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.