Walking The Dog with Emily Dean - Rebecca Front (Part One)

Episode Date: January 28, 2025

Today, we’re on Hampstead Heath with the wonderful and immensely talented actress, writer and comedy genius Rebecca Front!Rebecca and her very handsome Cockapoo Bailey have previously appeared on this podcast - you can go back and listen to that episode if you haven’t heard it already. We were thrilled to take another walk with Rebecca - we talked about the benefits of being vulnerable, bad dog haircuts and her experience of going to therapy as a child.You can listen to Three People with Rebecca Front here - or wherever you get your podcasts!Follow @msrebeccafront on InstagramFollow 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.

She sort of shaved a heart shape around his bum. It was the most peculiar thing. And no, we hadn't requested it. This week on Walking the Dog, Raymond and I went for a stroll on hamster teeth with the immensely talented actor, writer and comedy genius, Rebecca Front. Rebecca and her Cockapoo Bailey have actually appeared on this podcast before, which you can go back and have a listen to.

But they're such a fabulous duo. I felt it was high time we had the moment. for a return visit. Rebecca, you'll obviously know from her hugely impressive acting CV, working alongside Steve Coogan on knowing me, knowing you with Alan Partridge, winning a BAFTA for her role on the thick of it, and Ray's favourite of all her roles, narrating SuperVet for many years. Rebecca's one of those people who seems to be universally adored by everyone who works with her, and once you listen to this, I think you'll see why. She just oozes good energy and integrity and kind-heartedness, but mostly she's a real laugh,

and she's got one of the funniest dogs I think I've ever met. She's also, just about to launch her very own podcast called Three People with Rebecca Fron, where she'll be asking guests like Peter Capaldi and Hugh Lorry, all about the three people who've really changed their lives. It sounds absolutely fascinating, and I can't wait to hear it. So do listen out for it as it will be coming your way soon. We absolutely loved our walk with. Rebecca and Bailey and I know you'll enjoy it lots so I'll stop talking now and

hand over to the fab woman herself here's Rebecca and Bailey and Ray Ray we need to go up sort of that way don't we to well Rebecca Frank you're in charge I always sound like I'm in charge apparently I've been told but I'm really not in fact Bailey will tell you well he would if he could you know sort of talk normally that I'm the most indecisive person you want to cut through that way Look at that big boy. Oh my goodness. It's a dog, by the way.

This is an episode of Baywatch. Look at that big boy. Look, it's a big old German Shepherd. What do you make of German shepherds, Rebecca? They're sort of scary looking, but then, you know, the big dogs are usually much nicer, aren't they? Much gentler. No offence, Raymond.

But they very often are. Bayer, let's get you off your lead, sweetie. Yes, there's something very sort of Bavarian about those German shepherds. Yeah. It'll be the German aspect, I suppose. I'm avoiding the obvious uncomfortable associations with German shepherds. Yes. Do you know any German shepherds? Actual German shepherds. I discovered, when I had Greg Davis on this podcast, he actually ordered he didn't have a dog. And he said, I'd like to walk with, I thought, oh, would you now?

Oh, really? What he requested his preferred dog? He ordered. He went a bit deliveroo on me. you able to supply? I was. He wanted a rotweiler and the best I could get, Rebecca, was a rotten shepherd. What is that? Is that a mixture of a rotviler and a... That's what they told me. Never heard of that before. I think you might have been had. I mean, I was a bit nervous when the dog when I was waiting for the dog to turn up. It's a decaying man with a staff. Yes. It was, do you know, It was really sweet. And it was a lovely dog.

I actually made me think slightly differently about Rottweilers. Yeah. Because I'm afraid I believed, you know, what I'd heard. Yeah, they've got bad PR, haven't they, Rup Viner? Well, I tell you who doesn't have bad PR. Oh, was that a segue? Was that a segue? I just heard.

It was in Alan Partridge, and we'll get on to that. I'm here, of course, with a wonderful Rebecca Front. And Bailey. Well, you say you're here with Bailey. Bailey's gone off to do his own thing. Bayle! Bailey, come on. Let's just pretend for the next half an hour

that I have some authority. Bailey has an impressive stream. Well, thank you very much. I thank you on his behalf. I have no authority over Bailey whatsoever, unfortunately. I'm keeping Ray on the lead because he's so slow. He's going to really hamper off.

progress. This is your second time. I'm so thrilled. I know. I was delighted to be asked. I love doing it. There's nothing I like better than going for a walk with a dog. So then going for a walk with the dog with you and having a chat is a real treat. Well, you're saying that, but Ray's already refusing. You know what it is? I'm really embarrassed to tell you something. He doesn't like mud. Oh, really? Well, I don't blame you. It's almost as if he's some kind of entitled Prince. Come on look at Bailey doing what normal dogs do. Yeah, Bailey does love the mud. He's not so crazy about other dogs a lot of the time. And Bailey, of course, is a cockapoo? He is. He's a rather gloriously kind of autumn-coloured cockapoo.

And we've had him for, well, we've had him since he was a puppy. So he's now, oh God, I'm supposed to know this, aren't I? What is he, five, six? Six, I think. Do you know, I got asked Raymond's age the other day at pets at home. They haven't paid me any money to say that but please do if you're listening And the pet shops are available

And she said if you could just put in your pets day to birth And I would, yeah, just a minute Shit You're supposed to know their date of birth And she said do you have your pets date of birth And I said, yeah yeah I'm just skipping my And I thought I couldn't remember the year Right yeah I wouldn't be able to

With bail But that's obviously a thing you're Or actually, between you and me with my children. There have been the odd... I'm not very good in numbers generally, that's my excuse. So there has been the odd moment when I filled out a form and one of them has sort of looked over my shoulder and said, Mum, you don't even know how old we are.

I love that. So, yeah, the last time I managed to get you, because I was such a huge fan of yours, for so many years, I've watched pretty much everything you've ever done. If I hear Rebecca Front, if I hear the announcer say that, I'm in. I don't care. I don't care if it's a party political broadcast on behalf of Donald Trump. I'm in.

It's unlikely, but anyway. And I was walking with Mark Gaitis. Yes, that's right. I remember that. And I bumped into you. Yeah. We were on the heath. And it was so amazing for me seeing you both together,

having been such a fan of 99. seeing the car it was a cast reunited yes and he persuaded you to come on well you didn't persuade you didn't I didn't take a lot of persuading it must be said no that I remember that very well it was it was one of those sort of rare moments when you're like I once got a whole tele series after going to the bakers some years ago I'm going to need to know about this I went to says about a year after I'd had my son who's my oldest and I really wasn't working at all I just couldn't do it, couldn't get anything. And I was at that point where I was thinking,

okay, I would quite like to get back into acting again now. And I took him in his pram down to the Bakers and Richard Herring was there completely randomly. Didn't live anywhere near me at the time. But he just happened to be in that area and he'd gone into Bakers. And so we got chatting and he said, what are you doing? And I didn't for once do that actor thing of, oh, so busy, so busy, love. I just said, I don't know, I can't get any work at the moment.

You know, I've had a baby and nothing's coming in. And we just had a little chat and that was the end of that. But then he left the bakers and what I didn't realise was he had immediately rung up Al Murray, who I didn't know, and said, you know that thing we're writing. I've just bumped into Rebecca Front and she's available. So I ended up doing two series of this thing for Sky. on the back of going and buying some sliced bread and a gingerbread man. Isn't that fascinating?

Because obviously, I find that so interesting how that neatly illustrates the importance of, I suppose, vulnerability in some ways. Yeah, yeah, because I knew Richard well enough to say, you know, to not kind of bullshit and say, you know, it's tough. You know, people, because I'd spoken to a couple of radio producers and people around that time who said, oh I was thinking of you for something

but I knew that you were pregnant and I was still going that was a year ago you know my son is a year old now so I could have done it but I think people get it into their heads that you're unavailable or you're or they think

the other famous one that lots of people have is if you win an award people think oh she won't do that she won't do that because she's you know just won a comtee award or something you're sitting at home thinking I'd really like to work actually

I don't know what this is all about. It's very strange, but lots of little things like that can really affect your career. Didn't you once run into Sam Mendes and talk to him about work as well? Yeah, well, that was slightly more me sort of braving it because I knew I wanted to work with him and I knew I wanted to work at the Donmar.

So I did actually seek him out at a... I'd done a pilot show with Jane Horrocks, who Sam was with him. at the time. And so, and I knew he'd be in the bar afterwards and I thought, okay, I'm going to have to be, I have to be brave about this. So I just kind of went up to him and said, I'm a big fan of your work. And again, it did work. It paid off because I ended up doing company at the Donmar. Which way, Rebecca, I'm following your own. I'm going this away. Yeah. Can we go to the cafe at some point and get a coffee? I'm just thinking I've, that's, that's sort of

inexorably where I'm heading at the moment is towards a coffee. And yeah, because, I was really impressed when I heard that you did that and it reminded me my mum was an actor and I remembered I mean not Successful like you, but That seemed to be whenever we'd go to my dad was in the TV and stuff I was aware that it wasn't just going to lunch Yeah, do you know what I mean? Yeah, she'd be It was like

She was permanently having to audition in a way or that networking stuff is really really really important when you're in that line of work, isn't it? It is and it feels just wrong. It feels a bit vulgar and like you really don't want to be doing it, you know. But actually I do think it's, unfortunately, I think it's important. Yeah. So you just, you know, there's a strong element of being, I was going to say being nice to people, but I'd like to think I would be nice to people anyway because why wouldn't I?

But in addition, you know, there are always those moments when you think, I'd better be particularly nice to this. Because you never quite know if they might. Go on, Bailey. Good boy. Ray. You see, he's about to go to the groomers, Rebecca, and he's covered in leaves. He's got a very untidy undercarriage.

I'm saying nothing. How is he about going to the groomers because Bailey hates it? Do you know, he doesn't like it? It's the only time Ray's. quite clingy and co-dependent. I wonder why that is. And, you know, it's the only time Ray Bolt's... Really?

Because he knows what's in store for him. But, having said that we have found a really good groomers, I don't mind mentioning them because they're called... Of course, there's a pun involved. Right. They're called Dog-on Fabulous.

It's a good name. And... Bail, come on. Has Bailey ever had? had a bad hair cut. Oh, yeah. Yeah. There was one, I remember, very early on,

when she cut, she sort of shaved a heart shape around his bum. It was the most peculiar thing. And no, we hadn't requested it. So we just say he kind of came, you know, we got him back and we went, oh, you look so cute. Then he turned around and we all went, oh, oh, what's that? Yeah, that was the weirdest one. Makes a weird.

That was all about. Yeah. And just not, really not Bailey's personality. I mean, I don't know whose personality it would be. I mean, why did you do that to a man? I didn't like to ask her, but it was very odd. And he looked kind of wounded, like, why has she done this to me? Why she maybe look foolish?

Because Bailey has a certain dignity about him. I think you'll say, you'll agree. And I believe, you know, you know, when you're, you know, You know, I mean, I'm not in denial about the fact that Bailey obviously has to defecate. But I don't think I'd be advertising it with a heart. Lighting up. Look at me, everybody. Look what I can do. No, I did feel it, you know, even though he's still just a puppy, it did offend his dignity. Poor little Bailey.

No, Ray's had a bad experience. They sort of straightened his hair. I don't know if they'd use GHD's. That sounds terrifying on a dog. Well, it just looked, but it looked really spindly. And there were strands hanging down. You know, like riffraff and Rocky Horror. It looked a bit like that.

Right. He didn't like it. So now that I found dog on Fabulous, they give him the sort of slightly cutty puppy cut that I request and like. I like the centre parting sort of early days Hugh Graham. Grant. Very cute. You know, I think if Ray was a celebrity, I think Hugh Grant is who I'd say.

Right. Okay. Yes, I can see that. Oh, no. Look at that, my goodness. I remember the days when men used to say, look at that, my goodness. And I was on the receiving end of that. And your reply would be, look at that big boy.

Come on Ray. Come on Bailey. Come on Bail. So we talked about this last time, but just to remind... And by the way, you should go back and listen to our first interview, if you haven't already. But just to remind anyone who hasn't yet heard the first time you came on this podcast, you didn't have dogs when you were growing up with your folks, did you? No. No, and I was quite scared of them actually as well.

So, yeah, this is a revelation to me, having Bailey. It's been a complete sort of change of personality. And it was your other half who was a dog fan. He really loved dogs. Always has really, really loved them. And the kids desperately wanted a dog when they were little. So it was much to my son's annoyance that when we finally brought Bailey home,

it was the day before he went off travelling for six months. So he wasn't too thrilled about that. He waited all that time to have a dog and then all of a sudden he was the other side of the world. but it did mean he missed the puppy training which was frankly a bit of a nightmare but yeah it's just been it's just life changing isn't it having

having a dog is just the loveliest thing and if for no other reason than that it gets you out for a walk every day and I love that just always makes me feel better coming out onto the heath or just you know going for a stroll somewhere but he's funny he's just you know you wake up with a smile on your face because he's just a funny little creature. Come on, Hugh.

You're being very inquisitive today. Come on, mister. See what I mean, no authority. Bailey, come on. Good boy. Bailey has an expression. When Bailey looks at you, there's an expression as if to say, what is the meaning of this?

Yes. He only does that with me though. He doesn't really do it as much with the rest. He looks at you, Rebecca, as if to say, it's kind of like, do you remember that guy? I can't remember who it was, but it was some, it's turned into a meme like everything now, but it was in some member of parliament. He went, what are you playing at? What are you doing?

Yes, that's absolutely. Jeffrey Robinson or someone like that anyway. Bailey is thinking when he looks at me. Oh, look at this little one. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Very cute. My daughter always says that I'm drawn to, even though Bailey's rather sort of grand looking, that I'm always drawn to, towards the scruffiest little mutts. How dare you. I'm dressed up on this podcast. No offence.

No, you're looking very chic. But she's right. There's something about the really kind of little scruffy ones. You know, those little terriers that, you know, where their eyes are a bit skewed. They're the ones. I think, oh, I want that one. Come here. Make sure if you go down that way and then come along.

Oh, yes. Go to the cafe. Yeah. Yeah. you are like yours is that Bedlington? She's a Lakeland. Yeah. I think she's going deaf because I just lost her which I've never done. Oh. She was actually waiting for me and I was calling the other side of the trees. Oh so I'm thinking she's going deaf but she's 10. She's gorgeous. He's a what are you? Cocker poo. Yeah I thought it's the same as mine. Oh my friend's got a cockapoo.

Yes yes. Tells a little what's it, Jack Russell, what can we say about Jack Russell, this one. And Wilford said Jackawar. We never heard of one of those. Gosh. I like a Jackawar one of that. Have you seen that before? No, never.

His groomer's done the bum heart thing a little bit to a lesser degree. You've become obsessed. It's the first thing I noticed. Come on, Ray. should say we're in on hamster teeth because we're both north londoners we're both northerners yeah and for anyone who didn't hear the first time you're on just to remind people you grew up it was east london was it or was it north east london i suppose it is northeast it's north of the river yeah and also at that stage it was technically not london it was i grew up in gans hill which was uh ethics back

then the boundaries have changed I think so it would have sounded much cooler to say I'm from east London but instead I had to say I'm from Essex which and there's nothing wrong with that it's just you know as you know there was a period when that had a bit of a kind of connotation but yeah I grew up in Gantz Hill which is sort of very suburban commuter belt you know lots and lots of very similar housing it was nice it was a really lovely sort of calm quiet place to grow up quite leafy and we had family nearby my cousins were around the corner and stuff but your parents weren't sort of commuter belt types of sort i mean they were very autistic and creative weren't they yeah which was which was sort of fun for us and i think it was

really that thing of them wanting to be near family because both sets of grandparents lived in that area Yeah. And also it was a Jewish thing of, you know, sort of they were like, I mean, my parents are kind of third generation immigrants or something. So they'd only ever known living in, in or around London. But nonetheless, if you're kosher, you want to have a kosher butcher. And if you have kids, you want to have somewhere for them to go to Hebrew classes and that sort of stuff. So it was really to do with that. It was a Jewish community at the time. I don't think it is so much now. And they wanted to be there for that reason. security to a degree and safety as well.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, having come out of the East End where my grandparents were, you know, would have witnessed Cable Street and I know a great uncle of mine was at Cable Street. So there were, yeah, there was still that feeling of safety in numbers, wanting to be in an area where there were lots of people like us. So yeah, but actually, funnily enough at my schools, certainly my secondary school, they weren't really that many other Jewish kids, strangely, although it was a, the concentration of Jews in that small area was

quite noticeable within, you know, it was something like the highest number of Jewish people within Europe or something like that, which is, you know, not necessarily what you'd think. I think people tend to think Golders Green and Finchley, but actually at the time, Gantz Hill was very, very much a Jewish area. some reason, I don't know why. There were very few, like none of my close friends at school was Jewish. You were very, I mean, obviously you were studious because you ended up getting into Oxford and I have a very vivid idea of you as it young girl. I think I would have liked you actually. I think you would have been, like I think you would have been really good at everything

and past exams were and done all that. But you. you wouldn't have been annoying. Okay, let me put you right on that. First of all, not good at everything. There were lots of things I was really poor at. Maths, science and sport I was absolutely rubbish at and still am. But I think, like most people who end up doing some comedy, I got away with a lot because I was quite funny.

So I think, you know, I wasn't, I hope I wasn't sort of. of insufferable about being good at English or whatever because I would take the Mickey out of myself and I was usually the butt of my own jokes and so which I've always quite enjoyed. So yeah, I think I always had lots of friends and I think it was because I hope I wasn't sort of showy offy and also because the academic stuff didn't come naturally. I had to really work hard at it. So it wasn't like I could just turn my hand to everything and I was brilliant at it. You know, it was a real effort to get good exam grades and to really work at it. So I think people are more forgiving of that, aren't they?

And were you popular? I think so. Yeah, I always had lots of friends. Even when, and I'm sure we talked about this first time round, I was schoolphobic for a while, so I actually dipped out of school for a term and was homeschooled. And somehow, even through that, I still had lots of friendships. I still managed to stay friends with girls from my original school and then the school I moved to, they sort of stayed with me,

which was really nice because they must have been thinking what earth has happened to her. I went from being perfectly fine and happy and normal to just not being able to leave the house really for a good few months, six or eight months or something. But somehow they stayed with me, which is really nice. And this had happened shortly after, because your dad nearly drowned. That's right, yeah. And you witnessed this.

I mean, that story stayed with me for so long after you told it to me, Rebecca. Just there was a nurse who happened to be on the beach. Yeah, it was a riverbank. Yeah. Yeah, no, it was really, it was very traumatic because it came from nowhere, because we were all just sunbathing and having picnics. And then suddenly my dad was drowning in front of us. And everybody was kind of leaping up and running around the bank and shouting,

you can pull him out. I think he's close enough here. It was really traumatic, horrible thing. And my mum obviously beside herself. And my poor brother, who was actually with him trying to get somebody to help, just sort of, you know, my brother, what was he at the time? I think he was about 14. And was on the one hand trying to pull my dad out.

And on the other hand, just screaming, you know, help, help. And so yeah, it was, you know, the school phobia was, without question, was a kind of PTSD response to that because it was just horrifying to go from everything's absolutely brilliant to, oh God, the world's just fallen apart. Yeah. It was a really, really horrible experience. And I think now probably people would be more understanding of that, you know, whereas at the time, teachers at school, most of the teachers were not. but like I had to go and see a child psychologist because that's what you have to do if you're going to change school in those circumstances Excuse me Bailey Sorry, we're talking about this very emotional time in your life

See what I mean he's just he's the oddest dog come here come here do you want to describe what Bailey was doing He's just rolling in the mud or rolling in fox poo probably fox poo by the look of it Did you enjoy that's going to be nice when we get home and indeed in the car on the way home come on you monkey Yes so they took you to well you Yes, I had to go and see a child psychologist and they just, I don't know. It was just like they'd never met a kid who didn't behave normally before. And I was thinking, isn't that your job? So they just didn't understand.

Nobody really quite understood what was going on. I think anyone who had to undergo child therapy back when we were young, we were built different. I remember we went to see someone for less traumatic reason, but it was still my parents had got divorced and we went to see them. this man who, I don't mind naming because he's definitely no longer with us. But it was the cliche of every Disney cartoon and went, look, I am Dr. Kramer. Like a cartoon.

Did he have half-moon glasses and a bow tie? It was like there was no concession to us being children. Yes, yeah. Yeah, I mean, or as if they'd just never met a child. I mean, I remember this, we got stuck in a loop at one point, I remember. but about she kept asking me what I would do in traumatic circumstances. But not like, what would you do if your father was drowning or anything useful? It was things like if your mother was making chips and the pan caught fire,

what would you do? And I said, I, you know, turn the heat off and throw a wet teetown over because that's what my mum had taught me to do. But I remember thinking, oh, I don't think. That was the answer they were expecting. I think they were expecting me to say, you know, I pushed my mother's face in it. I don't know what they thought, but I just remember thinking,

wasn't that the right answer? What kind of creature do you think you're dealing with it? Clearly, someone who's much more troubled than I think I am. Anyway, it was very odd and didn't really work. But eventually, thanks to a particularly brilliant teacher at my, what was to become my new school, I did get back in schooling. And loved it, loved every minute of it from that point on. I just had the most brilliant time at school.

So it just goes to show how teachers can change everything. Yeah. After you went to Oxford, obviously you got involved. You were president, won't you? Of the Oxford Review. Yeah. Which is the sort of lesser-known version of, well, Footlights is the Cambridge one.

Yeah. And the Oxford Review is the Oxford one. I wonder, was that always in the back of your mind, though, Rebecca, that I'm going to perform, even though I'm going to Oxford? Yes, it was. No, it was from a very early age. That was what I wanted, was to be on stage or to be performing. And I think, actually, I wouldn't necessarily have recognised that at the time, but I think making people laugh was a big part of that. although when I started auditioning for things at university it wasn't comedy at all

but definitely once I got into comedy I thought oh yeah this I really like this thing of making people laugh it just felt really good but you're unusual for someone who's good at making people laugh because you don't have a massive ego go on just say it you don't seem to have the requisite damage That's interesting. I think comedy actors are a very different breed from comedians. So I think that's probably what you're thinking of. Although I've always had...

What I'm saying is your parents seem far too nice, but you think... Yeah, that may be true. No, they... I mean, my parents are and were indeed extremely nice. No, I take your point, though, it's a different thing, isn't it? It's a very different thing, being a funny version of yourself and being a funny character. And I never did stand up because I never thought that I could be a funny version of myself. Although in writing, I always felt I could.

So when I wrote a couple of books of essays and things, I didn't have any trouble sort of thinking I'm a completely ridiculous character. and I'm going to write these stories that have happened to me. You know those things where something happens and you tell your friends and they all look at you like, no, I wouldn't have done. Once I started thinking about it, I realised I had an awful lot of those. We're at the cafe now. We are at the cafe. I'm very excited. Oh, what are you going to get?

Well, I favour an oat flat white personally. Oh. Not because I'm vegan. I just prefer oat milk in coffee. You see, I've started doing the hot chocolate. recently. Yes, I did recently because it's so cold. I know. No, I think I might do a coffee though because I had a hot chocolate the other day and I ordered a white hot chocolate. Have you had that? Oh, no, I think that might be. Don't. Why, was it too sickly? It was too sickly.

Oh, was it. Where's Raymond gone? Raymond. There. Look at him. Oh, look. Look at Rebecca. Oh, he's really going it. Come on, Raymond. That was such a cute run. Come on, Raymond. We're going to go to the cafe. Boy. Did you say how old Raymond is now? Or can't you remember? What is this woman at Pets? No, he is eight, I think.

Right. And how old's baby? Bailey, again, I can't remember either. About six? I think he's six, yeah. So he's slightly younger. But he lost his puppyishness some time ago, and he now does present himself like an old fogey.

And you look, don't you think he looks very much like he ought to be in a wing back chair? Yes. Smoking your pipe. reading the telegraph. I worry with Ray. He's got the energy of someone who's having a bit of a midlife crisis.

Like a man. He's really just bought a Tesla. Yeah. 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.