Full Disclosure with James O'Brien

Adrian Scarborough grew up in Melton Mowbray, the son of a schoolteacher and a Methodist lay worker, in a close-knit family where money was tight, hymns were sung in the car and theatre offered an escape from the world outside. Short, ginger-haired and often bullied at school, Adrian found refuge in music, literature and the thrill of saying Shakespeare’s words aloud.
In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with one of Britain’s most beloved character actors to trace his path from rural Leicestershire to the National Theatre, two Olivier Awards and some of television’s most memorable roles — including Pete Sutcliffe in Gavin & Stacey, Raymond in Killing Eve and Max Arnold in The Chelsea Detective.
Adrian recalls the teachers who told him he did not have the brains of his older siblings, the drama tutor who found him working in a butcher’s shop and insisted he audition, and the life-changing letter offering him a place at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He also speaks candidly about his father’s depression, the insecurity that has stayed with him throughout his career and why every new job can still feel daunting.
Along the way, Adrian reflects on the joy of being part of a theatre company, working with Alan Bennett and Nick Hytner at the National, the unlikely magic of Gavin & Stacey, and why he would rather be “second man down” than the person everyone looks to for answers.
It’s a funny, warm and moving conversation about escaping expectations, finding your people and the extraordinary places a love of language can take you.
Find out more about the 2027 UK tour of Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense here.
Full Disclosure is a Global Production. Listen or watch every Friday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can follow us on socials @fulldisclosuretheshow.

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Marina Litvinenko never wanted to be a public figure. Raised as an only child in an ordinary Soviet family, she dreamed of dancing professionally and found freedom, colour and possibility on the ballroom floor. But her life changed irrevocably when she met Alexander “Sasha” Litvinenko, a security officer whose growing alarm at corruption inside Russia’s intelligence services would eventually force them into exile.
In this special episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien speaks to Marina about her new memoir ‘A Life in Fragments: Our Love, His Murder, My Resistance’. She recalls growing up amid the shortages and double standards of the Soviet Union, meeting Sasha for the first time, and watching him become increasingly determined to expose the criminality and corruption he encountered within the state.
Marina describes the fear that followed Sasha’s public accusations against senior FSB figures, his imprisonment and their decision to seek safety in London with their son, Anatoly. Six years later, Sasha was poisoned with polonium-210 after a meeting in central London, dying on 23 November 2006.
What followed was Marina’s long, painful pursuit of the truth, with a nearly decade-long fight for a public inquiry into her husband’s death. Twenty years on from his poisoning, Marina reflects on the early failures to understand the threat Putin posed, the cost of complacency and why she has continued to speak out.
It is an extraordinary, intimate conversation about love, courage and resistance - and a widow’s determination to ensure that her husband’s name, and the truth of what happened to him, are never forgotten.
Find out more about ‘A Life in Fragments: Our Love, His Murder, My Resistance’ by Marina Litvinenko here.
Full Disclosure is a Global Production. Listen or watch every Friday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Ronni Ancona grew up in Troon as the daughter of a Royal Navy officer and a theatre designer, surrounded by golf courses, pantomimes and the smell of paint in her mother’s scenery workshops. Shy, awkward and often teased at school, she discovered early that making people laugh could be both a defence and a way of finding her place.
In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien meets the comedian, actor and impressionist to trace her unlikely journey from a Scottish school classroom to the forefront of British comedy. Ronni recalls finding her first acting role by accidentally walking into the wrong room, training as an art teacher, and nervously stepping onto the stand-up circuit at a time when female comedians were still a rarity.
She discusses winning the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year award, working alongside comics including Jo Brand, Jack Dee and Lee Evans, and the cultural moment that made The Big Impression such a phenomenon.
Along the way, she talks about acting in Last Tango in Halifax, EastEnders and the new film Think of England, as well as the comic chaos of meeting Nigella Lawson while impersonating her on live television.
It’s a funny, frank and affectionate conversation about confidence, class, comedy and creativity — and about learning to inhabit other people when you are still working out who you are yourself.
Find out more about Think of England here.
Full Disclosure is a Global Production. Listen or watch every Friday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

When Lisa Faulkner received an invitation for a routine mammogram, she nearly put it off. A further scan and biopsy revealed early-stage breast cancer - a diagnosis that brought back painful memories of losing her mother to cancer when Lisa was just 16. Treatment was successful, but the experience changed how she sees the future.
In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with Lisa to trace the extraordinary path from a childhood shaped by family parties, home cooking and long summers with her grandparents, to becoming an international model, actor and, eventually, one of the country’s best-loved food writers and television cooks.
Lisa reflects movingly on losing her mother, the quiet resilience of her father and sister, and the complex grief of being a teenager when the person you most need is suddenly gone. She remembers being scouted at a Tube station, travelling the world as a young model and landing her first major film role in The Lover before building an acting career in dramas including Dangerfield, Holby City and Spooks.
She also talks about winning Celebrity MasterChef, choosing to learn in professional kitchens, and writing the cookbook that connected her mother’s recipes with her daughter, Billie. Along the way, Lisa discusses adoption, overcoming her fear of the stage and why, after cancer, she is more determined than ever to make the most of what comes next.
It’s a warm, candid and life-affirming conversation about grief, reinvention, family and food - and about learning that it is possible to begin again, more than once.
Find out more about John and Lisa’s Weeknight Dinners by John Torode and Lisa Faulkner here.
Full Disclosure is a Global Production. Listen or watch every Friday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.