Comedian Mel Giedroyc says she just wants to hang out in churches

I was listening to the podcast episode Here Lies Isy Suttie recently, from Mel Giedroyc’s Where There’s a Will, There’s a Wake. It’s a slightly dark premise for a podcast - talking about the death of whoever Mel is interviewing! However, I find her funny, so I gave it a listen. In this episode, the two comedians began talking about their childhood experiences of church and why, despite their different relationships with faith, they still feel drawn to church buildings.

Giedroyc is best known for presenting The Great British Bake Off alongside Sue Perkins, while Suttie is a comedian, actress and writer, perhaps best known for playing Dobby in the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show.

Suttie explained that she grew up attending St Giles’ Church in Matlock, Derbyshire, where her mother was the organist and also rang the church bells. She said her father wasn’t particularly religious, but church was a central part of her childhood.

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‘I grew up hanging around the church all the time,’

‘I grew up hanging around the church all the time,’ she recalled, explaining that she attended Sunday school and sang in the church choir.

‘Me too,’ Giedroyc responded, recognising something of her own upbringing in Suttie’s experience.

‘It forms the backbone, actually, of my life,’ Suttie reflected.

Both women revealed that they had been confirmed. Suttie, who describes herself as agnostic, also shared how her churchgoing mother had challenged her to write a Christmas carol. She took up the challenge, writing lyrics (which she sang on the podcast) beginning: ‘In Bethlehem a boy was born, Jesus was his name.’

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It was a reminder of how Christian traditions can remain part of someone’s identity long after childhood.

For Giedroyc, the affection for churches is perhaps unsurprising given her Catholic background. Born in 1968, she grew up in a family with strong Polish-Lithuanian roots. Her father, Michal, arrived in Britain from Poland in 1947, while her mother, Rosemary, was English. Both parents have been described as devout Catholics.

Giedroyc attended St Peter’s Primary School in Ashtead, Surrey, where she recalled being taught by nuns. Her Catholic heritage has remained important throughout her adult life. In a previous interview, she described herself as a somewhat selective Catholic, admitting that she particularly valued the sense of community.

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She has also spoken about attending church regularly, at one point saying she went approximately twice a month. Her two daughters attended Catholic primary schools, something she welcomed because she believed their education encouraged compassion and kindness. Suttie asked Giedroyc whether she still enjoyed visiting churches. ‘Yes!’ came the enthusiastic response.

Giedroyc explained that the older she gets, the more she wants to spend time in churches.

Giedroyc explained that the older she gets, the more she wants to spend time in churches. Her advice when arriving in a unfamiliar town, perhaps while on tour, was simple: find the local church. Suttie agreed, describing the peaceful experience of stepping inside a church, even though she now considers herself agnostic. She even mentioned a website findachurch.com for finding churches, much to Giedroyc’s amusement, who hadn’t heard of it.

The conversation eventually turned to the Pearly Gates and questions about death and the afterlife, subjects that appeared to trouble them both. Perhaps it is unsurprising that, as we grow older and confront our mortality, places associated with prayer, eternity and hope become increasingly attractive. What do we do when people love our churches but aren’t necessarily sure what they believe about God? Perhaps the answer begins with hospitality rather than an expectation that every visitor must immediately engage in a conversation about Jesus. Church buildings offer something increasingly rare in modern life: a space where people can sit quietly, reflect and simply be.

Jesus said: ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28).

Of course, the peace Jesus offers is more than the atmosphere of a beautiful building. Christians believe it comes from a relationship with him. But perhaps the building itself can be a doorway to something deeper. Rather than dismissing questions about faith, death and eternity, or rushing to provide answers, perhaps Christians should be willing to listen.

Giedroyc and Suttie’s affection for churches is an encouragement to keep our doors open, both literally and figuratively. Because sometimes, before someone is ready to explore faith, they simply need somewhere peaceful to sit. And perhaps, in that stillness, they might begin to encounter the God whose presence those buildings were created to celebrate.