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Leeds Beckett academic set for BBC Radio 4 One to One
Dr Faye Didymus, a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology, in the Carnegie School of Sport, will appear in BBC Radio 4’s One to One show on Thursday 20 July at 9.30am, where she’ll be in conversation with comedian Mark Steel.
Mark believes that his two addictions have much in common - they are stand-up comedy (his job) and sport (watching, playing, talking about it). He's sure that there is a link between the way comedians and sporting types deal with performance anxiety, crowd hostility, risk taking and more. Faye, who works with sports stars at the highest level, casts light upon this theory.
Speaking about being part of the programme, Faye said: “It was great to have the opportunity to work with BBC Radio 4 and Mark on this programme. Some of the latest research that has been conducted by the Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure at Leeds Beckett University shows that performance can be highly stressful for athletes, coaches, and support staff alike. During the recording of the One to One programme, Mark and I discussed the hypothetical similarities between performing on a comedy stage and on the world stage in sport.
“I was excited to meet Mark and the producer to find out more about both of their experiences. I think it’s natural to be slightly apprehensive, which I was, because you can never be sure of exactly where the conversation will go or what parts of your discussion will make the air. The interview seemed to go well and Mark was fascinating to talk to. He has a lot of interesting experiences to talk about and we had one key thing in common which helped to facilitate conversation; we are both sports fanatics!
“We discovered that we think, hypothetically of course, that there are many similarities between performance in comedy and sport. Mark spoke openly about some of the great comedy shows he has done and some of the ones that did not go so well. Off the back of these discussions I asked Mark how he came back from the not so good performances to get back on the stage again, which led to us see some similarities between his experiences and psychological resilience in sport. We also discussed how individuals cope with performance, and how comedians and sports stars may cope with fame, fortune, and disaster.”
In the three-part series, Mark speaks to the former Premiership and England footballer, Graeme Le Saux, and he meets former World Champion snooker player, John Parrott.