Walking The Dog with Emily Dean - Christopher Hall (Part One)

Episode Date: May 26, 2026

This week Emily and Ray take a stroll with comedian, choreographer and social media phenomenon Christopher Hall.Christopher first found a huge audience online through his brilliantly funny background singers sketches with his sister Elizabeth, lovingly parodying the gloriously overcommitted backing vocalists secretly desperate to become the star of the show. The videos have now racked up more than 50 million views and led to collaborations with the likes of Shania Twain and Sophie Ellis Bextor.On the walk, Christopher chats to Emily about his childhood obsession with 90s pop music, growing up as a young gay man, and how attending musical theatre college gave him a real sense of confidence and belonging. They also talk about his years performing on cruise ships, the realities of building an online following, and working creatively with his sister, with whom he co-hosts the podcast Stay Hydrated.Christopher’s live show Pizazz heads to the Edinburgh Festival from August 5th to 31st before touring the UK later this year. Tickets and dates are available at https://mickperrin.com.It’s a joyful, funny and wonderfully heartfelt conversation with someone who radiates warmth and charisma, and who quickly discovers he and Ray share a deep emotional connection via S Club 7.Follow Emily:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyrebeccadeanX: https://twitter.com/divine_miss_emWalking The Dog is produced by Will NicholsMusic: Rich JarmanArtwork: Alice LudlamPhotography: Karla Gowlett Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So when there's no goals scored and they'll be like it was still a good game, everyone played well, I just think no one, you're getting paid so much money, there's got to be some goals scored. This week on Walking the Dog, Ray and I went for a stroll with comedian, choreographer and social media phenomenon, the wonderful Christopher Hall. Like a lot of people, I first came across Christopher via his fabulous background singers videos where he and his sister Elizabeth brilliantly parody the kind of gloriously intense backer. singers who are technically there to support the artist, but are clearly very desperate to become the main event. And it's also introduced a huge audience to Christopher's genius talent as a stand-up

and podcaster. So I couldn't wait to find out a bit more about Christopher's origin story, and we had the loveliest chat about all of it from his early obsession with 90s pop stars. He still gets triggered when you mention Jerry leaving the Spice Girls. We also talked about how he felt different growing up as a young gay man and how going to musical theatre college at 18 gave him a real sense of confidence and belonging. I also wanted to know all about his experiences performing on cruise ships, how he managed to grow such a huge online following. And by the way, he has some brilliant advice on this. And how he navigates working with his sister Elizabeth, who he also does a brilliant podcast with. It's called Stay Hydrated with Chris and Lizzie.

So do give that a listen now. And do go and see this man live because he's utterly hilarious. His show, Pazaz, will be on at the Edinburgh Festival from the 5th to the 31st of August, and after that touring all over the country till the end of the year. So book your tickets to see him now via Mick Perrin.com. Ray and I just adored Christopher. He's so charismatic and warm and funny, just as you'd expect. And he also formed a very intense musical bond with Ray over their shared passion for S Club 7.

which you can see for yourself over on my Instagram at Emily Rebecca Dean. Really hope you enjoy our chat. Here's Christopher and Ray Ray. I'm so thrilled you've agreed to come on our little podcast. Thank you for having me. This is adorable. Raymond is honestly the like my life already. Do you like Raymond?

Yeah. Well, I knew you two were going to get on. Yeah, you said as soon as you brought him in, you were like, he's going to like you. And he was pouring at me. he's been flirting already. I know that was a bit inappropriate and I've spoken to him about me too but you know what he's an older generation. Well exactly do you don't mean in the theatre? I said I know it was fine in the 70s, right? Things have changed. Do you know what I went to

musical theatre school in the early early naughty's so there was no me too there either. So next thing I'm the old Jen as well. Next thing you'll be saying can you get us a coffee duckie yeah so we're in regent's park yes gorgeous but I've just found out we both live in North London yes so we could have actually just done it at mine and not break the cold next time but you forget that someone like this is even in London isn't it beautiful Chris I mean you know it's always here but it's somewhere that you just walk past on your way for something else and actually look at all the geese yeah and it's a bit nippy it's a spring day but you and I we've got

Are they both? We've both gone for a matter for a bomber. I've gone Army Green. Yeah. And you've gone Bouncer Black. Yeah. So don't mess with that. So we should start by saying you don't have an adult.

You've turned up dogless. Yes. But I still adore you. Okay. Thank you. Talk me through your. Do you have a pet right now? I don't have a pet in London myself.

Yeah. But I have been known to dog sit. Grace Campbell is a neighbour and a good friend. So I dog sit for her every so often. Look, Ray's just met her little friend. Yes. Yeah, I think we have. Hello, darling.

Sorry, that was to your dog, but hello, darling to you as well. Everyone's a darling. We have met this little angel before. Look, Chris, this is my friend Chris. What's their name? What's their name? This is Raymond. This is Raymond.

This is Silla. This is Silla. That's a sitcom, Raymond and Silla. Yes. Wow. Silla. Oh, Silla. Oh, Silla.

So gorgeous. Silla's such a fad name. Yeah. So, um... So, no, don't have a pet at the moment. My little sister has two cats, who, um, we used to live together and I was, I did have Uncle Duties to the cats. Um, um, and then, um, um, um, and then. and then my parents have two golden retrievers.

Have they still currently got the golden retrievers? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So they got their first one. We never had dogs growing up, but then they got a dog the week after I went away on an eight-month contract, came back and this golden retriever was like... That was on the cruise, wasn't it? Yeah, we're going to get into that.

Yeah, yeah. So I went on my first cruise contract for eight months away. They got a dog. And then I came back after eight months, and this golden retriever looked at me like, who the hell are you? Like, we've been getting on just fine without you. And I also was like, who the hell are you? This is, I've been here for 22 years longer than you. Anyway, so me, me and Ted felt like we were always sort of roommates as opposed to sort of family members.

You were rivals, you and Ted. Yeah, we did. We sort of, we, we know, we, we sort of, we sort of had like an understanding with each other. But then I've met, they have, they have, they have two more now and Dougal and Hamish. And I'm much. closer to those two. Me and Dougal are pretty pretty strong pals and then Hamish is like a bit too mad for my like you go home and he's like like jumped off on the table and he's like jumping on you and I'm like this is this this this might be too much at some point but but we get on. Abnoxious extrovert yeah yeah yeah yeah but he's also quite young still so yeah but then who am I to talk I'm quite high energy as well so I'm

I feel like I go home to my parents for a bit of stillness maybe and then the dogs just sort of... Well, sometimes, I think there is some truth in that. Because some of the things that annoy me about Ray, I think are probably things that annoy me about myself. Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you know what I mean? It's not nice to have it mirrored back at you, is it? Yeah. And I sometimes think, for example, he's very stubborn.

Yeah. And he's very over-sensitive to noise and reacts really really. and reacts really dramatically. If there's, like, literally I'll put his fork down and he'll go, he'll stop, you know, writhing around and looking horrified. I'm like that as well. So we get the dog we deserve. Yeah, exactly.

So you look after your friend Grace Campbell's dog sometimes. Yes. She's very, very easy to look after. Yes. And lovely Grace, who I know, actually. I've noticed that she was really young. I know. She said, she said send her love to you.

through my goddaughter honey. And she's got the best dog, hasn't she? She's absolutely heaven. Yeah, Eddie, the King Charles Cav. Wow, I love that dog. So do you think you would end up getting a dog one day, Chris? I think so. I think it's inevitable.

In the flat I live in, we do, there is a cat flat. And I enjoy the independence, a cat. would have but I think a little dog not dissimilar from Raymond or Eddie I think would really would really fit in but at the moment works a bit all over the place and I'm in and out and I'm here and there so it just isn't the right time now well I think when you said works a bit all over the place what you're very discreetly alluding to is the fact that you're having a bit of a moment right now um plus one could say that things are are taking off, aren't they, for you? So I obviously first came across you, I say obviously, but I imagine this is how a lot of people came across you, is, for me it was post-lockdown, but I think it maybe started in lockdown, your backing singer videos that you do with your sister. Yes. And it's so interesting when you say to people, oh, I'm doing this guy, I love him, I'm a big fan, do you know the, oh, the backing singer, yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's amazing how, and we should say these

are these videos they're so simple but so brilliant oh thank you and it's you and your sister doing these dances isn't it yeah to various tracks various tracks and so give me some examples of songs that you've done um so we did murder on the dance floor so jealous bexter we've done i'm going to get you good shenaya twain we've done um um uh love at first sight kiley Yeah. And then we basically have these broken, busted mic stands. So it looks intentionally a bit shitty, doesn't it? Yes.

Yeah, yeah. And some people go, you haven't even got mics? And we're like, of course we don't. These literally were from, my mum's a head teacher, or she was a head teacher, she's retired now. And she had these two random, like, you know, in the sort of music cupboard that she was like, oh, do you want these? And then we sort of do simple, yeah, effective, I will say.

and like sort of backing singer choreography and then we lip sync to the the backing vocals which can you know sometimes and often some of the best moments of the track because they're like come in at a really like pivotal moment with a great harmony and all that kind of stuff so well I think I want to get into that because we're going to talk about that later because I do think there was something fascinating about the way those videos took off when they did and the fact that it was tapping into something that we'd all been feeling a lot, you know, which is you're trapped in this space and your personality's dying to burst out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's obviously the, I think the backing singer videos

are one of the things that's really propelled you into this whole different sphere, really. Yes. You know, but I want to go back first to baby Chris and how this all started. Yeah. So where did you? you grow up Chris we grew up so we started in Essex and then we actually moved to

America for a couple of years did you I didn't know yeah moved to America for Philadelphia for a couple of years what were you doing there well I went to school but it was my dad's job what we're allowed to know what your dad did he he worked honestly in an office in London which I never really quite understood what he was doing it wasn't anything weird and shady I think it was a bank you know sort of financial banking so so he's done quite well for himself quite well himself good at his job yeah um Philadelphia that's so glamorous yeah it was fun and it's you and obviously I know is it just the one sister you've got I've got we've got an older sister as

yeah yeah who's a little bit less than what like she's like the Amy Osborne I was going to yeah everyone's got an Amy Osborne we all got an Amy Osborne who just sort of isn't isn't that bothered about um isn't that bothered about um isn't that bothered about you know being in TikToks. Oh so you're Kelly and Jack. Yeah. Yeah, I love this. So.

And then we move back to like just south of Cambridge, like Cambridge Essex border. So when you're living in Philadelphia, how old are you? I had my sixth and seventh birthday. So you lived there for a couple of years? Yeah. And how did you get on there? Because I lived in Australia similar for my dad's work took us there. Yeah.

Similar age. Uh huh. And I think, what it, moving around a bit, certainly moving continents like that, it's very different to just moving up the road or something. Yeah. I think it made me quite portable. Mm. Like, I used to, my parents would call it ambassadorial. You've got to have ambassador skills.

Yeah. So you can walk into any situation and talk to anyone. Yeah. Did it give you that a bit, do you think? I think so. I really took to it. Apparently I was being driven home from school on my second or you know after about a week being there and I had just a full American accent just like a complete not even with a shadow of my Laughton accent anymore. Not even an All Saints. No, not even in All Saints or a weird sort of transatlantic or one.

Yeah. Transatlantic. Whereas I'm my older sister Louise she like very staunchly stayed with her English accent. But I think it did. I think it did make me quite adaptable. I can be quite shy in like new situations now, but I kind of know that I'll always, I have sort of the knowledge that like, I'll always warm up and everything will be all right in a sort of new social situation in that sense.

Yeah. But I think it made me, you know, really excited for like what else in the world is out there. I think like when I sort of, wanted to go into performing, the part of performing that really, one of the parts was the travel that it could lead to. If you get a job that's overseas or whatever, I was like, oh, I want to do that. And if I ever get a job that's on that side of the world or that side of the world, I'll just go for it because you've got to. And I think maybe that's maybe due to, yeah, I remember just being on,

you know, like the long flight to America at sort of like six and being like, oh God, if you sort of stay on this plane for seven or eight hours you're in your somewhere really far away yeah yeah just sort of getting used to doing that maybe at quite a young age very you know lucky to be able to do that and then it kind of I think maybe yeah excites you to be able to like go an adventure in you know more ways and it says your dad who's something in finance we're not sure what but he's done all right for himself he's done fine your mom did she work or was she homemaker? She was a head teacher. Oh, she was a... Oh, I love the head teacher. Yeah. Are they saw together your parents? They are. Oh, lovely. Yeah, yeah. So, mum's just retired.

And what's the energy like in your household? Because I know you're obviously very funny and I wondered, were you the sort of outlier as the joker or was there generally quite a sort of, that sort of, you know, humour was it a currency in your household anyway? It definitely is part of, I would say all of us. My dad's very, very funny. He's from Edinburgh and... Well, Scottish as well. Scottish as well.

And, you know, did the fringe when he was like 18 and all kinds of stuff. Before the finance? Before the finance. I'm imagining him as a sort of Logan Roy now. You're not serious people. Exactly. And he's very funny. He does like lots of, you know, accents and silly voices.

And he's always doing like a... like a sort of, you know, random character. Accents we can repeat now or maybe something. No, just like, you know, American and Australia, you know. But I was always very good at accents when I was a kid. Yeah. And now I think probably 90% of those I can't really be doing it anymore. It used to be such a skill.

Yes. Now it's just problematic. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, the PC accents you can do. And, you know, like different, like cartoony voices. and impressions and stuff. He's very funny.

Right, so that was very... But then you are very shy and self-deprecating, because this isn't interesting. I said, were you funny, I was kind of asking, and you told me how funny your dad was. Oh, well, the whole house was... The whole house was quite funny. But then I guess being funny

was always a bit of currency with sort of surviving in... sort of social situations and in school and stuff. I mean, I think it's a lot of, you know, gay people, I think, can relate. You sort of have to find some other way of, like, if you don't fit in in the complete status quo. You know, you don't fit in the way that everyone else is going to fit in. You've got to find a way to sort of like up your appeal. Did you feel that then?

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So if I sort of made everyone laugh and sort of entertained everyone, then they'd sort of. of let me pass by. Yeah. But I wonder, yeah, kids can be quite, it's that human fear of, you know, that desperation to fit in. Yeah. Isn't it? Yeah, totally. And be accepted and be, it's just the, you know, school survival and, and then my, you've bullied then at all. In the sort of end of primary school, start of secondary school, not for,

I was very, very lucky compared to, you know, other people's experiences. But I had sort of enough to almost think, like, right, how am I going to, you know, what am I going to do to sort of get by, you know? Which was kind of trying to start entertaining everyone and come up with impressions of the teachers and all that kind of stuff. so and you know jokes and things like that so and did you how old were you Chris do you think when you knew when you sort of had that awareness of oh okay I'm gay oh when I'm get definitely I'd say probably year six year five years six like 10 or 11 yeah yeah and you start going like

yeah you start sort of you know you know looking at pictures or looking at this or looking at the front of magazines and being like I think I'd rather read that magazine and that one and all that kind of stuff. Well it's that funny thing is that I remember when Susie Ruffle came on my podcast and she said it was when she saw Titanic and thought oh I think I'm supposed to like him but I like her. Oh yeah I remember watching I remember watching practical magic and being like wow Nicole Kidman's beautiful and my my sister went didn't you watch moon Rouges last week and you didn't think she was beautiful then I was like oh I didn't really realize and I just like I found her as like a sort of like you know misunderstand

which more like attractive than she was in Moulon Rouge. My sister was like, okay. And I remember my older sister watching the Rocky Horror show. Oh yeah. And she was watching with her friend from school. And I sort of came in. You know, like, Chris, you need to leave. And I remember just being like, what's this?

You know, like, it's not for you. You need to leave. And I was like, but what is it? I think I found like, awuga. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Looking at Rocky, like, wow, what's this piece of cinema? Yeah. Yes, it's interesting that, isn't it?

but it's also, I mean, you know, things are changing, but still, you know, I obviously think of you as a young person. Yeah. So that feels recent to me that you still felt there was, there was some sense of you having to kind of navigate other people. Yeah, definitely. In terms of your sexuality. Yeah. And, you know, sport, I mean, I've, I think, you know, even things like sport. Were you good at sport?

I was like not terrible, but I just also hate football. Like, I just hate football. And I was, like, never really good at it. And I had no interest in it. Yeah. So, like, but so even if you're, so, you know, if you, like, a, my parents had these friends and they have, um, all the children are all very, like, sporty and, you know, the sort of, like, family friend group. And I remember being like, I know those ones. Yeah.

And you go, like, I'm not even very good at this game. And I also have no interest. Whereas, like, even if you were a bit shit at it and you were like, passed to me and you like tried you were like at least you're like trying whereas i was like this is so annoying i don't really want to play with all the boys because i hate this game yeah but the reason but the fact that i'm not playing it is like a bigger like red there's a bigger like red target to be like chris is you know a bit different a bit you know what's going on here whereas like growing up you know when you sort of learn other sports you kind of like that like you know

older age you sort of pick up like a tennis racket and you go oh this is what you're well this is, I don't mind this sport or you pick up a hockey stick and you're like, oh, I don't mind this sport, but like I feel at that young age when you're like in primary school, it's like it's either football or you're a weird day. I imagine with football, possibly, it wasn't even the sport itself. It's the culture around it. Yeah. You know?

Yeah. Tennis doesn't have that culture around it. And I think it does feel, look, you know, I remember, I was very into football when I was younger, I started getting into it. And it was unusual for women then to like football. And I can remember going to games. And even I was, I was just aware of this incredibly, back then anyway, it's very different now. Yeah.

Almost oppressively male. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know. And I can see that if I felt that, I can see why you would have felt that. Totally. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's kind of like, where's my entry point here? Yeah.

You know. Yeah. And then, and also you kind of can't be. a little bit interested. Like you can't, you, you have to, it's either like, it's like that like, you know, manic, bloodthirsty like,

like, cheering in the stands. And if you're a bit like, I remember once, I sort of, I was like clapping, because my family, my family support Middlesbrough. And I was sort of like clapping and they were like, I remember somebody being like, you don't like sort of sit and applaud them. You like, cheer and scream. And I was like, well, I don't know. Like, what was,

like guys, I'm trying here. I'm bored out my brains. Do you know what I mean? No one has called. I also have an issue with football that sometimes there's no points scored. And then they'll still say that was a good game. Yeah, and just say, just FY we call them goals. Goals, right, so there's goals. So when there's no goals scored and they'll be like, it was still a good game, everyone played well. I just think no one, you're getting paid so much money.

There's got to be some goals. You've got to score some goals. Someone's got to score. Do you know? No, nil, you've got to be having me on. I think you could be the next England manager. I could, I'll be there. motivational speech like that you've got to score some goals you've got to score some goals sorry

we're watching you for 90 minutes and you all got paid hundreds of thousands of pounds there's got to be a goal so ball aside yeah um and i do love the clap of the applauding i think that's adorable i love it bravo yeah you said bravo yeah um you're realizing i want to know at what point are you thinking, right, I'm funny. You know, do you, do you remember a moment? I know, I remember when Matt Lucas came on this podcast and he said, I said, do you remember Matt when you first thought, you realized you were funny? And he said, oh yeah, I totally remember.

It was when I was sitting up in the kind of boarding house at the school he was at. And I started doing impressions of the teachers and everyone started laughing. Yeah. And he said it was this sense of, oh, okay, I like how this feels. Yeah. Like it's a focus on me and it's a positive. focus and did you have a moment like that when you suddenly thought maybe doing did you do plays for your parents or shows or so you ladies and gentlemen this is you know the christopher hall show yeah

there's there's three yeah there's three moments that have kind of come to mind i used to remember alice mcgowan's big impression i do so i used to watch alice mcgown's big impression on a friday record it off the tv and then i'd come in on the monday and be able to do the mall for everyone in the playground. So he used to do Paul and Helen from Big Brother, Ruby Wax, or Ronnie Anconi used to do Ruby Wax. There's actually more Ronnie's impressions that I used to do. She used to do Barbara Windsor.

And I would just do the mall and I'd have the whole script that they'd had from the Friday and I'd just be performing it by the Monday. And you do that in school, would you? Yeah. And that would go down well? Yeah, yeah. And then there was, I remember one time I was sat on a family holiday with my I was about maybe 13 with my mum and dad and their two best friends. I bet it was somewhere nice.

The finance bro didn't miss about. I bet it was nice. He was in France somewhere, I think. Oh, good. Oh, finance bro. He loves a bit of France. Bonjour, wee wee. No to-y luggage for him.

No, yes. He keeps it, you know, high end. And then I remember, I remember making, I remember sort of like playing cards. And I was almost like taking the Mickey out of my dad a little bit. But you know, when you're sort of like. Yeah. It's almost like crowd work. I was almost doing crowd work with my mom and dad and like their two best friends.

And and I remember just being like, this is feeling so, A, it's sort of coming quite naturally. Like I'm not sort of like reaching for something to say. And it is sort of like a sort of, I guess an exciting feeling when you're like, I've kind of got the table. Like I'm sort of like, yeah, the table's mine. Yeah. And I'm about 14. Yeah. That's a great feeling that, isn't it?

And you know, some people don't feel it. And I think some people just feel hideously self-conscious. And that's probably, like that's trusting your instinct. How you feel in those moments when the focus is on you. Crucially, whether you've invited it or not, I think is probably telling if you've got that, I always call it the look at me, Jean. Yeah. You know?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you obviously had that. I definitely did. I used to, the thing is I used to, so I started dancing and that was what I sort of pursued professionally first. And when you felt sort of going to dance, where you was, how was the finance bro and the head teacher? Were they happy with that? They definitely weren't unhappy. There was, they, they were completely happy.

I think by the time I sort of started going in my teenage years and was like, I'm going to do this for a job, they were a bit like, totally fine. we've got no idea how this works or how you're going to get there or what you need to do. Did you say, go and watch Billy Elliot. Go on watch Billy Elliot. That ended well. Oh, wait. Oh, these workmen, look at them. They're ruining our podcast. Look at Ray's reaction to the noise. I know.

He doesn't like it. Let's walk past these men. Go on. So they just knew how sort of getting your rail levels going to university and doing a sort of more by the book job worked and they just knew, you know, and you study for your exams and you get a good exam and then you get to the next stage kind of thing

whereas I guess the whole performing arts world well I don't guess I know the whole performing arts world is very alien to them and I remember my teachers being like that sounds good we don't know how to help you succeed in that either the whole showbie thing yeah so I was like well I'll just so I sort of took it on myself

how did you know you could dance well So that also came from, I guess, our great, you know, the great pillars of our British music scene steps. Yeah. So those routines, I just, you know, you'd watch it once and I'd just know them. Really? What was your favourite steps then? Step song. Yeah.

Oh gosh. I like Better Best Forgotten. Better Best Forgotten is. I know it's controversial. No, that was tip of my tongue as well. Stomp was great. That was when they kind of got a bit like cooler. Yeah, in inverted commas.

I found tragedy a bit, I didn't like to go with the crowd. Well, I know. Now I don't like to go to the crowds. When people say that Toxic is their favourite Britney Spears song, I go, oh, come on. Think of something else. You just like that because it was the, it was number one, whereas actually she's had a lot more. Look at that dog. So cute, your dogs.

Reland, look. Little phone. What's that sorry? He was same as him. He did a long head. But because the baby and the owner, she didn't even rush him, because I look after him. When I start looking after him in the first,

and I saw it not... Tangle, yeah. Over his body. It's cruel. And he was eating and then, you know the grass between. Yeah. I said to her, no, you need to cut his head. Yeah.

She said, no, but I said, no, yes. Otherwise I'm not looking after him. Oh, okay. Do it yourself. every day. She said, do it yourself. Oh, okay. What? Do you yourself? Okay. I start and I cut his head. And from the time I keep it.

Oh, it's so sweet. Yeah, it's a full-time job. I know, but it is a full-time job. You have to brush it every day. And I groom it all the time. It's the only way. If you can't look after the dog, don't buy it. Yeah, well, that's true. I think she bought just to bought. She's every day with me. Who's this one? Is this a little husk?

Oh, she's a husky. is she? Siberian. She's so polite. Siberian? Yeah. She's lovely. And this is, is this a shit, this is an imperial shitsu.

This is a mix. Vesterea and with Maltese. He's what? Sorry, Maltese. Maltese. Oh, West Terrier Maltese. Oh, he's a personality plus. I know, yeah.

Gorgeous. So lovely to meet you. Bye-bye. Wow. Oh, look at this little doggy, Chris. I feel like we're in a Disney film. There's like real like, there's real like sort of cartoon archetypes of like, it's like Oliver and company, like the different like dog. It's like lady in the tramp.

Like there's like every kind of dog. And through Regents Park. I feel that's a real like classic Disney setting. It's all very secret life of pets, isn't it? Very is that. Let's go up here. It's all Siberian husky. I know.

Did you, well, that woman we met just now. Mm-hmm. She, um, I thought that was interesting because I thought I was going to be judged for having long hair for Ray. Oh, really? But I don't think it was judgment. I think it was actually more... She was saying that you clearly groom yours. Well, I hope so.

Yeah. Well, do you? I mean, how dare you? None of your business. On date one. Who do you think you are? I know. Do you groom yours on date one?

Chris, please. Buy me a drink first. Sorry. So this dance thing, is there a lot of tragedy in front of them? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like a, you know, a sort of blue CD boombox. Lovely. Plus Argos.

Very much, probably Argos, with, you know, the CD open with the booklet and the lyrics, knew it all. Classic. No it all. And then there was my, our lady who used to look after us kids, you know, on the weekend. the week babysitting or whatever she got married and the DJ just started playing all steps everyone sort of stopped people didn't stop dancing but apparently there's about half an hour when he just played sort of like every step song and I just did all

the routines to like the whole wedding yeah so yeah it started then and I thought in my head I was like well I'm gonna be a dancer and then like being funny or sort of like yeah It's just something I sort of do in situations like this. Like I just, you know, I didn't think I'd be able to make a sort of career. Oh, I just didn't really, I sort of remember having moments being like, oh, it'd be good if I could do comedy. But I'd sort of already picked at like 16. Are you going to do, you know, dancing? You're going to be a dancer.

Yeah. And so you went to dance college. Yeah. Is it the same dance college as Victoria Beckham? It is. Yeah. And what's it called? Lane Theatre Arts.

And what was it like? So I had a good time. Some of my best friends are still my friends from that time. Some of my best friends go to Lane this. So that's like the biggest thick, the sort of, the most takeaway I take from it is that like I've gotten my best friends from that time. So I'm always very grateful. It's not all hardcore like fame.

That's what I imagine. No, it's pretty hardcore like fame. Is it? Yeah. It'd be like sort of about eight, sort of six to eight hours a day. day sometimes depending on your time to you know change but yeah pretty pretty exhausting and pretty pretty pretty long hours and then it's quite just it's quite like do you get trained in everything all the disciplines like jazz ballet tap yeah singing

acting wow and then it's just triple threat that's what that was yeah that was the yeah that was the musical theatre star essentially yeah and then it's just quite a lot for Like it's quite a lot for your sort of mental. It's pretty tough mentally because it's like a lot of competition with like your friends. And then at the end of it, it's kind of like a weird place because you all sort of go there because you're really good at this sort of hobby. Yeah. And you're really good at this sort of passion. You're really talented at this, this thing that you love doing.

And then at the end, you kind of realize, oh, actually only some of us are going to are actually good enough to go to almost like the next level. And then like you realise kind of like there's like a there's like a you know you go to auditions and you're suddenly auditioning for a job against, you know, these these friends of yours and then it it can get really. It's just quite hard. You start to discover there's some truth in that saying every time a friend succeeds a little part of me dies. And it's when you're 21, it's really, you know, if we all could go now, then we'd all have such much a much more of a better. you know, landscape to work with. But when you're 21, looking back,

it's pretty hard to suddenly realise, like, oh, you're better than me and I'm not as good or, like, you know, what can I do to get that over you?

So what were you thinking? What was the dream? Let's go over here and take a photo because those pink flowers are really nice. What was the dream in terms of, I want, what would have, been your dream so like a lead role in what musical I wanted to be a dance in the

ensemble I used to have no in me for theatre I had no desire to be really at the front really apart I would have been very happy being like dance number three so you didn't want to be Sweeney Todd you wanted to be random Beggle on the streets of hundred yes yeah yeah and I used to be like oh you do that you know you go and be Sweeney I'll just come in have a lovely time dancing around I wanted to be a needly blonde wanted to be in Malamia and I wanted to be in Rewa Rockie those are my three yeah but why do you think you didn't want to be I find that interesting the main part that's quite because

they always get to dance more if you're not a main part so the ensemble dance more and I just thought that looks that that sort of way more fun just to sort of be no I think there's another reason I'm sorry I'm gonna connect this back to you earlier yeah when you say I say where are you funny and you tell me how funny your dad is yeah self-deprecating I think you are. Well, maybe. Maybe.

And I wonder if social media and the huge success you found on that has been enormously beneficial for someone like you who probably isn't naturally someone would feel not, it wouldn't be instinctive for you to self promote or push yourself forward. But this has done that. So we've all seen how talented you are. So it's too late. The cat's out of the bag. So now you've got to do it now. Yeah. Now you might get offered the leads.

instead of the swing or the ensemble. Yeah, which would be fabulous. It would be now as well. Now I think that would be great. But why do you think you feel that now? I think that's because you feel more confident about yourself maybe. Yeah, definitely. And I think I would say musical theatre is a something that you have to try and fit into.

Yes. You know, the show has a certain look. The show has a certain number of people in it. It has a number of characters that you have to fit into, but you have to look a certain way, you have to be this, this, that. So, yeah, you have to almost ask the show or the cast and director, like, do I fit into your show? Whereas what has been really, really lovely

since being on social media and doing comedy is that I've been able to be really, really myself and just sort of put out there, well, this is what I do, and this is how I tell jokes, and this is what I think is funny, and this is what I think you'll find funny audience, you know, and others. and then so far touch word the good stuff you know the opportunities or the people have come to me being like we like what you are already doing so can you then do this which has been a really really lovely switch up we do what you're doing and we want more of it let me just pick ray up and we'll take a little picture come on ray I really hope you love part one of this week's walking the dog if you want to hear the second part of our chat it'll be out on Thursday so whatever you do don't miss it and remember to subscribe so you can join us on our walks every week.