Share
Walking The Dog with Emily Dean
Charlotte Church (Part One)
•
This week Emily and Ray travel to Wales for a beautiful beach walk with the wonderful Charlotte Church, joined by her two dogs Holly the Cavapoo and Selma the Spoodle.
They met on Barry Island Beach, which might look familiar thanks to Gavin and Stacey, and Emily chats to Charlotte about her extraordinary life. From her childhood in Wales, to singing Pie Jesu on This Morning at just 11, becoming Voice of an Angel, and going on to sell more than ten million records, Charlotte reflects on the incredible highs of those early years and the surreal moments that came with worldwide fame.
Charlotte also talks about her recent appearance on Celebrity Traitors, where she was reunited with Jonathan Ross, who played a key role in her early career after showcasing her talent on his Big Big Talent Show.
Charlotte also talks about turning her attention to a very different kind of project in recent years, transforming Laura Ashley’s former home in Wales into The Dreaming, a magical wellbeing retreat offering nature immersion, meditation, sound healing, yoga and even night-time forest bathing. You can explore retreat packages and find out more at https://thedreaming.co.uk.
It’s a warm and joyful conversation with someone who became globally famous as a child, yet has somehow remained grounded, funny and wonderfully down to earth. Emily and Ray absolutely loved spending time with her.
Follow Emily:
Walking The Dog is produced by Will Nichols
Music: Rich Jarman
Artwork: Alice Ludlam
Photography: Karla Gowlett
More episodes
View all episodes
Flo and Joan (Part Two)
33:09|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:InstagramXWalking The Dog is produced by Will NicholsMusic: Rich JarmanArtwork: Alice LudlamPhotography: Karla GowlettFlo and Joan (Part One)
37:22|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:InstagramX Walking The Dog is produced by Will NicholsMusic: Rich JarmanArtwork: Alice LudlamPhotography: Karla GowlettShaparak Khorsandi (Part Two)
35:02|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:InstagramXWalking The Dog is produced by Will NicholsMusic: Rich JarmanArtwork: Alice LudlamPhotography: Karla GowlettShaparak Khorsandi (Part One)
39:17|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:InstagramX Walking The Dog is produced by Will NicholsMusic: Rich JarmanArtwork: Alice LudlamPhotography: Karla GowlettVittorio Angelone (Part Two)
37:17|In part two of Emily and Ray’s walk with the wonderful Vittorio Angelone, the conversation continues with more laughs, stories and reflections from one of the most exciting voices in stand-up right now.If you haven’t already, make sure to catch part one. And do try to see Vittorio live on his current tour You Can’t Say Nothing Anymore, which is touring this year. Tickets and dates are available at https://vittorioangelone.com.Follow Emily:InstagramX Walking The Dog is produced by Will NicholsMusic: Rich JarmanArtwork: Alice LudlamPhotography: Karla GowlettVittorio Angelone (Part One)
44:15|This week Emily and Ray head out for a snowy North London stroll with the brilliantly funny Vittorio Angelone. Vittorio was more than happy to brave the weather. Ray, less so, and insisted on being carried throughout.Emily has been a fan of Vittorio for a long time, ever since watching his stand-up special Who Do You Think You Are? I Am on YouTube, and the two quickly fell into an easy, very funny chat chat. During the walk, Vittorio talks about his Italian-Irish heritage, growing up in Belfast, training as a classical percussionist, and the moment he made the leap into stand-up comedy. A very good decision, as it turns out.His comedy has since racked up millions of views online, led to two sell-out world tours, and seen him supporting the likes of Jason Manford and Russell Howard. You can catch Vittorio live this year on his tour You Can’t Say Nothing Anymore. Tickets and dates are available at https://vittorioangelone.com.It’s a warm, funny and genuinely joyful walk with someone who feels like an old friend within minutes, and Emily and Ray absolutely loved every second.Follow Emily:InstagramXWalking The Dog is produced by Will NicholsMusic: Rich JarmanArtwork: Alice LudlamPhotography: Karla GowlettJosh Jones (Part Two)
31:21|In part two of Emily and Ray’s walk with the wonderful Josh Jones, the conversation continues with more stories, laughs and joyful dog chat.If you haven’t already, make sure to catch part one, and don’t miss Josh on tour with his brilliantly titled show I Haven’t Won the Lottery, So Here’s Another Tour Show, running until April. Tickets and dates are at https://joshjonescomedy.com.Follow Emily:Instagram X Walking The Dog is produced by Will NicholsMusic: Rich JarmanArtwork: Alice LudlamPhotography: Karla GowlettJosh Jones (Part One)
33:59|This week Emily and Ray take a London stroll with the brilliantly funny Josh Jones.Josh has become one of the most exciting names in stand-up, with appearances on 8 Out of 10 Cats, Would I Lie to You?, and The Jonathan Ross Show. He chats to Emily about his life, comedy, and the very happy news that he and his partner have just officially adopted their rescue dog, Ellie, back home in Manchester. Safe to say, Josh is completely besotted and rightly so.They also talk about Josh’s current live tour I Haven’t Won the Lottery, So Here’s Another Tour Show, which is visiting venues across the UK until April. Tickets are available at https://joshjonescomedy.com.It’s a joyful, laugh-out-loud episode with someone who has genuine funny bones and an infectious warmth that wins people over instantly. Ray adored him, and so did Emily, the perfect way to start the new year.Follow Emily:Instagram X Walking The Dog is produced by Will NicholsMusic: Rich JarmanArtwork: Alice LudlamPhotography: Karla GowlettBest of 2025 (Part Two)
49:37|In this second Best of 2025 special, Emily and Ray dive back into some of their favourite moments from the year.This episode features brilliant highlights from conversations with Suzi Ruffell, Naga Munchetty, Adam Buxton, Jedward, and the endlessly lovely Sam Ryder.It’s another joyful chance to revisit some of the funniest, warmest and most uplifting chats of the year, and a reminder of just how many wonderful guests (and dogs) have joined Emily and Ray on their walks.Follow Emily:InstagramXWalking The Dog is produced by Will NicholsMusic: Rich JarmanArtwork: Alice LudlamPhotography: Karla Gowlett