Martinis? Check. Oozy risotto? Check. Iconic British actress? Check. New Year’s at the Dish table is officially a go! Actor, presenter, and the long-standing heart of Silent Witness, Emilia has been playing pathologist, Dr Nikki Alexander, since 2004. She’s with us to chat about the upcoming 29th series, landing on BBC One and iPlayer in early 2026. But before any of us start quizzing Emilia on TV pathology, we get into her likes and dislikes, which are so considered they’ve been turned into a very small, very special booklet. Emilia’s love of seasonal cooking, Italian flavours, and her belief that roast chicken is always a good idea managed to squeeze her a spot in Angela’s top authors of 2025. We kick things off with a perfectly chilled vodka martini with a twist, followed by a butternut and toasted pumpkin seed risotto. It’s paired with a glass of Araldica Barbera D'Asti Superiore. There’s also a full masterclass in risotto confidence, courtesy of Angela. It’s a warm, funny, and food-filled start to 2026. We talk great meals, being a (very sackable) waitress, how you switch off after a day surrounded by dead bodies on set, and share a few thoughts on New Year’s resolutions. A lovely one to finish the year and ring in the new! Find all Dish episodes here: https://pod.link/1626354833 All recipes from this podcast can be found at https://www.waitrose.com/dishrecipes A transcript for this episode can be found at https://www.waitrose.com/dish Follow Dish: https://www.instagram.com/dish_podcast/ https://www.tiktok.com/@dishpodcast Follow Waitrose: https://www.instagram.com/waitrose/ https://www.tiktok.com/@waitrose Follow Nick: https://www.instagram.com/nicholasgrimshaw/ https://www.tiktok.com/@nickgrimshaw Follow Angela: https://www.instagram.com/angelacooking/ Follow Cold Glass Productions: https://www.instagram.com/coldglassproductions/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cold-glass-productions We can’t all have a Michelin star chef in the kitchen, but you can ask Angela for help. Send your dilemmas to dish@waitrose.co.uk and she’ll try to answer in a future episode. Dish is a Cold Glass Production for Waitrose ------------------------------------ Timestamps: 00:00 - Coming up on Dish… 00:49 - Welcome to the final episode of 2025! 02:00 - NY together & cold swims 03:00 - A first footer? 04:40 - Our guest today… 05:30 - Emilia Fox is here! 05:54 - Pocket Coffee! 07:13 - Catching-up, NY, and Resolutions 09:30 - Speaking Italian 10:40 - Cheers! 11:02 - Emilia’s… book! 11:34 - Olive oil & food likes 15:28 - Tomato risotto? 15:51 - Risotto confidence 17:13 - Dislikes 17:50 - Baked bean journey 19:29 - Roasts in the 90s! 21:08 - Emilia’s waitressing experience 23:09 - Beginning to act 23:40 - Soup with Victoria Wood?! 24:31 - The risotto is here! 25:44 - Pangrattato topping 26:17 - Wine pairing 26:25 - Risotto tips 29:07 - Still to come… 29:23 - Silent Witness is back! 30:34 - A new era of Pathologists! 31:19 - On-set terminology 34:06 - On-set life 35:17 - Longer or shorter character quiz! 37:01 - Fast food quiz! 38:12 - End of the show question!