Georgia Toffolo, MEET ME IN LONDON: A Novel
[0:01]Hi, I'm Sivi Owens, and you're listening to the award-winning podcast,
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[0:36]Hi, hi, hello.
[0:38]Enjoy the show.
[0:40]Georgia Tophalo, who's known as Toph, is the author of Meet Me in London.
[0:45]She is a UK-based broadcaster and TV personality,
[0:48]who has been a firm favorite with the public since her TV debut on Made and Chelsea.
[0:53]She won over the hearts of viewers on I'm a celebrity Get Me Out of Ear.
[0:57]Georgia resides in London with her beloved Doc Monty.
[1:00]Meet Me in London is her first novel,
[1:02]and we also discussed the subsequent novels in the series.
[1:05]Welcome.
[1:06]Toph, thank you so much for coming.
[1:07]On Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books to discuss all of your books.
[1:11]Meet Me in London.
[1:12]Your whole Meet Me in series.
[1:14]Always smiling.
[1:15]All your staffs.
[1:16]I can't wait to discuss.
[1:17]So welcome.
[1:18]Oh, darling, thank you for having me.
[1:20]It's a total joy.
[1:21]I've been all excited.
[1:22]Oh, thank you.
[1:25]Everything sounds so great in your accent.
[1:27]You have like the best voice ever.
[1:28]Just, you know.
[1:30]And like a parody of myself.
[1:32]Don't die.
[1:33]No, you are not.
[1:34]Okay, so since a lot of people who listen to this podcast are based in the US,
[1:38]although people listen from all over,
[1:40]and might not be familiar with your superstar.
[1:42]I'm in the UK and everything like that.
[1:44]Tell us a little bit about how you got discovered your TV stuff and how,
[1:49]in addition, you became this fabulous writer.
[1:51]I mean, this is like really this too.
[1:54]So anyway, give us a little background.
[1:56]Where are you like, and start from the beginning.
[1:58]Where do you grow up?
[1:59]Okay.
[2:00]Okay.
[2:01]So I'll start by to the beginning.
[2:02]So it's quite nice story actually.
[2:04]So I grew up in Devon in the South West of the UK,
[2:06]which is so beautiful.
[2:08]And I'm in a huge inspiration by new book on my ad.
[2:10]So I grew up that kind of small town seaside vibes.
[2:14]And I just had the obsession with living in London.
[2:17]So when I was 18,
[2:18]and loads of my friends went off traveling,
[2:20]and I said to my parents, I'm not doing that.
[2:22]I'm moving to London.
[2:23]And they said that's absolutely fine.
[2:25]As long as you go to university, because I'd very,
[2:28]I mean, I couldn't believe that I pulled it off,
[2:29]but I had a place confirmed at Bristol University to study law,
[2:33]because I wanted to be a barrister.
[2:35]Anyway, all five trucks up to London, happy as can be.
[2:39]And I really wanted to get a job because, obviously,
[2:41]you've got to do that and you'll get here.
[2:42]And someone said to me, would you like to be an extra on a TV show?
[2:45]And now the TV show is quite famous in the UK.
[2:47]It's called Made in Chelsea.
[2:49]Nice and well, how much?
[2:51]And they said what's 50 quid a day.
[2:53]So I was doing the maths and I thought, well, that would do.
[2:55]You know, that would pay for my beer money.
[2:57]And then you dress every weekend.
[2:59]So anyway, well, that's a film.
[3:01]And because obviously, I was 18 and quite sprightly,
[3:03]I'd been going out quite a lot in Chelsea in South glass London.
[3:06]And I turned up to filming.
[3:08]And the boys started shouting at me,
[3:09]the sort of name, the famous characters.
[3:11]Like, oh, that tough girl.
[3:12]We know her.
[3:13]She's always done some tables, whatever.
[3:15]And lo and bold, I then sort of formed and moved into a sort of main character on this show.
[3:22]And the September rolled round and my parents said,
[3:24]what are you going to do?
[3:25]Obviously, going off to university.
[3:26]You're going to be a big successful barrister.
[3:28]And I said, no, I'm not doing that.
[3:30]I'm going to carry on doing telly.
[3:31]And they nearly died.
[3:33]And I said, don't worry.
[3:34]It'll work out well.
[3:35]Here I am now in 27.
[3:37]Fast forward nine years, which is insane.
[3:40]I went on to do one of the books,
[3:43]the second biggest show in the UK called
[3:44]I'm a celebrity.
[3:45]Get me out of there.
[3:46]And I ended up winning where you live in rainforest in Australia for a month.
[3:50]And that if I'm being really honest with you,
[3:53]sort of catapulted my career.
[3:55]And I was allowed to do what I want to do.
[3:58]And writing has always been my number one.
[4:00]And that's sort of how my books came about.
[4:02]In short.
[4:03]Oh my gosh.
[4:04]What a story.
[4:05]That's amazing.
[4:07]Okay.
[4:08]So then the books,
[4:09]which, so you went to the rainforest.
[4:11]You come back.
[4:12]You're like, now I can finally do the books.
[4:14]Forget about the barrister path.
[4:16]That's over and done with.
[4:18]And then what happened?
[4:19]You just sat down and you said,
[4:20]this is the book I want to write.
[4:21]I mean, this is like very clever and funny.
[4:23]And maybe tell everybody about what meet me in London.
[4:26]The first one is about because now you've had,
[4:28]you have this whole series around it.
[4:30]Right.
[4:31]So it was my first venture into romantic fiction.
[4:34]Yeah.
[4:35]And quite honestly,
[4:36]I was really nervous.
[4:37]And I think it feels slightly in the public eye and you
[4:40]know,
[4:42]you know,
[4:43]it's got to be good because if not,
[4:44]people will crucify you.
[4:46]And it can't kind of slip under the radar.
[4:48]So I want to just tell you quite briefly how it all started,
[4:51]particularly the meet me in series.
[4:53]I went to support.
[4:54]I've always tried to really support any author.
[4:57]And I got invited to get his book launch and I was standing there.
[5:00]And someone said to me,
[5:01]that lady over there is really high up at Mills and Booth.
[5:04]Now, you know,
[5:05]I've been obsessed and have read Mills and Booth
[5:07]novels since, you know, well,
[5:09]when I was allowed to,
[5:10]some of them can be a little bit naughty.
[5:12]And I accosted this wonderful lady could be Sarah.
[5:16]And I just said,
[5:17]the first time in my life,
[5:18]I was just completely unapologetically ambitious.
[5:21]I said,
[5:22]I think I'd be really good writing for you.
[5:24]And she was sort of like,
[5:25]who wants to ask this girl.
[5:26]And I said,
[5:27]I've written a little bit.
[5:28]I'd like to show you.
[5:29]And that was how it started.
[5:30]But the reason why I was pretty strong with my publishers
[5:33]that my first book had to be based in London
[5:36]and in particular Southwest London,
[5:38]because you know how it is.
[5:40]When you first start writing,
[5:41]I needed a little bit of relatability in there
[5:44]because not only did it sort of massage my confidence
[5:47]because I knew I was writing a authority about something.
[5:50]It was also the familiarity of it.
[5:52]And you know,
[5:53]my first book,
[5:54]you probably think the same,
[5:55]but your first book is just so incredibly special.
[5:58]But meet me in London has this amazing connection to me
[6:03]because it's where not only I sort of set up my home,
[6:07]not where I grew up,
[6:08]but also it's given me so much of my life this area.
[6:11]I mean,
[6:12]I mentioned the show that I was sort of made famous for.
[6:14]It's called made in Chelsea.
[6:16]And my book is set in Chelsea.
[6:18]It's just so special and wonderful.
[6:21]And you know,
[6:22]I give it to everyone who ever thinks about visiting London
[6:25]and even people who live in Chelsea.
[6:27]I say to them,
[6:28]you know,
[6:29]got to read my book and tell me whether you can see my inspirations
[6:31]or lots of things because I do just find it the most in chanting place.
[6:34]Wow.
[6:35]So what was the,
[6:36]what was the,
[6:37]the big store?
[6:38]Like what is there an actual store that displaced a lot of the locals?
[6:41]Or was that fictitious?
[6:43]No,
[6:44]that really is.
[6:45]I probably shouldn't even admit this.
[6:46]But so I've just moved house and I'm really close to it.
[6:48]So it's called Peter Jones.
[6:50]But in the UK,
[6:51]we seem to have an obsession with John Lewis this.
[6:54]So do you know what John Lewis is?
[6:56]No.
[6:57]I don't know.
[6:58]My lovely assistant thinks that I'm totally mad because every day these packages arrive from John Lewis.
[7:03]So it's all these like,
[7:04]it's like really nice home where bits.
[7:06]Anything that you can ever want is in John Lewis,
[7:08]but it's not too expensive.
[7:10]It's not crazy, crazy money.
[7:11]So Peter Jones,
[7:13]the shop that I based my department store on,
[7:16]is just off stone square and it's the number one store for John Lewis in the UK.
[7:21]Got it.
[7:22]Well,
[7:23]now I have like all new shopping things to do when we get off this zoom.
[7:26]I'm like don't it's a dirty obsession.
[7:29]Don't start.
[7:31]And what about like what about even the bar that you have your characters meet in?
[7:36]Oh yeah.
[7:37]So I changed that a little bit.
[7:38]So when I first made to London,
[7:40]I said that was doing a lot of dancing on tables.
[7:42]It was this iconic nightclub on the Kings Road called the one five one club.
[7:46]And it hadn't had a refit since the 80s when I first started getting there.
[7:50]And because of COVID, it obviously pays down.
[7:52]And I know that only now because I've been going there so long.
[7:55]And I said it's a complete javisty and he was like Georgia at the place needed a little plane.
[8:00]It needed a proper clean.
[8:02]But I wanted it to be,
[8:04]I think the bar and meet me in London,
[8:06]I made it a little bit different.
[8:07]But what the one five one club and the inspiration that was for me,
[8:10]it was our hub.
[8:12]So I would go out on my own and I know that everyone will be at the club.
[8:16]And you know,
[8:17]amazing things happen there for me.
[8:19]And you know,
[8:20]we walk in and it's world's worst music and your feet stick to the carpet.
[8:24]And everything's always broken.
[8:26]You know,
[8:27]but I love that juxtaposition because where I seem to have settled,
[8:30]everything is very polished and Chelsea and everything's super expensive.
[8:34]And you know,
[8:35]all the women are sort of dripping and diamonds,
[8:37]all this stereotypical stuff.
[8:38]And I love the rest of the lights that the one five one club.
[8:40]And it's really dark and dingy.
[8:42]Sort of like the father of Victoria works in that.
[8:44]But it was really important that I got some of these special places in because of course,
[8:47]as I carried on throughout my series and my other books,
[8:51]we ended up traveling all around the world.
[8:53]And I wanted to make most of being on home turf if that makes sense.
[8:56]Yes.
[8:57]Okay. So did you go to all that?
[8:58]Tell me. Okay. So tell me now about all the other books.
[9:00]Did you go to all the places?
[9:02]No,
[9:03]I'm about.
[9:04]Yeah. So it was pre decided pre pandemic.
[9:07]So I,
[9:08]with my series,
[9:09]it was really important to make me and my editor that the books were
[9:12]be able to be enjoyed in order.
[9:14]But also,
[9:15]if you picked up one in a charity shop in five years,
[9:17]it doesn't matter whether it's before or book two or book one.
[9:20]They all needed to make sense.
[9:22]So when we were plotting, of course, we had no idea what the missed his coronavirus was.
[9:27]So of course, I was saying that we fabulous.
[9:29]I've always wanted to go to Hawaii.
[9:30]I've always wanted to go to Haiti.
[9:32]Let's do those two.
[9:34]And I hope that the time that it would really cut my teeth right in fiction.
[9:37]Because, you know,
[9:38]I didn't know what the islands smelled like or looked like and all these things.
[9:42]I was really excited to sort of get stuck in it.
[9:44]And then of course,
[9:45]and it all happened.
[9:46]And I couldn't.
[9:47]So Google Maps became my best friend.
[9:49]And I mean, you managed to try to try the reviews.
[9:52]But me and Michael were fed because I just think,
[9:55]you know,
[9:56]when you've got people like agents from the ground,
[9:58]writing really honestly.
[10:00]that source of the only way that we've got the book to save the line, but can you imagine
[10:03]how wonderful it will be for me? When I finally get there, it will be amazing.
[10:08]I hope you feel amazing. I want to watch you go there. I want you to show about it or something.
[10:14]I know, I totally agree. And then what I've done, because my series is a series of four.
[10:19]So my fourth book, which is insane, which is called Meet Me at the Wedding, is coming out in April.
[10:25]I wanted, because you know, because you've read it, but my books are about four young athletes,
[10:30]and each book really homes in on the story of each of my four main heroines. And I really wanted
[10:36]the last book to be back where it was started in Devon, where I'm from. So yeah, it's a wonderful
[10:43]thing, that Victoria and Oliver from Meet Me in London, and having their wedding back in Devon in
[10:48]the last book. And I know it's just so incredibly special. So again, I was back on home ground. So
[10:54]I sort of started off my first book very much in my home now in London. We went off traveling
[10:59]the world for the second two, and then ended up, we could pull it back. We couldn't hear our
[11:03]agenda, whether you do this out, or you know, but we could at home home, you know, where you were born.
[11:07]Everyone gets it. I'm going home home this weekend. That's funny. I love it. Okay. So that
[11:14]series comes full circle, which is fantastic. And I'll be looking forward to that book coming
[11:19]Will this whole thing be a movie? Is that in the works? God, I would hope so. I mean, it's
[11:24]every writer's dream rights to see it, particularly for someone like me, who lives and breathes
[11:29]television. I am incredibly biased, of course, but I think in the particular Meet Me in London,
[11:35]we'll lend itself to the most enchanting Christmas movie. That's, you know, who knows whether it
[11:40]happened. I know that it's being explored. You don't know how Michael Wright Ollie and be like, oh,
[11:44]yeah, it's going to get turned into about when the probability of that happening is probably like
[11:48]0.1 cents, but one can dream. Right. I'll dream with you. I think it would be very charming.
[11:54]You know, there's something very, you know, Hugh Grant about it. Right. I don't know. It's like one of those
[11:59]not one of those perfect UK based romantic. I would be a liar if I didn't say that that was
[12:06]a bit of sort of Hugh Grant calling for, not around all of our special. Yeah, you know.
[12:13]So you can have like rigid Jones make a cameo as an extra or something like that. Wouldn't that be
[12:18]funny? It would be the culmination of all of my dreams into one. Yeah. And then when did you
[12:26]raid Ollie smiling? Ollie smiling was as soon as I did that jungle rainforest. So it was before that
[12:32]bug. I mean, Jesus, it was intense. That was written in six weeks. And it's not to say that it's
[12:39]not like, you know, my finest work, but I think looking back, he could tell that it was rushed and
[12:45]there are certain things that were missed. And I wonder whether I say this tends to be, I think
[12:51]there's a bit premature to write a sort of autobiography. I wish that maybe I'd have held off a couple
[12:56]of years because I've learnt so much and so much has happened since then. But at the same time,
[13:00]there was a definite appetite for it in the UK. And I wanted it to be, I mean, you've got it
[13:05]so you know, but it's not autobiographical in the sense that it's a chronological right out of my life.
[13:11]It's more life lessons, which I'm really proud of. And lots of people said when I was in a jungle,
[13:16]we call it the jungle here that they love my positivity. So I wanted it to be kind of like a guide
[13:22]to waste my life. But on that title. Well, you know, I actually started my own publishing company
[13:28]and we do memoir and fiction. If you happen to want to write another memoir, I'm sure you already
[13:32]have major contracts. But if you want to talk about that, I would love it. It would be so fun.
[13:37]I would love nothing more. But then sometimes I think to myself, I'm not done yet.
[13:41]Yes. It's like, God, can I do another one and then another one and then another one?
[13:46]I want to kind of people their whole careers are writing different memoirs about different things.
[13:51]You know, you can do different topics. Well, anyway, anyway, I'll just say I'm excited for whatever
[13:56]comes next. What other... So this series is just about done. So you've written and coming out,
[14:01]what are you doing more writing after this? What's the plan?
[14:05]Yeah, I really hope so. I think next time I really fancy writing a trilogy. So there's sort of
[14:11]it's been a lot with four books. And I really get excited about there being an initial starting point
[14:17]a big crescendo and then tying everything up again. So I'm really leaning towards a series of
[14:21]three next time. What that might be, I have all these crazy ideas and my poor editors, like,
[14:27]Georgia, that's just not gonna work. So I know that I want to carry on writing romantic fiction.
[14:32]However, just throw in a bit of a curveball that my teen always like, oh, why can't you just
[14:36]sort of have a day off? I really want to write a murder mystery, but politically themed in
[14:44]Western stuff, which is quite niche. And I want they do sex in it too. So I just have this thing
[14:53]and I have to, you know, when you feel like you've got that type of book inside of you,
[14:57]I need to write it. And even if no one bloody reads it, I feel like people should.
[15:02]So that's my strange sideline hobby idea. And I haven't quite nailed down what I feel a bit
[15:10]to be really honest. I feel a bit bereft like these four girls would be my life for quite a long time
[15:14]now. And the thought of writing anything without them. And even, you know, over the past few days,
[15:19]I've been recording the audio book version for my last book. And I just feel quite strongly that
[15:25]these girls whilst their stories of all come to a bit of an end, I feel like there is legs for
[15:30]more. And I'm not quite ready to part from them, but it might just be time. And I think maybe
[15:35]sometimes you need to leave on a high, but you just get so invested in your characters, right? And
[15:39]it's hard to just leave them when they leave them at the beginning. I mean, look at sex in the city
[15:44]making a comeback after all this time. I mean, maybe I can give them a bit of a break and then come
[15:50]back. I don't know. I'm just not done with these four girls yet. I know that. All right. Interesting.
[15:54]Very cool. So has London, London hasn't gotten back to a place where you can start dancing on
[16:00]tables again, right? Oh, yeah. It has for my house. Oh, John, I can't believe it. We've been in
[16:06]pretty much normality since we had this like freedom day last summer where the Prime Minister made
[16:12]quite a bit called to just open up everything. There was a bit of a wobble before Christmas with
[16:16]Omicron or however you say it, but no, we are completely normal. I mean, I couldn't be more normal
[16:22]here, which I'm personally really happy about because I think young people are all quite hard,
[16:27]yeah, no, John's on tables galore nightclubs been open for months. I'm even exhausted from going to
[16:32]nightclubs. I don't want to go anymore. I've been too much. Oh my gosh. And I'm like, oh, I don't know.
[16:37]Should we just have lunch here? I know. I just can't believe how fortunate we've been. I've
[16:42]yeah, it's been really quite amazing. Yeah. That's great. Oh my gosh. Okay. What advice would you have
[16:48]before an aspiring author? I think I wish I'd accept this to myself years ago is just right,
[16:56]even if you think it's gobbledy goo, I'm telling you, if you've got a passion and you're putting
[17:00]pens for that, it won't be a job loss to rubbish. Like, I know that there'll be something brilliant
[17:05]in there. And I think right about anything, I think the way the way that I got into romantic fiction
[17:10]was solely because I adored reading romantic fiction. So you never pigeonhole yourself. Never be
[17:16]like, oh, God, if you're quite into, I don't know, politics, for example. So think that you have to
[17:20]write about politics. Do it. Start with something that you really, really love. And I think the rest
[17:26]will fall into place. Do you love like Sophie Kinsella? Who are some of your favorites?
[17:31]Love. Sophie Kinsella. I mean, how on earth could you not? So I grew up reading
[17:36]Gillie Cooper, you know, Gillie Cooper. Yes. I draw her. And for me, that sort of like, quite
[17:43]british is always a bit of a column that Hugh Grant character. We put Campbell Black.
[17:48]You know, that was what I really, really adored reading growing up. And I also, I do love
[17:53]a murder mystery. I've got quite into that sort of look worm. What's what I'm looking for?
[17:58]What's called locked were murders. Is that it? You know what I mean? So what I'm trying to say is when
[18:03]you know that someone in the house did it. Okay. I think we're called locked one. Not for
[18:08]mysteries. That's what they're called. Okay. Yeah. So you know that someone's done it on the
[18:11]premises. I love all of that type of stuff. Very cool. Amazing. What are you reading now? Anything?
[18:17]I am reading. Very strangely, I'm reading a cookbook. But it is the most joyous, exquisite cookbook.
[18:25]I have ever, ever, ever read or held. I don't even know whether it should be described as a book,
[18:31]but in my opinion, quite strongly, it should be. And it's called Midnight Chicken by a girl called
[18:36]Ella Rizbridgeham. And it basically documents the way that she tackled her depression. And it
[18:43]it all started one night where she recessed from the forward her kitchen desperately sad and not
[18:48]seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. And she sees this chicken on the side. And thought,
[18:53]well, that's methodical. Maybe that will take my mind off it and the way that she writes about food
[18:57]and her emotions. And I feel quite strongly that the connection between food and our emotions
[19:02]is a thing that should be spoken about more. It's a really special book. And I love it too that
[19:06]she's quite a young girl. You know, I think that's quite special. Oh my gosh. Well, I can't wait to
[19:11]read that now. That sounds amazing. And yes, it's a lot of time on the kitchen floor or various
[19:15]bathroom floors, you know, in a state of. And what I found quite extraordinary is that I can't cook
[19:23]at all. I mean, I can just about to use scrambled eggs. So, you know, because someone like me
[19:27]should be enjoying the cookbook that much. It must be quite special. All right. Well, thank you for
[19:31]the recommendation. Tough. This has been so much fun. Thank you for taking the time to chat with me.
[19:37]Congrats on your new home and your books. And I can't wait to hear about the wedding. And I
[19:42]really want to watch this whole thing on the screen. So I'm rooting for you. Yeah. So you're so charming.
[19:48]And all right. It's great. Congratulations on everything. It's been a delight. Thank you so much for
[19:55]giving me your time. I really appreciate it. You too. All right. Take it.
[20:00]Thanks for listening to this episode of Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books.
[20:05]Don't forget to follow me on Instagram at zebiowens and at Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books.
[20:11]Also sign up for my newsletter at zebiowens.com and sign up for my virtual book club
[20:15]and meet lots of authors on Zoom every other week. Thanks so much to Steve and Ryan in fact
[20:19]texture sound for the sound editing. And thank you to Morning Moon Productions for providing
[20:24]this fantastic intro and outro music.