The Collings and Herrin Podcast was a humorous topical podcast starring comedian Richard Herring and writer/broadcaster Andrew Collins. In 2005-7, Richard was a regular on Andrew's weekly radio show, where their natural chemistry became clear; after losing the slot, they decided to continue reviewing the papers independently, record it in Richard's loft and release it for free through the British Comedy Guide
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Between February 2008 and June 2011, they released an episode nearly every week, expanding into live gigs around the UK. The normal length was just over an hour, but some episodes ran for much longer, depending on the recording device. During this time they also spent a year filling in for Adam and Joe, under the more professional title of Collins and Herring.
The podcast came to an end when Andrew accepted an offer to return to that slot with another comedian and mutual friend, Josie Long. Richard was upset and a hiatus was announced, with both sides opening up online. They tried to reboot in November 2011, but the reunion lasted only one episode before Andrew apparently called it quits.
This podcast contains examples of the following tropes:
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Invoked for comedic effect (but maybe also played straight by mistake).
- Bestiality Is Depraved: Richard's go-to example of his own persona's depravity is the time he expressed a desire to fuck a tortoise through a hole in its shell. He also teases Andrew's bizarre ambition to be kissed on the cheek by a duck.
- Black Comedy Rape: One of the most prominent running gags is Richard's desire to 'bum' Andrew, with or without consent.Richard: I'm gonna bum Andrew Collins onstage. Who'd like to see it?
Audience: (cheering and applauding)
Richard: Wouldn't you be appalled? How would you feel if I actually anally raped Andrew Collins? - Catchphrase
- "I paid a pound!"
- "Nyum nyum nyum..."
- "X is a fucking idiot."
- "Collings is a bummer" - more of a fan catchphrase than something Richard ever really said. It was even written on the bathroom walls in the British Library where Andrew was known to visit.
- Characterisation Marches On: Describing old recordings of their original radio collaborations, Andrew says it's "amazing" how "sweet," "young," "innocent," "silly," "sunny," "equal" and "in love" they sound.
- Conspiracy Theorist: Although Andrew claims not to be one, he gets a lot of stick from Richard for taking undue interest in e.g. 9/11 conspiracy theories.
- Crossover: Every Christmas with Phill Jupitus and Phil Wilding's Perfect Ten, for a seasonal foursome version called the Perfect Twelve. Phill and Phil's professional studio recording was released to their listeners, while a second recording, made as usual with the internal mic on Andrew's laptop, was uploaded to the British Comedy Guide.
- Flanderization"We changed. The podcast Richard became more and more dominant, and the 6 Music Andrew, the one who used to be in charge on the radio, became the butt of many of the podcast Richard’s jokes and tirades. [...] As if perhaps to compensate for the fact that I had my hands on the faders and Richard had never been given an email address, he grew more and more dominant on 6 Music, just as he had done on the podcast. The line between Herring and Herrin grew more blurred."
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Richard once referred to his girlfriend and Andrew collectively as "both my three-year relationships." For a long time they saw each other more than almost anyone else, fell to pining when separated, and eventually treated their breakup like a divorce.
- Precision F-Strike: "Your mum is a fucking idiot." (Although they discuss NSFW topics in filthy detail, and often use very strong language, swears aren't usually thrown around as much as you might expect.)
- Straight Man and Wise Guy: Richard continues the ludicrous 'wise guy' persona he established with Stewart Lee, with Andrew playing the 'straight man' desperately trying to keep up with him.
- Take That, Audience!: Listeners are depicted as undesirable, socially inept nerds at best, and potential sex offenders, kidnappers or murderers at worst.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: On the podcast and, to a lesser extent, in real life.
- You Bastard!: Listeners complaining that Richard has gone too far (for example, in proposing to fashion a baby from his own excrement) prompt him to a rant along these lines: if you took the shitbaby thing seriously enough to get offended, that means you also take everything else he says seriously - such as advocating the rape of tortoises and writer/broadcasters. You sat through all that, thinking it was for real, but none of it offended you until the shitbaby? You Bastard!.
