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

Episode Date: May 28, 2026

In part two of Emily and Ray’s walk with the wonderful Christopher Hall, the conversation turns to the realities of internet fame, performing live after going viral, and the joy and chaos of creating comedy with his sister Elizabeth. There’s also plenty more pop nostalgia, musical theatre chat and general silliness along the way.If you haven’t already, do catch up on part one. And if you’d like to see Christopher live, his show Pizazz will be at the Edinburgh Festival from August 5th to 31st before touring across the UK later this year. Tickets and dates are available at https://mickperrin.com.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.

Welcome to part two of Walking the Dog with the wonderful comedian, choreographer and viral star Christopher Hall. If you want to go and see Christopher Live in his show Pazazaz. He'll be at the Edinburgh Festival from August 5th to the 31st and touring all over the UK after that. So do book your tickets now at Mick Perrin.com. Really hope you enjoy part two of our walk and do give us a like and a follow so you can catch us every week. Here's Christopher and Ray Ray. After dance college, you ended up on the cruise ship. Yes.

Did you love the cruise ship? Loved. Love every second. Was it very... I'm imagining a lot of women of my age in a glittery top, singing, you're just too good to be true. That was my first contract. First contract was a very more traditional sort of passenger experience.

Right. You know, formal attire, you know, dress codes in the evenings. Shuffleboard up on top deck. Lots of, yeah, and lots of like people who've been on 15 cruise holidays. You know, they know they know the names of all the staff. And what are you doing? So we were in the theatre. And what are you singing and dancing?

Have you got hot pants or? We've got all kinds of that show. we had like a we had like a 1940s show called we'll meet again they loved it they loved it and we had like a movie show like a queen show a disco show a motown show so just all kinds of just sort of like reviews kind of thing and then on my second contract that was more of a family friendly ship and that was more sort of like a yeah so there was like a there was like more there was like water slides and more like more like more stuff for younger people and that's the ship that I did Mama Mia on. Okay. Which was fab. Love that. And so so far so can. I'm loving it. Pretty it's pretty pretty um on theme.

Yeah. But I'm loving the cruise ship life. Yeah so much fun. But it's interesting that it was sort of lockdown which you would have thought from your point of view as a musical theater performer this is a fucking nightmare. I mean it very much was yeah yeah yeah yeah. So I was choreographing and had a couple of performing things, but I was doing a lot of choreography in 2019. And I kind of thought like, okay, we've moved into this section of the career. That's absolutely fine. I love choreographing. And then, yeah, 2020 was shaping up to be a good year for that in that side of things.

And then it very much wasn't. And so you started doing these videos with your sister. So that was initially in lockdown was just me. Just you and that really took off because you would do you do some very funny things about basically you are the cat. Yes. Which I love. So it's the cat sort of reacting to mundane everyday things. Yeah.

And obviously as opposed to dogs and our lovely Raymond. who sort of lead with positivity and lead with love. A cat is very easy to... A little bit more high maintenance. A bit more high maintenance and you can quite easily put a saki... A saki voice over on a cat. Well it's funny because there's one you did and I really liked. I think it's probably quite a recent one which is the cat sort of going to the vet

and then feeling a bit embarrassed and self-conscious about the appalling behaviour and going, Oh my God, I was such a drama queen, wasn't I? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. When you scratched the vet's arm from wrist to elbow. Yeah. And so your content's taking off on TikTok and Instagram, but it really was when you and your sister, who we should say as a musician.

Yes, yeah. So quite the musical family from the head teacher and the finance bro. Yeah. And the theatre family. And you end up both deciding to do, It's a brilliantly simple idea, as I said, it's you two as backing singers with these shitty old mics, your mum would let you, in your bedroom or front room. Yeah, yeah.

And you're just, I think what took off about it and why I personally loved it is it's an interesting thing, the fact that it felt like every backing singer you've ever seen. That's what was clever about it. But I think what was also brilliant is the fact that you're a chore. so those dances weren't random you had actually properly learnt them together and yeah there was genuine choreography yeah definitely yeah i mean i love doing that i mean one of the jobs i was i was choreographing i was choreographing um for jane mcdonald um for her jane and friends on channel five and her tour and her christmas show in 2018 no and 2019 did the christmas show um so i was choreographing her three backing singers and you know you have to be very creative with you know how many hand

movements can we do yeah that's that you know that's fun for the fun for the dark fun for the performers to do because you want them to be enjoying doing it that does that doesn't distract too much but also yeah interesting to watch if your eye does get cast over to the to the three of them so I'd I'd I'd have had experience in doing that So it was just really fun to come up with the dances. I love choreographing, have done since I was a baby. So just doing it is kind of second nature and just have so much fun.

And then, yeah, I think it really captured. And a lot of people say it's, you know, it's just like putting on a show for your parents in the living room from when you were a kid. Or a lot of people say it's just like when they sing in the shower. So this thing really took off in lockdown. And it suddenly started attracting attention. you'd be doing all sorts of things, all sorts of songs.

So it was a combination of, it was great because you got to hear the song, also seeing you two lip syncing and doing the dances. And then the actual performers of the song started getting in touch and getting involved. Yeah, which is honestly, every time it happened and maybe continues to happen, we're completely mind-blown. We never would have ever thought that that could have ever been. something we would have we would be doing we'd be in the same rooms as all these like musical artists and they would want to be in our content it's absolutely um ridiculous well you've had some

amazing names you've had shenaya twain yeah um Gwen Stefani the Jonas brothers last year we did sugar babes Cynthia Revo did you do Kylie Minogue as well no we've done Danny Monogue oh Danny yeah who was absolutely heaven on earth um Kylie we're still in in business if you're you know inbox is open but yeah no it's just been amazing and we've met some of our absolute dream you know artists and

and it's just been so fun and what's so lovely is that so much of I mean you know I do I perform and I you know it's kind of been the plan for me for a long time you know I'd hoped but it's it's so fun doing it with my sister

and she's the background singers is so she you know it's it's equally the two of us that makes it magic and and and you know when we I think I think when in the videos it comes across that I'm obviously the kind of um eager to please dance like dance school brat and she's the kind of she's the kind of more laid back like I don't know mum's mum's pushed me into dance coach and I've just got to do it but Elizabeth is so talented she's such a good dancer um and then And then when we go and meet artists, I can be quite high vibration and kind of setting up the mics. And I can be like, OK, quickly, we need to be quick.

And a lot of the times maybe the, you know, the PR person will be like, hey, can you do this in about five minutes? And I'm like, yes, of course. We'll be as quick as we can. And then sometimes I'll look over. Elizabeth is so relaxed and she'll be talking to the artist and just being like, so, you know, how's your day a bit? You know, and she, she manages to kind of have this really cool, calm energy that really balances me out. So it's been so much. She's a Mark Owen to your, in terms of the laid back.

Whereas, you know, Gary Barlow, I imagine, is the one running around going, come on, we've got to write the songs. Come on, yeah, yeah. We're not going to be ready in time. Yeah, yeah. Mark's like, of course we are. It's all right, girls. Yeah. So, I'm so thrilled for you that that's taken off.

And it's lovely that it's with your sibling. as well. Yeah, it's lovely. And do you guys still share a flat together then? No, we don't. We've, we've moved out now, which is, is for the best. I feel there was, there was a moment when the Venn diagram was kind of like, siblings, friends, colleagues and housemates. So it kind of, now, it's all getting a bit Richard and Judy. A bit, just a bit too much and a bit too, like, when does, you know, when do we start, when do we sort of like stop talking about? Yeah. You know, When do we stop talking about content and when do we start talking about sort of like just our, you know, hobbies and interests in normal life? And you still do the podcast together. The fabulous stay hydrated.

Yes, which is good fun. And we've, yeah, that's just been going just over a year now. And we have so much fun doing that. And I feel, yeah, that's a lot of just us kind of chatting about absolute nonsense. but somehow finding some kind of sense, which is really fun. It's a lot of nostalgic chat about our childhood. I love it. I really enjoy it. I really like the one you did with Jamila, Jamil.

Oh, she was epic. I think she gets a lot of stick, and I think it's because she's a woman with opinions. Yeah, and quite bold opinions. Yeah. And she's not afraid to say them. Yeah. I think it's incredible.

And she's so lovely. I really like her. And we need to talk about your tour as well, which is very exciting. But before we do, I just want to ask out, all those people you met. Yeah. You know, from Shania Twain to the Jonas Brothers to the sugar babies, all these people. You know, you must get those moments of thinking, God, this is weird. But also, I've done this.

This isn't like, I've created this. Yeah. You know, how did you, which must be quite surreal. I think it's very, I, I am very, because I've been sort of self-employed and in kind of like zero-hour contracts and like, you know, like create, you know, always having to have like about five plates spinning. Yeah. Since I was about 21, I can be very, I can be quite bad at sort of reveling in the in the moment because I have a bit of a scarcity mindset and I have a bit of a, well, no, we need to get to the next. the next lily pad, you know, we can't, we can't sort of chill here too much because, you know, we need to keep everything going, keep everything going. So it is nice for you to say that because

then it does remind me to kind of take a moment to enjoy and reflect and, and know that everything is going in the, you know, in a wonderful direction. I'm so grateful that it is. But I can be very guilty of always looking forward and being like we've got to get to the next thing next stage what can I do to make sure we keep the wheels turning which obviously sometimes can be beneficial but but it also requires a lot of discipline I think and I think what's interesting is that being a successful you know a lot of people will say oh I'm going to do like social media but then they never do it and and the truth is it is in your case it's a full-time job yeah And I think it's interesting that as a dancer, you have to have enormous discipline.

You can't be a dancer without discipline. It's about 10,000 hours, isn't it? Yeah. And I think that's what strikes me is that's probably the same with being a successful, successful on social media. You treat it like a job. It's your life. It's kind of, would you say that's true? I think so.

And there's a real, there's a real, there's a real. there's a real being embarrassed gene or being embarrassed that you just have to get rid of. How do you get rid of that? Because I still have it a bit because I'm older, you know? And I still have this thing of like, like when I If everyone sees me? And you're like, well I also want

everyone to see me obviously but then you go like but what if everyone sees me? You have to imagine that everyone you've ever met doesn't have a phone. Oh, that's a good idea. Yeah. So just imagine my age, my age is probably through dear. probably got landlines. Yeah, exactly. I'm seeing one of my best friends is Frank Skinner.

I think you're on the right line. So imagine they don't have a phone. I hope you guys are taking, because if anyone else is feeling self-conscious, that's my biggest barrier. A lot of the time is, it's the thing of looking straight at the camera. I know.

It's like, oh my God, people will think, I remember I once said to my dad, you know, that self-consciousness as a child and my parents were very loud and theatrical. You know, it was all very, casual phone my child. Yeah. And he was going,

oh, and this big booming voice. And I went, shush, people might hear you. Yeah. People might hear you. Yeah, yeah.

It's sort of how I feel about social media. Totally. Totally. And that can be me in some, that can be me in lots of situations. Look, I've just seen you dancing to never heard a dream. I know,

I know, but that's the drought. That's the work. You've got to, you know, you've got to turn it on when, when, when the,

when the time comes. So we need, so your advice to us, shy guys. on social media would be just go for it and and you and and try and rid your so I when it came to my dancing I was a huge perfectionist yeah I can see you are when I was choreographing I was a huge perfectionist I used to sort of film lots of things you know for it sort of huge you know for before social media really but for sort of before it like really really sort of boomed after lockdown

would be filming things I was like I'm going to film this and put it on YouTube and then I would film it and just never put it up because I didn't think it was good enough yeah whereas with my sketches, I just thought, do you know what, this has taken me, hasn't taken too much out of me. It's my joke. I think it's funny. It's just been me and my phone. Put it up. Some people might find it funny. Some people might not. And then tomorrow we'll wake up and it'll be a new day. Yeah. And it really helped dampen my sort of over-perfectionism, which can really be like a complete enemy of creativity. When you're too much for a perfectionist, obviously you don't want to be you know, sloppy, but if you're too much of a perfectionist, then nothing will ever get

created because it would never, never be ready, because nothing's ever perfect. And we had lovely Sam Ryder on this podcast. Oh, wow, yeah. And he always said, he talks about cool a lot and how cool is the enemy of great. Yeah. And trying to be cool, he said, look, if I'd have tried to be cool, people, the same thing with him. He put those videos up of him singing. Yeah. So I have a lot of respect for you, Chris, for doing that. And we need to talk, before I let you go, about your comedy because you're actually a quadruple threat, aren't you? Acting, singing, dancing and comedy. It's not fair. I just need to be on stage somehow. And if comedy goes wrong, I'll start doing magic. I'll just figure something out. I can't go work in an office. That is the one thing. So we're just

doing anything possible. So it might be a quintuple threat. Who knows? And so you're a brilliantly funny man. And you have Your show Pizzazz. Yes. You had me at Pazaz. Yeah. I thought that's a great encompassing word just to... It's very up my straza.

Yeah. And this has come... You actually... This show is touring. We should say it's going to the Edinburgh Festival first, the Fringe. Edinburgh Fringe, yep. In August. Who the fuck?

Jonathan Ross. I'm going to have to drop. Jonathan Ross. That is! Shh! Hang on. So you're doing... The Edinburgh Fringe with your...

I am, Edinburgh Fringe and then UK, Ireland and some European dates. Look at US Club 7. I know. Doolieper. I'm all over the place. All over the place. How exciting. Very, very exciting.

And I'm going to come and see you in London. Yeah, you have to. Lester Square Theatre. Can I come and see you there? Please, you must. Yeah. I bring one of my celebrity friends. Yes.

That's the 11th and the 18th of November at Lester Square Theatre. And what can we expect from? expect from this in Edinburgh and in the tour itself from pazzas I mean you had me at pizzazz as I say but is there going to be any dancing or is this pure comedy so well it's definitely I'm people have said over the years since I started stand up I've gotten very very physical so I run around the stage not in a bad way not in a bad way I run around the stage I do lots of dancing as I'm telling jokes love it you're Michael I'm all over.

Lee Evans. And I have so much fun doing stand-up. I love it so much. And I, people, I've been told. And it feels like, it feels like you're in a room with your friends. And we're all just having, like, a laugh. Yeah. It feels like, everyone says that it feels like a really,

my audience are so lovely, they're so friendly. It feels like a real girl's night out or a, you know, a lot of people come with their moms. A lot of moms come. Do you know what this sounds? like a bit of me. But are you? Of course it is. And it's a really, really fun, you know, hour. It's just like I wanted to make it, I think, at the moment, you know, not to get to, but there's a lot, you know, there's a lot of, quite a lot of darkness in the world. It's honestly

just an hour of me being stupid and telling stupid stories from my past and present. And it's, it's a lot of stories about being, when it, from being a dancer and being a performer, kind of intertwined with the age I am being in my mid-30s and how everyone is kind of from being younger when we all had the sort of same M-O to being in our like mid-30s and people are sort of starting to splinter off and choose different sort of paths and decisions in life you know marriage babies kids moving different jobs different cities shitsos shitsos exactly do you think and it's interesting that do you have a lot of I like that you have a lot of women at your shows as well. Oh, it's about 85% women.

This is me all over. It's amazing. And I'm so lucky and grateful that the audience is women. It's fab. Why do you think there is a very uniquely special bond and friendship I've always thought myself. Yeah. Between gay men and women.

Why do you think that is, Chris? Well, I think when we're younger, you're the... No offence. You feel very... Making friends with, you know, the girls. or you know it feels it feels very safe and it feels like you're a very safe place to land and you can almost protect us if we if we need if we need it and then i think it almost i mean i

hope that it almost reverses as as we get older and i think i feel very protective and um you know hopefully a really soft place safe place to land for my female friends i think it's just a bond that that is really really special and quite unique yeah there's like there's you know there's maybe a lack of competitiveness that is maybe with other friendships and there's maybe I think you can just have I think you can just have a load like a load of fun I think it's just again in in in life that a life that can have lots of hardships it's just it's just really really really fun and special and unique it really does feel that yeah I like when one of your shows you do that you do a bit of crowd work and you're

Who's your gay best friend? What's their name? Your GBI. Yeah. And their name and we honour our gay best friends. Yeah. And I think, yeah, I think it's a, I think it's a friendship where both parties can be very authentic and very without, that doesn't need to be a sort of a pretense or a desire to be sort of different because, you know, you, you, you, you, you. there's enough differences between you already, you can just kind of find the kind of core of each other.

Well, you know, I remember someone, I remember once saying to some friends of mine. And I said, do you know, it's also that thing where it's the idea, particularly when I was younger, when there was always that sense with, you know, if I was out with a group of straight men, It's like, okay, is this genuine friendship or is one of them, you know, trying to bang me, basically. We're never trying to bang you. Yeah, I love that about you. We're not trying to bang you. I mean, as I get older, I don't love it so much.

But I remember that, just thinking, God, this is a very pure friendship, because it's based on nothing but the fact that we like each other. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? There's no agenda. There's no agenda. Because why would we be hanging out? Do you know what? I hope Grace Campbell will forgive me

but I might have to steal you off her. Well, you know, let's set Raymond against Eddie and then they can duke it out and then we'll have, then that will be the real I think you're going to have to be, my friend. Oh, of course we are. Does that sound all right? Of course, yes, I would be honoured.

You should be up in North East? He's just like, yeah, I'm honoured. Say that to a straight matter. If they shuffle off, they go weird. They are weird. They are. You guys are. You are weird. This is Will my lovely producer. Oh, Will's lovely. He's not like the rest of the. No. He's very different. Oh, he's like delightful. Hey, before I let you go. A lot of them are weird. They are. Um, before I let you go. Yes. And by the way, everyone needs to go and see pizazas. Yes, I would love it. It's going to be a really, really, really fun time. I'm going to go and see Pazazaz.

At the Edinburgh Festival, you can go or you can go and see Chris on tour with it later this year. Yeah. And if you want to get tickets, do we know the best place to go? So if you go to the Mick Perrin website... I know the Mick Perrin website. M-I-C-K-E-R-R-I-N. All right, Mickey Mouse Club. I know.

Am I C-K-E-I-U-I-C-E-E-E-C. They have all the tickets for absolutely everywhere. Fabulous. All you go to the link in my bio, my social media is Christopher Hall with an X instead of the I. just because Christopher Hall the right spelling was taken and all that you get to there I know

can I just say something to you before I let you go something I forgot to ask you and I cannot let you go without asking you this is it true that you called in sick to school one day you had to take the day off because Jerry Halliwell left the spice girls

I was very very distraught I was very very distraught and I think mum I think mum came and got me Oh no, it was, I went in late. I went in late. Why? Because I adored, Jerry was my favourite.

Of course she was. Jerry was my favourite. She was. So did you cry? Oh, it was the first heartbreak. See what I mean? It's the first real heartbreak that a seven-year-old suffered. And then, of course, we've had many more since.

But, yeah, Jerry was my favorite. That was your JFK, your generation's JFK. Yeah. And then my favourite Spice Girl shifted to Emma. Oh yeah. Then it shifted to... Controversial. Yeah, she's really... Shifts to Emma.

Then around the Olympics, I thought God, Victoria is absolutely amazing. Just sort of stood on the car. And then I've always loved Mel B. And then at the Spice World Tour just gone, I really connected with Malsie. Oh, you've grown the full girl. So all five, I adore all five, waiting for the all five reunion. You'll have to do a backing singer with them.

Then the world would truly spin off its axis if that happened. That would be, that would just be too much for one life. I love it. Do you know what's interesting, though? You're someone, and I think it's a very interesting example of how TikTok has been great to you, but it's not who you are. I don't know if that makes sense, but you know how some people who are a bit, you know, it's like, yeah, I'm like social media person.

But you're someone, and this is where I think it can really work your advantage where you had all these skills. What you didn't have was easy access to exposure. Yeah. Particularly during the pandemic. And now you've used it to sell yourself. Yeah. But the key thing is you've got a lot of skills. Uh-huh.

A unique set of skills. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, definitely. Well, it's been amazing. Yeah. as you said, it's been amazing for just being able to sort of put like, you know, a body of work or like a sort of a scrapbook of what I can do out there, whereas I think a lot of casting is

waiting for that one opportunity to kind of go in and then you almost have to fit into what they want. Of course. Which, you know, obviously has worked for a long time. But I, I love the fact that I've just got this, yeah, this like scrapbook of like, well, if you want like a silly voice, if you scroll down, there's me doing voices, there's me doing accents, there's me done, dancing with me this than that and if you like it it's all there you know so yeah you know what I'm thinking I have to let you go now but I'm thinking I can I just think with your musical theatre talents and your comedy talents what is the dream now film wise I mean you could do it all the come on come on I would love

to find my way back to theatre somehow you know wherever whenever it is in the future that would be amazing to be in a musical again I'd love to I'd love to be on love to do something fun on TV but I'm having the best time doing stand-up and like seeing everyone and being in a room with everyone it's so lovely so well I can't tell you how much we've enjoyed this have you enjoyed this walk Chris it's been amazing it's been absolutely delightful is Ray your new best friend he really is he's so um can ask you one final question yeah be honest do you think Ray is gay I'm getting that. I am getting that. I don't like to assume because we can't, but I am getting that.

He's a real, he's honestly like a, he's just a toy. He's just like, what a peaceful little little pixie. Well, that's why it works between us. It's the ying and the yang. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. The Littetic and the peaceful picture. Chris, I adore you and I've had such a wonderful time with you. Thank you for coming on. Thank you so much. This has been amazing. I so appreciate it. Oh, can you give me a half? Of course. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you for going to be my best friend.

I hope it's done. And I'll see, I'll be round at yours later. Yeah, please. Bye-bye. See you soon. Thank you. I really hope you enjoyed that episode of Walking the Dog. We'd love it if you subscribed and do join us next time on Walking the Dog wherever you get your podcasts.