Walking The Dog with Emily Dean - Maisie Adam (Part Two)

Episode Date: April 4, 2024

It’s time for the second part of our walk with Maisie Adam! Maisie tells us all about her first experience on a TV panel show, what it was like to be a news story as a child and she reminisces about her first date with her now husband - which took place right here on Brighton Beachfront! Maisie will be heading round the UK this autumn with her brand new tour ‘Appraisal’. For tickets, more information and to keep up with all things Maisie head to https://www.maisieadam.com/ If you haven’t heard part one of our chat with Maisie - you can listen to it here! Follow Emily: Instagram - @emilyrebeccadeanX - @divine_miss_emWalking The Dog is produced by Faye LawrenceMusic: Rich Jarman Artwork: Alice LudlamPhotography: Karla Gowlett  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Part 2 of Walking the Dog with comedian Maze Adam. If you haven't yet caught part one, do go back and give it a listen as she's a bit of a diamond. I really hope you enjoy the second part of our chat and remember to subscribe. Here's Macy and Ruiway. Let's go this way. Come on Maze. I love Maze. Are you okay with me calling you Maze? It was a bit forward of me.

No, I like it. I like it when people feel comfortable to call me Maze. Oh good. Yeah. I want to talk to you about your hugely successful. successful comedy career. We're going to wait until we're off the pebbles. Yeah, this is a good sound bite for your pod though because sometimes people might listen to this and think, are they really at the seafront? What we are actually, this is a nice bit of folly sound, isn't it? We're in Maisie's front living room. Yeah.

Husband has very thoughtfully provided us with little gravel pits. He's been impersonating waves for the last 58 minutes. He went to drama school. That's why. Yeah, he's classically trained. He paid 27 grand for the waves training. Good God. So I want to talk, yeah, about your hugely successful comedy career because you've been, not only are you a brilliant stand-up, with your, and you're hugely well-known for your live work. You have sell-out tours, one of which is coming up soon, which we're going to discuss. Oh, yeah.

And what was the first TV, I suppose, panel show, or you've done a lot of shows like, you know, 8 out of 10 cats, about the week? one. What was the first TV show then? Eight out of ten cats. That was the first, like, thing I appeared on as a stand-up. Were you nervous? I was so nervous, so, so-nerves. And you know what? I was on with one of the, like, comedians that I'd grown up kind of aspiring to. I'd actually gone and seen her when I was at university and I was a bit nervous about being on with her, just because I wanted to impress her, Sarah Pasco, and I was really nervous and I think I must have looked it and she was so nice to me. I've always remembered it because after it I was like, if I do get to keep doing this, if I do get to keep on being on panel shows and being silly

for a living, I want to make sure I'm like her of when somebody's new, when somebody's having their first go, be like how she was. I must have looked so nervous because I didn't realise as well you watch these shows in their half an hour aren't they but you record them for about two and a half front of a live audience and um you have you have the show notes of what you know what you're going to be talking about in each part and um the guy had handed me those show notes and then pointed on the set from the side where we were all sat you're going to be sat there mazie just go out and remember to wave to the audience and i was like okay and i can go out with my notes can i and he was like yeah yeah it's fine don't worry about it and i was like but that but then people will

that I've, they might think that I've pre-written material or they might say, you know, something in my face was clearly showing, what, what, I don't know. And she came over to me, Sarah Pascoe, she was like, give me your notes, I'll put them out for you. And all you've got to focus on is just walking out and smiling and sitting down. You're going to be great. You look fantastic. I remember she said it to me in the makeup room when I sat down, she was like, you look great. Which immediately, because you're not used to being sat in a chair and somebody doing all your face.

up so I was really like you know fish out of water and she was so lovely to me and I completely relaxed and also I was on with quite a few lads as is the case a lot only that on a comedy panel show yeah and you know I'm the new kid so I was expecting that we'd all sort of take it into but and you know it is the way of it comedy panel shows it's sometimes you know took me back to drama school it's the loudest kid loudest kid is the one that gets the part but it turns that it's all the Josephs. Yeah, it's a lot of Josephs, yeah, it is. That is it,

it's a lot of Josephs. And two female shepherds. There's a lot of blokes who were kind of talking loudly. You know, you'd start to say a joke. And it's not maliciously. I think that's just sometimes how comedians' brains work is they're like, I've got something that I know is going to get a laugh, so I need to say it now. And it can feel a bit,

feel a bit brutal at first, and then you realize everybody's doing it. But Sarah kept going, Maisie, what was that you're about to say? And deliberately going out of her way to bring me in, and I've never forgotten it because it just meant in the world because I don't think I'd have

got a word in edgeways otherwise and it really, really made a difference and I was like toying with the idea of telling her for like three years because she had a kid so I didn't see her for a while on the circuit or stuff I never had like a good and then she had her show Guessable

and I told her then I was like just so you know you were really nice to me on my first ever I don't think you knew it was my first one, but it was really, really nice of you. And it's sort of a, yeah, a conscious effort that I try to make now because I know how much it meant to be on the receiving end of it. You never forget in any, I mean, I'm not a stand-up, but I've done broadcasting and radio work. In any walk of life, you never forget the people that are kind.

I never forget when people give you space in that context. that I feel doing radio with Frank Skinner for so long. I think that was kind of a shock to me. Yeah. He was... I'll just wait till the joggers pass. We've got the two joggers in the black t-shirts. Speaking of loud blokes.

They were Josephs. Yeah. They weren't Josephs. They were herds. A couple of Josephs just rang back. They were actually herods. They were herods. They were, yeah, troublemakers.

But good on Sarah Pascoe. Yeah. I love her for that. It meant the world. It meant the world to me, yeah. Yeah. I want to, let's pass the noisy men. She's a good egg.

How's your foot, by the way? Oh, fine, fine. No, I really just meant because they're just not in a position to be put into shoes at the moment. But it doesn't hurt to walk at all. But you know what? I have to say, Maisie. All the herods are coming back, FYI. Do you know, it's a good expression, isn't it?

Yeah. I mean, it's quite extreme, let's be honest. I can hear them from here. It was literally like heaven. It was like heaven. Do you know what? Oh, Maisie, let's look at this. I love benches. Very nice, isn't it? Memorial benches?

I believe so, yeah. What a lovely thing, you know? Oh, don't, that's made me cry. He'll be here. He will always be here. Forever missed. Duchess of Hove. Oh, the Duchess of Hove. I love the sound of her. Yeah.

I'm still here. I love these memorial benches by the sea. Do you? I think I'd quite like one on the seafront when I'm gone. I wouldn't want it to say my name though. I'd just like it to say like maybe a really good recipe for a roast dinner. Do you know what I mean? Something that like people can...

Good legacy. Yeah. Come on, Ray Ray. So that's so lovely that story about Sarah Pascoe. And after eight out of ten cats, often when you get those appearances, you only hear about the people who get those slots and make something of it. Yeah. Because actually there are millions, not millions.

there are hundreds of people who might get that slot that you might never hear of again, just in terms of having a wider media career, because there's a specific skill to doing those TV shows. That's why I was careful to talk about with that experience on 8 out of 10 cats. It's not unusual. It's always how you have to be. It's lovely that Sarah was how she was, but it's nothing against the people that were being loud

and were being, you know, first to speak, because it is quite, you can't be timid. and you can't be. And I was grateful that Sarah, you know, was there to get me the space to speak. But it also, one thing I took from it was, right, well, if I do get to go on another one, I need to, Sarah might not be there, you know. I need to have my elbows out a bit. Well, it's like going into onto a trading floor, the stock market.

Yes, a little bit. You can't go, excuse me, I'm so sorry to bother you. I wonder if you could talk about the Dow Jones. It does feel like a trading market sometimes. And after that, loads followed, mock the week. Yeah, done quite a few. And I love them. I really like the format of a panel show.

I enjoy it. And I like it because there's, you know, you have an idea of what you might be talking about, loose structure. But essentially you just want it to flow like, well, like you and I talking now. You want it to, you know, hopefully be interesting, hopefully be funny.

Hopefully put your personality across. in a way that's not irritating. Another person you've spoken about that strikes me as someone who was always, who left you with the opposite of never meet your heroes, who left a lasting impression on you in terms of, you know, just being a lovely all-round person

was Lee Mack, I know you have a lot of time for Lee Mack. Yeah, yeah. And ditto. Another good egg. Yeah. Tell me what your first experience of him was. My first experience of him was my 14th birthday. I asked for tickets to go see him. I loved what I had his DVDs as a kid.

And my parents took me to see him at Sheffield Town Hall. So that was my first experience of him. And then the next time I saw him was when I was on, would I lie to you? Oh, that's a good dog. That's a good dog. Leigh Mac. Next time I saw him was, would I lie to you? He was really, really lovely then. And he's incredible to watch in that space.

He's so quick. He's so quick. That's sometimes what you find with panel shows is because there's the space of like two and a half hours to appear funny. You know, it's quite, so when you, it can be quite slow, the pace. It's not like a live stand-up gig.

It's a very different pace and vibe. But watching Leon, Wooda Lighty, he's just got all these like quick comebacks and comments and toppers. and he's just, he's such a wit. And then I've got to like know him more over the years. We did Socorade together last year. And again, he's got that Sarah Pasco thing of making sure the people around them feel welcome.

Like what you were saying about Frank, that they feel that they've got something to contribute. They feel, you know, it's pulling a chair out for you, you know, go and sit here, mate. You know, it's that, it's basically that sort of energy. energy. What is it people say not pulling the ladder up after you, leaving it down? You know what, Maisie? Just from chatting to you, I think you had very good parenting. Well, I think so too. They were good eggs. I can tell that. They're still here. They are good eggs. There was a thing I wanted to ask you about, which is you were in, you were a news story when you were a kid briefly, weren't you?

Because of my parents. Well, actually, because of me, it was my fault. So what happened, Maisie? This is a mad story that I actually didn't know about because I had no memory of it until I was a teenager. I'll tell you how I came about it. And I wrote a show about it because I knew, well, it'll probably come out one day. And I think, yeah, it's important to sort of say what really actually happened. And yeah, I guess the best place to start is actually how I came about. When I was at high school, the drama teacher was poorly,

and she didn't turn up to, you know, she'd had to go home. And she'd written on the whiteboard, I'm not here, go to the library and research Bertolt Brecht, the playwright. And of course, we went to the library, and we didn't research Bertolt Brecht. We went on the computers and started messing about. We used to do this game where we'd Google each other's names. names press image and be like oh hey that's you um just a stupid game so we were all in the school library googling each other's name like i googled my mate emily's and it came up with like

a grave with her name on you know somebody with the same name we were like oh you're a ghost then i googled my name and this um this article came up uh from 1999 about my mom and dad where at when i was five years old we'd gone on holiday to Florida for my dad's 30th birthday and they'd put me to bed and then gone down just to the ground floor to watch a firework display. But in mind this is 1999 so it's pre a lot of other similar cases that have happened then which I'm sure we're aware of but the fireworks had apparently woken me up I got out of bed the door clicks shut behind me I was looking for my parents apparently and the door clicks up behind me

I couldn't get back into the hotel room started crying like a little kid does and this woman found me in the corridor and I have to say I'd like to think that most people in that scenario would go where's your parents let's get you down to reception I'm sure we can find them

and instead she rang 911 and the police turn up And, yeah, they took hold of my parents. See, we've said on this walk, you know, I don't think there's a better set of parents going, and they're wonderful. And the irony of them suddenly finding themselves arrested on,

I think the charge was child neglect, which was utterly bizarre. Felony child abuse, they called it. Yeah, yeah. And they were, did they go to jail? Well, that's America, isn't it? Everything's so dramatic over there. Yeah, they spent a night in custody and had to be, you know, They had to get my, like, sort of grandparents over to look after me.

And it was all put in the papers for a bit. It was a huge story, wasn't it? Because I think what happened was that it slightly highlighted British commentators were saying, this is ridiculous. Yeah, there was a very different sense of opinion. Yeah. And I think anybody, you know, I'm 30. I think if anybody my age and above, will remember that as kids,

You were just, you know, your parents didn't sit in the hotel room with you at night. They sort of would go down to the pool or go down to the bar. They weren't leaving you. They weren't neglecting you. It's a very different, as you say, attitude, British to Americans. And I think that was what the sensationalism around the case was. It was utterly ridiculous, you know. And of course, thankfully, they were let off.

and it was all, it all blew over, but the irony being, and that's what I wrote this whole show about was what great parents my mum and dad are. I think they're wonderful, wonderful, I mean, they're best mates to me now. And it's ridiculous that they were painted as sort of the worst of parenthood. But yeah, it's a mad thing. It's still out there on if some weirdos are doing a deep dive. So I sort of had to talk about it. So I wrote a show about it and it was good to do a show about it, I guess,

because I knew it was going to come up eventually. But it's mad. It's mad that something that paints somebody in such a bad light would happen to people who are genuinely the best parents in the world. So, as I say, the main takeaway was that all the Brits were like, what's all the fuss about? There's still people who can read it now in 2024 who would go, God, what were they thinking?

Oh, God. You know, all these words, felony, child abuse, it sounds so dramatic. And actually what happened was something that most parents did. When I was a kid, we were on a cruise ship, and my parents got a knock on the door, bear in mind about midnight, and someone said, oh, excuse me, your daughter, I was about four, has been in the disco for two hours. See, there we go.

And they said she's been dancing, and she's hilarious, and she's having a great time. But can you come and get her? But can you come and get her? My dad went, okay. And he did. And you know what? When I tell that story about the cruise ship to people,

I don't think I've ever come across somebody who hasn't had a similar story. Yeah, yeah. It was so strange for them, bless them. Well, they must be so proud of you now. And I have no recollection of it. No recollection of it whatsoever. So I didn't find out until I found the article

on the school computer at 14. Yeah, yeah. I remember going home and going, Mum, I found something on the internet today about Florida and bless her, her face. Because I guess as well, when it happened, she didn't think the internet was going to, I guess she just thought, well, it's happened,

we'll tell her about it one day. But how'd you start that conversation? So probably for the best that it came out. The good news is they must be so proud of you now, Maisie, and how not just successful you are, but what I like about your conversation, comedy is you're kind of funny and so an interesting combination I think of incredibly sharp but you're warm and likable and it's very hard to get that right I think well that's

really kind that's that's a lovely thing to say I sort of I guess what everybody's hoping for when they're you know putting themselves across so I think I think with comedy the comedy I've always grown up liking and watching you know, you know, I'm just going to be. We mentioned Lee Mack there, are the warm personalities, the ones where you go, God, I want to be around you, you know. So maybe that's affected it. But I like watching comedy where I can relate and feel like I know the person. So maybe that's fed into my comedic voice is what I was going to say,

but it sounded a bit of a bit. You worried? Yeah. Did you panic there a bit? I was going to say wanky, and I didn't know if we could say wanky on the show. You can say whatever you like. Okay, I'll say wanky then.

I want to talk about your forthcoming tour. Yes. You've had a lot of hugely successful live shows. And now you've got, I feel like this is a big one for you, isn't it? It's the biggest rooms I've ever done. It's quite nerve-wracking. Some big-boy rooms in there. but I'm very, very excited for it

and I've called it appraisal because I've managed to do this weird and wonderful dream job for five years now as my job so I thought well in any other work you often get a sort of five year appraisal so I want to sort of each show is going to be me with the audience

and they're going to basically give me an appraisal see how I'm getting on but let me know whether I'm doing all right. Hopefully it'll be a good performance review. But I just, I can't wait. I can't wait to just get out on tour and it's the thing I love the most, you know, we've spoken about panel shows and we've spoken about, you know, like the sort of working your way up through, through comedy. But my, my favourite bit of this comedy job or journey is, is touring and getting to go to different,

different places every night full of an audience that, you know, I've given their time and money to see you. So there's the high, I like the high stakes and the pressure of, you know, fulfilling the sort of satisfaction that they need from it. And I like the difference, you know, you can, yeah, it's the sort of same show that you're doing every night, but it's going to be different because of the people you're going to talk to in that room, in that night.

at that time. I love it. I love that you never get two nights the same with this job. It always keeps you on your toes. So I'm really, really excited for touring. I can't wait. I can't wait. I'm going to come and see it. Oh, please do, yeah.

I might sneak rain. Yes, please do. Please do. He's so well-behaved, didn't he? And I think we're going to be adding another leg on in the new year. We announced the tour last week. and well a quarter of the tickets for the whole tour have gone already so yeah I got my sales report through today and I was like bloody hell go on it's it's so nice and encouraging that people are snapping up tickets so far in advance

but the stress head in me goes well there's still 75% to go even though I've got are you a glass half full or half empty half full definitely but I stress that it's not going to stay half full Does that make sense? Half a... I'm an eternal optimist, but I'm a worrying optimist. This is going to be great, but I worry how long it'll last. You're an eternal optimist who's always ready to adjust the sails.

Yes, yes, definitely. I like those ones. Yeah. I think you have to be an optimist in this job. I don't know if you could do it being a pessimist. Oh my word, she's been swimming. Amazing. That was the lovely...

The dog that we saw earlier. Gizzle. Yeah, Jizzle the three-legged dog. Jizzle's owner has been for a swim in the sea, which I think we can both agree on. It doesn't look very promising, does it? It's not looking inviting. It's not California beach.

It's not beach boys. People roll the skating alongside, is it? Maisie, I want you to tell me, because we're getting close. I need to let you go soon. but I want to say congratulations firstly because you got married. Oh, thank you. Cheers, yeah.

To love of your life. Yep. Are we allowed to name him? Mike, yeah, yeah. He's been named in a few shows, so he doesn't mind. And Mike, how did you meet Mike? It's actually strange we're walking along here. We had our first date on the seafront,

just down there where the music hall is. I met him. He used to run a cocktail bar here in Brighton and um oh that's quite glamorous he was working as a waiter in a cocktail bar and I was I'd lived in Brighton about six months and it was St Paddy's Day and he didn't have a hat on did he comedy hat good but my my two friends from up north came down to visit me to see what Brighton's all about and it was so cold that night that we were like Let's just go into the first bar that we find and we went into this bar and he was the guy serving us and my friends immediately clocked that I fancied the pants off him. And we're doing what all best mates do in that situation which is completely throw you under the bus. Make it really obvious even though I was really embarrassed. And we got chatting that night and set up a date later on which was down here at the same. seafront and that was six years ago.

How lovely. Yeah, it was lovely. It was really nice. So yeah, we got married last summer here in Brighton. People often, you've got very distinctive hair. Yeah. And people always talk about your hair. Which baffles me, by the way.

I was going to say, I thought, if you, I actually find it a bit of the level of focus on your hair. Yeah, I do. I do. Thank you for not starting. this interview with it because it's so boring when people go, you've got, oh, your hair, talk us through it then. You go, what do you mean, talk us through it? It's hair. It's a way, it's like me going, to you, talk us through your outfit today then. It's just something that you've chosen to express yourself through, but it's hair. It can change, you know. But again, I, show me any photo of anybody

in the 80s with hair that they'd have now. It's just that most people change their hair less dramatically and less often, and you don't really notice a big change. Whereas, I don't know, I just think life's for living. If you want to do a different haircut, you've never wondered how it's going to look, but you've always wanted to do it. Just bloody do it. If you don't like it, it grows out.

But I also think without realising it, people are sort of saying, that's not what we expect of a lady, comedian. I don't know what it is. I don't know what it is. And a lot of people like to read into stuff and, you know, say it's this or it's that or, you know, I didn't expect you to have this

or it's quite dramatic, isn't it? Well, what did, what, I mean, I've heard people say, what did your parents say? You got 30? Do you know what I mean? People react like you've got a tattoo on your face or something. Mom, Dad, I've got something to tell you. But even they're a tattoo on your face, you'd go for it.

But, like, I mean, something that's undoable, you know. I've just sort of shave the back of your head for a bit because she fancied something a bit different. Well, when you look back, I was looking at, I mean, not that it's the same thing, but it just reminded me that looking back at Shnade O'Connor, and I saw that documentary on her, which was so heartbreaking, just how you realize.

I didn't realize at the time, you know, I lived through that, and just what chance did she have? Yeah, you know, because she didn't play the game. And it was kind of like all she did was do what any man would do. And again, I think it's helped with my mum is, always has been a punk. So she dresses punk, she's got a punk haircut. So we're... And so I've grown up with people commenting about my mum. Oh, your mum's got interesting hair. You go, what do you mean interesting hair? You mean she's not got a boring perm like

you? She doesn't look like a Republican wife. It does mean, my mum's got, you know, odd hair, interesting hair. It's always said with a raised eyebrow. He go, it's her life. Let her, you know, dress how she wants, let her wear... And I guess with, with... they're being specifically punk in her aesthetic. I've grown up with kind of a nice rejection of gender norms of, you know, you don't have to be, if you're a woman, you don't have to be somebody who's going to wear a dress and have long, nice hair that's kept and styled.

You go, if you want to wear your hair this way, if you want to dye it, you know, I've since changed my haircut again. It's now bright peroxide blonde, and it's sort of got a bit of a mullet thing going on. Because you know what? I'd like to get to the end of my life and I've done another different haircut. I like to switch it up and change it.

Hair to me is no different than trying a new meal. If you don't like it, don't get it again. Do you know what I mean? Don't go through life eating the same food with the same haircut, wearing the same clothes, meeting the same people. It really frustrates me when people react like it's an unchangeable life. choice. Yeah. Hello. I just realized who you were. Oh, my goodness. Oh, that's very kind. Oh, give over. Oh, no, give over. No, no, a fellow Yorkshire woman here. Oh, really? Whereabouts are you from?

Leeds, Harrogate, Scarborough. No way. We've been talking about it. Well, we're not with, Filey was our main one. Oh, great. Bridlington. Oh, lovely. Yeah, yeah. My uncles are all still up there. Yeah, nice. And I listen to you and I'm like, I love the Yorkshire. Anyway, I didn't connect. Oh, they don't give over. I said to my friend, I know. And I went, oh my God, it's mostly here. Oh, was that you that's been in the sea?

How was it? Mad. I can't believe it. Mad. Yeah, you're mad for going in. Literally mad. I love it, though. Do you do it a lot?

We do it like, well, I planned it in once a week. Oh, my word. Hats off to you. It started doing a lockdown, mental health. Yeah, yeah. Has it made a difference? Does it really? Yeah, I hear this a lot.

It kicks the serotonin and then the most of the day. is manageable. Yeah. No, no, you're not. No, no, thank you. You've been our serotonin boost. Thank you. Yeah.

They must get sick of people going, Oh my God, it's you! Oh, no, give over. Give over. A particular favourite. Oh, it was lovely to meet you. And your dog, your dog is so lovely. We loved you.

See you soon. Love me to meet you. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Oh, Maisie. What a lovely. Isn't that nice? I was very sweet.

I'm glad I still wasn't mid-rant. And she came up to, I'm still going, Oh, people really frustrate me. Is that nice when people come over and say stuff like that? Of course, it must be lovely. Because it's, it's, you know, like what we were saying of, you know, you're trying to do comedy that people relate to and people enjoy and people feel like they know you.

So it's nice if people can feel like that and they can come up and, you know, they're saying nice things. I don't understand how anybody's ever going to have a problem with that. It's lovely. somebody coming up to you and saying that they enjoy your work. Maisie Adam, do you know what I think? I'm going to tell you, the thing about Brighton is, even if it's raining, it's kind of, I feel like a sort of heroine in a Victorian Gothic novel.

I know exactly what you need. You know what I mean? It doesn't depress me so much. It doesn't feel bleak and it feels like, oh, I'm so, I've got such inner romanticism. Yeah, yeah. Do you feel that? Yeah, 100%. 100%.

Like, there's some part. That's a world where if we had this weather right now, you'd be so depressed. London. But instead, I feel like, oh, I'm getting all the elements today from the weather. I love it. Well, Maisie, we've had the most wonderful time with you. Oh, I've really enjoyed this. Have you?

Yeah, I really have. I've missed dog walks. I've missed them. You say dog walks. Do you want to explain what Raymond's doing currently? Well, yeah, dog carries. Yeah. We're going to come and see you on tour.

Yeah, do. Do. Oh, look. Oh, Ray. You've done so well. You've done so well, darling. Well done. Oh, thank you, May. Ray, do you want to say goodbye to Maisie? Love 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.