Walking The Dog with Emily Dean - Sally Lindsay (Part One)

Episode Date: March 25, 2025

This week, we’re in South East London with the brilliant actress and producer Sally Lindsay. Now, it’s not often that this happens - but Sally’s dog Davey is giving Raymond a run for his money on the hairstyle front… she’s a Hungarian Puli with the most fantastic coat you’ve ever seen! Head to Em’s Instagram to see all her majesty for yourself...We absolutely adored our walk with Sally - we chatted about her fascinating childhood… she did everything from living in a nightclub to having a number one single. Sally has had an incredible acting career - from her early scene stealing appearance on the Royle family to going on to be the longest ever landlord of The Rovers Return. She’s a woman of immense warmth and talent - and her latest project, The Madame Blanc Mysteries has returned for a fourth series. The much-loved crime drama created by and starring Sally will take us back to the wonderful world of Sainte Victoire, packed with unusual antiques and objéts d’art, murder, mystery, sunshine and laughter. You can stream the new series on 5 - and you can catch new episodes on Channel 5 at 9pm on Thursdays!Follow @sallylindsay73 on InstagramFollow @madameblancofficial 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.

God, you are so needy. Not you, the dog. Can you have that and just take it out of context? That sounds like Sally's just quite abusive. You know, I'd be like that. God, she's so needy. Are you asking these questions? This week on Walking the Dog,

Raymond and I went for a South East London stroll with the wonderful Sally Lindsay and her utterly glorious Hungarian Pooley, a female with the brilliant name of Davy, who even managed to outdo Ray on the hair front. I'd heard a lot of good things about Sally. In fact, my pal, Frank Skinner, told me I would totally adore her. And you know what? He wasn't wrong.

Sally and I had the loveliest walk with Davy and Ray, chatting about everything from her fascinating childhood, which involved her family at one point living in a nightclub, and also saw her appearing on top of the pops with a number one song as part of the St Winifred School Choir. We also chatted about her acting career, from her early scenes stealing appearance on the royal family, to her years in the Rover's return on coronation,

Street and her subsequent unstoppable success in primetime dramas. Her most recent project is the hugely popular Channel 5 crime comedy drama, the Madame Blanc Mysteries, which she not only stars in, she's also the co-creator and writer, and I've honestly become hooked on it. It's one of those really enjoyable feel-good detective shows with brilliant twists and a fabulous cast, and the brand new series has just kicked off on Channel 5, so do get involved with it immediately on Thursdays at 9pm.

Sally is just a genuine joy to spend time with and Davy is not just a dog she's an absolute phenomenon to behold so if you want to see picks of Davy's quite exceptional hairdo by the way do take a look at my Instagram which is at Emily Rebecca Dean I'm going to stop talking now and hand over to the brilliant pair themselves here's Sally and Davy and Ray Ray have a treat

can Ray have a treat? I think so oh Davy He goes, sweetheart. Oh, but you know what? Is it a bit big? He'll have to lush it up for him. Because he's got barely any teeth. Oh, bu, there you go, darling.

You have the rest, any big truffer. Sally, that's no way to talk to me. To talk, me? She's so... Davy, come here. She's so food obsessed. It's, honest, love, it's a fight every time we go to the vet. She's a little bit overweight we go.

We know. sorry. Sally, I'm absolutely obsessed with your dog. She's unusual, isn't she? So what happened with Davies? She got, we were, wanted a dog and my friend Jonathan Harvey, who's a writer, a brilliant writer, and he, yeah, like nobody knows him, and he has a poolee called Boo. And Boo, I wasn't allergic to. And I was like, oh my God, I can't believe it. I'm not allergic to this dog. This one came from a website, a Facebook page called The Hungry Hearts, and it's a Hungarian charity. So she's mostly a Pooley, and she's got a little bit of Tibetan master's in her.

She's why she's so big. We don't want a fat shamer. But she's massive for a Pooley. But she presents as a Pooley because that's her little, of the dreads. And the dreads were created. and she was bred to protect her from walls so it's like an armour. I know, are you looking?

What are you looking at? You know what's going on? Are you chatting? Are you chatting? What are you chatting about? She was like a chat. Do you know, she's got a brilliant character as well. She's quite cocky, isn't she?

Yeah, I like her, though. She's cocky. She thinks she's it. I mean, when she first came over, she was so, obviously, I don't know what happened to her, but she was really not very well. And she was, we had to take her out at like six in the morning and dark at night because she was,

going for every dog and every human. And then we had for about six months and thought, oh my God, have we made the worst mistake ever. No more, no more. And then all of a sudden, and it was my birthday. It was the 8th of July. And I took her on this very park. And I thought, oh, Edmund, the lead, really.

She was straining. And there was this, dog, these three women dog walkers came over with a pack of dogs. About ten dogs. I thought, oh, no. It's all going to go horribly wrong. And honestly of God, she proved me totally wrong. She just got in the pack and decided not to be a dickhead anymore. And there she is.

And the coat you must get asked about an awful lot. People are very judgy. Are they? Why? Especially in the, so it's designed to keep her cool in the winter, in the summer and hot in the, so it goes right down to the skin you see. And if you don't, you can, you can, attractive. She's just having what I like to call a comfort break. Comfort break, yeah.

She's getting refreshed, aren't your baby? Hello? and she yeah so basically hello is to keep her it's protection it's an armour from the walls

of the hills of hungry to start with but also because it goes right down to the skin the dreads go down to the skin she's never she's never hot or hot you know just regulates it's its own insulation sister isn't it and also in the summer when she runs it goes straight to her skin

so she's actually quite cooler than a lot of dogs on the park really and she's never, you know but people are very judgy they're like, oh you shade that dog, I think it's cruel I get people saying that a lot to me about Ray because he has long hair and I get it all the time

I get people saying what about his coat though and I say what about his coat and they always say well yeah but you know what's it like in the summer and I think I know where this is going and then when I've spoken to groomers and vets they've said well that's

dogs are you know his coat was designed to be that way Shitsies would survive for thousands of years before Chelsea dog groomers came along so trust me he's going to be fine so he's from the 15th century that's when they first what recorded Pooley

in fact the most amazing thing about Pooley's is Hitler Good morning Hitler tried to destroy them because they're so bright so he was like you know like the yeah so he wanted to get rid of the Hungarian and Pooley because they could I mean look she knows

there's treats in my pocket that's what she's doing right you can have one more and that's it good job the low fat yeah so yeah so they're so bad she's so sassy though she drives as insane and I hope you don't mind me so she has got something of the Coronation Street

publican about her do you think so? Do you think more than me really well I was just going to say there's no it's a long time ago that now I know gosh what we did a little She's back? 2006. Was it 2006?

Yeah, I left 2006. It's a great time, though. I had a brilliant. I mean, what a great time. We're going to discuss that. I want to go back briefly to your childhood because... Yes. I'm fascinated by your origin story.

I mean, it's fascinating. Your life is amazing because... Is it? Do you think? Yeah. Well, you know, there's quite a few amazing things. Because firstly, you meant to play group with... Was it Liam Gallagher?

Yeah. I know. And then my brother-in-law ended up playing for him, which is mad. I know, that's a mad thing. So, yeah, so I was born in a state, St Mary's Hospital in Manchester. And then we moved to a place called Burnage. And we lived there for a bit. And that's when I went to play a group. And it happened to be, I think Liam's a year older than me. So I think he was in, so me and my brother went to play a group there. That's so weird. Do you have any memories of it? Have you ever met him and said we were at playgroup? No, no, I haven't. No, I've never met. at them at all because Alan left literally the year I met Steve so 21 years ago so I've never actually met them but um he's your other half he is he and he's a drummer as well as we all know yeah um big fancy pants one so yeah it is I know it's a weird thing and then then we moved to

and then I went to Stwich which was where we got we had the record which you're probably going to mention well your your parents I'm interested in your parents because was your dad was he a bit of a Dellboy like was he been of a wheeler dealer wasn't really he was more I think he was just rubbish at business I think he just thought he would I think he was very good builder but absolutely rubbish at building fact both and I think my mum who was still with us obviously um would admit they are they were terrible at like financial affairs and money and stuff and I think I think that was it so I think he had all the great intentions and he was very honourable but he just was rubbish at it so um so was it quite

financially chaotic then growing up? It was financially they didn't get on very well. So it was chaotic in a lot of ways, to be honest. Having said that, I was surrounded by the most amazing. I was brought up by a village, a northern village, you know, by amazing aunties and, you know, aunties are not your real auntie. That's a very northern thing.

You know, mum's friends and my granddad were just exceptional people who, you know, to this day I think about every day. They're just ace. So, I mean, Mom was brilliant, don't get me wrong, but they had a chaotic relationship. And really, to be fair, they got married, mum was 20, dad was 27, they shouldn't really have been in the same room together,

to be fair. I think a lot of marriages of that time, you just stayed together. I think it was just a thing, especially because they were Catholic, and that sort of meant something at one point. And then eventually, when I was 12, finally they gave up the ghost,

too much to the relief of me and my brother and look at you and yeah I've just seen a dog by the way that's if you've wondered and Ray is likes the dog what kind of dog is this he's a cross with a Chinese crest

oh Chinese crest he's gorgeous legs I thought look I love his coat yeah he's a bit scruffy because he's a cross with a press and he's beautiful

he's beautiful thank you he's 14 Oh, well he's obviously Desperately loved because Yeah This is because we've stopped She's so sassy Does she not like it when we stop?

Do you think she was a bit jelly bags Because we were giving the Chinese crest Some attention Yeah she's I mean Steve wanted to get another dog I went to be ridiculous She'd just be like that What's Mariah?

What's Mariah gonna say? Exactly What's the Diva gonna say Yeah so that was much out I mean don't really he was very happy And I had We lived in a nightclub briefly. We lived in a nightclub briefly, which was great,

because we used to go up on Saturday morning on the Friday night, and we used to pick all the coins up off the floor before the cleaners got there and then get ourselves a pint of Coke. Why did you live in the nightclub, Sally? Because your dad was it a business thing? Dad, what happened was, he had a construction business, and he had to, it's not even funny, but he had to flee in the night because he was in so much debt.

So we were shoved in the back of a car and taken to this nightclub and his friend, God love him. I think it was called Jim the fella. And he had the owned this nightclub and he needed someone to manage it and we could live in there. So we lived there and that was it overnight.

We just ended up there. I know it's mad into it. When I think back about it, I just think, oh my God, my children are so sort of they've no idea, you know, about. Did the music ever wake you off at night? Oh, honestly God, it was ridiculous. So it was so badly organised because we were downstairs and the nightclub was on top.

So there was no sort of soundproofing at all. And everybody was dancing and it was the 80s and everything was massively loud. And if I needed any, mum did the catering and if I needed anything, because I've got asthma. If I was going into attack or anything, my brother would have to go and get a bouncer to get one of them because they were just working all the time to pay off this debt. I know, it's mad in it. So that's probably, you know, like I said before,

that's why I'm so close to my brother because we sort of looked after each other really and it was just the way it was. It's funny because I grew up, I had parents who were, even though they were sort of, you know, we were North London and my parents from the media, my dad worked for the BBC and stuff,

but they were very similarly financially chaotic and we still didn't know there'd be men walking up the path and my dad, and my parents would be like, you answer the door. Yeah, that, all that. It's all that. And I wonder,

I don't know why it was that like that, you know, and I don't know. And what the brilliant thing is, though, even though, obviously I'm a performer, an artist, whatever you want to call me, I'm extremely solid financially. Right. I'm very, very over.

You know, so, yeah, so we've got, we drive 12-year-old cars, you know, I don't need to spend money on that. But, I mean, we've got a lovely house, don't get me wrong. not, and the kids are well provided for and everything, but I'm very secure. My brother is as well. And I think that's the good thing that came out of the chaos, as it were. We were very secure in ourselves. A minute we could be, we were, you know, and so put stuff away.

It makes you grow up quite quickly as well and quite adaptable. Like I felt, and I'm interested in your relationship with your brother, because my sister and I think, because we were constantly exposed to, it was a been, it was a kind of warm, benign chaos, which sounds a bit like yours. It wasn't dark or anything. No, I wasn't, I didn't need like, yeah, I didn't need sort of social services or anything. But it just makes you closer, doesn't it? Because you're both thinking, oh God, what's going on now? I'm going to the nightclub.

You know, it's that sort of energy. Yeah, it was chaotic. It was chaotic. And we didn't quite know, you know, from Friday to Friday if there would be enough money or I never asked for anything. I never, you know, for Christmas or anything. I would never do that. My brother did. My brother was brilliant.

He used to go, I used to guilt. out and he was great at that and I was always like I can't have got any money you know but he was you know it's totally fine like I said I was surrounded by a load of northern brilliant people who still know to this day you know my cousins and my we were very close family up there and yeah so it was it was fine and were you popular yeah I've got to say I was I was the one that I know quite honest probably first time I ever said that yeah I had loads of mates I always have well mates are brilliant my friends I mean my best friend Claire I've known Claire since I was 11 and we're still best mates now I know and and it's like when I see her she lives up north no

Danny no more treats she lives up north and where I'm from and but we still speak all the time and I've got mates up there that I've known for many many many many years I've got loads of London friends who adore as well but yeah so friends are really really important to me really important I can sense that I imagine you're someone, I call it the norm factor, which is, you know, from Cheers, when Norm would walk into the bar and everyone would go, norm. And I think some people have it and it's just like an energy that you bring into a room that feels, oh, the party's here or, do you know what I mean?

Yeah, I've flattened a lot of grass, I've got to say. I've had a lovely time in my life. And I do, I do. Where do you get that sort of warmth and D'R d'Avieve? Is that from your mum or your dad? My mum's really jolly. mom's really Johnny my dad was my dad was really interesting because he was sort of

he was the life and soul of the party in the pub so he was like the life and soul he was the you know he was oh Tony's here and then but at home he wasn't he couldn't wait to get back to the pub he couldn't he wasn't very good he didn't know what to do I think he had a really bad childhood and I think he just didn't know how to be

a dad really and but in the pub oh my god that's where he so much so when we buried him look at this one hello darling hi when we when we buried him

everyone was so devastated in his local pub I mean me and my brother they got on the way back going who did we just bury so we didn't know who this person was we were laughing honestly

and it's really bad but we were just roaring because we're like I don't know who that person is because he was never like that to us but yeah he was in the fortunately I'm like that home as well so it's all right I'm not quite the same as him he's probably from that generation as well Sally where you know men of that generation I think struggled with

intimacy they absolutely how to do it which is why no with those people in the pub there was a distance which you maybe made him feel more comfortable yeah no I think about it a lot and I think and I don't think he was and his parents were awful you know they were horrible to him made him pay you know the minute he had to go to work you know and I had to pay to sleep there. And then I think one time there was a time where he was a really good sportsman and he came late home one night without his wages or he didn't give his wages or something like that.

And they burnt all his certificates in the front. In the front, yeah, it's vile, horrible. So you can understand where he came from. He just didn't know. He didn't know the rules, you know. And when I look at my steed, my husband, with my boys, I just, you know, the affection is like, I mean it's too much sometimes, he's like, God, get off, Dad. You know, because he's so tactile and loves them so much.

And it's so weird that my brother, in fact, I had a lot of female role models, but my brother is, he's like a unicorn, he's completely sorted. He's got, you know, he's got very loving family. His two girls are just gorgeous, and he does everything for them. you know, he adores them. And I don't know, probably from my granddad, actually. Probably got that from my granddad because he loved his family too. But he's totally different. He totally broke the cycle.

Really? Yeah. I'm very proud of him for that. And also the fact that he had, I always think it's, I think that must have been helpful as well that he had such a close relationship with you. And, you know, your energy. We sort of, we're sort of Hansel Gretton anyway. We walk, you know, we walk each other out of a lot for us.

Except you were in a night. Club. In the night club, yeah. It's not quite a magical forest. That Grims for Herrydale. Yeah, it was. Yeah. And we're going to have to touch on, you know what, which is...

The choir. St. Winifred's School Choir, which obviously... Got to, haven't you really? I'm of your generation. Yes. And when I found out this piece of information about you, I just, my mind was blown. It's like a dream, in it? It's like a media dream.

So Winifred School Choir, there's no one quite like Grandma. It was number one for a month. I believe it might have knocked John Lennon. did. He knocked. So he unfortunately, obviously was shot in the December, start of December.

And they re-released Imagine. And it went straight to number one, obviously. And then we came along and knocked him off, which is outrageous, really. I'm not proud of that fact.

And this song was huge. It was number one for Christmas, number one for four weeks. It was massive. I mean, those are the days where it was actually had to sell actual records to get to number one,

at millions. Yeah. And it was only seven. And my, brother was there with me then as well he was in the choir because he's I also thought it was all girls no there's about four boys oh that's like the boys at the dance class

there's one boy in black tights and you're like oh I'm so glad I'm not like that anymore he can sing really well my brother I mean I can I used to be able to but I've sort of gone probably not used it but often I'm an actor who can sing if I have to you know I wouldn't say I'm a good singer you won't be hearing my next record let's put it that way so we're in the choir yeah and we went we went everywhere it was brilliant it was really brilliant

And we were only working class kids in a Stockport school. And they just happened to, it was just one of those things that happened, was it? Yeah, it was. Well, what it was was, the school were associated, the music teacher, she was associate with a, I think she was friends with a duo called Brian and Michael, who released a song called Matched Stick Men and Matched Stats and Dogs, yeah. So the choir was on that and also they were asked to sing on songs of praise and they smashed it. And this is in the 70s, so this is before I came along.

And songs of praise, I mean in those days, it was like sort of royal wedding viewing figures. Oh, it was massive. It was like, yeah, 20, 20, 20, 22 million. Yeah. Yeah, so then, so this is sort of the 70s. God, you are so needy. Not you, the dog. I'm taking that up, can you have that and just take it out of context?

That sounds like Sally's just quite abusive. You know, I'd be like, gosh, you're so needy. Are you asking me these questions? No. So she's her because she's not getting any attention. That's what it is. Come on, darling. And so then I was in, so I was in the 70s then,

and then it turned to 1980 and this song came along. And they wanted us to sing it. It was Brian Michael wrote it. And it just literally went mental. Just went straight to the top. It was an amazing song. And I can still vividly remember the faces of all those girls. There was one who had pink bows.

That was Dawn, who was the lead singer. Yeah. So I was her standing. I was her standing, yeah. I didn't quite make the cut to be the lead, but I was her standing. So if anything ever happened to her, and it only happened once,

it was at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, and she was just too poorly to turn up, and I was like, am I on? I know, and everyone was absolutely devastated because it wasn't done, and it was me. But actually, it was... Apart from my mother. It must have been weird,

going into things like Top of the Pops as well. Well, I made a little... There was years ago, there was a when I was working on Sky a lot there was a series called Sky Little Crackers and I made one about that about going down to London and because when we went on

obviously you've got to remember and it's very hard for people to understand this was the one music show on and everybody watched it every single person watched it and there was huge huge huge cues to get in there was like you know waiting lists and these poor kids have obviously

waited maybe two years years to get on top of the pops and they turn up. There's a bloody load of kids in pink dresses singing there's no one quite like Grandma. No darling. They were, you know, they were devowed and you could see they hated us and they were like that standing there going, oh my God, I can't believe it. What an extraordinary start to your life. Do you aware of the enjoying? I mean, that was obviously your first taste of performing. Yeah. Had you made the connection with, I like being on a stage and I feel comfortable inhabiting your space or do you think it was more of a

a school trip vibe you hadn't even made that association yet i think it's a bit of both to be honest it was like the energy of having been on stage i got and i was clearly a good performer davy stop it i was clearly could you know perform and produce you know and give it out but i was never really i think and this is not to put myself down or or my class down but just that kind of thing didn't happen to people like where I was from. So me being an actor, probably if I was in a situation where, you know,

I was in a, like my kids are in middle class, whatever, their opportunity would be, of course I can be an actor. Of course I can. It's great. But it was so alien. It was like me going,

do you know what, I'm going to fly to the moon tomorrow? That's how alien it was. So I didn't really think of it like that. And it was only many, many years later when the opportunity came, I think what is for you never goes past you. I think it's up to you to.

And when you're ready, the opportunity will, it'll always loop back. I always don't believe in once in a lifetime things. I think that's wrong. I think he will come back again. And it did with me. But I think also you've got to grab it. And I think you've always been someone who's grabbed it. You've never taken it for granted, you know.

Oh, and never to this day. Oh, look, Davy wants to go that way. Do you go that way, David? All right, mate. I'll go this way then, babe. You went to Hull University, which is an incredibly good university. It is, yeah. And I was really touched on.

I've heard you talk about this, that this was, were you the first person in your family? Or was this something that was. Me and my brother, yeah. And actually, weirdly, my mum, after she left dad and started to, and met my stepdad, Alan, who was divine. We lost a couple of years ago, but I adored him. And he, she went back to university as well. So the three of us... Educating Rita?

Really was. So the three of us were at university at the same time, which sounds really wonderful and glorious now, but it was horrific because we were all completely broke. I mean, stupidly broke, you know. So if anybody got any money, it would post, you know, like it was just ridiculous. And we got through. We got through it.

So you must have been pretty bright academically, Sally. Yeah, I was bright. I was bright at school, and also I felt that the school wasn't, particularly great but that year weirdly for some reason it was just a really brilliant academic year and the culture of that particular year in our comprehensive was to win and to be good and i think that's a lot about schools i think sometimes a culture is to be cool and fail and it's and then you're the cool kid but i think if you're in a school where the culture is to to achieve yeah it changes everything so we you know we had there's a couple of pregnant girls in the fifth

year you know it was that kind of school um but they even they did well you know so we it was it was a it was a it was a really good school for that particular year look at these twins oh look at these two that's Sally's got twins you're lady oh my god look at that nose what are they we need to find out they're beautiful they're beautiful oh my look at that nose but absolutely lovely. Oh, sweetie pop, can I? They have a Charpe.

A sharp. But they're a bear coat one. Oh, they're Charpe. I was thought the face was like, and I think, well, no, they haven't got the bit to go with it. Yeah, no, they're sharp their bear coats, but they, um, they've only seen Charpe with those such of like matte fleet coats. Yeah, no, they've got, I had a bear coat before, but she was the faulney colour. She looked a bit like almost like a chow, you know, like a really big man. Yeah.

Yeah. People keep asking me if they're cross of a Spanish. I'm like, no, they're just a really unusual colour. Beautiful. Absolutely. What I like is currently, we all have. we all have the weirdest dogs in the park. Like a weird dog.

We don't do normal dogs. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. To mix it up. Let's mix it up. Oh, all right. It's because we've stopped. Sorry, Anna, she's a nightmare. So, um,

Davy's like a really hard-called personal trainer. Really, we usually go this fast. Oh, we can go quicker. No, no, we're fine. We're all right. So, um, what do you want to? I've heard you say before, Sally, Yes.

When you got to Howe, you were quite, you felt like, oh, everyone here's quite posh. I was described as quiet at university because genuinely didn't know what to say. I didn't know what they were talking about. They were speaking a different language. I had a mate on her who was great and she was a boarding school kid and her dad was a brigadier. And she was great. She was a laugh on her. But I didn't understand.

She sort of translated a bit for me. I didn't quite understand the language they were speaking. You know, and I remember it was right next to the old-fashioned poly. Now they're all universities, aren't they? But in the old-fashioned poly. And I remember looking over the wall thinking, that's my people there. Why am I here with these people?

He's like, I went to a 21st, and Michael Heseltine was there, and everybody jumped in the pool at the end, you know. The pool, in my day, you know, when I was a kid, you went to the pool, you had to levee baths. And that was the pool. a pool and it was just such a different world you know. Like a salt band. Yeah I know it's it's interesting that isn't it because I got on with them they were great but I just didn't I didn't know yeah they weren't my people

really but yeah and I love posh people now I love them they're great and like really posh people are they're hysterical because they're always skin and just you know like just trying to prop this massive big house up they're big really really posh person I've ever met. It's as Skint as everyone else. But he's that sort of the Boris Johnson level. They're the dangerous, dangerous ones, aren't they? Yeah. Well, I met, when I went to visit a friend, I was doing an interview at Oxford, and she said, I've just got to go and see my friend Jacob. Oh my God. And do you know, I never forgot him, Sally. This was, yeah. Did you meet him? Yeah. I thought I knew, it was like this quad that it was like the special quad. His grandfather had

had accommodation there and you know it had gone through and I just thought even that was so offensive to me that why do you get what about the person who's got great grades from the comprehensive why should you get entitled yeah why have you got your own quad weirdo it was just the assumption you thought he's never questioned this he probably came to this place when he was three and there was some divine right you're going to be there and he was there you know it's a level of entitlement which it was the entitlement and I remember going there my friend knocked on the door and there was classical music. I mean, be my mind his kid.

He would have been like 19 or something. And he went, calm. I mean, he's a joke in it really. He went, come. And then he walked in, and then he said, and he apparently turned his back. And he had all like oil paintings.

And then he was like, where did you school? Where did you school? School? Speaking to another teenage. Like, it's so weird. God, they've got no chance off of these. I mean, what does James O'Brien call him?

The haunted Victorian pencil. It's the best description of it. I do. I love James O'Brien. He came on this podcast. Did he? Yeah. And I thought, and I've watched your interview with him, which I love.

Oh, yeah, yeah, that was great. And I thought, oh, do you know, I love Sally? She's just as much of a fan girl of James O'Brien as I am. I such a fan girl. I've got me through Brexit. Me too. Literally got me through because I thought it was going mad. Yeah.

You know, because especially with the people you work with, I thought, am I going mad? Am I seeing stuff? And then there was this one voice. I was like, I was I know him before then. I was like, oh, well, probably cut up. Oh, let's go this week. So listen, I need to hurry up and get you famous because we should have to discuss Madame Blanc. But I wanted to quickly, before we get onto your camp projects, you started doing, performing, I feel like at university in your final year.

You did the crucible, didn't you? I did. Well, I dabbled at it before then, to be fair. But I was never, like I said, I didn't think it was for me. So I didn't really take it seriously, as it were. And I thought actresses looked like Audrey Hepburn and talked. like Audrey Hepburn that's why you know I thought like this otherworldly thing and it's not me putting myself down because obviously I've got icons like Victoria Wood yeah

and Julie Walters I knew they were out there but I didn't think it was for me so what happened I was at university and I really loved radio radio was my thing I had my own little radio show and I tried to get on all the local radio stations but they said we don't want um famously we don't we don't need a female Terry Christine, thank you very much. So accents were not the thing then. It's funny, I was talking to Lorraine Kelly about this and she said she had to batter the door down

to get on, you know, her kind of thing. And it's interesting, because everybody talked like that, even if it was a whole radio. He's that kind of smashy and icy still. And anyway, so what happened was my friend

he was in really, really posh bloke called Charlie Pickle, a lovely, lovely fella. And he was in the drama club and he said somebody's dropped out and it's the drunk witch. And there's three lines. I don't know why they came to me, darling. And so I did this thing. I did it. As herself, Sally Lindsay.

I'll just ask Sally. Me on my fifth pint of Stella in the union bar. I don't know why possibly you're going to me. Anyway, so we had a, so what it was as well, what was the most wonderful thing about it? is the fact that it was, everybody was coming together. There was no competition. Everybody had to be good at the same time. And it was such an unusual thing.

So it wasn't like a sporting you fight me kind of thing. It was like a one-sided netball team or football team. And I was so thrilled being part of it. And then the performance and the excitement of that. And I was like, oh, this is great. So I auditioned for the next part, which was Liaison Dangerer, Christopher Hampton, Mottoy, the Glead. And it was just the drama club.

I got the lead part and it cost so much. Everyone was kicking off because I'd only just joined the drama club. Yeah, the new girls. Everyone's kicking off. But I was just good at it. And it was mad. I was like, my God, I'm really good at this. And no one was more shocked than me.

And then I had a brilliant tutor called Neil Signard. And he was a film critic for the times at the time. And he really learned a brilliant bloke. And I used to love his tutorials. He was so insightful. He said, If you could write an essay, like, you could, you can act, you'd be getting a double first. You need to do this.

And I went, what? So obviously, I used to dye my own hair, so I'd like crazy roots down here. Slight acne. You know, I was a bigger girl. And I just thought, is there a space for me? So I went back to, I went back home. Good morning, love. And there was this, um, just little drive.

summer school started literally down the road from my mum's and it was the guy who she's taught loads of things david johns who's quite famous but he he did the old and theater workshop he set it for adults down the road from me and it was literally only existed for five years and i was there for two of them which is mad so your and dad's going to go mad of me getting your muddy pause yes he is um no no more and you ended up so that you certainly first came on my radar when you appeared in the royal family. Mm-hmm. And you were only in one episode if I'm not wrong.

I was, yeah. You were so, you made such an impression on me. I remember me and my sister used to quote some of the... Bernie Ringgifail. I know, Mingin. I know. Because you played a thoroughly unpleasant character, let's be honest. The note from Caroline, who is an absolute genius, because I'm such a local girl,

I mean, I won't mention the name of the play. She said, I want you to be like, like you're off this particular estate. I won't say what state is because it still exists. But you knew the reference, yeah. I knew, I knew. So I was like, oh, that's fine. So I got that.

And then it was funny because we'd gone shopping on Oxford Street and I thought it was terribly exciting and they paid me for me to come down. And so I got this sort of outfit, which I thought was horrific. And then we turned up to film and Caroline went, oh no, that's not bad enough. And I went, this isn't bad enough.

and then she put me in that leather she went have you got anything really back and she put me in that blooming leather outfit I was like okay I've got it and then they temporarily dyed my hair so I had my own hair here blonde hair and then and then she died this bit black and then she put sort of and then I had all glue on my ears that you know and then put the earring in it like it was all infected and then she put sort of um sort of I've got my own now but you sort of thread veins all here and so much so I look so different

that on the rap party I turned up here happened to be the last step they were filming and everyone was like it's Sally it's me and they went oh my God because it was

it made me look so different it was brilliant it was brilliant it was proper character change it was fantastic and she was really when you think about it the fact that she was a comic

writer Trailblazer producer She was fearless Was she? That's what she was fearless Caroline If she didn't like it, it didn't happen.

But in a lovely way, she wasn't... And this is the thing about what I'm inspired by. When you're a woman and you're in charge, you don't have to be like Alexis Colby. Do you know what I mean? You don't have to be an arseau. You just have to be assertive and just be in charge and be yourself and be a woman.

You have to be like a cow. Do you know what I mean? You don't have to be sort of don't fuck with me, fellas. Joan Crawford and Mommy dear... But, you know, we weren't given those role models, sorry. and that's why it's important. Women like you were doing it now

and people are like, oh yeah, actually this is how you do it. Just like you run your house. Alexis Colby was sort of the only reference point we had. Yeah, totally. And you're right. And you just don't need to do that.

There's no reason to have a hierarchy or a, you know, and Caroline taught me that. And also, like so when I started on Coronation Street, which was obviously, it was about a year later because what happened, I left Royal Family and I kept getting down to the last two of everything. Did you think?

Because I would have thought, if I did the Royal Family, I'd be like, well, I've made it. Here I am. Yeah, I did. Could get arrested. Could not get arrested. So I was like, oh, bloody hell. Anyway, so I did stand up for a year. And that's when I met, oh, my met like Alan Carr, still a best mate.

And, you know, and Jimmy was on the circuit, Chase, Chase Manford, who's still a mate. You know, so that's when I met all then, Pete. That's when I met all those guys. So because I was slightly, Alan always goes, oh, you were dead good. And I wasn't, Al, you were dead good, clearly. I was all right. So I played a bloke, you see. I played a bloke, you see.

I played a bloke, and it. So I was in drag. But it got your Coronation Street. Well, weirdly. Because the casting director had seen you. Is that right? Well, no, the casting director was the one, cast me in the royal family.

Oh, right. And that came from, my agent at the time, put a, just a little showcase on in, in in Manchester. I was the only one who did a comedy piece everybody else did sort of a really dramatic piece and it got me, I was in the Royal Film in the next day which was mental so then I thought oh this is it now and I did

I got a little job on fat friends if you remember that show and that's when I met Ruth Jones gorgeous who was so lovely and I saw last week actually she's brilliant and I was filming in Cardiff I love that you two are friends yeah she's just great girl and massively successful quite rightly but she's she's great

But yeah, so I played her beautician in Fat Friends and then I just could not get arrested. And then I got a seven episode trial while I was doing stand-up for Coronation Street for the new barmaid. And that was that. 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.