In the world of British comedy and daytime TV, there have been some truly bizarre moments—but few compare to this story that Mel Giedroyc recently shared about her longtime friend and co-host, Sue Perkins.
What started as a lighthearted chat on a podcast quickly turned into a surprising blast from the past, involving puppets, inappropriate antics, and even a wild shamanic ritual.
That One Lunch Show Where Things Got Uncomfortably Weird
During a recent appearance on the Parenting Hell podcast, Mel Giedroyc revisited one of the most unforgettable episodes of Light Lunch, the Channel 4 chat show she co-hosted with Sue back in the ‘90s.
According to Mel, during one taping in 1997, things took a very strange turn when Keith Harris and his famous puppet Orville the Duck appeared on the show.
But it wasn’t just laughs and nostalgia—Mel claims that through Orville, Keith got a little too handsy with Sue.
“It was the ‘90s,” Mel said. “A lot of things were going down.
Keith via Orville got a bit naughty… classic Nineties.”
Comedian Rob Beckett jumped in to say, “You forget there’s a hand in there,” to which Mel replied, “There’s a ruddy hand.”
It was all meant to be funny, but even Mel admitted the situation fell into a “grey area,” especially when other puppeteers joined the chaos.
Puppeteers, Tension, and a Room Full of Strange Energy
That particular Light Lunch episode wasn’t just about Orville.
Roger de Courcey and his puppet Nookie Bear showed up too, along with Matthew Corbett and the beloved Sooty.
Mel painted a vivid picture of backstage tension, claiming Roger didn’t think too highly
of Matthew’s puppeteering skills. “There was real animosity,” she recalled. “A frosty bloody atmosphere round the table. Harris is in the middle of it all over Perks’s grill.”
Meanwhile, Sue, only 27 at the time, was clearly the center of attention.
“She was the honey trap,” Mel joked. “They bloomin’ loved Perks, all of them.”
A Behind-the-Scenes Snog with Dermot and Other Light Lunch Memories
Despite the awkward encounters, Mel insists she and Sue had plenty of good memories from Light Lunch.
One of her fondest (and cheekiest) moments? Kissing none other than a young Dermot O’Leary, who was working as a runner on the show before becoming a household name.
“There was a lot going down,” Mel laughed.
“It should’ve been called Heavy Lunch.”
Sue’s Outrageous Shaman Story Involving Vodka and… Enemas?
And if you thought the puppet story was wild, buckle up for this next one.
Sue Perkins recently shared a jaw-dropping story of her own during an episode of Dish from Waitrose with Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett.
Sue described attending a friend’s birthday party—one that ended up including a spiritual ritual with a visiting American shaman. And yes, things got very weird.
At around 4 a.m., Sue found herself in a hot tub with others, participating in what she described as a “shamanic ritual” involving a vodka enema. You read that right.
“We were all battered,” Sue admitted. “It was raspberry vodka… the only thing left.
The shaman would drink it and then blow it… into our, um, ring pieces.”
Though she didn’t reveal which partner was with her at the time, Sue has previously been linked to Anna Richardson, Rhona Cameron, Emma Kennedy, and Kate Williams.
Chaos, Laughter, and a Whole Lot of Oversharing
Whether it’s being the unintended target of puppet mischief or participating in spiritual rituals gone sideways, Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc clearly have no shortage of surreal stories.
But if there’s one thing we can count on, it’s that they’ll always share them with humor, honesty—and absolutely no filter.