in Preston and I had my national insurance card I thought that would do and they went have you got any ID to prove your AT I went my national insurance card they went the guy just went this just proves you exist and I went can I please have a drink and he went right have one he said stay in the corner and then leave after this I went thank you I said let's leave once it's boring in here sorry let's crack on anyway dear anonymous so dear Chris I know my national shoes are off by heart really weird come on Jay hate can this steal your identity yeah I'm happy with that yeah I've got a driving licence It's a car crash Yeah, yeah, fucking enjoy my identity Christ, I've had a terrible time with it For 43 years, you enjoy it Dear Chris Come on Come on Phil, we've got you on Just do the bit Dear Chris Dear Chris and Rosie Please keep me anonymous While studying at uni I worked as a waitress at a local pub Whilst working there the chefs would always tell us stories of past customers.

31:11They sound like quite the laugh. I hate chefs as well. Do you know what? Chefs, like, if you want to shout at teenagers with BO, work at CX, fucking hell. Chefs can fuck off. How do they get away with it? I remember once being, and my dad went, that's the chef, he went, he's not even wearing a hat. He got really angry. Where's his hat? Sorry. One chef, come on, paragraph two. One chef used to work in a seafood restaurant. When I see food, I eat it. Oh, God. What? One chef used to work in a seafood... You are so wishing that was whiskey. I saw you go, fucking, this was a terrible idea. I knew you wouldn't do it.

31:55I'm going to do it properly. My apologies. One chef used to work in a seafood restaurant. It was great quality food, but with a price tag. One regular was an old man in his 80s, who would come a couple of times a week on his own. Of course he did. I don't get it. Get out. He would come a couple of times a week on his own and sit at the same table in the corner and order a seafood platter. Of course, what else is he going to order at the seafood restaurant? An order a seafood platter, which included a very large bowl of mussels. The whole plate of fish would be polished off, but he never touched his mussels.

32:31Well, when this delicious bowl of mussels returned untouched to the kitchen each time, the waiters would always eat the leftovers. Oh, fuck. I know, it's disgusting, isn't it? A new waitress started and she soon befriended the old man. That's very creepy, doesn't it? Someone smelt money. And would often chat to him as he ate. One day, she went to collect his plate and asked, Can I just ask, why do you order the seafood platter with mussels when you don't eat them? The old man laughed. and said, well, with mussels, as much as I love the taste, they don't agree with me too well, so I suck on them for the flavour.

33:08Oh, no. That's horrible. Oh, no. So the staff are eating mussels that he's sucked all the flavour over. That is a good turnaround because I was genuinely bored. But that, really, that's like the twist in the sixth sense, that, isn't it? She took me by surprise. All I think is that they could have put them back in the sauce and they would have regained a bit of sauce. Yeah, but they've got his slobber all over them, man. Are they in sauce? Like a white wine kind of sauce. Like a white wine garlic sauce. I love mussels. Do you like mussels? Love mussels. I think I like them, but when I taste the grit and I go, oh, what am I doing?

33:48Oh, I love them, me. Rosie loves, she eats bottom-dwelling, awful, disgusting stuff. Yeah, bottom-dwellers. Anything in a clam. In a clam? In a clam, Michelle. I went to a seafood restaurant and it was like the prawns, you have to take the heads off. And I was so excited and I won't lie to it. And the lobster, it was the most harrowing experience because we got this weekend away in this really nice hotel and they gave you vouchers and I went, how was it? I went, I won't lie to it. It was the most harrowing experience. I had to take the head off and loads of brown stuff came out. Oh yeah, that tastes really good.

34:23Really? Oh, you eat that? Oh my gosh, yes. Oh God, it was horrible. I totally agree I'm not foraging I'm not foraging on my own plate for food Exactly I'm not like I'm pulling scraps out of a bin I'm not I've paid money to be here I'm not doing that That's like that brown store I think it's a brilliant but it's like that's like stock like you would dip your bread in that and it's like pure Dip your bread in it Oh my god Awful It's just awful Oh god What does it just say anything else So yeah it does go on a bit So it took the flavour the waitress was left in shock as she too had been joining in the feast in the kitchen.

35:00Oh, it is. Right, okay. I've never worked in a restaurant. I've worked in cafes. But do people eat stuff off people? Oh, tell you what. Put on those plates? Yeah. When I was a waiter, I was a silver service waiter at the Stadium of Light. So I'd walk around with a big chafing dish at Christmas. Do you know when we have Sunday tonight? You know, he'll sometimes do the silver service with the fork and I want a dad. Oh, it's disgusting. just imagine the spoon's in there Phil it's horrible the fork's in there do you know what's the worst thing though we've got young boys right and sometimes the kids sometimes they're really icked out by Chris but sometimes they're like impressed and so so now he literally yeah my eldest loves it he's like dad do the spoon thing so Chris is like chicken son I had a full night of training I had a full night of training I'd do that so I'd walk around a big chafing dish and chafing dish chafing dish oh my god you are so common I'd walk around with a big shaving dish and I'd put stuff down I would regularly on Christmas on a Christmas night I would regularly leave a couple of little pigs in blankets just in the corner there where they couldn't see as they were sitting down on my way back in Yeah but that's not been on their plate Would you ever have ate something off people's plates?

36:09If someone didn't touch that pig in blanket I'd eat it off the plate as well on the way in Would you eat off someone's plate? I'd eat off someone's shoe

36:19I'm a real piece of shit You did score very high on the working class exactly I had to fucking bat a rat off can I just say sat in your jacuzzi I didn't know how did I not know the rat story because that is one of the saddest things I've ever heard I got so blind drunk every single one of them zooms just to cover up the pain of the whole thing that I did forget a lot of it we had to bring Barry Dodds in eventually because it was just too bleak we needed some new meat so Barry came in about just to finish though the house with the rat that was your childhood home because we didn't actually touch on that you skirt over it and I would like to know more about it.

36:55So I grew up in... That rat's his brother. Yeah, the rat, yeah. The rat.

37:03He's a good guy, he's a good guy. He's a good kid. He carries a lot of disease. I grew up around, so I moved around Preston, but I grew up in, so this part, this was a house that we lived in when I was like late teens. So I was the first person to go to university for my family and also the last. There's only two. Me and my cousin from Kirby, Liverpool. Quite a rough estate in Liverpool. Kirby, wonderful place. I love my cousins very much. Yeah, Kirby's a good game. Great game. That's a working class game. Yeah, Kirby. Booyah. She went to Oxford. She got a maths, what do you call that when you get a...

37:44Scholarship. A scholarship to Oxford. Nice. And I went to Staffs Union and got a third in media. That's the thing about Taskmaster. they do your Wikipedia page don't they? The fans are obsessed and they're great fans, that's what's really nice about it, but they go on your Wikipedia and mine is the bleakest thing it does sound like a plot to a Ken Loach film, it just goes Phil went to staff's uni and got a third in media and then worked in their bags factory for four years this is fucking bleak come on let's finish this story so it turned out he used to whip them out of the shells suck out the flavour and pop them back in to be collected.

38:22The debate in the kitchen then was if this was deliberate to trick the waiters because if the man really just wanted to have the flavour of the muscles why did he feel the need to tuck them so neatly back in their shells? Oh that is interesting. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sick. He's done it deliberately. Sick. Gets his kicks. Oh yeah. Sick. I bet he fucking tucks himself behind a curtain and his shoes just pop out and he's absolutely got them, got them again. Ripping the end of it. Right. I'm so sorry. What an amazing visual end. Thank you so much for listening or watching Phil Ellis everyone That was great Like and subscribe Click, follow the link There'll be a link there Yeah follow that link

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From the publisher

This week, Rosie and Chris are joined by comedian and Taskmaster troublemaker Phil Ellis!

They chat all things Taskmaster as well as reminiscing about lock down zoom nights, Edinburgh Festival and why Phil decided to do a kids show.

Expect chaos, laughter, and more oversharing than anyone asked for.

As always, there’s Please Keep Me Anonymous story that Phil shares with Chris and Rosie plus some silver service and seafood chat!

You can catch Phil on tour with his new show Bath Mat find tickets at philelliscomedy.com

You can also watch Phil on Taskmaster every Thursday at 9pm on Channel 4 or catch up on the series at channel4.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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