Concealed with Art Simone · iHeart Podcasts Australia

Big Bingo Balls 🤹‍♂️

August 4, 2025·24 min

Art Simone opens the episode in full chase mode, determined to uncover what the guest is hiding. Ms Edith Vale arrives as a 92-year-old with bingo swagger, charity energy, and a confession about concealing a very high body count. The bit starts loud and stays loud. Art and Edith spar over hair, age, and the strange discipline of sleeping like a geisha under a wooden block. Vanity and ageing are treated as part of the performance, not something to be politely tucked away. The show keeps its pace brisk, with quick questions and quick corrections that make the interview feel live. The focus shifts to Edith's link with Kath & Kim and the wider cast around that project. Art pushes on what made the production work, and Edith answers with a defence of balance: funny without punching down. They talk about the way the series reflects middle-class Australia and why that self-mocking edge still matters. The chat then widens into Australian character comedy more generally. Dame Edna comes up as a mirror held up to society, even as Barry Humphries is acknowledged as a complicated figure. That tension gives the discussion some weight without killing the joke. The pair also reflect on how the show has travelled. Edinburgh and a long run of live dates come up, along with a sense that the whole thing has become a touring beast. The accent work gets a laugh, and so does the sheer distance they have covered. The closing section leans back into performance, with song, character names, and theatrical self-mythology. Edith and Art keep slipping between sincerity and camp, which is exactly where the episode likes to sit. The final beat turns into a cheeky moral about respecting elders. It lands with a wink, because the elder in question may well be a man in a wig and a hornbag. That last line captures the whole episode: noisy, mischievous, and oddly affectionate.

As heard by us

A bingo-fuelled prank interview that settles into a warm case for Kath & Kim and Australian character comedy.

Art Simone keeps the pace breezy and joke-led, with Ms Edith Vale leaning into bingo, community chat, silver hair, and the bit itself. The conversation moves quickly from silliness to hair, charity work, and a sincere defense of Kath & Kim and Australian character comedy,…

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Why you'd press play

You want bingo, old-lady mischief, and a smart detour into Kath & Kim.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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