MY DAD WROTE A PORNO

Not many people would believe that it was a dramatic reading over dinner with friends that led to the creation of the My Dad Wrote a Porno podcast. But now comes the live show where creator Jamie Morton with friends, Alice Levine and James Cooper, read exclusive chapters of Belinda Blinked in cities all over the country.

It all began with Jamie’s newly-retired dad approaching him with a pile of chapters, and in his words: “He, as bold as brass, said ‘I wrote a book’,” he explains. “The first sentence was about Belinda getting naked. I went through all the emotions of disgust and shame but I just laughed the whole way through.” He goes on to say how serendipitous it was that he was attending dinner that evening with his university friends, and that is how the idea for the podcast took off.

As for Jamie’s father, known as ‘Rocky Flintstone’ from the erotic novel Belinda Blinked, Jamie tells me that his mother has now banned the podcast from the house. “Honestly, he is our biggest fan. But he now has to go into the garden shed, which he calls ‘The Pavilion’.”

My Dad Wrote a Porno has received a lot of attention since the launch of the podcast in 2015. As of February 2018, it has reportedly had over 100 million downloads, as well as plenty of guest stars such as Michel Sheen, Nicolas Hoult, Daisy Ridley and Elijah Wood. “We never thought the podcast would be as popular as it is. Who knew there were so many perverts out there?”, Jamie giggles.

As the date for the live shows draws near, I asked what exactly can attendees expect from the trio. “When my dad first started writing the Belinda Blinked books, he would write so much and some never ended up in the books. I like to think that Rocky Flintstone himself thought it was too shit to go in the books. It’s a fully immersive show, we get people up to act out scenes, and there are video elements: it’s a full-on comedy show.”

St David’s Hall, Cardiff. Mon 30 Apr. Tickets: £29.50 Info: 029 2087 8444 / www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk