Interview
Interview
William Hanson can coo like a pigeon, Jordan North can coo like Daffy Duck
From Yorkshire Pudding rules to bird impressions to running into Amanda Holden, nothing is off limits for the hosts of Help I Sexted My Boss
One’s an etiquette coach from Bristol. The other is a radio presenter from York. Together they form one of the UK’s most beloved, messy, and entertaining podcasts, Help I Sexted My Boss. William Hanson and Jordan North have been answering your dilemmas, helping you navigate 21st century problems from dating to workplace dramas to how long you should be giving fellatio…
Now with a UK tour starting on 20 March at Utilita Arena Cardiff, you can experience the wild, whimiscal world of Help I Sexted My Boss live. Ahead of their biggest tour yet, we got stuck in a lift with William and Jordan.
Who would you most like to be stuck in a lift with?
William Hanson: Probably Shawn Mendes.
Why?
WH: We’d find something to do
Of course you would.
Jordan North: There are many people on my list that I’d love to interview and meet, and I’ve been lucky enough to interview quite a few. I’ve got a list, and the last person on the list is – well, I can’t decide between Jane McDonald and Barack Obama. So it would be either of them. Bear in mind, I’m claustrophobic, so this would be my idea of hell. So either of them would make me feel calm. Probably Barack.
WH: But Jane would sing better.
Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with?
JN: I’d least like to be stuck in a lift someone who plays their music out loud.
WH: Oh, yes. And they were scrolling social media
JN: And they was just blasting out the phone. I’d be like, “Oh, I’m panicking as it is, shut up!”. You have many nemeses, now’s your time.
WH: Yeah. Donald Trump. I said it.
What is the weirdest interaction you’ve had with a famous person?
JN: On The Breakfast Show at Capital, I always mistime the handshake/hug. I often embarrass myself. I once interviewed YUNGBLUD and called him by his ex girlfriend’s name to his face, which was quite weird.
WH: I don’t meet as many famous people as Jordan.
JN: What about when your mum met Amanda Holden?
WH: Oh yeah, to be fair, I introduced my mother to Amanda Holden. We bumped into each other in a restaurant, we had a lovely chat. And my mother went, “did she come to your wedding?” I went, “No, that’s Amanda Holden.”
What was the last gig or show you went to?
JN: Mine was Self Esteem, I went to see her at Brixton. She’s class.
WH: The Palladium Panto. Very similar to Self Esteem in Brixton.
What did 12-year-old you imagine that you’d be doing right now?
WH: Well, it was at 12 that I was given my first etiquette book, but I didn’t this was a career. I just quite liked the subject. 12-year-old me thought I was either going to be a news reader or the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Why the Archbishop of Canterbury?
WH: Why not?
You know what? Exactly.
WH: Not particularly for any religious reasons, I just like the dressing up.
What about you Jordan?
JN: I’m doing it – I say this all the time. I’m so, so lucky. I am the lucky to be on the radio – and obviously there weren’t podcasts around then [when I was 12] – but to be doing this, and to be on stage? I am doing it, and I’m very grateful and lucky.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
WH: (Sighs) Co-presenter on Help, I Sexted My Boss.
JN: I’ve had a few. I’d say worst but also best; I used to be a pot washer, which is a hard job to do, but we always had a good laugh. But just washing pots and pans in a busy restaurant for six hours straight is a tough job. Any pot washers out there? I got you.
WH: I’ve done my job since I was 16, so this is my life’s work.
JN: What about 2018 when you were –
WH: When I started my OnlyFans account? No one subscribed.
If you had to have a song playing every time you entered the room, what song would it be?
WH: Elton John – ‘The Bitch Is Back’
JN: Mine would be ‘I’m Still Standing’, just to let people know I’m okay.
What’s your most controversial food opinion?
JN: I don’t get this ham and melon.
WH: It’s Parma ham and melon. It’s a very popular first course in Italy.
JN: Well I had ham and melon in the house and weren’t keen. It was just normal ham not Parma ham but, yeah, I don’t get this ham and melon.
WH: And that’s controversial?
JN: Yeah.
WH: People that have Yorkshire Puddings with anything other than beef should be horse-whipped.
What is a secret skill that no one knows you’re great at?
JN: I can do a really good Daffy Duck impression, but I’m not gonna do it because it will give everyone the ick.
WH: I can coo like a pigeon. They’re both ornithologically inclined.
Do you have any superstitions?
JN: I’m very superstitious. I think it comes from my family. I’ve got ones like not walking under a ladder, to when it gets to New Year’s Day, you walk out the front door not through the back door. You’re not allowed to wash clothes on New Year’s Day, don’t cross behind the stairs, don’t walk over three drains, don’t put shoes on the table. Don’t have elephants in the house –
WH: Yes we make it a policy.
JN: Anything with elephants is meant to be bad luck.
WH: I don’t have any [superstitions] at all. I’m quite relaxed.
Help I Sexted My Boss the UK tour kicks off on 20 March at Utilita Arena Cardiff – find tickets here
