Walking The Dog with Emily Dean

This week Emily and Ray take a stroll with the brilliantly talented comedy actor and writer Lucia Keskin, best known to many as Chi, the star and creator of the BAFTA-winning BBC series Things You Should Have Done.

Emily first discovered Chi through the show and was instantly blown away by its originality and warmth. Series two is out now on BBC iPlayer, and Lucia talks about creating the series, growing up in Margate with her mum and hands-on grandparents, and why she considers herself a bit of an old soul. They also chat about Chi’s journey into comedy, including how a video of her opening her GCSE results helped kickstart her career online.

Lucia also speaks movingly about losing her beloved Pomeranian last year, and how spending time with Ray brought unexpected joy. There’s a gentle discussion of pet loss in this episode, so just a heads up for listeners.

It’s a funny, heartfelt and wonderfully open conversation with one of the most exciting voices in British comedy right now. Ray fell completely in love with Chi, and may already be planning a move.

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Walking The Dog is produced by Will Nichols
Music: Rich Jarman
Artwork: Alice Ludlam
Photography: Karla Gowlett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part two of Emily and Ray’s walk with the wonderful Flo and Joan, sisters Nicola and Rosie Dempsey, the conversation continues with more laughs and sibling stories.

If you haven’t already, make sure to catch part one. And don’t miss Flo and Joan live on tour with Flo and Joan with Feeling, kicking off in September. Tickets and dates are available at https://floandjoan.com.

Follow Emily:
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Walking The Dog is produced by Will Nichols
Music: Rich Jarman
Artwork: Alice Ludlam
Photography: Karla Gowlett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Emily and Ray take a stroll with musical comedy duo Flo and Joan, aka sisters Nicola and Rosie Dempsey.

They chat about growing up in Portsmouth in a vicarage, what it’s really like performing together as sisters (including a little sibling disagreement), and the viral video they made back in 2016 that helped launch their comedy career, leading to appearances on Live at the Apollo and the Royal Variety Performance.

Flo and Joan also talk about their critically acclaimed live shows, and the good news is they’re heading back out on tour later this year with Flo and Joan with Feeling, kicking off in September. Tickets and dates are available at https://floandjoan.com.

It’s a warm, funny and family-feeling walk with two brilliantly talented performers who instantly won over Ray, leaving Emily feeling slightly surplus to requirements (at least until it was time to pick up the poo).

Follow Emily:
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Walking The Dog is produced by Will Nichols
Music: Rich Jarman
Artwork: Alice Ludlam
Photography: Karla Gowlett

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part two of Emily and Ray’s walk with the wonderful Shaparak Khorsandi, the conversation continues with more warmth, humour and reflections on life, comedy, hiring Alan Carr(!) and finding your people.

If you haven’t already, do go back and listen to part one. And make sure to catch Shaparak live on her current tour Scatterbrain, which has been extended due to popular demand. Tickets and information are available at https://shappi.co.uk/

It’s a warm, funny and deeply engaging walk with someone Emily and Ray absolutely adored, and a woman with truly excellent dogs.

Follow Emily:
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Walking The Dog is produced by Will Nichols
Music: Rich Jarman
Artwork: Alice Ludlam
Photography: Karla Gowlett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Emily and Ray take a rainy West London stroll with the brilliant Shaparak Khorsandi, joined by her two beautiful dogs, Taylor the retriever and Jamie the Maltese. A gloomy day was instantly lifted by what can only be described as an iconic trio bounding into the park.

Emily chats to Shaparak about her extraordinary life story, from leaving Iran with her family after the revolution, to growing up in London and the huge effort she made to fit in, including changing her name to Shappi. They talk about her journey into comedy, her adult diagnosis of ADHD and how that helped her make sense of her childhood, and a brief but memorable stint working in a charity call centre where she once hired a very confident young man called Alan Carr.

Shaparak has also written the brilliant book Scatterbrain, an honest, funny and insightful exploration of her ADHD diagnosis. Due to popular demand, her Scatterbrain tour has been extended with dates now running until March. Tickets and information are available at https://shappi.co.uk/

It’s a warm, funny and deeply engaging walk with someone Emily and Ray absolutely adored, and a woman with truly excellent dogs.

Follow Emily:
Instagram
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Walking The Dog is produced by Will Nichols
Music: Rich Jarman
Artwork: Alice Ludlam
Photography: Karla Gowlett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.