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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Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin Scott Thomas – ‘Having children allowed me to see where I’d gone wrong’ · Jun 2026

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Lemn Sissay
S6, BONUS EPISODE! How to Fail: Lemn Sissay · Nov 2019

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Lily Allen
S3, Ep1 How to Fail: Lily Allen · Jan 2019

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Lorraine Kelly
S15, BONUS EPISODE How To Fail: Lorraine Kelly, the daytime TV icon on failing to go to uni, being fired and...penguins · Nov 2022

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Luke Evans
ON FINDING LOVE AT ANY AGE… With Luke Evans and Dolly Alderton · 2 episodes

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Maggie Aderin-Pocock
S18, Ep9 Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock: one of Britain's foremost space scientists on belonging and the meaning of life · Oct 2023

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Maggie O'Farrell
S11, Ep8 How to Fail: Maggie O'Farrell · Jul 2021

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Malorie Blackman
S15, Ep8 How To Fail: Malorie Blackman, the iconic Noughts and Crosses author on rejection, racism and the importance of representation · Oct 2022

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Margaret Atwood
S16, Ep10 How To Fail: Margaret Atwood on wisdom, witchcraft and womanhood · Mar 2023

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Marian Keyes
S7, Ep6 How to Fail: Marian Keyes · Feb 2020

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Martin Freeman
Martin Freeman - ‘We should be saying no to our kids’ · Jan 2026

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Meera Syal
S5, Ep7 How to Fail: Meera Syal · Aug 2019

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Mel B
ON REJECTION… With Mel B and Nicole Scherzinger · 2 episodes

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Mel Giedroyc
Mel Giedroyc - I Lost My Biggest Fan When Mum Died · 2 episodes

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Michael Rosen
S14, Ep5 How To Fail: Michael Rosen · Jun 2022

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Minnie Driver
S14, Ep2 How To Fail: Minnie Driver · May 2022

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Miquita Oliver
Miquita Oliver - I Drank Half a Bottle of Wine Every Morning · Jul 2026

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Miranda Hart
ON FINDING THE ONE… With Miranda Hart, Celeste Barber and Glennon Doyle · 2 episodes

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Miriam Margolyes
S18, Ep1 Miriam Margolyes on not marrying a nice Jewish doctor · Sep 2023

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Mo Gilligan
Mo Gilligan - Fatherhood Is A Gift I Didn’t Know I Needed · Feb 2026

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Munroe Bergdorf
S16, Ep7 How To Fail: Munroe Bergdorf on the beauty of transitions, breaking the rules and learning how forgive herself and others · Feb 2023

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Munya Chawawa
S13, Ep5 How to Fail: Munya Chawawa · Feb 2022

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Nadiya Hussain
S9, Ep7 How to Fail: Nadiya Hussain · Oct 2020

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Neneh Cherry
Neneh Cherry - ‘My mother’s death undid me.’ · Oct 2024

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Nick Grimshaw
Nick Grimshaw - 'I told The Guardian I was gay before I told my parents' · Feb 2025

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Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger - ‘I’ve never felt I’m enough’ · Mar 2024

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Nigel Slater
S5, Ep1 How to Fail: Nigel Slater · Jun 2019

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Ovie Soko
S9, Ep5 How to Fail: Ovie Soko · Sep 2020

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Paloma Faith
Paloma Faith… ‘I overshare by whose standards? Not mine.’ · Feb 2024

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Phil Wang
S12, Ep3 How to Fail: Phil Wang · Sep 2021

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Ranulph Fiennes
S17, Ep7 Sir Ranulph Fiennes on adventure, fertility and living up to his father's memory · Jun 2023

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Raven Smith
S3, Ep 5 How to Fail: Raven Smith · Jan 2019

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Richard Osman
Richard Osman on cats, crime and c**ts · Apr 2024

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Rick Astley
S16, Ep1 How To Fail: Rick Astley on never growing up, never giving up and how a difficult childhood shaped his success · Jan 2023

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Rita Wilson
Rita Wilson - ‘I’m 69. I’m At My Most Unfiltered.’ · Apr 2026

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Rob Delaney
S15, BONUS EPISODE How To Fail: Rob Delaney on the death of his beloved son, Henry · Oct 2022

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Robin Wright
Robin Wright on ageing, confidence and the myth of being ‘too late’ · Sep 2025

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Ruby Wax
S9, Ep 4 How to Fail: Ruby Wax · Sep 2020

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Rupert Everett
Rupert Everett - 'Everyone is my Professional Nemesis' · Oct 2024

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Rylan Clark
S17, Ep1 Rylan Clark on fame, heartbreak and the long journey to self-acceptance · May 2023

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