The Hackney & Newham History Social Club podcast returns for a second series!

The second series of The Hackney and Newham History Social Podcast launches today, 27th November! We spoke to the podcast presenter – actor and broadcaster Sue Elliott-Nicholls – about what to expect from the new series…

Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

I’m an actor and broadcaster. I’ve worked in TV, comedy, and animation on all the major channels and I also have another hat; where I make radio features for BBC Radio 4. I’m also a total history nerd, especially local history.

The podcast is a gentle storytelling documentary series about East London history. Modern history. It features stories about people’s lives. Stories of love, family, business, arrivals, and departures. Full of historical facts about East London, it’s a love letter to two boroughs, Hackney and Newham.

If you like The Repair Shop and This American Life and you like archive voices and London history you will love this series.

Host Sue Elliott-Nicholls, at home in East London since the 80s (left) Sue enjoying a local car boot in Hackney (right).

Why did you decide to start the podcast in the first place?

During lockdown I was approached by a local theatre company, Immediate Theatre, to see if I wanted to host a weekly radio series on Resonance FM for isolated elders in Hackney. I scoffed:

“Do you have any idea how hard it is producing a radio show?”

Amused, and fancying a change from recording voice overs in my cupboard I said I would host the pilot.

Two seasons, fifty programmes and almost 50,000 listens later, we had a wealth of fantastic stories and memories of Hackney. Voices and stories any programme maker would kill for.

With gentrification changing the area by the day I wanted to make a series recording the lives of the people who went before. Real tales of real people; so much of the East End history focuses on criminals and wrong-uns, jellied eels or chirpy cockneys offering a cuppa and a friendly biscuit. There are so many more interesting tales to tell.

So I trotted back to Immediate Theatre, we got together with the local archives, applied for Heritage Lottery funding, brought in a brilliant documentary producer Tamsin Hughes and started collecting stories for The Hackney and Newham History Social Club podcast.

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

I loved This American Life. That really opened my eyes (or ears?) to the possibility of making radio outside the confines of the major radio stations.

I love the fascination of the every day. Holding a microscope – or microphone – to the little moments.

Many years ago I hosted a series for BBC Radio 4 called The Things We Do (producer Suki Firth). We looked at five subjects: eavesdropping, flirting, unwanted advice, boys’ banter, and little white lies. It was one of my favourite series.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

I love story-telling podcasts.

I’ve always valued working in audio because when you interview someone you get an intimacy that isn’t always possible when there is a camera and a camera operator. I love the nuances in people’s voices, the catches in their voices, the pauses, the smile, the little laugh. I guess that’s why I like voice acting, you can tell so much from subtle changes in a person’s voice.

So, for story-telling, The Moth, This American Life.

For gentle observation and a sense of place my producer Tamsin Hughes put me on to The Stubborn Light Of Things. You can pretty much go anywhere with a microphone.

Mayank and Anju Patel – owners of the infamous Londis N16, “The Most Famous Corner Shop in the Country” (The Face, 2023).

Can you tell us more about what to expect from the new series of The Hackney and Newham History Social Club podcast?

This new season takes a deeper look into the connections between the past and present. We spend a full day with the Patel’s from Londis N16 and hear their family story through four generations from Zambia and India to becoming “The Most Famous Corner Shop In The Country.” (The Face 2023).

We also have tales of secret weddings, enterprise, family, and more. We talk to Judy Frumin who finds a diary in her mum’s suitcase she brought from Czechoslovakia before the Nazis arrived. She traces the story of two women; there’s escape, dancing, weddings and a tragic death. The journey ends in a hunt for a grave in an east London cemetery.

We meet George James who sold shave ice in Ridley Road Market. The Original Caribbean form of Slush Puppy (before Slush Puppies.)

The series is packed with humour from our guests and I try to add in as many historical facts as I can – told you I’m a history nerd! Did you know The name Londis “Lon-Dis” comes from The “London District of the National Grocers Federation”; a 1950s breakaway group of independent shop owners? Going back to when a common in Hackney was brickfields and farms.

Serving the community since the 1980s; you can buy everything in the Patel’s family store from fresh fruit & veg, homemade samosas to a tin of Heinz soup, a scratch card or a hip vegan dip.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

I feel like our dream guests are the people we already have. People with fascinating stories to tell. In a later series of The Hackney and Newham History Social Club we tell the story of some photos found in a skip, the story takes us on an incredible journey of history, dignity, family love, ending up in one of the county’s most prestigious art galleries.

I love the fact we can tell working class stories, to me, these are often the most interesting. Stories of adversity, stories with journeys physical and emotional. East London, in particular, has such a rich history of immigration and reinvention.

Having said that, Idris Elba is the patron of Immediate Theatre, it would be amazing to hear about his family. Andi Oliver, Ray Winston, Professor Green, Kano, and Paloma Faith…There’s a lot of talent comes out from our little corner of the East End.

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

I feel like all of the series are packed with amazing stories. For me, I would definitely listen to series episodes in order – the stories are expertly weaved through every episode by our very talented producer.

We have an introductory episode “Moving East.” This tells the tale of a shed in a park with a difficult history on the front line of the National Front.

A love affair with nature along an old sewage works.

A young girl arriving from Cyprus in the 60’s and her obsession with fashion.

It takes you on a journey through ancient routes from Hackney Reservoirs to the Woolwich Ferry.

The mix of humour, banter, and real-life moments make it relatable and fun even when discussing deeper topics.

One listener commented “laughed out loud on the train.”

Love and romance in Carmen and Chock’s wedding. (Find out why Chock had to keep hers a secret.)

Do you have a favourite episode of the podcast, or one you are proudest of?

Honestly, every series of The Hackney and Newham History Social Club is full of the most amazing stories, I think it’s difficult to choose one.

As you look back on your podcasting journey, what challenges have you faced, and how have you overcome them to keep the show growing?

I’ve been very very lucky to have a brilliant team; Tamsin Hughes, Carina VogIelsberger, and Tiziana Silvestre. The project has been overwhelming at times, the team are making the series, researching and collecting stories for the archives at the same time.

I think, for me personally, because I have come from a broadcast background I hadn’t anticipated the effort that needs to go into growing an audience. The socials, the schmoozing, getting the name out there. Even finding the right person to help with marketing – thankfully we’re very lucky to have found Becky Lamb-Pritchard from Distorted who understands the project, it’s so much more than history, it’s comedy, it’s telling stories.

What advice would you give to someone just starting their own podcast, based on your experiences?

Give it an identity. What makes your podcast different to the others? What can listeners find in your material that they won’t find anywhere else? What can you give that no-one else can?

I remember when podcasts first came out and were discussed in a Women In Media event I went to. “It’s like the Wild West,” they said, “But the good ones can rise to the top.”

Also – it’s hard work so keep it enjoyable.

What are your plans for the podcast moving forward?

We’re busy working on some incredible new stories for next year, we have heritage lottery funding until summer 2025 (thank you to Heritage Lottery.)

After that we can see so many possibilities going forward. Bringing museums to life, spreading out to other boroughs and even around the country. The History Social Club could travel to Lambeth, Waltham Forest, Glasgow even.

Our producer told me about a poem called “Wild Geese”. There is a line in it which says: “announcing your place in the family of things.”

We are led by the stories we find.

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

You can find us on Instagram @Thehistorysocialclub.

Or, to find out more about the project and get involved in The Hackney and Newham History Social Club, or if you have a story you think we might like, you can contact us on Instagram or at our website.

For my news and news of other projects, check out @Sweliotknickers on Instagram.

The Hackney and Newham History Social Club can be heard on Spotify and all audio streaming services.

Visit: immediate-theatre.com/work/heritage/hackney-newham-history-social-club or scan the bar code below to listen to the podcast.

Listen to The Hackney & Newham History Social Club

This article was produced in partnership with Immediate Theatre