‘Agony uncle’ Bill Nighy leads rise of the celebrity podcast

Ill-advised, in which 75-year-old actor doles out advice, along with his innermost secrets, is fast becoming cult podcast of the year

Bill Nighy is single. He has never read a self-help book, had no intention of becoming an actor and briefly went deaf after putting toilet paper in his ears to get to sleep. He has shutters not curtains in his bedroom, but no idea what time he wakes up. If you invite him to a dinner party he will bring you exfoliating products, except don’t invite him, because he won’t come. He is good at making custard, but doesn’t cook because he lives alone “and it would be too sad”.

The Surrey-born actor is as renowned for his suits as he is his singular ability to inhabit a role while remaining recognisably himself throughout. But almost 50 years into his career, Nighy is finally playing himself. A new podcast called Ill-advised casts the 75-year-old as an agony uncle, doling out advice and his innermost secrets to listeners from Italy to Mongolia to Scotland. The actor describes it as a “refuge for the clumsy and awkward”. But it’s gently becoming the cult podcast of the year. In the most recent episode, Nighy has even threatened to make merch.

Keep collars long. Spread collars make him “uneasy”, and low-slung trousers are “unsettling”;

Glasses are for hiding behind. Avoid coloured specs. His black-framed specs are Cutler and Gross;

Every man should own a navy suit …

… and Levi’s 501s – “just not too tight – don’t be weird”;

The minimum age to get a tattoo should be 12;

No men should wear linen, and never think of going sockless;

The words “beverage”, “moist” and “sheathed” should all be banned.