JaackMaate’s Happy Hour

Happy Betwixmas y’all. In the final episode of the year, Jaack and Stevie decided the best festive finale would be to look back on all of the guests we’ve ever had on Happy Hour and decide who the sexiest 11 are.  We debate a genuinely controversial Top 10 that’s guaranteed to split opinion. We have to jog Stevie’s memory too as we go through a top 11’s list that he made in the back of the car while smashed after the Christmas special recording.  We also rank the funniest guests ever, the best stories the podcast has produced, and give our personal picks for the top guests of the past year. Plus, we settle the debate on who the most “Happy Hour” guest is that could genuinely be our honorary Fifth Skin…  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a beer heavy episode with special guests Jon Beer and pint-lover BambinoBecky joining us for our festive finale! Nothing says Christmas like 5 men (and Becky) discussing premature ejaculation while downing copious amounts of alcohol. Get ready for a festive episode that absolutely derails within minutes.  In our longest Christmas special EVER, Father Rizzmas is back with another Christmas quiz, Secret Santa turns unexpectedly nasty, and Anonymous Questions expose what everyone really thinks of each other!  Stevie drops a confession that completely smashes his long-held reputation as a perfect driver, and Jaack admits to stealing a neighbour’s pet, before traumatising everyone with a horrific story from a gym shower that should never have been witnessed.  We might have to sue John Lewis over some deeply questionable crackers. We say a very emotional goodbye to the last ever batch of Charlie Hodson’s sausage rolls. BEEF is also on the menu as Stevie has a bone to pick with one of our guests…  We react to the wild assumptions about Becky and Jon that our viewers have submitted, we play a few rounds of the iconic game ‘Carrot in a Box’, and see the episode out with another legendary rap from Alfie. Merry Christmas you lovely humans! 💛   (Please let us know if you came while listening.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This year’s Christmas special guest is the man who made Jaack fall in love with comedy in the first place. From The Office and Extras, to a body of work that’s influenced an entire generation, the legendary Ricky Gervais returns to Happy Hour. Ricky first appeared on the show when the podcast was only a few episodes old, at a time when every bit of support mattered, and his early appearance gave the show a huge boost. Now, more than 600 episodes later, it feels incredibly special to welcome him back.  Ricky tells us about the time he nearly died on stage, why the adverts for his vodka company Dutch Barn were banned, and how he decided which charities would receive his incredibly generous £2.4 million donation.  Known for his infamous bath pics, Ricky also weighs in on Jaack’s story about deliberately waterboarding himself in the bath just to see what it felt like. The conversation takes a deeper turn as Ricky opens up about coming to terms with his own mortality. But on a lighter note, Ricky reacting to some of the Internet’s best animal news stories leads to us uncovering how he was once involved with a monkey let loose inside an IKEA!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robbie is ill, Stevie is hungover and Jaack is moaning about his Nan’s roast dinners. Which can only mean one thing - we’re DEEP into festive season! Today, we’re leaving behind the standard turkey and tinsel to explore strange Christmas traditions from around the world.  There’s plenty of activities you definitely wouldn’t expect to be festive - some wholesome and some slightly unsettling - including pooing logs, pickle parades, evil spirits, hidden vegetables, ritual battles, and spanking festivals. In Venezuela, the entire country does something unique on their way to midnight mass. Ukrainians decorate their trees with a creepy item. And one island had a secret tradition so offensive that it was BANNED.  The boys also share their own Christmas traditions, one involving an insanely strong cocktail concoction delivered by a neighbour…  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fresh from completing his latest feat - the 3,400-mile Yellow River Expedition across China - world record breaking explorer Ash Dykes sits down for his first podcast since returning home. Ash talks us through his expeditions into most unforgiving terrains on Earth, setting world records, and his multitude of unbelievable near death moments.  A young Ash realised the world wasn’t big enough to keep him in one place and an epiphany led him to attempt the impossible. At just 23, he became the first person to walk solo and unsupported across Mongolia, carrying 120kg and surviving temperatures and dehydration that nearly killed him.  We hear about Ash’s 155 day, 1,600 mile crossing of Madagascar while outmanoeuvring bandits and crocodile infested rivers. He tells us about being held at gunpoint, and how it felt to battle the deadliest strain of malaria. His year long, 4,000-mile Yangtze River expedition was filled with bears, wolves, altitude sickness, and multiple run-ins with authorities.  Ash has completed some of the greatest feats of modern exploration, but his story is not just about adventure, but one of resilience, purpose, and the relentless belief that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices