Comfort Eating: What We Eat When Nobody's Looking

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She talks to Laura Whitmore about her childhood in Ireland, being a young journalist in London, Love Island, and the comfort foods that have. This week, Grace Dent sits down with the star of Derry Girls, the actor and TV presenter Siobhán McSweeney, who reminisces about the golden years of Cork’s rave scene, onstage laughing fits and what happened after her life literally burned to the ground. The multi-Grammy award-winner, known for his smooth, silky tones and iconic headgear, is gliding in on a wave of Californian soul to ease us into some truly mellow seasonal joy.

He talks about his favourite Christmas presents, the magic of childhood Blockbuster trips, his strange times in Miami, and the comfort foods that have seen him through. Because, of course, to talk about comfort food is so often to talk about childhood, home, family and formative experiences. She tells Grace about the perils of growing up with vegetarian parents, moving to London aged 16, and turning away from pop stardom at the height of her fame. As Dent puts it herself: “There’s nothing about life in late 20th-century north-west England that isn’t faintly hilarious in print, and I would not swap a single, solitary second.

Grace meets former athlete and current House of Lords peer Tanni Grey-Thompson, who introduces her to a snack less highbrow than you might expect. Comfort eating with Grace Dent is all about what you eat when comfortable at home but from your favourite celebrities’ perspectives. Shirley’s become TV royalty as head judge on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, but she’d already been ruling the dancefloor for decades. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

So grab a plate and pull up a chair: unfussy, honest and filled to the brim with heartwarming personal stories and comfort-food tales, Comfort Eating is the perfect treat for food lovers everywhere. Lots of toast using the white toastie loaf with allll the butter right to the corners of the toast, fish finger sandwich 👌🏻 yes please!They talk about his childhood, memories of prison, cooking for his husband – and the comfort foods that have seen him through. Really enjoyed this - just the kind of entertaining, lightheated yet validating read I needed after a stressful few months.