A Shared ‘Hair’-itage:
With their shared hairdressing heritage, shared Greek Cypriot heritage and shared story of being survivors of bullying and ambassadors for Kidscape, Andrew and Olga were united by their own hair stories and quickly became firm friends. Through Split Ends, the pair have created a platform that combines humour, wellbeing and storytelling.
The Treatment:
Each episode of the podcast will focus on a different celebrity, with the interview unravelling their lives through the prism of hair – think bad hair days, killer cuts and surprisingly sentimental conversations on the guest’s ‘hair-itage’… all whilst giving them a brand-new do in the salon!
Whilst Barnsley- born Andrew admits he’s by no means the next Graham Norton, he hopes to not only chop of his guests’ split ends, but bring out their ‘split-life’ stories too!
“Behind my chair, I hear it all!’ Andrew explains “I often know more about my clients than their actual therapist, or even their best friend; menopause, work strife, divorce, stress, depression… I hear it all. Then there’s the first-date snogs and all the fun stuff too! The conversations always flow in the salon chair, and it’s great to see clients leaving feeling heard. I love my job and love being there for my clients.”
Olga Thompson is grateful for her childhood memories of her mother’s salon, El Greco. It was a joyful environment that helped ‘bring her back to life’ following a breakdown. In the podcast, she will introduce some of the larger-than-life characters she met growing up in the salon, adding some hilarious cameos to the celebrity conversations.
“As a little girl, I observed men and women from all walks of life come in and bare their precious souls to my mother in that hairdressing chair,” Olga says. “I saw her love, counsel, feed (and of course, style the hair!) of so many wonderful clients. Most affectionately, I remember Chinese Margaret, who brought her parrot with her in a cage to every single appointment! It was a real mix of care and clutter, a space full of clients popping in for a new do and making themselves at home amidst all the perms, George Michael posters and parrots!”
Take a look at the first episode of Split Ends right here:
