Rob Rouse, the host of Sheffield's Comedy Village, has had one of British comedy's most distinctive careers — and yet somehow, he ended up broadcasting live chicken racing on national radio.

In Episode 2 of the REYT. Independent Sheffield Podcast, host James Hargreaves sits down with Rob Rouse for a wide-ranging Sheffield conversation covering stand-up comedy, grassroots comedy nights, television, podcasting, family and what makes Sheffield unique as a city and as a comedy audience.

About Rob Rouse

• Played Bottom in Ben Elton's BBC Two comedy Upstart Crow alongside David Mitchell, Harry Enfield, Gemma Whelan and Mark Heap
• One of the original presenters of Channel 4's Friday Night Project with Jimmy Carr and Sharon Horgan
• Winner of So You Think You're Funny at the Edinburgh Fringe
• Voted Comics' Comic of the Year by his peers
• Founder of Comedy Village — grassroots comedy nights across Sheffield, the Hope Valley and beyond
• During lockdown, broadcast live chicken racing on TalkSport with Rupert Bell calling the runners and riders for Goldie, Twinkle Twinkle, Bob and Janet McFeathers — who never won a race but did eat a mouse live on air

In this episode of the REYT. podcast:

• Rob's family roots in Sheffield — a grandfather who was a GP in Broomhill, another who was a vicar, both meeting on the roof of Sheffield General Hospital in the Home Guard
• His geography degree at the University of Sheffield, halls at Ranmoor, and why Sheffield always felt like home
• The two-day teaching placement at Dinnington — 90% unemployment, post-pit closures, a boy covered head to toe in navy blue Quink ink
• Seeing Eddie Izzard at Sheffield City Hall as the moment that changed everything
• His first open spot at the Fox and Duck pub in Sheffield
• Comedy Village — Crookes Social Club, Buxton Working Men's Club, Hathersage Memorial Hall, Baslow, Bradwell Memorial Hall, Eyam Mechanics Institute, Dronfield Civic Hall. Top-flight comedy in local venues at a fair price. Zero dickhead policy.
• The Unlikely Weightlifters podcast with Tom Wrigglesworth — weights cast from Quality Street tins, postcrete and margarine tubs; Tom's crucifixion-site weightlifting rig on a one-in-one Sheffield hill; Pant Cage UK; Pontifract 2048
• A decade of silence after BBC Three's Grown Ups, then Upstart Crow — Ben Elton grabbing him by the elbow at the first read-through: "The minute I saw you, I thought, that's my Bottom."
• Harry Enfield on a chamber pot saying "Did you have a big night out or a quiet night in?"
• His wife Helen Rutter (children's author, The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh, the Mind Wanderers writing club) and their son accessing Sheffield's music scene at Haggler's Corner jazz jams
• The Crucible, Barry Hearn, Henderson's Relish vs Worcestershire sauce, Atkinson's department store surviving the Blitz and Meadowhall, and Sheffield's creative output relative to its size
• Why Sheffield audiences meet you more than halfway — and why the city doesn't shout about itself the way it should

REYT. Recurring Segments

• Sum Up Sheffield (26:22) — Rob describes Sheffield as a giant village. A bus driver calls him duck on his first day. Sheffield as inherently warm, friendly and quietly extraordinary.
• Straight Outta Sheffield (32:49) — Overhearing Sheffield voices at a hotel breakfast talking about walking, climbing and Sheffield Wednesday — with no Henderson's Relish in sight.
• REYT Good Recommendations (01:04:35) — Crookes Social Club, No Name restaurant on Crookes, Atkinson's department store on The Moor, the Hidden Gem Cafe on Ringinglow Road, and talking to strangers as Sheffield's defining characteristic.

Find Rob Rouse

• robrouse.com
• comedyvillage.com

Sheffield Forum

• sheffieldforum.co.uk
• shop.sheffieldforum.co.uk

REYT. is the Independent Sheffield Podcast from Sheffield Forum — the UK's longest-running city-specific online community. Real conversations with the people shaping, building and arguing about Sheffield. New episodes every week.

For Everything Sheffield.

Dan Hayes left the Sheffield Star five years ago to build something Sheffield was missing: properly funded, properly reported local journalism with the time to get stories right. Today the Sheffield Tribune has 40,000 readers, 3,200 paying members, and a shortlist nomination for Private Eye's Paul Foot Award — the most prestigious prize in UK investigative journalism. This is the story of how he did it.

The Investigations

In this episode Dan talks through the Tribune's two biggest investigations. The Leadmill story, which after months of reporting changed how Sheffield saw the campaign to save one of its most iconic venues. And the Andrew Milne investigation, the leasehold scandal where Sheffield homeowners were sent legal demands — facing legal threats before publication, taking reporters door-knocking through Bradway in the rain, and ending in an arrest. Dan explains what standing firm against legal pressure costs, even when you win.

Why He Left The Star

They also cover why the Tribune's model works when local newspapers are failing, what it takes to build a newsroom from scratch, and the moment that made leaving The Star feel like the only option: being asked to write about a sausage sandwich with marmalade on it because it had been mentioned on BBC Breakfast.

Sum Up Sheffield

Dan lands on three words: friendly, humble and hilly. He talks about his first weekend in the city, a conversation with strangers on the top deck of a Pitsmoor bus, and why Sheffield's near pathological humility might be both its greatest quality and its biggest missed opportunity.

Straight Outta Sheffield

Dan goes back to Sheffield Arena in 1995, watching Oasis supported by Pulp, two months before Common People made Jarvis Cocker a household name. Thirty years later he lives at Park Hill, works at Leah's Yard, and writes about the city every week.

REYT. Good Recommendations — Dan Hayes

• Best pub: Hop Hideout, Leah's Yard. Jules Grey's bottle shop and bar underneath the Tribune's office.
• Best place to eat: 5tara Indian Street Food, Shalesmore. Vada pav — a potato patty with fried green chillies — was Anthony Bourdain's favourite food in the world.
• Best independent shop: Shaw's Ironmongers, Duchess Road. If it's not in Shaw's, it doesn't exist.
• Favourite thing to do: Walk the Rivelin Valley or Stanage Edge. Dan took 25 journalists to walk the Rivelin last year. None could get their heads around how beautiful it was.
• Sheffield hidden gem: Burritos y Mas, Orchard Square. Run by Hector Hernandez from Colombia. Always a queue out of the door.

Support the Sheffield Tribune

The Tribune turns five this month and is looking for 1,000 new members. Join at any price, including free, at sheffieldtribune.co.uk

About REYT.

REYT. is Sheffield's independent weekly podcast and the Sheffield podcast for people who want to know everything about the Steel City. Hosted by James Hargreaves — lifelong Sheffielder, Sheffield Forum custodian and local media broadcaster — and powered by Sheffield Forum, the UK's longest-running city community online since 2002. Sheffield Forum has 210,000 members, 150,000 newsletter subscribers, 400,000 monthly page views and 50,000 social media followers. REYT. is its voice.

Every episode features three things: Sum Up Sheffield, where guests describe the city to someone who has never been; Straight Outta Sheffield, where they share the moment they found something Sheffield somewhere unexpected; and REYT. Good Recommendations, their personal picks for Sheffield's best pubs, places, independent shops and hidden gems.

New episodes every week. Follow free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Amazon Music, or search REYT. Independent Sheffield Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

Full episode, show notes and community discussion at sheffieldforum.co.uk/reyt

For Everything Sheffield.

The Sheffield podcast for people who want to know everything happening in the Steel City.

REYT. is a weekly long-form interview podcast hosted by James Hargreaves, powered by Sheffield Forum — the city's home for honest conversation since 2002. Whether you're in S1 or on the other side of the world, REYT. is Sheffield in your earphones.

With over 210,000 members, 150,000 newsletter subscribers, 400,000 monthly page views and over 50,000 social media followers. Sheffield Forum is the largest independent community for Sheffield people anywhere. REYT. is its voice.

Each week, a new guest takes the chair for an honest, unscripted conversation, no agenda, no script. As well as delving into our guest themselves, every episode features three things: Sum Up Sheffield, where guests try to describe the city to someone who's never been; Straight Outta Sheffield, where they share the moment they found something Sheffield somewhere they didn't expect it; and REYT Good Recommendations — their personal picks for the city's best pubs, places, independent shops and hidden gems.

Guests include musicians, politicians, artists, business owners, athletes and community figures: the people who live and breathe Sheffield, who've built something here, left and come back, or never wanted to leave in the first place.

Coming soon: conversations with some of Sheffield's most recognisable faces. Subscribe on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts now so you don't miss the first episode.

Find the full Sheffield Forum community at sheffieldforum.co.uk

REYT. The Independent Sheffield Podcast. Powered by Sheffield Forum.

For Everything Sheffield.