Rachel Parris on motherhood, advice from strangers, and being a woman in comedy

BAFTA-nominated presenter and comedian Rachel Parris chats to Kate about her rocky road to motherhood, collecting weird and wonderful advice from strangers, and how a well-placed lie got her her start in stand-up comedy

White Wine Question Time with Kate Thornton is the podcast that brings together well-known guests to answer three thought-provoking questions over three glasses of wine. Discover the friendships behind the entertainment headlines, and listen in on their conversations for a side to the celebrities you've never heard before. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and follow on Instagram (@whitewineqt) & Twitter (@WhiteWineQT) to keep up to date with the latest guests, news and more.

Video transcript

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RACHEL PARRIS: A little bit of dies every time you hear after a gig, you were funny, but I don't like female comedians. Like, that happens a surprising amount.

KATE THORNTON: Serious-- are you serious? People say that?

RACHEL PARRIS: Yeah, like--

KATE THORNTON: Out loud?

RACHEL PARRIS: Like, a lot.

KATE THORNTON: [LAUGHS]

RACHEL PARRIS: Yeah, to you because it's a compliment because they're saying we liked you, but generally--

KATE THORNTON: Oh, I see.

RACHEL PARRIS: --women aren't funny.

KATE THORNTON: Well, thanks so much. [LAUGHS]

RACHEL PARRIS: And you're like, oh, thanks for saying that. The idea of follow your dreams, which I had written down more than once actually, is not the great advice that it sounds like. I know everyone thinks of it as an ultimately incredibly positive ambitious thing, but my experience has been that it's good to keep reevaluating what your dreams are because you change as a person and your skills change and the world changes.

KATE THORNTON: When you were a first time mother, it is also brand new, and then you've got this part of that's done it twice already. There's-- you're again different pages same book.

RACHEL PARRIS: Yeah, absolutely. Like, of course, there's so much that's-- that we're going through together and equally. But yeah, at the back of it, all like the baby stuff. And some of it was really positive like in terms of having a newborn, how to hold him and change him. And I think quite a lot of new fathers are a bit anxious about like how to hold the baby and not to hurt him and being very delicate and everything and how to get the clothes on without bending--

KATE THORNTON: Car seats, all that stuff, yeah.

RACHEL PARRIS: Car seats, all of that stuff, like, he knows how to do it, and that was really nice. But what I've had to work at is being confident and like impressing on him that I also am learning and I know what I'm doing and that sometimes I'm right and I'm the mother. And even though I haven't done it before, that, actually, I have maternal instincts. And I can know how to do this as much as you do even though you've done it before.

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