Sanjeev Bhaskar

Ed Gamble (0:13)

Welcome to the Off Menu Podcast, taking the lettuce leaves of conversation, adding the croutons of friendship, the Caesar dressing of humor, and if you so fancy, the chicken of chat.

James Acaster (0:29)

That is Ed Gamble, my name is James Acaster. Together, we own a Dream Restaurant in every single week.

Sanjeev Bhaskar (0:34)

Parmesan.

James Acaster (0:35)

We're inviting our guests and asking them if they'd ever start a main course dessert, side dish and drink, not in that order. And this week, our guest is Sanjeev Bhaskar.

National Trez. Trez.

Ed Gamble (0:47)

Is that a?

James Acaster (0:48)

National Trez.

Ed Gamble (0:50)

National Trez, of course, Sanjeev Bhaskar. What a legend.

James Acaster (0:53)

Very excited to have Sanjeev in. And we've had Meera Sahil on the podcast. So this is like the second Goodness Gracious Me and Kumars alum that we've had on.

Ed Gamble (1:03)

Both big shows for us growing up.

James Acaster (1:06)

Huge shows for us growing up. I think our generation of comedians, like Goodness Gracious Me and the Kumars is like just on the Mount Rushmore.

Ed Gamble (1:16)

Totally. And Sanjeev, of course, is now an amazing actor in many other things. He's been in films, he's done loads of TV.

He was on Taskmaster, of course.

James Acaster (1:26)

Of course. And he's going to be in The Split Up, which is out later this month on BBC One and iPlayer, of course, created by Abbey Morgan, Ritu Ayah is in it. Also friends of the podcast, Lenny Henry, Mawan Rizwan, Sindhu V.

Ed Gamble (1:42)

Yes.

James Acaster (1:42)

So there's a lot of great cast members in it. Sanjeev is the lead as well, so we'll be asking him more about that.

Ed Gamble (1:48)

The Split Up is a spinoff in the same universe as The Split with Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan.

James Acaster (1:55)

But not in the same universe as Split.

Ed Gamble (1:57)

No.

James Acaster (1:57)

The film where James McAvoy has more personalities and kidnaps those girls.

Ed Gamble (2:02)

But that is in the same universe as Unbreakable and Glass.

James Acaster (2:07)

And Glass, of course.

Ed Gamble (2:09)

And Old.

James Acaster (2:12)

That's not been confirmed, but it probably is in the same universe as Old, where they all go old on the beach. They turn really old on the beach really quick.

Ed Gamble (2:22)

Really too quickly. It's not just like people on the beach for five years and they're five years older.

James Acaster (2:27)

No, it's a beach that makes you old really quick. And it turns out it's Big Pharma.

Ed Gamble (2:32)

As in pharmaceuticals.

James Acaster (2:33)

Yes, not the Jolly Green Giant, who could also be seen as a big pharma.

The Jolly Green Giant is the biggest pharma of them all. Here's the thing though, we love Sanjeev, but if he says a secret ingredient, we deem to be unacceptable, we will have to kick him out of the Dream Restaurant.

Ed Gamble (2:49)

I don't want to do that today.

James Acaster (2:50)

I don't want to do that.

Ed Gamble (2:50)

No.

James Acaster (2:51)

And that is why the secret ingredient is Banana Split.

Ed Gamble (2:53)

Banana Split, The Split Up.

James Acaster (2:55)

It's called The Split Up, so we chose a Banana Split.

Ed Gamble (2:57)

It's not about Banana Splits though.

James Acaster (2:59)

We love Banana Splits.

Ed Gamble (3:00)

It's about like the high profile divorce circuit in Manchester.

James Acaster (3:04)

And also like-

Ed Gamble (3:05)

It's not about Banana Splits.

James Acaster (3:07)

This isn't like, sometimes the secret ingredient is just like linked to something about the guest. In this case, the show that Sanjeev is about to appear on, like we love Banana Splits, obviously.

Ed Gamble (3:17)

They're delicious.

James Acaster (3:17)

They're one of the best foods.

Ed Gamble (3:19)

I couldn't tell you the last time I had one though.

James Acaster (3:21)

No, I can tell you the first time I had one because it was incredible. I spoke about it on the podcast before.

I genuinely think it was the length of my arm, the Banana Split, and so much ice cream. I was so proud that I finished it. Absolutely delicious. I wish I could have those again at a meal with my cousins. I remember my cousins being there.

Ed Gamble (3:44)

You'd have to really go some distance, find a Banana Split, the length of your arm. Now.

James Acaster (3:50)

It's a long arm.

Ed Gamble (3:51)

It's a long arm.

James Acaster (3:52)

But I would love a Banana Split as long as that.