Having first met as dancers at the Shoreditch club, Browns, Buffy recruited Heaven to the erotic performance company, House Of Vixens. But when the pandemic closed clubs, and strippers found themselves without work (and in many cases unable to access government support), they pivoted to recounting stories about the job they love. ‘Everybody was so bored of hearing about how miserable everything was,’ says Buffy. ‘And then you have two people talking about the most ridiculous things in these weird places.’

Anecdotes from Strippers In The Attic range from eye-opening accounts of clients’ fantasies to how their mums reacted to such unconventional careers. But the podcast is much more than a tell-all. Time and again, Buffy and Heaven apply life lessons from stripping to everyday life, like learning to ask for what you want or gaining confidence in a society that idealises certain bodies. ‘Because you’re in a transactional space, people feel very OK with letting you know what they do and don’t want,’ says Heaven. ‘You truly see that variety is the spice of life.’ 

Strip clubs have loomed large in the public discourse of late, as local authorities increasingly push for stricter regulations; in Edinburgh, the council have proposed a ‘nil cap’ which would effectively ban strip clubs. It feels refreshing to hear strippers laughing about their job, rather than feeling obliged to advocate for themselves. ‘This is political in a more subtle way,’ says Heaven. ‘We could start talking about trying to shut down all the clubs, but if we lead with that I don’t think people are going to respond in the same way.’

For the podcast’s latest season (it debuted in December 2020), the pair will explore further what they love about stripping, as well as what it reveals about society. The first episode rejects the ‘new year, new you’ ethos in favour of self-acceptance. In another instalment, Buffy’s sister is interviewed about her modelling career, which is seen ‘as this amazing, glamorous, incredible job, where it was not; while stripping is looked down upon but actually has been an amazing, glamorous, wonderful job.’

Whether you’re already acquainted with such clubs or not, Strippers In The Attic has plenty to offer, be it a giggle or some candid advice. ‘We’ve had so many people, sex workers and not sex workers, telling us how much this show has made a difference to their lives,’ says Buffy. ‘That’s where I think the magic is.’

New episodes available on Wednesdays at strippersintheattic.com