Podcasting royalty Jamie Morton and James Cooper, creators of My Dad Wrote A Porno, shared their advice for launching your next creative project on the latest The Life of Bryony podcast.
The duo also discussed first date disasters while celebrating the launch of their new musical – a show that transforms a cringe-worthy dating story into an empowering romcom.
The friends met as students at Leeds University, never imagining their lives would be transformed when Jamie’s retired father took up writing erotic fiction.
They transformed Jamie’s father’s amateur novel into an award-winning podcast that helped ignite the UK’s podcasting craze.
‘It was the most stupidly simple thing’, Jamie told Mail columnist Bryony Gordon.
‘My dad – who is insane – wrote a porno. He was a builder from Northern Ireland, and he wanted to do something in his retirement, not just sit around.
‘He decided to write a novel, and I was really proud of him – until I read it. The first line involved a woman taking her bra off in a job interview.
Jamie Morton (left) and James Cooper (right) shared their advice for launching your next creative project on the latest The Life of Bryony podcast
The friends met as students at Leeds University, never imagining their lives would be transformed when Jamie’s retired father took up writing erotic fiction
The pair have reunited for a new musical called Love Struck, which is running at the Stratford East theatre in 2025
‘It was the worst book ever written, but the most hilarious. He didn’t know how to write about sex or anything else really.
‘He sent it to me, and it became my party piece – reading bits of the book out loud. Me and James decided to record it and then it just became this massive thing.’
The pair started the podcast from their kitchen without proper equipment, recording through their phone’s microphone.
Intrigued by their humble beginnings, host Bryony asked the duo for advice on turning creative ideas into reality.
‘Always start where you are,’ James said.
‘What resources do you have to hand already? What are your friends that you could start working with?
‘Don’t be too ambitious – start practically and small. You can build from there and that way, it’s more likely to happen. That’s how we have always done it.’
The pair have reunited for a new musical called Love Struck, which is running at the Stratford East theatre in 2025.
Love Struck draws inspiration from a viral 2019 story about a woman getting stuck in a toilet window during a first date, transforming it into a modern love story.
While discussing the pitfalls of dating today, Jamie and James shared stories of first date disasters.
Jamie said: ‘My mate told me the other day that he was on a first date and had lit all these candles.
‘That’s quite sweet in a way, but it was loads of candles and he started sweating profusely.
‘He was sweating so much that he slipped and fell into hot wax in front of his date.’
To hear more about James and Jamie’s friendship and their new musical, search for The Life of Bryony now, wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are released every Monday.
