Hello to...

What started out as a weekly greeting to actor and show listener Jason Isaacs grew to encompass various other listeners of note. This expansion began after Oh Danny Boyle commented that while Sunshine was on release he would like to be involved in reviewing the Box Office Top 10, but was unable to due to being in Edinburgh.

So Simon said hello to him as well as Jason, and Mark at the point added also that he wanted to include regular correspondent Peter in the Czech Republic. The list has gone on to include:

Contents

• 1 Actors
• 2 Groups
• 3 Comics
• 4 Scriptwriters
• 5 Directors
• 6 Listeners
• 7 Critics
• 8 Presenters
• 9 TV chefs
• 10 People Who Work On The Programme
• 11 Places

Actors

• David Morrissey (and his builder Will)
• Stephen Fry (who got on the list after telling Mark's Observer colleague John Naughton that he had "no higher wish" than to be said "hello" to)
• Michael Sheen
• Martin Sheen (albeit a mistaken hello to Michael Sheen - noted by a listener Fairholme - "from Tony Blair to President Bartlett in one fell swoop")
• Mark Strong
• Kevin Spacey
• David Bowie
• Michael Caine, who - according to Justine Green - had an almost stalker-like knowledge of the podcast
• Natalie Dormer - who wrote in describing herself as "the other Other Boleyn Girl"
• Jonathan Pryce, although this was then rescinded because Pryce said "I shan't be listening" as he left the interview
• Muriël Strepsil
• Sir Ken Chuckles Branagh
• Sean Connery
• Derek Jacobi
• Kiefer Sutherland
• Ikea Knightley (although she was Keira by the time of her hello)
• Jason Statham
• Simon Pegg
• Paul Bettany
• Michael Fassbender
• Fran Burnett, a jobbing actor who rented her flat from Mark Strong
• All members of the Sway Pantomime
• Jeremy Irons (but only because an anonymous listener's boss mistakenly thought this was a thing)

Groups

• Members of Pentangle (note, not the the whole band.

Nor indeed named members. Just 'members of'.)

• Focus
• Fairport Convention
• Faust (solely on the grounds of them being another prog rock band beginning with "f")
• Yardbirds
• Noah And The Whale
• Dumpy's Rusty Nuts
• The Electric Light Orchestra, except Jeff Lynne. This was because Andrew Collins was in ELO's fan club as a teenager
• Charlotte from The Subways
• Billy from The Subways
• Laura Mary Carter from Blood Red Shoes
• U2
• Comsat Angels
• The Love Unlimited Orchestra
• The Strawbs
• The Dubliners
• Yes - because Simon had interviewed Rick Wakeman - though Mark worried that it was the thin end of the wedge and soon The Buggles would be involved
• Crass

Comics

• Hugh Dennis, except call him Pete
• Alan Davies
• Eddie Izzard
• Daniel Kitson, who began a routine talking about listening to Mark being "pompous but brilliant"
• Rory Bremner, who described both Kermode and Mayo and Victoria Derbyshire as "brilliant radio"
• Mitch Benn

Scriptwriters

• Lisa Marks, writing a romcom in 2008

Directors

• Sir Guy Ritchie

Listeners

• Podcast listeners
• Vodcast viewers
• Martin in Old Portsmouth
• Cornish Darren Fewins, who Mark referred to as a very intelligent man and was made to cry because Simon asked "Why was Nebraska filmed in Black & White?"
• Darren Haroo, who transformed the review of Straightheads to make it sound like a smashing endorsement
• Peter Graham in Stratford Ontario - who specifically got a "hello from a gay icon" from Mark
• Ellie Sewell in Canada, who wrote in to ask to be said "hello" to
• Matt Stopforth, who also wrote in to ask to be said "hello" to, only for Simon to overrule it on the grounds that he is not famous
• Merrin Smith in the Scilly Isles, who got a "hello" for Exorcist-related reasons
• Rob, Phil, Andrew, and Richard halfway up Mont Blanc in a tent, wearing gloves on their feet
• Tony and Simon who went all the way from Nottingham to Hampshire for reasons best known to themselves
• The Man In John Lewis Who Complained That Wittertainment Was Not On Often Enough
• Leeds University Student Radio
• Rebecca Foster the bride; Michael Thompson the groom, Steven Spencer the Best Man, and everyone else on the stag party to Germany that was in front of Mark when he was flying back from Leeds to Southampton after the first Live Wittertainment
• Sam Lawton, recovering from an operation, who had just discovered Local Hero
• Laura Newport, whose friend Chris Knight bought her a signed Dodge Brothers CD at Cropredy in 2009 for her birthday
• Anyone else who knows Mark

Critics

• "Mark, Mrs Mark, and the mini-Marks" (from James King)

Presenters

• Simon Mayo (saying hello to himself in the recorded edition for Christmas

TV chefs

• Rusty Lee (said hello to by Colin Murray, "because I worry about her")

People Who Work On The Programme

• David Braithwaite
• Oompahvater Robin Bulloch

Both the above received their "hello to" from Simon Mayo on stage receiving the 2009 Sony Award for Best Speech Programme, but since this was played out on a special Mayo show the next day, it still counts

Places

• The whole of New Mexico

Not Lionel Ritchie

When saying 'Hello to Jason Isaacs', it is important to leave a pause afterwards, as he is known to say hello back.

At Christmas 2007, there was a special Happy Christmas to... which was said to, amongst others, Chris Columbus, Julian Sands and Danny Dyer.