Our very own The Great British Bake Off breakout star Briony May Williams has joined forces with two of her best friends, Charlie Fuge and Vix Willshire – all proudly born and bred Bristolian – for a new podcast that lifts the lid on the riotous reality of daily life as a millennial mum.
“It’s not often you hear accents like ours on things like podcasts.” Briony May Williams is beaming with pride, sat between her two best friends Charlie Fuge and Vix Willshire, talking about the trio’s new podcast I’m Not Judging, But…, which promises listeners ‘a front-row seat to the chaos, laughter and questionable decisions that come with full-family life’.
The show, which launched in September, is a truly Bristol creation – from its hosts to local production company Fin. “When we recorded the pilot, Jojo [Strous, the show’s executive producer] said, ‘You guys are actually really funny’,” Briony recalls. “Even though we’re laughing all the time with our besties and having a great time, we wondered if that would translate into other people finding us funny.”
Between them, mums Briony, Charlie and Vix have five children, and wanted to host a podcast that embraces the messiness of motherhood and refuses to sugar-coat the challenges parents face. Instead, they revel in the imperfections and quirks of family life, offering laughter as a tonic. Their hope is that the episodes can become a space where parents who might be feeling lonely or isolated can feel like they’re listening to three of their own friends.
“The subjects we talk about when we record each week are really relevant,” says Vix. “We follow what’s going on in the news, and there’s also a segment ‘Overheard in the Playground’, where we go through little things we’ve heard between us.”
Topics are wide-ranging – from the absolute horror of discovering one parent sending their child into school with nits (“to ‘set them free’!” the trio exclaim) without alerting anyone, to parenting hacks like FAFO.
What’s FAFO, we hear you ask? “The f*ck around and find out approach to parenting,” explains Briony. “We apply this to our lives in general sometimes, but, for example, if your kids won’t go outside wearing their coat, you just think, ‘FAFO’. Let’s see what happens, my friends. You’re going to get wet. But you know what, as parents we have to choose our battles.”
There are plenty of top tips crammed into each show, too Charlotte adds. “We try to help people avoid absolute disasters. We’re ‘people pleasers’, so help others from making some terrible life decisions. Though as we’re ageing, we’re getting more reluctant to people please. I’ve accidentally agreed on many-a-thing I would say as a parent. Once upon a time, I had to take another person’s child to school for an entire year because I agreed to it. I had to take a job to get myself out of that one… Just don’t say yes to anything. Say, ‘That sounds great, I’ll let you know.”
“In three-to-five business working days,” Vix interjects, laughing. “It’s TBC,” Charlotte chuckles back to her. “That is really good advice,” agrees Briony. “Charlotte’s the wise one. She is like the Yoda of the group. These guys are both great storytellers, too, and I think it’s definitely coming across in the show. And I think the more we do it, the more that will become even more natural. I just love listening to them.”
The popularity of podcasts is refusing to wane, with listeners keen to fill their downtime, commutes, quiet moments, exercise or working and leisure time with storytelling in all forms.
“That’s why I listen to or watch podcasts – it’s for that connection we’re all craving,” notes Vix. “These days, there’s nothing better than watching somebody be really authentic in themselves, when you feel like you’re listening to a mate. And that’s what we hope that people are getting from us.”
You’ve got a friend in me
Friendship and parenting are at the core of I’m Not Judging, But… (which it should be noted, is so-called after something the trio tend to say a lot in conversation, though they promise that don’t actually judge anyone “that much” in reality).
Briony, who is mum to Nora, aged 10, made it to the semi-finals of The Great British Bake Off in 2018, and has since become a household name as a TV presenter. Briony met Charlie (now mum to two girls, 12-year-old Darcey and 10-year-old Megs) in primary school when she was four-years-old, but didn’t secure ‘bestie’ status until they went to different secondary schools. Apparently, Charlie is privy to all the gossip from Briony’s years moving from teenager to adulthood, and their connection has evolved further now they are each other’s support system as parents.
The third mum-musketeer is Vix, who’s mum to two more girls – Daisy (13) and Primrose (8). Vix met Briony on the way to a hen do, when they found themselves both sitting in the back of a car for an hour and got on so well that they decided to share a room at the hotel. Vix, Charlie and Briony became a trio of friends five years ago, and their respect and adoration for each other is immediately apparent. As Briony puts it: “It’s a bit nuts and a bit chaotic, but we love each other dearly. Please come and join us!”
Vix adds, “But Jojo also said the other day how lovely it is that we’ve also got such different opinions on the things we discuss. Yet we’re always really supportive – to be honest, we’re not the harshest judges.”
Imperfect parenting
While we’re on the topic of judging, is parenting culture becoming less comparative? Do they feel that there’s less pressure to appear like you’re holding everything together?
“I think it depends who you’re talking to,” says Briony. “With these guys, there’s zero pressure to show them that I’m holding it together, or not. There’s no judgment.” She notes that there might be other groups of mums where the situation might feel different: “I think it depends on the circle you’re in. We’re hopefully showing people that there are groups out there that will support you, whether you’re on your knees or you’re flying high; that it’s okay to come undone as a mum.”
Vix agrees, acknowledging how parents – who have obviously never been parents until they are one – are “forced” into lots of different relationships with other parents at different stages of their kids’ lives, from breastfeeding to playgroups, school and beyond: “It’s so important to make sure that you’re surrounding yourself with nice and supportive people, because it can make it or break you,” she says. “It can make all the difference to your parenting journey.”
The trio are pleased that even though the show is new, they’ve already been able to create a supportive community, and are keen for people to get in touch with them to share stories and connect. “We want the show to be relatable, real and fun,” Briony says. “People can listen and have a good time, but they will also get good advice from Charlotte… and questionable advice from me and Vix.”
It’s not just Briony, Charlie and Vix taking to the microphones, though. Listeners can expect plenty of special guests joining them, including CBeebies’ presenter Andy Day, influencer Brummy Mummy Of 2 aka Emma Conway, comedian Jessica Fosterkew and more (though their dream parent guest Chris Hemsworth has so far proven to be, ahem, somewhat unavailable to record). And Stacey Solomon, if you’re reading, give the girls a shout.
New episodes of I’m Not Judging, But… are released every Thursday during school term time, because when it comes to out-of-term time, “we don’t think anybody has any time, parents are in survival mode.”
The trio are clearly having a ball right now, and when asked about what plans are brewing for the future (even though the show is still in its relevant infancy), Briony, Charlie and Vix have hopes to evolve the concept – perhaps even recording an episode in front of a live audience in a Bristol venue next year.
“We just really want to keep doing this,” Briony says. “We love it and we’re having such a great time. We love working with Jojo, she’s so lovely and is so good at what she does – as is the whole production team at Fin.”
“Charlotte and I have never done anything like this before,” adds Vix. “When I turned up, I thought we were just going to be on a similar set-up to a Zoom call, having a laugh, you know? But then it was all so professional, being filmed for YouTube, too. Now, I can’t even imagine not doing the show.”
Even if you’re not a parent, it’s not out of the question that you won’t enjoy their conversations, as they tell me they’ve even had a 21-year-old childless man get in touch to say how much he loves the podcast. And if you do have kids, then you’re about to find three new friends to comfort you whether you’re on the school run, or stealing sacred minutes of alone time by hiding in the bathroom from the unrelenting demands of modern parenting.
I’m Not Judging, But… is available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. It’s also a visual podcast on YouTube @Imnotjudgingbut. You can follow Briony, Charlie and Vix on Instagram @imnotjudgingbutpod and TikTok @imnotjudgingbutpod
