Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today, we're sort of
digging into a figure who's been, well, consistently
one of the funniest people in British comedy
for, what, the last couple of decades? Robert
Webb. Absolutely. And for so many people, he's
just instantly jazz, isn't he? Jeremy Usborne
from Peep Show, that perpetually chaotic, always
optimistic, but yet deeply delusional flatmate.
Exactly. Jazz. But that iconic performance, which,
yeah, we'll definitely get into. It's really
just scratching the surface, isn't it? Oh, totally.
Our sources, they map out this really fascinating,
sometimes kind of contradictory journey. We're
looking at him going from this young guy who.
Believe it or not, consciously tried to ditch
his working class accent to becoming vice president
of the Cambridge Footlights, which is, you know,
a big deal. Then a BAFTA winning performer. And
then more recently, this shift into being a really
acclaimed memoirist and a very public voice on
some pretty serious stuff. Like masculinity,
addiction, health. Exactly. And that's really
our mission today, isn't it? To try and trace
that evolution. pulled together quite a bit of
detail on his early life, which was complex.
The start of that huge partnership with David
Mitchell. Landmark. Yeah, landmark. Some moments
where his career hit, you know, controversy.
And then his solo writing, which is surprisingly
serious. And these massive health challenges
he's faced. Fundamentally, though, the starting
point is English comedian, actor, writer. known
best as half of Mitchell and Webb. And yeah,
Jez is born in Peep Show is what really cemented
him in the public consciousness. And Peep Show,
it's worth remembering, ran for nine series.
Nine. That made it Channel 4's longest running
sitcom ever. Which is incredible longevity. But
yeah, the real deep dive, I think, starts when
we look at how maybe the vulnerabilities, the
traumas of the guy behind Jez, how they eventually
became the raw material for his later, more personal
work. Okay, so let's unpack that from the start.
You hear Robert Webb speak now. And it's that
very neutral, almost RP, sort of placeless English
accent. But his roots are somewhere very specific,
aren't they? And his early life, well, it was
pretty turbulent. Yeah. His roots are very much
East Midlands. Robert Patrick Webb, born in Boston,
Lincolnshire. That was September 29, 1972. And
he grew up in Woodhall Spa, specifically on a
council estate. Which, like you said, immediately
kind of cuts against the grain of that typical
Oxbridge comedy background. Totally. He went
to Queen Elizabeth's grammar school in Horncastle.
So this upbringing, you know, miles away from
the London comedy scene, it really does set the
scene for the things he writes about later class,
identity, all that stuff in his memoir. And it
wasn't just about where he grew up. The story
of those early years involves some really profound
loss and, well, change. It really does. His parents
divorced when he was only five. Then his mother
remarried about a year later. So there's already
instability there. But the really huge life changing
event happened when he was 17. Right when he
was prepping for A -levels. Exactly. Lower sixth
form, getting ready for those crucial exams.
And his mother tragically died from breast cancer.
I mean, that just completely throws everything
off course. Must have been devastating. Yeah.
And it meant he had to move in with his father,
who, by his own account, he had a pretty difficult
relationship with. And then he actually had to
re -sit his A -levels because of the disruption.
That kind of grief and upheaval at that age especially,
it must shape everything. And the sources mentioned
this incredible detail about how that trauma
or maybe the feelings around it led to this really
conscious decision about his identity. This is
such a fascinating nugget. Yeah. The sources
are specific. At age 13, 13. partly because he
felt this resentment towards his father. He made
a deliberate conscious choice to lose his local
Lincolnshire accent. Wow. And the result is the
neutral accent we hear now. It really suggests
someone who was already, even as a teenager,
incredibly aware of how he came across and maybe
willing to, well, literally change how he sounded
to escape something, a place, a past, maybe pain
he associated with it all. So he gets through
that incredibly tough time, resets his exams,
and then... manages to get into Cambridge. He
does. 1992, he goes up to Robinson College, Cambridge,
to read English. And, you know, as often happens,
talent finds its way. He gets drawn into the
university's, well, legendary drama scene. And,
crucially, he becomes a member of the Footlights.
Maybe we should just quickly explain Footlights
for anyone listening who isn't, you know, steeped
in UK comedy history. It's significant. Yeah,
good point. Footlights is basically Cambridge
University's amateur theater club, but calling
it that almost undersells it. It's arguably the
most famous, most influential comedy nursery
in the world. The alumni list is just ridiculous.
It's insane. Peter Cook, all the pythons, Stephen
Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Sacha Baron
Cohen. I mean, it goes on and on. So if you become
the vice president, which Webb did, you're essentially
involved in shaping the next wave of British
comedy. And it was there in that environment
that he met the person who would define so much
of his career. The famous meeting, David Mitchell.
How did that actually happen? It was pure footlights.
In 1993, they were both in an audition for a
footlights production of the Panama Cinderella.
Cinderella, right? Yeah. And apparently, they
clicked pretty quickly, realized they had this
chemistry, not just personally, but comedically.
And they started working together almost right
away. I always find it interesting what these
huge partnerships start with. Was their first
project together like a sign of the genius to
come? Huh. No, definitely not. Which is actually
quite reassuring, isn't it? Yeah. Everyone starts
somewhere. Their first proper collaboration,
they put it on in January 95, had this amazing
title, Innocent Millions, Dead or Dying, Arai.
Look at the post -apocalyptic age with songs.
Roths. Webb himself, looking back, didn't mince
his words. He just called it Fing Terrible. Right.
So ambitious title, maybe not the best execution,
but it was probably a necessary failure. Helped
them figure out what actually worked for them.
So from a Fing Terrible start, they somehow evolve
into one of the most, well, enduring and successful
comedy partnerships we've seen. What happened
after Cambridge? Did they just walk into their
own TV show? Oh, God, no. Far from it. They really
had to put the work in as writers first. They
spent time writing sketches, bits of material
for acts who were already established. Alexander
Armstrong and Ben Miller, notably. Right. The
Armstrong and Miller show was big then. Yeah.
And they wrote for series two of Big Train, which
was that brilliant. slightly surreal sketch show.
They'd do little acting bits, writing jobs on
things like The Jack Daugherty Show, Comedy Nation.
It was really their apprenticeship, learning
the craft of writing professional TV comedy,
how to structure a sketch, how to pitch ideas.
When did they actually get to be in something
regularly as performers? Well, the first kind
of step into visibility on TV, where they were
also the main writers, was in 2000, a BBC sketch
show called Bruiser. It didn't last very long,
Bruiser, but it was their first proper shot.
And that led, a year later, 2001, to the Mitchell
& Webb situation. That was a six -part sketch
show, but it was on Play UK, which was one of
those channels that doesn't exist anymore. Right,
or Play UK, sort of. Yeah. So these early shows,
they were crucial for them to kind of test out
and refine that very specific style they have,
that observational, slightly awkward, cringey
comedy that became their thing. And all this
was building towards the big one. the show that
really defines them. Without a doubt. The absolute
cornerstone of their career, the show that launched,
well, probably millions of memes, is Peep Show.
Started in 2003, ran all the way to 2015. Webb
as Jeremy Jez Usborne. The aspiring musician,
totally feckless. Yeah, the eternal slacker flatmate.
Opposite David Mitchell's Mark Corgan is just
this bundle of anxiety and neurosis. What was
it about Peep Show that made it feel so different?
It wasn't just another sitcom about flatmates.
No, the format was the key thing, that innovation.
It was nearly all shot from the character's point
of view. So you, the viewer, were literally seeing
the world through Mark's eyes or Jez's eyes.
Hearing their thoughts. And crucially, yes, hearing
their inner monologues. Yeah. So what they actually
said was often completely at odds with the terrible
or anxious or ridiculous things they were thinking.
And Webb's jazz, his inner thoughts were usually
so self -serving and, frankly, idiotic. It was
the perfect foil to Mitchell's Mark, who was
just constantly beating himself up inside his
own head. It's a format that must demand a huge
amount from the actors, that constant interior
-exterior performance. Did the industry recognize
how good they were in it? They did. I mean, Peep
Show, it wasn't always a massive ratings hit.
Bizarrely, but critics loved it. Mitchell and
Webb, they shared the Royal Television Society
Award for comedy performance back in 2007. Right.
And while, yeah, they were often praised as a
duo, Webb did get his own solo nomination for
Best Television Comedy Actor in 2009. So there
was definite recognition for his specific portrayal
of Jez, that mix of, you know, chaos, but also
a weird kind of vulnerability. And beyond the
sitcom, they also became huge in sketch comedy,
moving from radio to TV. Yeah, that was a really
smooth, successful transition. They had the hit
radio show first at Mitchell and Web Sound. It
did five series on BBC Radio 4, won a Sony Silver
Award, very well respected. Solid credentials.
Totally. And that success basically paved the
way for the TV adaptation, which became that
Mitchell and Web look. Apparently, the producer,
Gareth Edwards, said the pitch for the TV version
was like the shortest pitch he'd ever written.
Yeah. They basically just said, let's do the
radio show on telly. Lasses the mistral because
the material was already there and proven. Exactly.
And that Mitchell and Webb look, it was a big
deal in its own right. It won them the BAFTA
for Best Comedy Program or Series in 2007. Got
another nomination in 2009. So by this point,
they really were the defining comedy duo of that
era, weren't they? That sort of slightly anxious,
observational, millennial -ish voice? Absolutely.
They'd crack the sitcom, the radio sketch show,
the TV sketch show. They were everywhere and
critically acclaimed pretty much across the board.
Did they try translating that success into other
formats together, like film? Yeah, they gave
film a go with Magicians in 2007. Webb played
Carl, one half of this rival magic act. Okay.
Not a huge hit. Right. They also did a short
-lived series called Ambassadors in 2013. And
then more recently, they reunited for Back, which
ran from 2017 to 2021. That was more of a comedy
drama, actually. Critically well -received. Explored
some darker themes maybe than Peep Show. And
there's an interesting story about a pilot they
actually decided not to pursue, even though the
channel wanted it. Shows a bit of integrity.
Yeah, it's a great little anecdote about, I suppose,
artistic control or maybe self -awareness. They
filmed this pilot for BBC Two called Playing
Shop. The concept was them running some kind
of business out of a shed. Okay. And apparently
the BBC really liked it. They were happy to go
to series. But Mitchell and Webb themselves pulled
the plug. Their reason was they felt the dynamic,
the setting, the whole vibe was just too similar
to Peep Show. They didn't want to just repeat
themselves or, you know, dilute their biggest
hit by doing something that felt like a pale
imitation. Which I think shows they were thinking
long term about their creative output. That idea
of not wanting to repeat themselves or maybe
wanting to branch out leads us kind of naturally
into this next phase where they made a choice
that, well, for a lot of their fans and critics
too, felt like a step in a very different direction.
A controversial one. The Apple ads. Ah, yes.
The UK get a Mac campaign. This was, yeah, a
pretty big moment in terms of commentary around
them. For anyone who doesn't remember, this was
Apple's big ad campaign. David Mitchell played
the PC, nerdy, awkward, prone to problems. Some
Murmur Corrigan -esque. Totally. And Robert Webb
played the Mac, cool, sleek, confident, unflappable.
And for a duo whose comedy often poked fun at
corporate culture, at pretension, at exactly
that kind of smugness, well. Doing these ads
felt like a clash. And the backlash was pretty
immediate and quite vicious, wasn't it? What
was the core of the criticism? It really boiled
down to selling out. That was the phrase everyone
used. Charlie Brooker, never one to hold back,
wrote this piece in The Guardian basically saying
the casting completely backfired on Apple. How
so? Because Webb was so strongly associated with
Chez, who, let's be honest, was often a smug
preening tosser, to use Brooker's words. It made
the Mac character seem like that, too. It made
Apple look smug, not cool. The British sitcom
guide went even further, didn't they? They accused
them flat out of selling their souls. Wow. Heavy
stuff. How did Webb and Mitchell actually defend
themselves against that kind of attack? Well,
Webb's defense was incredibly, almost brutally
pragmatic. There's a specific quote where he
basically cuts through all the artistic hand
-wringing and just talks money. He said, look,
when someone offers you the pay equivalent of
an entire series of peep show for just a few
days work. Right. The answer is pretty much always
going to be, yeah, that's fine. It was just a
professional calculation for him. Which does
put it in perspective. Peep show was love, but
maybe it wasn't making the millionaires overnight
at that point. Exactly. And Mitchell added to
that defense, didn't he? He sort of argued, look,
it's just an ad. We're not doing anything morally
wrong here. His line was something like, it's
not like we're helping to flog a baby killing
machine. Right. So they saw it as a job, a very
well -paid acting job. But yeah, the perception
from a chunk of their fan base was definitely
one of disappointment that their anti -establishment
heroes had kind of joined the establishment.
Away from the double act, though, Webb has actually
built up quite a varied solo career, showing
he could do more than just be Jez. What are some
of the standout roles he took on without Mitchell?
Yeah, he's done quite a bit. He was in that sitcom
The Smoking Room for a while, played Robin in
17 episodes between 2004, 2005. Quite a different
vibe. Yeah. And importantly, he took on a more
sort of buttoned up academic role in Fresh Meat,
the Channel 4 uni comedy. Oh, yeah. He played
Dan, the geology lecturer. That's the one. 2011.
Showed a different side. Less manic than Jess.
He also starred in that slightly bizarre Dickensian
spoof comedy, The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff, played
Jedrington's secret past. That was 2011 -2012.
And that's actually where he met his wife, Abigail
Burtis. Ah, okay. And he also became a real regular
on the panel show circuit, didn't he? Which needs
a different kind of quick wit. Absolutely. He
became... Almost ubiquitous for a while. You'd
see him all the time on QI. He's really good
on that. He's hosted Have I Got News For You,
hosted Nevermind the Buzzcocks. It showed his
confidence, his ability to think on his feet,
handle unscripted comedy, cemented him as a sort
of, well, recognizable public comedy intellectual,
I suppose. And we can't forget the dancing. Definitely
not. His win on Let's Dance for Comic Relief
in 2009, that parody of the Flashdance audition
scene. It was genuinely brilliant physical comedy.
Unexpected maybe, but hilarious. He did some
presenting and narrating too. Yeah, a bit. Hosted
an online news thing for Channel 4 called Robert's
Web back in 2010. And he narrated that series
10 Things I Hate About in 2012, which was all
about puncturing nostalgia. Again, fitting that
slightly cynical, observant voice he has. But
I think if we're looking for the anecdote that
really sums up maybe his commitment to a role
or perhaps a certain naivety back then. We have
to talk about the film Confetti. Oh, God, yes.
This is an old timer. Yeah. So, 2006, the film
Confetti. Webb plays a naturist alongside Olivia
Colman. There are a couple competing in this
competition for the most original wedding. Right,
and he agreed to play a naturist. Under one very
specific, very important assumption, he was apparently
absolutely convinced, assured even, that any
shots showing his genitals would be blurred out,
pixelated in the final film. You know, standard
practice often. Okay. I sense where this is going.
Yep. The moment of horror came at the actual
screening of the finished film. He sat down,
watched it, and realized. Nope. No pixelation.
Nothing blurred. He was, well, fully naked on
screen for everyone to see. He'd inadvertently
given a very revealing performance. Speaks volumes
about the unpredictable nature of filmmaking,
I suppose. OK, so we've followed him through
the comedy heights, the advertising controversy,
the panel show ubiquity. But maybe the biggest
shift in how we see Robert Webb, his public identity,
starts when he moves beyond just writing jokes
and starts writing about himself. Yeah, this
is where he really transitions from. primarily
a performer to also being a writer, a memoirist.
I mean, the writing career technically started
with Mitchell, didn't it? They put out this Mitchell
and Webb book in 2009. Right, and that shorter
version, How to Cope with Mitchell and Webb.
Exactly. They were popular enough that they got
signed for a two -book deal. Although, interestingly,
the sources say that second book never actually
materialized, at least as of 2013. And before
the memoir, he also dipped his toe into writing
commentary, didn't he, for The Telegraph? He
did, yeah. Between 2009 and 2011, he wrote opinion
columns for the Telegraph's comment section.
And what he said about that experience later
is really quite telling, especially given what
we know now about his health. What did he say?
He admitted finding it incredibly stressful,
said it would take him like a day and a half
to do a piece that should have taken maybe three
hours. And he added this really candid detail
that he was often getting drunk. while trying
to write them to cope with the pressure or the
difficulty. Wow. That link between stress, performing
in public, and drinking. That really resonates
with his later story. It absolutely does. It
feels like a thread. And maybe that struggle,
that vulnerability paved the way for his first
really big solo project, the book that kind of
redefined him for a lot of people, the memoir
How Not to Be a Boy in 2017. That book made a
real splash, didn't it? Huge splash. It focused
right in on his childhood in Lincolnshire, growing
up working class, the huge impact of his mother
dying so young, and his whole struggle with what
it means to be a man, the pressure. of masculinity,
it clearly struck a chord. It was BBC Radio 4's
book of the week. Got loads of attention. What
was the sort of central message he was trying
to get across about boyhood or masculinity? The
main argument really was about the harm caused
by those traditional expectations placed on boys
and men. You know, the whole stiff upper lip
thing, hide your feelings, don't be vulnerable.
Webb basically argued that's... incredibly damaging.
Yeah. And he used his own life story, the grief,
the confusion after his mom died as exhibit A
for why that needs to change. And while he was
exploring all that, dismantling those norms,
he also showed something very personal that hadn't
been public knowledge before. Yeah, that was
another significant part of the book's impact.
It was in How Not to Be a Boy. that he publicly
revealed he is bisexual. Which felt very much
in keeping with the book's themes. Exactly. It
fit perfectly with that core message about authenticity,
about rejecting these narrow, rigid boxes that
society or maybe toxic masculinity tries to put
men into. It was him practicing what he preached,
using his own vulnerability to make a bigger
point about acceptance and honesty. And after
the memoir was such a success, he then turned
to fiction writing. He did. Published his first
novel, Come Again, in 2020 with Canongate. A
totally different challenge, obviously, moving
into crafting fictional narratives rather than
drawing directly on his own life. Let's touch
on one other reflection from around this time,
his changing views on religion or belief after
his mother's death. Yeah, this is a really interesting
and quite poignant insight into how grief can
shake your foundations. Webb said that before
his mom died, he was very much a swaggering atheist.
Completely non -believing. Right. But in an immediate
raw aftermath of losing her, he actually found
himself starting to pray. He talked about it
not as a genuine conversion, though, more like
a desperate coping mechanism, something, anything
to try and handle that overwhelming grief. But
it didn't stick. No. He said eventually he did
return to total non -belief. But he framed it
as happening only after he'd learned how to sort
of coexist with her death, how to integrate that
loss into his life rather than trying to, I suppose,
bargain with it through prayer. It's a really
nuanced take on belief and bereavement. That
openness he found in his writing, it feels like
it became crucial context when his private life
took this incredibly dramatic, serious turn with
a medical emergency. Before we get to that, though,
just briefly. His family life. Yeah, he married
Abigail Burgess, who's also a comedian and writer,
back in 2006. We mentioned they met working on
the bleak old shop of stuff. And fittingly, David
Mitchell was his best man. Of course he was.
They live in West Hampstead, London, and they
have two daughters. So it seems like a pretty
stable, settled personal life, which is quite
the contrast to Jez Osborne. Definitely. Okay,
so now the health crisis in 2020. This sounded
absolutely terrifying. It really did. It was
an emergency situation. He needed urgent heart
surgery. for a condition called mitral valve
prolapse, which basically, for anyone listening,
is a serious issue where one of the heart's main
valves, the one between the top and bottom left
chambers, doesn't close properly. So blood leaks
backward. Exactly. Puts immense strain on the
heart. If you don't treat it, it can be fatal.
And the really, really shocking part of the story,
reading the sources, is how he'd been explaining
away the symptoms himself. This is where it all
connects back to the memoir, the drinking, the
stiff upper lip, maybe. Webb had been having
serious symptoms, apparently things like shortness
of breath, extreme fatigue. But because of his
lifestyle at the time, the heavy drinking he
later admitted to, he just dismissed them. He
thought it was just... The booze. Yeah. He actually
said something like, I just assumed that's the
booze. I thought this is what you feel like when
you're 47 and you treat your body like a skip.
It's a really painful quote. God. So he basically
thought he felt awful because he deserved to
feel awful because of how he was living, not
because he had a life threatening heart defect.
Pretty much. Yeah. Which makes the eventual diagnosis
this massive sudden wake up call. Yeah. It forced
him to confront everything. His health. his drinking,
maybe that tendency to ignore warning signs.
And the immediate consequence of the surgery,
which was successful, thankfully, was that he
stopped drinking completely. Right. He became
sober. Totally sober. He called his drinking
towards the end, certainly an addiction. A dependency.
Said he realized the habit had crawled up so
gradually that I was slow killing myself. The
health scare, in a way, became the ultimate terrifying
proof of what he'd written about ignoring your
body, ignoring your feelings. It's dangerous.
And this ongoing recovery process then had a
direct impact on his appearance on a certain
very glittery TV show. Chuckles. Yes, his heart
condition unfortunately cut short his time on
Strictly Come Dancing in 2021. He was partnered
with Diane Buswell, but he had to withdraw. after
just three weeks, three dances. Why specifically?
He explained that he'd started having some worrying
symptoms again related to the heart condition,
and his heart specialist basically gave him very
strong advice to pull out. Webb himself said
quite candidly that he'd bitten off way more
than I could chew for this stage in my recovery,
prioritizing his long -term health over the show.
Sensible decision. Okay, the final area we need
to touch on is his engagement with some quite
heated political and cultural debates. He seems
to have approached these with a similar kind
of candor as his memoir, which maybe predictably
landed him in hot water sometimes. We need to
look at this neutrally, of course, starting with
his politics. Yes, absolutely. Just reporting
what the sources say. He definitely has a history
with the Labor Party. For a long time, he was
a very vocal supporter. He actually joined the
party in 2013. And he said it was specifically
in protest against that Russell Brand interview
where Brand suggested people shouldn't bother
voting. Webb felt strongly about civic duty.
But he didn't stick with labor. No. His relationship
with the party leadership soured quite significantly.
By November 2015, he publicly announced he was
leaving labor. He cited a complete lack of confidence
in Jeremy Corbyn's leadership at the time. He
used some pretty strong words, didn't he? He
did. He specifically mentioned Simus Milne being
appointed as Corbyn's press secretary, saying
that paying his labor subscription while Milne
was in that post made him feel sick. So clearly
very strong feelings. Although it's worth noting,
despite leaving and expressing that opposition,
he did then endorse labor again in the 2017 general
election. So a slightly complex picture there.
OK. And then finally, the area that's probably
generated the most persistent controversy and
criticism. His comments on gender identity issues.
Right. So back in 2018, Robert Webb publicly
gave his support to a newspaper article that
was critical of mermaids, which is a well -known
UK charity that supports transgender children
and their families. And he defined his own position.
Yes. Subsequently, he identified himself as being
gender critical or a gender critical feminist.
But he also insisted at the same time that he
opposes transphobia. The position tends to involve
concerns around things like self -identification
versus biological sex, the implications for women
-only spaces, and approaches to gender dysphoria
in children. And that stance put him right into
a very polarized, very intense cultural debate.
Absolutely. A very fiery debate. The sources
note he stood by those initial comments and interviews
he gave in 2020. However, it's also noted that
when he was asked about it again, specifically
about his criticisms of mermaids during an NPR
interview in 2021, he sort of declined to get
back into the specifics. Why was that? He apparently
said he couldn't quite remember the exact details
of the original article he'd supported and also
felt that the whole debate had just become incredibly
overheated in the intervening years. And we should
acknowledge the reaction his stance provoked.
Yes. It's important, just factually reporting,
to state that our sources confirm he received
significant criticism for this position from
various LGBT news outlets, from some charities,
and from activists within the trans community
and beyond. It really highlights how a public
figure, even one known primarily for comedy,
can become a focal point in these complex cultural
arguments, regardless of the nuance they might
intend. We're just outlining the stance and the
reaction, not taking a side. It really is an
extraordinary picture, isn't it? Quite contradictory
in places. The man who gave us Jez Usborne, this
icon of hilarious fecklessness, is also this
incredibly reflective writer who stared down,
well, near fatal illness and waded into some
really thorny public debates. I think the big
takeaway really is just how much Robert Webb
has evolved in the public eye. That comedy partnership
with Mitchell, it was the bedrock, obviously.
But his later solo work, it's just defined by
this increasing vulnerability, this openness.
He's used his platform, his fame, to talk about
things that are deeply personal and often difficult.
His bisexuality, the impact of losing his mom
so young, that terrifying heart scare, his battle
with addiction. And not just as therapy for himself,
but seemingly to genuinely contribute to wider
conversations, particularly around masculinity
and emotional honesty. He really does seem to
embody that desire to dismantle the stiff upper
lip he wrote about in How Not to Be a Boy. It's
like the comedy success gave him the permission
or the platform to write seriously about how
tough it can be to navigate modern manhood. And
then the health crisis just underlined that message
with this incredible life or death force. Yeah,
it's a fascinating example of how celebrity can
transition to something more like. public intellectual
contribution, maybe. The comedy gets people listening,
but it's the honesty, the vulnerability that
gives his voice weight on these other issues.
So wrapping this up, what's the final thought
for you, the listener, to take away from this
deep dive? We're left with this kind of split
screen, aren't we? On one side... Jez chaotic,
commitment averse, kind of stuck in permanent
adolescence. On the other, the Robert Webb of
recent years, reflective, sober, advocating for
self -care and emotional truth. And the final
question, the provocation perhaps, is about that
very relationship between the performance and
the person. How closely linked are those comedic
portrayals of emotional failure? Jez, the ultimate
manchild living in denial. How linked are they
to Webb's own very public journey away from emotional
repression? Does the best comedy come from the
deepest pain? Maybe. Or maybe it's about transformation.
And thinking more broadly, how does sharing personal
trauma publicly, like the health scare or the
early loss of his mother, how does that not just
shape but maybe even strengthen a public figure's
cultural contribution? Does it shift someone
from just being an entertainer to being seen
as having something important to say about how
we live? Definitely food for thought. Thank you
for joining us for this deep dive into the, well,
incredibly compelling life and career of Robert
Webb. Been a pleasure.