Walking The Dog with Emily Dean - Ricky Gervais

Episode Date: March 8, 2019

This week Emily goes out for a stroll with legendary comic Ricky Gervais. Ricky brings along beautiful German Shepherd Anti who plays his dog in Afterlife, Ricky’s brand new Netflix series. He talks about his childhood pets, his mum’s brilliantly dark sense of humour and explains why he thinks dogs really are the best. Afterlife is available now to stream on Netflix. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can tell a good dog as well by the owner. Do you think so? Yeah. If someone's walking along with a dog, I assume it's nice. If they're walking along with a dog, they've got a shirt off and they're drinking special brew, I assume the dog's dangerous. If the owner doesn't care about his front teeth, not being there, he doesn't care about the dog. This week on Walking the Dog, I went out for a stroll on Hampst the Heath,

with the ridiculously talented comic, actor, writer, director and singer, Okay, maybe singers pushing it. The legendary Ricky Jervais. It was actually pouring down on the day we met, so I felt terrible turning up at his house, dragging him out into the rain. I mean, the man's won seven BAFTA's two Emmys and three Golden Globes, for God's sake. But fortunately, Ricky is so obsessed by dogs.

He wasn't going to let the weather get in his way of a dog walk. The dog was a bit of a star in his own right, a beautiful German shepherd called Auntie, who plays Ricky's dog in the new show he's created and stars in for Netflix, called Afterlife, which is out today, by the way, March the 8th, and it's absolutely brilliant. I laughed, I cried, I even cry laughed.

It's so moving and it's really funny, so do check it out. Ricky is, just as you'd expect, hilarious company. We chatted about his childhood pets, Smokey the Cat, and Lucky the Labrador, his mum's fabulously dark sense of humour. He told me about how he was scared of becoming famous initially and also why he thinks dogs are just the absolute best. And let's face it, he's not wrong. I loved my walk with Ricky, and I hope you do too.

And please check out Afterlife on Netflix because I know you'll really love it. Remember to rate review and subscribe if you enjoy this. I'm going to hand over to the man himself now. Here's Ricky. Look at Auntie's face, Jane. Good girl. Hello. Hello.

Can I give Auntie a treat? Ricky, shall I give Auntie a treat? Yeah, give Auntie a treat. She's always a bit suspicious of a treat she doesn't know. So she knows she's getting this good stuff now. Wait, darling. Look, I can't believe her at face. It's so good. Oh my God. Oh my God, those ears.

She's beautiful. So, Ricky, we're leaving your house. Yeah, in the rain. You've got Auntie. Yeah. Come on, Auntie. Auntie is my leading lady in afterlife. Well, we're going to talk all about afterlife.

because I love it and I'm going to get that this is your new show for Netflix yeah and I want to get out of the way how much I loved it oh thank you because I think it's horrible when people say yeah your new show and then you're thinking well did you like it but like do you do it even you feel that sort of insecurity over projects well I don't know I don't know what to say is people come up to ruin the street and they say oh I went to the gig last night and then leave me hanging I have to go oh thank you but they haven't said they liked it or not yet. So, yeah.

Well, I haven't even introduced you, but I'm assuming that most people recognize your voice. This is Walking the Dog, and I'm with Ricky Jervais, and I'm so excited because we have a lovely dog called Auntie, who, as you were saying, is in After Life your show, and Auntie, he plays a dog called Brandy in the show. Yeah. But, Auntie, is he a German Shepherd?

Yes, she. She? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. the sex wrong. I know. I don't think it matters.

I don't think she minds. And we've got Antis Handler following us. Just in case. She's such a strong dog. So in the show, I wanted her to be like a normal dog. I did, it's, you know, she's trained and she does do things out. But I just wanted to be a normal dog, okay? What do you mean a normal dog as opposed to?

Well, I didn't want to do tricks. There's no tricks to evolve. You know, there's no, she's done enough to be. like she's doing anything clever. She's just around, she's in the house, I take her for walks. But she's so strong, and she started acting like she wasn't at work.

So sometimes she's just been dragging me along. And I got told off by Ash. Did you? By the handler. Yeah, because he said, you're telling her she's a good girl when she isn't. But they're great, the company's great. And when I was looking for the dog,

I picked her out on looks, I admit it. I picked her out. I picked her out on looks like a man or a bride, right? But then she had the personality to back it up. Were you up late at Googling? And Jane said, what are you doing again? I fell in love with her immediately. Did you? Why?

Because she's gorgeous. She's like a wolf and she's real and she's... She is like a wolf actually, Ricky. She's beautiful and alert, big ear sticking up. There's a bit of hint of comedy, which I think helps any dog. They can be beautiful. Yeah. Right?

But there's got to be a hint of comedy. This is so true Like Scooby-Doo And I met with the people She liked to you I can tell because she's used to you Exactly I'm very conscious about using animals

And anything You know Which where are we going to go by the way Ricky I don't know if we get across this Am I allowed to say what part of London we're in Yeah I think so Well the newspapers would call it London's leafy Hampstead

Yes And it's beautiful around here It is beautiful It's gorgeous, eclectic, bohemian. I've heard you say, you know, you've talked about doing all right for yourself and being able to move here and it's very different to where you grew up, isn't it? Yeah, just a bit. I grew up in a council estate in Reading called...

Thank you. Whitley. Come on, Auntie. We're crossing the road now. Yeah. Son of an immigrant labourer. My dad was Canadian and he joined... He joined the art, well, he volunteered for the war.

Yeah. Met my mum and had my older brother, I think, 44, my sister, 46. And my brother, 1950. And then I came along in 11 years. You were a mistake. She told me that. Yeah, 19601. So your parents met in the war, Riffey, didn't they?

Yeah. Amazing. I know, it's crazy, isn't it? I heard years ago your mum talking on, when you did a show on X-F. your mum, she rung in or I could remember that. I used to photo her, and then halfway through the conversation, when she'd go on a rant or something, I'll talk about, I'd say I'm recording, she went, you, you, little bleeder.

I thought you sounded, I could really see similarities in your humour. I'm not saying you stole her material, but her comedic stick seemed to be very much, oh, you are disgusting, oh, you're, and that's, I thought, oh, God, that's what, sort of Ricky does really, it's sort of faux outrage sometimes. Yeah, and she'd laugh. I think she had those, when I was first did the 11 o'clock show, so I had a little bit of telly, so she was alive to, she didn't see the office, but she was alive to see me on telly a bit.

Is she excited? She was, but obviously, she had mixed feelings. I remember went home once, and the neighbour was there. She went, here he is, is the one who's on the telly, and then she said, I didn't teach him to swear like that. I think it's disgusting. So, you know, it was a real bag-handed compliment. Did you have pets growing up?

You always. Did you? Always. So what did you have? The pets were a member of the family. Really? Yeah, absolutely I remember the family. We're okay?

Yeah. Do you know, Antio Sandler, Ricky, just gave you a lovely thumbs up behind your back. Isn't that lovely? It's like someone leaving you a nice review without you see it anonymously. I know. Aunt is walking along like a lovely good girl in the rain. Leaky Hampstead. So I think my earliest memory was a grey cat called Smokey,

and it died when I was quite young, because it was already old, and I was like four or five. And then my mum used to sing on top of Old Smokey to me, to make me cry, like a little party trick. On top of Old Smokey. And I'd go. I'd go. I'd be destroyed. And then we got a cat called Paddy,

and that was my first cat that I remember getting and living his life out. And I love that. And then my first dog, again, I acquired a dog called Betsy, which was a little fat fox terrier, but died when I was young, and then I got Lucky,

which again was my dog from the age of like eight to... I like these names, because they're very much root them in time, Lucky, smoky. People don't call it that anymore. more do you know no exactly yeah lucky was a black Labrador yeah and I remember uh when Lucky died she was put down because she had a tumour and I think she was ill and I remember I came in from school I think it was about I don't know 16 17 my mum was crying and I went what's the matter my mum went your dad's dead and I went oh really she went no no no

No, lucky, lucky's dead, right? Right, so I thought, well, that was a weird joke, right? Then my dad comes in and my mom goes, I told him you was dead, he didn't cry. So it was a double whammy. It was like, does this explain anything? Does this explain anything to you? Right, right, I had to fight for my rights.

So, yeah, yeah, baptism of fire with sort of humour and sort of growing a pair and having nothing upset you. So, yeah, that's why it's pretty hard to offend me with words. So, yeah. And was that very much the dynamic when you were growing up then? Because you were the youngest and your parents were obviously a lot older than you. Yeah.

And your, you had elder brother. You had Bob and Marcia and Larry. And Larry. And, I mean, they were gone by the time I was. was sort of eight, nine. And I think my mum actually was worried about me being spoiled because it was more like I was an only child suddenly. Yes, yeah.

So she fostered people, so I wasn't an only child. Did she? Yeah, to make me share and deal, you know. I think that's amazing people at school and everything. I think that's something very extraordinary about those people, you know, Ricky. Yeah, no, it was good. And then my nephews, like my oldest nephew, is eight years younger than me. So I was close, I was closer to.

to my nephews, and nieces, they're about 30. But pets were a member of the family. I was another story, right? Where should we go now, Ricky? Should we just keep going down there? Yeah. I'm really sorry, it's raining. I mean, I'm apologising for it.

I've forgotten it already. Good. So, yeah, so once, right, my brother Bob, he came over to my mum's house when I was still there. And his two of his kids came running in first. Very excited. I was seven, eight at that time, right? And I'd go, nanny, nanny.

Daddy punched a man in the face and knocked him over in the park, right? My mum's horrified, I think, and what's his dinner? So he comes in. My mom, I said, do you punch a man in the face in the park? He went, yeah, you kick the dog. And my mum went, all right, I love that justice. It's like, it's a member of the family. I love it.

You don't do that to my dog. Exactly, yeah. So did you, so now you don't have, you and, Jane, your partner, you don't have a dog, you have a cat. And I'm assuming that's just because of your lifestyle, you're always travelling. Yeah, we've had the cat now 15 years. And because I've travelled back and forth so much. You know, you can let someone cats it, but I can't stand the look on a dog's face.

So I think if you're on a dog, you've got to be with it forever. You know, it's relatively got a little short life. And I just, you know, I cover other people's dogs. Do you? genuinely every day, whether we're in Hampstead or New York, we go for a walk in the park, either the Heath or Central Park, and I know all the local dogs by name. And if I meet a new one, I can't believe my luck.

I go out. If I haven't scruffled at least ten dogs, and I feel that I haven't, no, that's not a good day. I think about them. Like, I know that sounds a bit weird, but if I meet a dog, you know how if you meet a new person and you like them, I think about a dog like that, I think, oh, I know. Like it really stays with me.

We usually ask their name. Yeah. And we remember like dogs that, you know, that are dead now that we remember meeting in like Central Park or something. No, it's a, I don't know, they're magical. I think a happy dog makes you feel better. I reckon it must be, there must be something almost clinical. There is. Because I feel better for the rest of the day.

I've had my fix of a lovely dog who loved me back. I can't stand it when they ignore me. Oh, it's a worse than soul, isn't it? A lovely beautiful dog and it should keep walking. It's got stuff to do. And I'm going, oh, come on. If there's a dog in front of us, right? And I'm like, I speed up.

Jane says, you've sped up. Oh, yeah, I know. I want to meet the dog. I'm fine. I think my dog is so cute, and I'm already showing you a video. Oh, yes. It's quite weird. He's sort of like a wookie.

I think he should be the star of Chewbacca the early years. It does look like the big hairy worm. Yeah, something from, yeah, I love that. If I'm walking down the street with him and someone doesn't go, oh, my God, look at that dog. I know. I feel that if there's a group of dogs and one's getting the attention, I make sure I talk to the others.

Like their feelings would be hurt. Like it's a person, like ignoring a person at a party. I go, and you're lovely two and you're lovely two. Do you prefer dogs to people, Ricky? Well, it depends. It's like it depends on the person, doesn't it? Yes. It depends on the dog as well.

Yeah. If my dog and my neighbour were drowning and I could only save one, I'd better really fucking like that neighbour. he better have never have annoyed me do you know one of my favourite things Freud I think said the difference between dogs and people

is that dogs are very pure and simple in their emotions so that dogs bite their enemies and love their friends whereas humans don't no it's too complex humans bite their friends I know I know

unless that a dog is the only animal who loves you you more than it loves itself. Oh, I love that. And that other thing, I love that be the person your dog thinks you are. Oh. Yeah, exactly. That was someone just around everything.

Didn't even look. I know. But that was... We're getting grumpy. You know what? The real me around Hampstead. We were on a zebra crossing and they went past. Because it got to the heath. And she's so strong.

Are we allowed to take Antsie off the lead? Ricky, do you want to take Antie off the lead? Yeah, we filmed a bit here. here and we went to the pond and she dived in. Oh, there she goes. Look, she's off. Gorgeous, look at her check. So enthusiastic.

Doesn't care about the rain. I'm just following her nose and her ears. Look at that. She's so happy. That is a dog that I'd show an alien. If they say, what's a dog? I'd show an auntie. That's what a dog is.

Do you know what I mean? Look at the silhouette. It's just, oh, look. She's got a stick. Oh, good girl. Come here, give me that stick. Auntie! that to any dog I see with the stick, they only sort of look at me thinking, why is he trying to

nick the stick? Give me that stick. Oh my god, you good, you good, Jesus Christ, Auntie. Oh my God, no, I go, oh God, Almighty. Oh, that's mad. This is like someone from Game of Thrones. It's a shame they can't see this. Good girl. Good girl. Ricky. Oh, look at her. It's like it's nothing that stick. When we, we finished the first Friday filming at the pond, we went there purposely so she could jump in because she's been a good good girl all day so I know she can go to the pond right yeah and the crew she picked up a stick literally it was about 12 foot long and she ran into the crew and they were getting out the way she was like just it was like some of from it's a

knockout wasn't it auntie I can't throw a stick can I no you can't what no we had a fake one made so I could throw it in the show why can't we throw that one because it might stick in and it hurt their throw yeah oh good girl that makes you so happy I can tell It does. Do you know what, Ricky, I've got to say, it's still, I mean, I've known you a long time. I met you, I think, about, just around the time of the office,

I think I met you and Jane. And you're exactly the same. Yeah, I've never really grown up. No. I was nearly 40 then. So if I hadn't grown up then, it's not on the cards, is it? It's never, it's like,

people looking back going, oh, he was 60 then. He was only 60. Now he's 85, he's a lot more sensible. Good girl. If they didn't know he were with a dog, just after his question, I'd go, good, good, good girl, good question.

Really old showman is. Good girl. That's the right kind of question. I think it was, I think it is something to do with how old you are when you get famous or how your life is when you get famous. I was already very, very stable. I knew I was, you know, I think if I was 17, 18, that would change you.

I think it was Oprah who said, if you don't know who you are by the time you become famous, it will define you. And that's so true. People who become famous and they don't know anything else. That's just their life. They think that is real life. Showbiz is real life. That's how people talk to each other. Well, it isn't.

It just isn't. So I've always demanded a normal life outside it. I feared fame as well. Did you? Yeah. Because I didn't want to be lumped in with those people to do anything to become famous. And I didn't do that thing, make me famous, and you can go through my bins. I didn't sign that deal with the devil.

And I was probably over-cautious, you know. Look at this. Ricky, can you describe what's happening here? We've got four approaching. It looks like the men's hundreds of the dogs hundred metres. Yeah, exactly. Ben Johnson, drugs cheat or mothole. Who are they?

Oh, yeah. I've met these before. Hello. Hello. Hiya, how's it going? All assorted dogs. Auntie, look. Yeah, so go on.

So the same thing. You, um... Well, no, I was just very conscious of it, you know, and I don't know. I just did, I didn't want... I didn't want people to think that that was why I did it. And I sort of learnt my lesson as a failed pop star. Because looking back, I shouldn't... Shona dancing.

Exactly. I shouldn't have wanted to be a pop star. I should have wanted to be a rock star. write a musician. Why do you think you did want to be a pop star then? Because I wanted to be David Barry. I was 18, 19. I thought it was so cool.

I know I didn't want to be a celebrity. I didn't want to be an artist and I wrote my own songs and everything. That's a lot of passage voice thing, isn't it? Yeah, exactly. It's a passion for music and it's sort of, yeah. Yeah, and I meant it. I know, I did, I love, I love music. But I suppose it's so frivolous, isn't it?

Pop and being famous when you're, you don't think about that when you're 18, But when you're like 39 and you're about to be famous, maybe, if the thing works, you want people to know that the fame is an upshot. It's not the aim. Well, you've always said that, haven't you? You've always said, you know, it's that do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life thing, which I know kind of... But people don't believe you because people put so much emphasis and value into fame.

Yeah. You know, even people who do anything to be famous, they haven't got a skill. People go, well, I'll have a bit of that. If I can do it, I can do it. And they're sort of right. That's the problem. You know, fame now is 10 times worse than it ever was. Literally people doing, just living their normal lives or worse, doing terrible things.

There's no difference now between fame and infamy because you get rewarded for it. You can do a terrible thing and then write a book about it. And there's your reward. You know, people live in their life like an open wound. Celebrity enema. Jesus Christ. What are you fucking doing? It's mad.

It's mad. And presumably, because your fame happened as a result of, and your backstory is quite well documented, isn't it? Which is that you went to university and you ended up working for XFM and then he ends up on the 11 o'clock. But actually, going to university, Ricky, that was unusual for someone from your background, wasn't it? Yeah, I guess it was.

And I think at the time it was like 6% working class. And I remember I went to do biology because I thought, I got a full grant because we had no money and I think subconsciously I thought I'd better do something I love science but I thought that would get me a job and I got to university and I thought hold on I want to be a pop star

there's nine o'clock lectures this is 40 hours a week I don't want to do biology and I went along to the philosophy department I said I want to change to philosophy and I think I was a bit of a quota feel because everyone in philosophy was really uber posh. Yes I can imagine that yeah so I went along

Instead of hamstered kids, you know. Yeah, exactly. So I went along, like, with a crew cut and terrible jeans and a dirty sweatshirt. And they probably thought, this would be good. We love him. We love him. And I was signed before I did my degree, but I still did it and did okay. And, you know, I did that from my mum, really.

Did you? I think so. Was she really proud when you... Were you the first person to go to university? No. No, my older brother. Oh, well, Larry. Oh, Larry, sorry, yeah.

He got a full grant and went to university. So there's something about your family, clearly. I will say this to Jonathan Ross, you know, that he came from relatively humble sort of working class beginnings. Yeah. And kids ended up going to university, and there's something there, I think. There's obviously a genetic thing. I think it's confidence in what's instilled in you,

because even though we had absolutely no money, I think it was kept from us that we were poor because everyone was in the same boat and we had what we wanted because you don't realise to your 13, 14, 15 that your mum's actually paying for it on HP or something, you know? Yeah.

And I couldn't have bikes and things that, but I knew I could have any book. So... So you never felt shame. You never had that thing of all... You know how I think kids feel now? I couldn't even... When they're exposed to...

I never worried about what clothes I went to school in. I never worried about it. I worried about learning and having a laugh. I loved learning and I loved school because I mucked around. In fact, sometimes I got in trouble because I remember lots of times my teacher, teachers in the report or saying my mum saying about, yeah, Ricky mucks around and he gets away with it, but some of the other children don't. So it made me feel really bad. Yeah. Like I'd done it as some sort of power play.

Good girl, give me that. You are such a good girl, Auntie. I love you. Tie your laces up. I'm putting my, I have to, these days, I have to put my foot up on a bench to tie my shoelaces because my stomach gets in the way. I can't bend down because all my internal organs go up to my throat and I can't breathe. I was in New York the other week, right?

And I put my foot up, right, to tie my shoelaces and Jane had to push me in. So I could reach it, because my stomach, I was bloating, I must have just eaten. And look, it's just eating. It's going into the, all that internal was going to my throat like a frog and I've only got a minute before I can't breathe. What sort of dog is this, Ricky? It's definitely got a beagle in it and maybe a little bit of a busset. It's beautiful, yes. Gorgeous.

Is it 100% beagle? It's gorgeous. They're all different shapes and sizes. I mean, that's a short-legged sort of long one and then you get some that are really sort of quite rangy. With people, I don't know whether I like them or not, right? So they have to prove that to me. With a dog, I assume I like it, and then I'm always proved right. It's like, you know... Yeah, they're innocent.

And you're right. They treat you as you treat them. If you get up and hurt a dog, it's going to hurt you back, hopefully. If you're nice to it, it's nice back. You can tell a good dog as well by the owner. Do you think so? Yeah. If someone's walking along with a dog, I assume it's nice.

If they're walking along with a dog, they've got a shirt off and they're drinking special brew, I assume the dog's dangerous. If the owner doesn't care about his front teeth, not being there, he doesn't care about the dog. So that dog probably, there's something wrong with that dog. That suggests a lack of care. Yeah, exactly, yeah. In terms of the funny thing, when did you realise, Ricky, that was a currency for you?

You know, I ask a lot of comics who do this podcast that. You know, that sense, of five, six, seven, eight years old. I realised straight away it was currency because, you know, as a kid, you want other kids and people to like you. You don't know why, but intuitively, of course you want people like you,

because if you think about it, it's because you get away with more, you get an easier life, you have a fun life, so making someone laugh, that is a hell of a currency. And I was attracted to other kids who made me laugh. I didn't care whose laughter it was,

as long as we were, you know, who made us laugh, as long as we were laughing. So I hung around people who were funny, not just me trying to be the funniest one. So it's just because it was a nice, it's a nice day. Yeah, yeah. A day without laughter and dogs and wine is a shit day. All those things. I did that, you know, that Vanity Fair Proust questionnaire? Oh, did you?

I did that and they said, what's your idea of happiness? And I said, playing with a dog, we're both drunk. My favourite questionnaire you've ever done was when they said, what would you save in a fire? And you said, what was your answer again? Well, that was early days, right? And they said three things you'd save in a fire. So I said, my cat, my salamander, I said three, you say,

yeah, I went, probably one of the twins. right, as obvious joke. She wrote that up, no irony, right? And then about six months later, someone said, what are your twins names? I went, I haven't got children. She went, oh, you see what, I said, what you thought, I'd say, the cat, the salamander,

and then one of the twins. I haven't got kids. It's like irony doesn't come across in print, and Twitter's approved that rule tenfold. I was going to say that really is a classic Twitter exchange, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. It's so funny, when I first got on Twitter, I'd do a joke and someone would not understand it.

I go, no, I mean so-and-so. And I'd spend the rest of the day explaining the joke. Now I love it that people don't get the joke. Do you? Yeah, I love it. It makes me... Sometimes I do tweets on purpose that I know some people won't get, just because it's like a test. I'm giving them an IQ test

without them knowing. Do you, when you finish the office then, I mean, that was, because, you know, obviously you didn't know how, what I hate, is it would just pass someone at that point. And I was doing the most cleave. shade interview. I like to think this is a bit different, but I was going, when you did the office? And I feel that woman was judging me thinking, you're still asking him about the office?

Self-conscious of people over here. One snippet of your life out of context. But that was the sort of obviously, that was your hit me baby one more time moment in terms of the break. That's exactly how I saw it. That's exactly how I saw it. Did you, because your life changed so dramatic and you always said that is the piece of work that you looked at and thought. yeah there's nothing I change about that is that true well I don't know about that it was probably the first thing I tried my hardest

at because I've been one of those kids as I said I could get away I could pass exams without trying much because I could read at three I was like a social experiment for my older brothers and sisters I could read at three but then obviously

you know after all that and failed pop star and then 10 years working in an office your attitude changes and I think it's good to try I think now I don't think I think success

part of success has to be you worked hard because if you didn't work for it it's not success you wouldn't say winning the lottery is success yeah I think that's true

I think it has to be and you appreciate it more and I think it's because I've never got anything for free I've never had anything for free growing up I didn't have anything for free. When I was on the doll, I didn't get any, I didn't get anything, but it was sort of my

choice because I was trying to be a pop star and I, you know, so it was my choice. But yeah, I'm slightly proud that I've, I've earned every penny I have. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. And you did it doing something you love. Well, yeah. And that's, and of course, that looks like privilege. Because people say, well, we'd all like to, we'd all like to make money in show business and I think, well, we'll do it then. Although I think do it then, but then I also think, Ricky, it's interesting. Things have got so out of control now so that no one wants to work in Wernham Hull. Do you know what to me?

No one wants to drive the train. Well, because they see people not working very hard. Like on X factor, people go in there and they've got their little human interest story. They go, I want this so bad. You know, I go, what's that got to do with me? What's that? What? This is begging.

This is begging. Why don't they just... There are no doctors. We don't need another singer. We don't... We don't, do we? Hello? Why don't they just strip it down

of all the sort of window dressing and just call it begging? Yeah, exactly. I should just call the show by beg. That's what it is. Yeah, exactly. Please vote for me because I want this so bad. We're on the Heath now.

We're in the middle of where, on the Heath, which is one of my favourite places in the world. Do you like being alone, Ricky? I come over every day. Do you? Yeah, we walk and scruffle dogs and then later I'd come out for a run. You come with Jane?

All weather, yeah, walk with Jane. Then I run by myself for 40 minutes and that's the time I can really sort of think. I always come back. I've always, I write when I'm running and on planes. Because the rest of the day, when you're writing, right? Or doing something, you know, if I'm not actually literally filming and directing something

or on stage, you know, my day is creating and writing, all that stuff. But of a six-hour day that I might work, which is rare, five hours of that is admin.

Because I do, it's just admin. The more you do, the more admin there is. Yeah. And because I can't do one project at a time, I haven't got that sort of brain,

I'm doing four things at once. Right. I'm writing something, I'm promoting something, I'm working a new show, live, And with that, so, you know, I create more work for myself, if you know what I mean. But I'm not moaning.

But you don't sit down at nine and say, I'm in the office and now I'm here all day? No, I never do that. No. No. I sort of do it where it takes me. If it's not something formal, as I say, like filming or I've got a gig or a tour or something, I dabble and think about stuff. Because that's when you connect.

If you, if you, you, I resent. typing stuff in. Yeah, because you're not thinking about the right things. You shouldn't be thinking about structure and grammar. You should be looking up at a ceiling, thinking about feeling stuff.

You know? I can't type as fast as I think, and that annoys me. Look, look at the heron. Look at that wingspan. It just saw Auntie and it just put like 100 yards between it and the dog.

dog Raymond it's the exact opposite dynamic that the bird sees Raymond and thinks why I'm having that yeah exactly I can take that off apparently they do that sometimes birds of prey oh you're such a good girl oh you're such a good girl yeah there's sea-goles have taken little chihuahua this is true yeah yeah yeah there's a pray do that Katta and Ryan was saying when she was a kid in Canada there was a I think an eagle carried off her friend's chihuahua really yeah wow I remember I see it think that my my dad sort of towards the end who's in his it is, he was about like eight stone, tiny little one.

And once we went around to see him, right? And the cat was having to go at him. And the cat, he picked up a chair to keep the cat from him. It was like a lion tamer. And my brother was going, what, she's going to get him by the neck and take him up a tree in a minute. Because he was so tiny. Like this cat, just getting my dad and dragging him up a tree like a leopard.

Oh God. He's off, the heron's off. The heron's gone. It's so prehistoric. Yeah, so after life, Ricky, I really, I didn't just like it. I absolutely loved it. Thank you. And I think it really surprised me. And I think those are the things that you end up liking more.

You know, it's things that, what is that? Oh, no, there's another dog, Ricky. Oh. Auntie doesn't care about other dogs. Yeah, but what's this dog? No, he's all right. He's got a dog. He's like he's just a hello hello hello oh hello hello good boy come here you know what I love

he just ran straight past the global superstar and went straight that's why I love it exactly like my family yeah they don't treat me don't give a shit any differently they still look down on me oh okay look at that little what are you I feel so safe with our dog hands A little bit of Spaniel? Look at that. Oh, look at Auntie. Auntie's like a pony, isn't it? It's like a horse.

You big girls. Oh, God. Look at that face. Look at the eyes, Ritchie. So strong. Honestly, they're so strong. Jane got me a present one year, walking with wolves. What, do you?

Shut up. Near Reading, right? No. You've never seen anything like it. We had to read up on it, and then they said to us, when you meet the wolves, keep you, don't make a fist, don't show the fingers, don't have, don't have any, like, you know, leather or anything on.

It's like meeting Ross Kemp. Yeah, I don't have food. And honestly, this big one came along, I mean, twice the size of ante, at Taurac, and he came up, and he put his paws on my shoulders and started licking my face. And I was going, is that okay? They were going, yeah, it's good, he likes you. You like, don't worry. And it was unbelievable. And they'd just been telling us that it's got five. times the biting power of a Rottweiler and all this sort of stuff and they're amazing. All animals are unconditionally perfect and beautiful but there's so much special about dogs.

Yeah, they really is. They're something emotional about dogs. They've got our brain, they've got empathy. Well, I found personally, and this is what I was saying about your show, I found, I found it really affecting, I think, because one of the, it's about a guy called Tony and he loses his wife. who's played by an absolutely brilliant actress who you work with a lot, don't you? Kerry Godleman.

And there's certain bits I don't want to give away actually. Well, that doesn't give any way because it hits the ground run and you see her obviously going through chemotherapy and she's made a video diary and she says

if you're watching this I'm not around anymore I can say this to your face. And then the joke is that she's leaving him how to live like really sort of mundane things like how to fill the dishwasher and... Yeah. And then that develops, obviously.

But he's, you know... And part of it, part of his sort of trajectory and journey is obviously it's him coping with it and coping with sort of grief and loss. And, you know, in a way, I found that quite touching because it felt like... And I hope you don't take this wrong way, but it was quite a male...

A way that men, I think, are sometimes conditioned to not express emotion. So it comes out with him as angry. go at the world, really. Well, he could cope with anything when she was alive and she was everything to him. And now he thinks, what's the point? What's the point? And he's angry and he's grief-stricken, obviously.

And he nearly commits suicide, but the dog's hungry. And again, that's sort of a joke. But I think if you were going to end it all and the dog was hungry, you treat the dog. I mean, I would. I think I'd better feed the dog. And so it's all about that. It's about the mundanity and the things you have to do. Yes.

Keep you alive long enough to maybe get better. Well, why I loved the show, I mean, there's all sorts of reasons I love the show. I thought it was such brilliant performances and so beautifully written. But I think I also like the fact that it wasn't, it wasn't a threat, it was brave as well, and it paid off. Do you know, because you went into areas that were, I think, you know, sometimes people are frightened of going into. Well, I mean, because the character had to. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

So he was trying stuff to make him feel better. He's basically trying to turn himself into a psychopath so he doesn't feel anymore. But you can't. If you're not a psychopath, you can't become one. And he's burdened with conscience. And even though he punishes the world, intuitively, if you look back, you've seen the series. If you look back, you realize that actually he was kind to the vulnerable. Yeah.

And I, you know, one thing that really struck me just from a personal point of you, It's having experienced grief myself. And I know what that thing is, I lost my parents and my sister. And when I lost my sister, you know, you see grief portrayed on, in films and TV stuff. And it is, you know, the RSC actress going, oh, you know. Yeah.

But what you don't see, and this was really amazing to me, and it really struck a chord, was the banality of it. You know, like, I thought, oh my God, that was me. Like, there's a bit where Tony, he gets a glass, and he can't be bothered. to even wash the dishes. He just gets a glass and he pours cereal into it. And I thought, no, that felt so familiar.

It's just a lack of self-care. Yeah, I've got to stay alive, but I'm not going to wash a dish up first. That's boring. You know, he can't wait to get drunk every night so he doesn't fear and sleep and all these things to get him through. And he's got to do stuff. He's got to work to get money to buy drink to... And the dog becomes part of that because, again...

Well, the dog saves his life, really, because, yeah, he loves the dog and... And he's just spotted someone. I see someone, see it as like running into a mate. Yeah, oh, there's a lovely dog. That's that one, which is a retriever? That's a retriever. Gorgeous, aren't they? Classic.

Yeah, there's a couple of bits where you're, he's conscious that the dog is, the dog is basically a reminder of, it's a routine. It's a sense of, right, okay, we've got to start the day again. Yeah, you can't, you know, just because he's suffering, the dog's innocent. Yeah. So the dog's got to go for a walk and all those things. And yeah, and also his grief takes him places. He's free-falling and he's trying stuff. And so, you know, he meets people and he wouldn't have met when he had a happy home life, you know.

So, yeah, it's sort of about that. I mean, we should also say it's very funny as well. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I think the high-consum. concept hits you first, imagine if you had nothing to lose and you could start saying and doing what you want. And that's a funny high concept and that came first. Yeah. Oh, careful. It's sliding. Hold on to me. You on this. Anty. We're on the ice now. This like fucking Bambi. I've got no flexibility anymore. It's like I've got fake legs because I can't bend my knees. You were like Gemma Collins. It's dancing on the ice. That was amazing. There's no reason she went down. There was no cause to that.

She's going along and then straight down. There was no slip or it's like she just gave up on life. Someone put my laugh over it. They keep doing that. They did it on an episode of like Big Bang theory. Like a meme thing. Yeah, they did it with my laugh. Because it's so visceral.

It's like it's an explo. So they put it over things that they think aren't, you know, funny or shouldn't be laughed. That's so funny. Yeah, that's... Yeah, so we were saying, so the show, it is really funny, and that's, I think, what I like about it

is that the real belly laugh is the sort of... It's the tension, I suppose, between the two for me. Well, we're also vicariously living through a man who can do anything, and we want to do that. The reason we don't do that,

like, you know, when he's confronted by the mugger, he's got nothing to lose. We give our money over because we won't have a baby in a stroller. Yeah, yeah. When he thinks, I don't have to worry about that. I do what I want now. If you can say, if you've got nothing to lose, you're free.

And so I think we live through that. And we, you know, and as long as his targets are funny and justified or, you know, we go, yeah, that's annoying. So, yes, I think that we understand why he's hurt. And he's funny, because he was always funny, you know. And I think someone being angry is funnier than someone trying to be funny. Yes, I think that's true. An angry person is funnier than someone. A clown is not funny at all. Well, it's the Michael Kane rule of in order to play drunk, you have to pretend trying to be sober, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. So if you're watching someone, they don't think they're funny. They're fucking angry and that makes us laugh.

If that's a mate, imagine seeing a mate getting angry. It's funny because we know him. We know her. Well, that's always been, you know, with David Brent. Of course. Self-awareness. Yeah. You know, Andy Milman, I suppose, in extras. It's sort of the opposite. Yeah.

So he was knowing. Yeah, and he hated it. Yeah. So that's funny. So he's angry. He knows his life as shit. He knows too much. And he's angry.

Yeah. And that's funny as well. Self-awareness, if you don't like what you see. Oh, look. Oh, the mother-load. The mother-load. So how many are here? Seven, would you say?

Oh, look at that. Oh, a little Frenchie. A little. The French. She was a dog, by the way. Yeah. Oh, look at that. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello, gorgeous. That looks like a Norfolk or a...

That one. You what's that? Boston. I think that's a Tibetan Terrier. Oh, Tibetan Terrier. Oh, what's happened to this one? No. I thought that was her breed, a savage. Look at that one. I like those ones, Ricky. Border Terriers.

Yeah. Oh, yeah, they're great, aren't they? They're really nice. A little stoic faces. Yeah, really sweet. Like 1940s. I think. Yeah, exactly. Stiff up with it. Yeah. Look at Anne. It's really raining now.

I know, come on. We've got on the rain. I know, but we've had, I'm having such a nice chat with you. And I'm really, it was, it's an amazing piece of work, I think. Can I, yeah, it's got a lot of flavors because it's, you know, I suppose it's like, it's quite real. There's still that realism there. You know, it's funny. People talk about feminism a lot.

But I think you practice that and it's not about wearing a t-shirt or something. It's about the fact that you, I. I think you do support women a lot. I'm not saying you're doing a conscious virtue signalling thing, but you really create well-rounded, brilliant characters and roles for women. I do. I've never liked that women as props. No. For the men to be the funniest person.

And also, you know, I do do the, you know, women as adults and men as boys. Because it's funny and it's true. But I sometimes reverse that. I sometimes have a woman that's a complete arsehaw as well. and you mix and match it and you know when you've got the I often because I know

I've been in the business for so long now I know people they come into my head the actor and the actress comes into my head when I think of an idea really right

because then you can play on the physicality and you know what they can do if they're good ad libbers or if they're good so you put together the perfect cast as you're writing it and that's why the second series

of something is usually the best because you know who you're writing for if you do a first series and then cast it it's often written before you've cast, whereas I sort of like to make that a sort of, you know, a symbiatic relationship. And did you write this on your own, Ricky, or do you have a co-writer? Yeah, no, no, no, on my own.

But then again, you know, because they've got a great cast, you still workshop it. And even though I've always got a fine lead it, but when you get fine lead it on a TV show or a film, there's still 60 people involved. Yeah. So, which is different to stand up. That is truly o-tird and that's just you on stage and anything can happen. You love stand-up though, don't you?

I do. I fell back in love with it after humanity. It's a privilege. Do you think so? It's an absolute privilege, particularly with what's going on in the world, to fight against this erosion of free speech because people are having their feelings here and they think they have the right to shut you down because they don't like what you're saying.

Every day I have an argument on Twitter of what freedom of speech is, you know? Yeah. People always say something stupid like, Well, Hitler had free speech. Yeah, it wasn't what he said, was it? Wasn't so much what he said. You fucking moron. But then I know that you come from a position of being liberal, as I say,

I would see you as a feminist in the way you live and work. I don't see how people change what was positive into negatives. Like how feminism is that you think women are equal to men. How can that be twisted? How can that be... Oh, feminist, Iyer? Yeah. Go on.

I know, yeah. Yeah. But what I'm saying is I know that you come from that position, which is why when you say stuff, I think, well, I know what Ricky's doing here. I suppose... And as you all say, there's subjects, you know, it's not... Well, you know why?

Because over the last few years, when it's falling into two tribes. People don't look at an argument anymore, they look at who's saying it. And it's so vehement now. People, you know, they both feel they're right, they both feel they're the oppressed one and all that sort of stuff, right?

So I tweet things like, I am a typical lefty, liberal, you know, anti-racist, feminist, da-da-da-da-da-da-da, right, Snowflake. But whenever I tweet about freedom of speech, I'm suddenly alt-right. And that's because... But why have the alt-right seized freedom of speech?

That's what I find odd? Because the liberal left and now the authoritarian left. Because they're fighting... So now they think they've got a crack down. You know? And so it's very... There's no such thing as left and right anymore. No.

There's extreme and rational. Well, I suppose my point is, so when you make a joke about equal pay at the Golden Globes, Yeah. Which is hilarious. And remind me what you said again, it was about Tina Faye and Amy Polo, wasn't it? Oh, well, I said, I'd just like to say,

it was at the height of like getting men, getting paid more than women. And I said, I just like to say that I'm getting paid exactly the same as Tina and Amy did last year. I know there was two of them, but it's not my point if they want to share it. So... But my point is that's a brilliant joke

in the sort of Homer, it's funny, because it's true, right? Yeah. But, no, I'm not saying that was true, but, you know, it's funny because you're... acknowledging something which is an issue. Yeah, so I'm standing up for it and then flipping it like I'm on the side

because I'm the advantaged one and I won. But my point is that you making that joke is very different to some old chauvinist making that joke. Of course. Well, it's all context. It is context. And that's why irony is being eroded because like 15 years ago... I'm sorry, Ricky, should we go this way?

Yeah, we can go that way, yeah. So 15 years ago, I do that, that Al-Garnet style, I'm saying the wrong thing, and everyone got it. But now people have realised that half the world really are like that. Now these extremists, these racist, anti-gay people are out and proud suddenly. So people worry about laughing at irony because if it's good irony, it looks like the real thing. Yeah, yeah. But that's no reason not to do it because, you shouldn't water down irony because some people won't get it.

You'll do some anodyne, you know? As long as some people get it, then it's getable. Yeah, so it's like safe spaces in university. I saw a great lecture this guy saying, you don't want to say, I'm not going to pave the jungle for you. People to say horrible things. And guess what?

You can say them back. it's like it's crazy that you're trying to I don't know again I'm all for a welfare state but you know you've got

you've got to just toughen up the world is a harsh place and you haven't got the right to have no one say anything you don't agree with it's crazy it's maybe

it is a generational thing as well You know, I guess for younger people, their experience is different. And I sometimes think because, well, in a way, they're open to more sort of danger. You know, like they have the internet, which we didn't have. Well, I think that's the problem because, you know, you get worked up on Twitter and you think the world is people arguing about being woke and things like this and identity policy. And you go into the real world and no one's changed. It hasn't had an effect.

It's just, it's like when you're 16, you read the NME and you think these are the biggest bands in the world. Then the world hasn't really changed that much in terms of attitude. And it's going to, you know. I had a question for you, which was in your, in afterlife, Ricky, Paul Kay, who's a great actor. He's great, isn't he? He plays a therapist.

Yeah. And he's a bit of a prick. The character he plays, the therapist is just a bit of an asshole. Yeah. He's a negative character. character in a way and he's a narcissist he's a narcissist you know there's one bit when he's on Twitter and he's having an argument with a medical student you know and it's it I wanted to do that this is probably not the best person for you to go to but they're in

they're in everywhere there's no reason why the same percentage of everything isn't in psychiatrists some are going to be narcissists are going to be kind so I'm going to be right wing left wing how do you feel about therapy I've never been I've never been I've never been. Luckily, and it is luck, I've never really suffered from any mental illness or depression or

or maybe, I don't know, maybe slightly, we've all got our things and I'll are straight in a painting as I walk past, but it doesn't get in the way of my life. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, I know what you mean. And yeah,

I think that's when it, I think that's what, you know, when it starts interfering with your normal life that you you have to you know confront it and of course I get fed up and I've gone through grief and all that you know you know it's the same as anywhere I'm gonna yeah a family remember dies or something and that's uh but no I haven't had those uh do you cry sort of easily are you uh not um only a sort of fiction and nice things like a you know a YouTube clip of a soldier coming home to see his dog um I'm done um Lyme gets for a United with previous owner?

Of course. I'm there. I mean, oh. Yeah, I am a sucker for those sob stories, yeah. Yeah. And I mean, I cried at the Waltons. You know, I cry at someone being nice. Right.

What a lovely, you know. And I think in fiction, we create our own heroes and villains as role play for the soul. So when people watch them and they're laughing or they're crying, that's real. Just because the thing they're watching isn't real. Yeah.

You still feel it. You go through all those same emotions. I think that's the best thing about fiction that you can make someone a stranger laugh and cry. That's amazing. Amazing, yeah. Yeah.

I suppose you're someone who, I just think you're quite good-natured, and I've never seen you lose your temper, for example. You know? Like, I don't think of you as someone... Well, what about that bloke tried to get across the zebra crossing? Well, if that's... I literally left my door.

I don't lose my temper and I'm in my nice house. I go out to the real people and I'm fucking furious immediately no I'm not I'm not you know as I say I've always been happy I do my own thing

I think people confuse my persona at the Golden Globes or my persona on stage or the characters I play that's me you know you don't you don't you don't think that in

you know anything else it's what they know of you so they don't know me they don't you know so do you think Jane as well I think that's part of why you're so sorted do you know what I when um so bringing in a long-time relationship when we worked uh in the same place for a while we both worked at you Lou um Jane got a job

in reception got me a job at university yeah yeah and uh I'd have the same sense of humour and then people when they got to know Jane they'd say to me oh I thought you're an arsehold but then I met Jane and we thought he couldn't be so she's your human Exactly. Well, she wouldn't go out with an asshole. So, oh, it's irony. Oh, he says, he says these things as jokes. We get it now. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. But just that stability, I think, must be really important when your life changes so dramatically. Exactly. And suddenly in Hollywood. It doesn't. It's a buffer. As I said, I'm 39. I've got all my same values. Can we just say he's not 39 now? No, no. No. When I became famous. Yeah. I'm already, I was already middle-aged, you know, with it as a stable relationship, same family, same friends, same values. What changed? A bit more money.

Yeah. Just because it's really glamorous. Yeah. It's a job. I get up and I think, I've got to do a job today. It's odd. This story sort of sums me up. I remember when we were like sort of 12, 13, and it was early 70s.

and there was a big thing in the paper about the oil rigs. Remember guys were going to work on the oil rigs, right? And we had a lesson on it, right? Because in the daily mural summer, it was these workers, these labourers, right, earning £1,000 a day. And the teacher said, oh, what would you do if you earn £1,000 a day? And the kids were saying, I'd buy a rose or something. And it came to me and I said, I'd work one day a week. She said, but you could earn seven.

I go, no, I'm fine. I'll spend it on the other six days. I had that attitude for ready on. What's the point of having so much money? You can't enjoy it or spend it. So whatever I'm doing, my admin day, I finish, I work out. Let's cross here with a bath. I have a bath.

You're quite into your cleanliness, Ricky. I have two bars. I think it's because it's still a luxury to me. Because growing up, I could only have like one bath a week. Yeah. Now I can have two baths a week. I do. Two bars a week.

A day? Sorry, two bars a day, right? But then I feel guilty about the environment. So I think, oh, I should stay in there a long time. And that's when it started. I'm doing selfies in the bath. I thought, I've got to stay in here until the water's cold. Otherwise, I'm decadent.

Like a Roman emperor. Two baths a day. My vice. What's his vice? He loves dogs and he has two bars a day. Do you make Jane share the water as well? I remember that. That was an old thing, wasn't it?

Yeah, but my mum used to go last. She'd jump in. She'd go, I'll jump in. So I had the first bath. I love the sound of your mom. I got out of the bath by the time she jumped in. Could I just say that? That would be a weird family.

So you've got like loads of nephews and nieces. Yeah, so I tweeted what I said, I was going to leave my fortune to animals after I die. But I've decided to do it before I die so I can see the look on my family's stupid faces. It's interesting, though, because you and Jane don't have kids, which I know isn't used to you, but I don't have kids. And you've asked a lot in interviews,

oh, why don't you have kids? And I would never ask you that, because I get slightly irritated when people ask me that. You once said to me, and, again, you won't remember this years ago. Again, I would have been, I can't remember it, in my sort of early 30s or something. And I said someone had kept asking me that, and you gave me a piece of advice which I've used,

which is you said, just say, why did you have kids? Yeah. You brought a life into the world. You don't have a good reason for that. Yeah. I do this in humanity where I break down the three reasons I don't have kids. Yeah. And it goes a bit mental.

Then people sort of get it. I think they understand it. That's what comedy. You have to exaggerate it. You have to scream a point for everyone to slightly get it. Yeah. And the more subtle and odd the point is, the loud you have to shout, you know. How's it going?

You're right, mate. Yeah, good, man. I like that. That was like you'd set that up to sound sort of the earth man of the people. Like you paid that, and he pulled over and went, do you think that went okay, love? I did both voices. Oh, look at Auntie, thank you. We're nearly home, Auntie.

Oh, Auntie. Have you had a lovely time? That's our Sartoria Napolitia. Yeah. David Brayette's shop. I know, exactly. What's the clothes shop, David Brindisi. Sergio Georgini.

Yeah, Sergio Georgini. I got that, a tie I got, had a made up, yeah, like, yeah, Michel Armuni. It doesn't matter. This tie is five quid made by a child in a factory, right? You don't need to make me think, oh, is it Italian? It doesn't matter. Oh, we're going this way. Is it the next one, Ricky?

Oh, it's so nice around here. I love it. And you don't get sort of hassled really around here, do you? No, not at all. Do you get, because you have a place in New York as well? Yeah. So do you spend, I mean, this isn't a sort of burglar's guide, but you spend some time over there, don't you?

As much as we can. Yeah, we go over, you know, a few times a year. But, yeah, I try and do everything out of New York in America. Just because it's a long way to LA, so... And I'm usually in the middle of something. As I say, I'm doing three things at once. So my trip to New York is during writing or touring or something, you know. Yeah.

And Jane's a writer, isn't she? Jane's a novelist. So her... Her ninth novel. It's crazy. I know. I've never written that many words in my life. That's a hundred thousand words.

It's so much. I don't think I could do it again. I did it recently. and... Just the discipline, just the amount, and then checking... And she checks it and she reads it's loads of time. I can't even read a novel

because I haven't got the patience or the time, let alone write one. And funny, because I sort of say that afterlife is sort of like a televised novel, but without writing the novel. Someone can do that for you now. Exactly, I went straight to televising my novel. Exactly, yeah.

Someone could novel like it, can't they? They can just, yeah. Because you've always said you've only read one book, Catcher in the Rye. Is that true? Catcher in the Rye when I was 28, yeah. I've got, oh no, fiction. I read lots of books. I've got three books on the go, but they're all non-fiction.

They're all science books or sociology books or something. And you've got a chore you're doing dates at the moment, aren't you? Yeah, just started doing warm-ups for Super Nature. Supernature, and is that going to be Netflix as well? They've already bought it, yeah, but I'm going to tour it. at first. But you're always working with you. That's the thing, is the stand-up thing,

a lot of people, because you got famous through the office, or you got successful, I hate the word famous, you became successful through the office, and through extras, and you had a Hollywood career. So it interests me that a lot of people in your position, they wouldn't have gone on the road doing like a hen and chickens, you know what I mean going, doing an intimate gig and doing stand-up? Yeah.

I mean, things have changed, though. I think that was true. And I remember 15 years ago, Jerry Seinfeld saying to me and Chris Rock, why do you want to do movies? You're a stand-up. And now he's right. Because now there's no guarantee. There's no movies anymore.

You know, no one watches terrestrial TV. And it's like, but people have still got our pay to go and see a stand-up, and they do. Yeah. And, you know, it's... Hello? How's it going? No, it's for a podcast I'm doing. This is Andrew's in my show.

See who that was. Who? John Moss from Culture Club. Do you know? I ran into him. I did Dynamo who lives around here. Oh yeah, he used to... Oh, yeah, over there.

I took Dynamo for a dog. So that one of those LA tours. I took Dynamo for a walk. He's got a Newfoundland. I know. The Peter Pan Dog. And Super Vet cured his dog. Or I think he had an operation.

But I ran into John. Moss before and I was very starstruck because he lives around this manor. Yeah, we, he walks every day with Casper. We love Casper. Oh, Casper, that's it. Yeah. Oh, Ricky, I'm really sorry. It's been raining the whole time and you've been so on LA about it. It hasn't bothered me. If someone get, because, you know, some people have the argument that, well, look, if you're the turn, so if you're filming afterlife and you're doing a scene, a set up here,

which I think you do actually film me at this cemetery, because I recognise it. Derek, yeah. It's when he meets his dad, I think. Yeah, that's right. And it's raining and someone brings you a coffee and they get you a flat white instead of a cappuccino. How do you react? Who is it?

It's a runner. First of all, I give them, I'd punish them physically. Like, now I'm, you know what? Honestly, I'd probably drink it. I'm not saying anything because I don't want to be that guy. I go the other way. My rights have been taken away from me because I don't want...

Because everyone's got a phone straight on YouTube, me having a meltdown. I can't send my suit back if there's a slug in it. Because I don't want that... I think it's a set-up. This waiter... A slug?

Yeah. I like that you'd have to actually let a slug. Not fly. If they... If they've got... mobile phone on them they can do anything and I can't answer back do you know what the mobile phone is the the Jiminy cricket isn't it of the well being famous yeah it's sort of like big brother is watching you yeah you know it's like uh not that I

ever do anything illegal or terrible but um yeah no you do all that on stage yeah yeah Exactly, yeah. I'm much nicer and quieter and shy. I'm not shy, but you know what I mean? No, you're not. But being famous, quieting me down. Like I would go into a room and show off and try and make people laugh. But now I'm famous, I don't have to do that anymore. It's my day off.

Yes, I have that theory. It's a bit like, you know, I always think it's the look at me, Gene, I always call it, that some people have, and you need an outlet for it. Once you find an outlet, I guess so. I think it's fine, and that stops you being. a pain in the ass for your friends. I guess so, yeah. And not everyone has it, in which case is fine.

Well, Simon Amstow has had an interesting thing. He said, when he sees a really handsome stand-up, he goes, what are you doing that for? People are already looking at you. I know. You can't be handsome and sexy and cool and be a stand-up or be funny. You just can't.

It's crazy. It's crazy. I think that's a brilliant place on which to leave it. Jerry Seinfeld said two things you can never have if you're a stand- He said a tan and abs. I love the idea of me getting a tan and having abs. I really hope you enjoyed my chat with Ricky.

It was great fun to do. And of course, if you want to see Auntie in the Flesh, you can check out Afterlife on Netflix, which is out today, March the 8th. I also wanted to let anyone who enjoys this podcast know that I've actually written a book about my dog Raymond, which comes out this week too. It's on the 7th of March,

and it's called Everybody Died, So I Got a Dog. And the title sort of says it all really. really. It's about how I lost my family and how I was helped through it all with my beautiful shih Tzu called Raymond, who some podcast regulars might be familiar with. It's published by Hodder and it's available at Amazon and All Good Bookshops. Why do people always say All Good Bookshops? Like there are bad ones. But do check it out as I'd love to know whether you enjoyed it. If you want to find out more by the way about the book and order a special signed illustrated bookplate to go with your copy, you can go to my brand new website, which is called emily-hyphen-dean.co.uk.

I've always wanted a hyphen in my name. Happy dog walking!