Wasted Creatives

About Wasted Creatives

Join Michael Crilly as he speaks to musicians, comedians, artists, writers and creators who chose a different path, or who continue to balance creativity alongside everyday working life. Over a drink and a chat, Wasted Creatives explores what it means to be a creative person, what inspires people to create, and the realities behind building a creative life in today’s world.

Publisher

Michael Crilly

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 May 2026

Latest episode

15 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

20 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Oct 2026

   Ryan Dylan on Fun Boys, BBC Comedy & Turning YouTube Sketches Into a TV Series

   Ryan Dylan | From YouTube Sketches to BBC's Fun Boys | Wasted Creatives In this episode of Wasted Creatives, Michael Crilly sits down with Ryan Dylan, actor, screenwriter and co-creator of BBC comedy series Fun Boys, to discuss the unlikely journey from making homemade YouTube sketches with friends to creating their own television show. Ryan explains how he and his longtime collaborators spent years making comedy sketches with very little money, basic cameras and no industry connections. Their goal was simple: make something they found funny, put it online and keep going. That persistence eventually paid off when one of their sketches caught the attention of a BBC commissioner and was screened at the BBC Comedy Festival. Ryan talks through what happened next, from finding a producer and developing an early Fun Boys short to writing a pilot and eventually getting the call that the BBC wanted a full series. He also discusses the challenges of turning years of improvised sketch comedy into structured television episodes without losing the strange, naturalistic humour that made their work stand out. The conversation explores the writing process behind Fun Boys, the influence of rural Northern Ireland, surrealism and alternative comedy, and why playing absurd situations completely seriously often makes them even funnier. Ryan also discusses bringing Jamie Demetriou and Steve Coogan into the world of Fun Boys, why series two offered greater creative freedom and what the future might hold for a potential third series. Away from the show, Ryan reflects on his own journey into acting. Despite having no formal training, years of creating sketches helped him develop his performance skills, build characters and become comfortable on camera. He opens up about imposter syndrome, learning as he goes and his ambitions to develop more acting and writing projects outside Fun Boys. Ultimately, it's a conversation about creativity, persistence, collaboration and the importance of making things simply because you enjoy making them, even when nobody is watching. If you enjoyed this episode, please like, comment and subscribe to Wasted Creatives for more conversations with people working across comedy, film, music and the creative industries.

2. 

   8 Oct 2026

   Emer Maguire on Going Viral, Musical Comedy, Autism & Building a Creative Career

   In this episode of Wasted Creatives, Michael Crilly sits down with musical comedian Emer Maguire ahead of her Perfectly Chaotic tour to talk about comedy, songwriting, social media, autism and the unexpected journey that eventually allowed her to make creativity her full-time career. Emer reflects on spending years performing without being widely known before finally deciding to take social media seriously. Within months, her audience began growing rapidly as songs and comedy clips reached people far beyond her existing crowd. She explains why giving away some of her actual material online has worked, how her “North of Ireland, Northern Ireland or Just Ireland” song connected with people, and what it feels like suddenly being recognised after years of quietly building a career. The conversation goes back to Emer’s original career in speech and language therapy, her lifelong ambition to be a singer-songwriter, considering medicine, and the communication competition that unexpectedly pushed her towards performing. What began with talks combining science, humour and music eventually led to someone offering to pay her for her first comedy gig — before she gradually reduced her clinical work and decided to give comedy a proper chance. Emer also opens up about experiencing extreme performance anxiety from childhood, later discovering that what she thought was stage fright was connected to OCD, and how treatment completely changed her experience of performing. She discusses being autistic, why standing on stage can actually feel more comfortable than everyday social interaction, and why she has never felt a need to change herself simply because other people found her different. Michael and Emer also get into growing up with a funeral director for a dad and how being surrounded by death gave her a stronger appreciation for life and family; working with Shane Todd on Extra Sip; her obsession with true crime; her sold-out tour; and why she refuses to complain about being busy when this is exactly the career she once hoped to have. Towards the end, Emer talks about her assistance dog Dougal, using her platform to raise awareness of assistance dogs in Northern Ireland, and moving further into writing. She reveals more about Socially Awkward, her semi-autobiographical sitcom project being developed with Channel 4 and production partners, as well as joining the writing team of the autistic children’s series Pablo. The episode finishes with Emer performing her song “Family Group Chat.” A funny and genuinely thoughtful conversation about confidence, identity, family, neurodivergence and what can happen when the creative things you’ve always loved finally become the work you get to do every day.

3. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Declan Lawn on Blue Lights, Leaving Journalism & Becoming a BAFTA-Winning Screenwriter

   In this episode of Wasted Creatives, Michael Crilly sits down with Declan Lawn, the journalist-turned-screenwriter behind The Salisbury Poisonings, Rogue Agent and BBC’s Blue Lights, to talk about creativity, career change, rejection and what happens when you finally take the risk you’ve been thinking about for years. Declan reflects on growing up in Northern Ireland, becoming fascinated with journalism from a young age, and building a career across programmes including Spotlight and Panorama. But in his 30s, a handful of seemingly small conversations began to change the direction of his life and eventually pushed him towards screenwriting. He talks about starting to write alongside Adam Patterson, spending years developing scripts around their journalism careers, and why following a creative ambition doesn’t necessarily mean immediately quitting your job. Declan also opens up about leaving the BBC, being fired from what he thought was his first major break in screenwriting, and how that setback unexpectedly helped lead to The Salisbury Poisonings. The conversation then goes deep into Blue Lights. Declan talks about how the characters were created, the importance of research and collaboration, rewriting episodes more than 20 times, and why Gerry’s story eventually made him realise he had subconsciously been writing about the death of his own father. They also discuss the challenge of writing about contemporary Belfast, why different and opposing perspectives need space within drama, and the BAFTA win that completely caught the Blue Lights team by surprise. Declan reflects on the idea that creative careers don’t always follow a conventional timeline, and why many successful screenwriters only really find their stride in their 40s or 50s. Towards the end, they look ahead to D-Notice, Declan and Adam’s new political conspiracy thriller drawing on their experiences in investigative journalism. And the conversation returns to one of the biggest ideas running through the episode: sometimes a ten-minute conversation can completely change the trajectory of your life.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

17 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.