Who You Don't See artwork

Who You Don't See

27 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago -

Have you ever wondered how Victoria’s Secret models get runway ready? Thought about what it’s like to be behind the scenes on a Sean Paul music video? Or wanted to know how Little Mix look so good in every photo? If the answer is yes, Who You Don’t See is the podcast for you.

Every week, journalist and presenter, Megan Lawton chats to an industry expert, working behind the stars: from choreographers and hairstylists to personal trainers and makeup artists. The podcast explores what they get up to on a typical day, hears techniques for overcoming nerves and gets the inside scoop on what it’s like to work with some of the biggest names in pop culture.

Entertainment News News Society & Culture celebrity behind the scenes pop culture little mix musician career advice backstage arts careers music videos
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Episodes

Nick Huggett, the exec who signed Adele

November 03, 2022 05:00 - 34 minutes - 47.4 MB

In the final episode of the season, we're joined by Nick Huggett a music manager responsible for signing some of the biggest names in pop; Adele, Dizzee Rascal, MIA and Rizzle Kicks. It's his job to scout and nurture artists to become the megastars they are. In our chat we speak about tough talks with artists, why audition performances can be awkward and the artists that got away.

Spice Girls musical director Simon Ellis

October 26, 2022 04:00 - 37 minutes - 51.6 MB

We couldn't do a 90's special without talking about the Spice Girls, so it's only right we speak to their musical director Simon Ellis. Simon was the guy responsible for re-writing the music for all their tours and blames having 'too much fun' for his hazy memories of the time.  He did the same role with Britney Spears and tells us about working with her both before and during the conservatorship.  Outside of MD'ing, Simon's a songwriter with many Top 10 tracks in his catalogue. I...

Choreographer Teresa Toogie Barcelo

October 12, 2022 04:00 - 47 minutes - 65.1 MB

This week we're joined by choreographer - Teresa Barcelo - or “Toogie” as she's often known. She's danced with a whole host of stars including Sean Paul, Dua Lipa and Harry Styles, where she quite literally instructed a whole load of dancers to 'shove melon in Harry's mouth'. Toogie started out as a backing dancer working alongside Sean Paul, and Sean Kingston. Since then she's gone onto choreograph Dua Lipa, Miguel and Alicia Keys - working towards music videos, world tours and awa...

Hollywood photographer Randall Slavin

October 05, 2022 04:00 - 38 minutes - 52.8 MB

Since picking up a camera 22 years ago, Randall has captured Hollywood’s finest. As an aspiring actor himself, he started doing headshots for fellow up and coming actors that went onto become household names like Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando bloom and Reese Witherspoon. Headshots aside, in recent years he’s become known for his work at 90's house parties, in a pre-instagram world, it was Randall who documented Hollywood nights out. In our chat, we talk about social media being the dem...

Amy Winehouse's stylist Naomi Parry

September 28, 2022 04:00 - 45 minutes - 63.2 MB

Think about the stars of the 00's and Amy Winehouse immediately comes to mind. This week, we interview Naomi Parry, Amy's fashion stylist. Naomi was in her late teens when her mate Amy asked if she’d be interested in styling her. That was 2006, the year Amy released Back to Black.  The next 6 years were a whirlwind of world tours, festivals and music videos. Naomi was there for the good times; and the times of turmoil too. In the pod, we chat about the outfits Naomi designed for Am...

Gwen Stefani's hairstylist Danilo Dixon

September 21, 2022 04:00 - 38 minutes - 52.5 MB

This week we’re chatting to Danilo Dixon, a hairdresser to the stars. He’s been in the game for twenty years and in that time worked alongside celebrities like Selena Gomez, Lily James and Katy Perry.  His most regular client is the one and only Gwen Stefani, who pays him a visit several times a week. In their twenty years of working together, he’s delivered many space buns, slick ponies and always maintained that iconic platinum blonde.

Entertainment architect Ray Winkler

September 07, 2022 16:00 - 40 minutes - 56.2 MB

Ray Winkler is an entertainment architect. Yep, if you're not familiar… he’s the guy who designs stages for huge world tours. He started designing in the 90’s working with bands like the Rolling Stones and U2, since then he’s gone onto conquer the world of pop designing sets for Britney, Beyonce's Coachella stage and most recently for Adele at Hyde Park. 

Britney's former make up artist Julianne Kaye

August 31, 2022 04:00 - 36 minutes - 50.5 MB

Our guest this week is the incredible Julianne Kaye. Cast your minds back to 1999, when a little known pop star called Britney Spears was starting her career. Behind her was Julianne, 24 at the time and tasked with doing Britney’s hair and make up on a world tour. Spoiler, it went well. Remember that iconic double denim red carpet moment for Britney and Justin? That was Jules’ doing, and it took just twenty minutes. Make up aside, we talk about Britney’s conservatorship and chat abo...

Who You Don't See, Season 3 Trailer

July 27, 2022 04:00 - 1 minute - 1.54 MB

Hello! Welcome back to Season Three of Who You Don't See. The podcast celebrating the people behind the stars.   This time we're zooming back to the 00's and 90's, a time of low rise jeans, frosted lip gloss and Von Dutch Caps.   We have a whole range of exciting guests lined up, including Britney Spears' make up artist, Gwen Stefani's hair stylist and the 'entertainment architect' who made Britney's iconic Slave For You snake moment.   We launch next week, and you can make su...

Producer and sound technician Callum Lloyd Williams

July 29, 2021 04:00 - 35 minutes - 48.1 MB

I’ll openly admit I had no idea what Callum’s job entailed before chatting to him - but he’s a musical wizard and taught me all about building songs for the stage, in comparison to the studio. Whilst we were all baking banana bread in lockdown, Callum was working on Dua Lipa’s studio 2054 live stream concert. When non-lockdown life allows, he also tours with Zara Larson, and played a role in Ed Sheeran’s world tour, the highest grossing tour ever. In our chat we speak about lon...

Hollywood personal trainer David Higgins

July 08, 2021 04:00 - 52 minutes - 71.6 MB

Our guest this week is the is the man who half of Hollywood seem to have on speed-dial. David Higgins: a personal trainer who works his magic on film sets.  It’s not an exaggeration to say David sculpts superheroes. He trained Zoe Kravitz when she played Cat Woman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow. In our chat, we speak about setting 2am alarm calls for workouts, the feeling of creating celebrity bodies which break the internet and why he always ...

Stormzy's creative directors Amber Rimell & Bronski

June 24, 2021 04:00 - 55 minutes - 76.2 MB

Our guests this week are the insanely talented creative directing duo Amber & Bronski, co-founders of TAWBOX who've made BAFTA nominated content for Stormzy, AJ Tracey, Miley Cyrus, Dave and more. As well as working with Stormzy on THAT Glasto headline slot they’ve worked with Dave too - directing his powerful performance of Black at the 2020 BRIT awards. Outside of the political they’ve also conquered the world of pop, looking after Miley Cyrus and Rita Ora, each time directing be...

Singer and songwriter Dan Caplen

June 17, 2021 06:15 - 44 minutes - 60.5 MB

Our guest this week is the insanely talented singer and songwriter Dan Caplen.  In addition to writing his own music, he's written top 10 tracks for Medusa, Rudimental, Macklemore, Stormzy, and Ella Eyre.  As you’ll be able to tell from the laughs, I so enjoyed chatting to Dan.  We spoke about using baby, love and ooo to fill gaps in songs, Christmas song writing camps in July and how faking it till you make it has opened a whole load of doors for him. If you want to keep up wi...

Vocalist and backing singer Naomi Scarlett

June 10, 2021 04:00 - 48 minutes - 66 MB

Naomi is a backing vocalist who makes artists like Dua Lipa, Stormzy and Jorja Smith sound as good as they do on stage. She's done world tours, festivals and all the iconic TV performances too; from James Cordon's Late Late Show to Graham Norton.  Over Zoom, we spent time talking about the intensity of a world tour, the art of not overpowering an artists voice and why choreography sessions bring Naomi out in hives! To keep up to date with her travels and gigs, you can follow her ...

J.Lo & Lizzo's nail artist Eri Ishizu

February 11, 2021 04:00 - 44 minutes - 61.4 MB

Eri is the nail stylist responsible for making J-Lo’s nails look like pieces of art - and I’m not exaggerating. When she's not applying crystals to J-Lo’s tips, she’s likely to be tie-dying, drawing animal print or attaching pom-poms to the nails of Lizzo, Mulatto or Charli XCX. Over Zoom, we spent time talking about the inauguration and what it meant to Eri as an immigrant woman. We also chatted Lizzo’s words of wisdom, nail sessions that take three hours, and how a teenage obses...

Celebrity bodyguard Simon Newton

February 04, 2021 04:00 - 37 minutes - 51.6 MB

Simon recently quit the world of personal protection to chase a career in acting, but during his 17 years in security he worked with some of the worlds most famous names. Despite looking a little intimidating when on duty, I can confirm Simon is a total joy and really very friendly - over Zoom we covered all sorts… from the planning that goes into a body guard shift, why his dress sense landed him a profile piece in Vogue Magazine and why you can be a security guard even if you're ...

Vocal coach Lorna Blackwood

January 28, 2021 04:00 - 45 minutes - 61.9 MB

Dua Lipa, Ellie Goulding, George Ezra and Mabel are just some of the artists she regularly coaches - in her own words, ‘giving them that extra 2%,’ and it works. After two coaching sessions with George Ezra, his song reached the UK top 10 and Dua Lipa now says all she needs is “Honey, Lemons and Lorna”. Quite the endorsement. Over a Zoom call we chatted about chocolate giving you ‘noisy spit’, what it's like to be back stage at the Grammy's and also the lectures she gives artist...

Celebrity stylist Phoebe Lettice Thompson

January 21, 2021 04:00 - 43 minutes - 59.1 MB

Phoebe's styled looks are seen by millions; on red carpets, music videos, festival stages, TV programmes and modelling campaigns too. In our chat we talk about purchasing £10,000 outfits, fretting over Zara Larson exposing her vagina live on X-Factor (yes really) and creating knickers designed to be twerked in. Phoebe is one of my favourite insta accounts to follow, so I highly suggest you add her to your timeline. She’s at: @phoebelettice And to keep up with the latest podcast e...

Tour Manager Rebecca Travis

January 14, 2021 04:00 - 46 minutes - 63.3 MB

If you want to find out more about Rebecca, head to her website. And to keep up with the latest podcast episodes, I’m over at: @meg_lawton Thank you’s:  Podcast artwork: Worth Mentioning Head shot photography: Hannah Domney Music: Jay Lewn

Choreographer and movement coach Suzette Brissett

January 07, 2021 04:00 - 41 minutes - 57.3 MB

Hello, happy New Year and welcome to episode 5 of Who You Don’t See. Our guest this week is celebrity choreographer Suzette Brissett. As well as working on music videos, Suzette choreographs live performances and coaches models, including Cara Delevingne, on how to move in adverts. In our chat we speak about Suzette’s experience of dealing with drama on set and learn why she almost retired after directing one of MIA’s videos. If you want to keep up with Suzette's work, featurin...

Celebrity hairstylist Miles Jeffries

December 17, 2020 04:00 - 46 minutes - 63.2 MB

Ho, ho, ho… Merry Christmas! Welcome to episode 4 of Who You Don’t See which happens to be our Christmas special. If you’re newly discovering this podcast, we’re all about celebrating the people working ‎behind the stars. Miles Jeffries has only been a hairstylist for 7 years but in that time he’s styled on several of Mariah’s world tours, a Vegas residency and been the stylist on her Christmas vacation. Not only does Miles work with the Queen of the holidays - but Kelly Osbourne,...

Celebrity music video director Carly Cussen

December 10, 2020 04:00 - 53 minutes - 72.8 MB

In our chat, we speak about getting into the industry, as well as the dramas of working on a shoot… from dealing with artists who haven’t turned up... to musicians who’ve broken sets and performers who’ve taken 7 hours to do an outfit change! Carly also opens up about the pressures faced by female musicians to look a certain way and how that impacts her role as a director. If you want to keep up with Carly's work, featuring a load of backstage pics, you can find her on Instagram: ...

2. Little Mix's photographer Callum Mills

December 03, 2020 04:00 - 35 minutes - 48.1 MB

Welcome to episode two of Who You Don’t See, the podcast which celebrates the people ‎behind the stars. This week's guest - Callum Mills - can be found behind the camera, often on tour, taking backstage pictures of some of the biggest names in UK pop culture. Over the last eight years, he’s been on the road with Little Mix, taking the photo that went on to be used as their movie poster, as well as shooting for Example and Ella Eyre. As you’ll be able to tell from my giddiness, I really ...

Little Mix's photographer Callum Mills

December 03, 2020 04:00 - 35 minutes - 48.1 MB

As you’ll be able to tell from my giddiness, I really enjoyed catching up with Callum - hearing tales and tips from the world of photography, including the secret to taking a photo that works for all four members of Little Mix and learning why Sean Paul is the key to making people relax in front of a camera. If you want to take a look at Callum’s backstage pics, he’s over at @callum_shots And if you want to keep up with the latest Who You Don’t See news - I’m here: @meg_lawton ...

1. Celebrity make up artist Maria Asadi

November 26, 2020 04:00 - 43 minutes - 60.4 MB

Welcome to episode one of Who You Don’t See; the podcast which celebrates the people ‎behind the stars. Very fitting then that our first guest, celebrity make-up artist, Maria Asadi, has been working with a catalogue of A-listers for over a decade. In her 12 year career, she’s worked her magic on the Brit Award-winning artist Mabel, Vogue-cover star Jourdan Dunn and pop royalty Justin Bieber… and that’s just some of her well-known clients. I so loved hearing Maria’s tips on how to work ...

Celebrity make up artist Maria Asadi

November 26, 2020 04:00 - 43 minutes - 60.4 MB

In her 12 year career, Maria’s worked her magic on the Brit Award-winning artist Mabel, Vogue-cover star Jourdan Dunn and pop royalty Justin Bieber… and that’s just some of her well-known clients.   I so loved hearing Maria’s tips on how to work your way up in the make-up business and how to keep calm in tricky situations as well as getting the inside goss on what it’s like to work behind the scenes at a Victoria’s Secret fashion show. If you want to keep up with Maria’s amazing w...

Who You Don't See - Trailer

November 11, 2020 08:00 - 1 minute - 1.67 MB

Behind every celebrity is a team of people working to make the magic happen and Who You Don’t See exists to give you an insight into their world. ‎From ‎Ellie Goulding's tour manager to Little Mix’s back stage photographer, Sean Paul's music video director or Dua Lipa's choreographer, this podcast hears from individuals who you may not have heard of, but who are essential in building household names. In each episode, presenter and journalist Megan Lawton, chats to industry experts ...