How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

Every success story you've ever been told is incomplete. How To Fail with Elizabeth Day is the part they leave out. Each week, Sunday Times #1 bestselling author Elizabeth Day sits down with someone extraordinary - and asks them about the moments that didn’t go according to plan and how these failures shaped them. Kate Winslet on body image. Malala Yousafzai on rewriting her story. Pamela Anderson on refuting shame. Phoebe Waller-Bridge on creativity. Salman Rushdie on survival. Emilia Clarke on fame. What happens when the people you most admire stop performing and start telling the truth? Five hundred episodes in, we're still finding out. With sold-out nights at the London Palladium and Sydney Opera House, millions of listeners worldwide, and a British Podcast Award to its name, How To Fail is one of the UK's most successful podcasts. And yes, we're aware of the irony. Pick an episode. Start anywhere. An Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment production. All guest booking is manag

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Every guest on How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

324 guests, ranked by how many people never want them back.

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Gabor Maté
The F-Word Miniseries: Gabor Maté on Feelings · Aug 2023

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Shania Twain
ON THE IMPACT OF EARLY FAME… With Shania Twain and Charlotte Church · 2 episodes

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Pamela Anderson
ON SELF ACCEPTANCE... With Pamela Anderson and Rylan Clark · 2 episodes

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Glennon Doyle
Failure Throwback: Glennon Doyle · 2 episodes

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Emilia Clarke
Emilia Clarke - ‘I’m A Bad Celebrity’ · May 2026

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Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant: ‘Most famous people are f**cked up’ · Jan 2025

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Claudia Rankine
S9, BONUS EPISODE! How to Fail: Claudia Rankine · Oct 2020

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Kate Hudson
Kate Hudson - ‘Fame is a tumultuous machine’ · Feb 2025

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Melinda French Gates
Melinda French Gates - ‘Just because you’re smart doesn’t mean you’re wise’ · Jul 2025

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Samin Nosrat
S5, Ep6 How to Fail: Samin Nosrat · Jul 2019

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Tara Westover
S2, Ep7 How to Fail: Tara Westover · Nov 2018

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Derren Brown
S12, Ep1 How to Fail: Derren Brown · Sep 2021

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Emma Grede
Emma Grede - ‘Ambition Is Something I Am Entitled to’ · Apr 2026

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AJ Odudu
AJ Odudu - ‘Living to tell the tale is the joyful thing’ · Mar 2024

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Adam Buxton
S9, Ep1 How to Fail: Adam Buxton · Aug 2020

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Ade Adepitan
Ade Adepitan - ‘At 16 I’d seen more violence than anyone should ever see’ · Aug 2024

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Adeel Akhtar
ON PERSPECTIVE… With Adeel Akhtar and Pat Cummins · 2 episodes

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Alan Cumming
S13, Ep3 How To Fail: Alan Cumming · Jan 2022

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Alastair Campbell
S2, Ep5 How to Fail: Alastair Campbell · Oct 2018

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Alex Crawford
S17, Ep3 Alex Crawford: the legendary war correspondent on staying alive, motherhood and the resilience of hope · May 2023

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Alex Jones
S16, Ep2 How To Fail: Alex Jones on fertility, mental health and the time she locked King Charles in the toilet · Jan 2023

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Andi Oliver
S13, Ep 4 How To Fail: Andi Oliver · Feb 2022

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Andy McNab
S4, Ep6 How to Fail: Andy McNab · May 2019

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Annie Nightingale
S9, Ep3 How to Fail: Annie Nightingale · Sep 2020

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Arlene Phillips
Dame Arlene Phillips - ‘I know the power of love’ · May 2024

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Arlo Parks
S18, Ep4 Arlo Parks on the impossibility of perfection · Sep 2023

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Asim Chaudhry
S14, Ep8 How To Fail: Asim Chaudhry · Jun 2022

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Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann - ‘I self-medicate with creativity’ · Feb 2026

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Bear Grylls
Failure Throwback: Bear Grylls · 2 episodes

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Benjamin Zephaniah
S14, Ep7 How To Fail: Benjamin Zephaniah · Jun 2022

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Bernardine Evaristo
S8, Ep8 How to Fail: Bernardine Evaristo · Jul 2020

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Big Zuu
S16, Ep5 How To Fail: Big Zuu the Bafta-winning TV cook on being the child of a refugee, his ADHD diagnosis and racism in football · Feb 2023

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Caitlin Moran
🎤 How To Fail LIVE: Caitlin Moran on parenting failures, body image and big vaginas · Dec 2022

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Celeste Barber
Celeste Barber: the FUNNIEST woman on the internet · Apr 2025

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Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church - ‘I was totally exploited. I was a commodity’ · Oct 2025

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Chris Patten
S3, Ep2 How to Fail: Chris Patten · Jan 2019

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Claudia Winkleman
S18, Ep10 Claudia Winkleman on the joy of imperfection · Nov 2023

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Cody Rigsby
S16, BONUS EPISODE: Cody Rigsby on queerness, addiction and being Rishi Sunak's favourite Peloton instructor · Mar 2023

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Dannii Minogue
Dannii Minogue - ‘I hit low points where I thought: “I just can’t take this any more.” · May 2025

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Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer - 'I’m a f**king legend or I’m a f**king disgrace. I suppose I divide people' · Jul 2024

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