My Dad Wrote A Porno host Alice Levine to embrace inner ‘swot’ on new podcast

My Dad Wrote A Porno host Alice Levine has spoken of her joy at being able to embrace her inner “swot” on a new podcast about famous British scandals.

The ex-BBC Radio 1 presenter will be joined by former political adviser Matt Forde to explore the Alexander Litvinenko poisoning, the death of British weapons expert Dr David Kelly, and the Cambridge Analytica scandal as part of the long-form project from US podcast producer Wondery.

Levine, who has co-hosted explicit comedy podcast My Dad Wrote A Porno since 2015, said she is excited at having the chance to look deeper into these headline-grabbing stories.

The 34-year-old told the PA news agency: “I am such a swot and such a nerd and I feel there is something really nice about that being a part of your work and being given a chance to take a deep dive into a story that you may not know in great detail.

“Because I think that is the thing about a lot of these stories we are going to be talking about … for a lot of people they are kind of peripheral. They were front page news but they perhaps weren’t stories that people knew in great detail.

“So there is something really exciting about learning about all of that. A lot of the time, when we dig deeper, they are even weirder and even more absurd than they originally seemed.

“The fact that it is exercising my brain, particularly after a year of lockdown, I kind of like that challenge.”

Levine said her work on My Dad Wrote A Porno has taught her how important chemistry is in podcasting.

Now in its fifth series, the comedy series features Jamie Morton reading and deconstructing the bizarre amateur erotic fiction written by his father, known by his pen name Rocky Flintstone, while joined by friends James Cooper and Levine.

It is based on Morton’s father’s self-published Belinda Blinked e-books about the exploits of Belinda Blumenthal, an international sales director at a UK-based pots and pans business, which have earned a large global following.

“It is a phenomenon and that is mostly down to Rocky being a mad genius, and I think we are all great pals so we still really like doing it,” said Levine.

“So that is probably the best bit of learning for going into British Scandal. I feel like a big part of it is people can hear on a podcast if you are having a good time. And that is quite difficult to manufacture.

“What we have done is we have got longer records that give us a chance to … have a second to chat and to be silly because these stories have light and shade and so it would be a shame to just get in there and just do a straight reading.

“That’s not what this is about. This is about two people really enjoying going on this journey of discovery together. So that is probably what I have learnt. You need to be having a good time.”

Wondery’s first international podcast, British Scandal will explore the Litvinenko poisoning in London in 2006 for its debut series.

Levine and Forde, who also hosts The Political Party Podcast, will also be joined by an expert contributor to offer insight and commentary.

– British Scandal is available on major podcast platforms now.