Walking The Dog with Emily Dean - Vittorio Angelone (Part Two)

Episode Date: January 15, 2026

In part two of Emily and Ray’s walk with the wonderful Vittorio Angelone, the conversation continues with more laughs, stories and reflections from one of the most exciting voices in stand-up right now.If you haven’t already, make sure to catch part one. And do try to see Vittorio live on his current tour You Can’t Say Nothing Anymore, which is touring this year. Tickets and dates are available at https://vittorioangelone.com.Follow Emily:InstagramX Walking The Dog is produced by Will NicholsMusic: Rich JarmanArtwork: Alice LudlamPhotography: Karla Gowlett Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Part 2 of Walking the Dog with the wonderful Vitorio Angeloani. Do go back and listen to Part 1 if you haven't already and do make sure to catch Vittorio live. His show You Can't Say Nothing Anymore is touring this year. So make sure to book your tickets at Vittorioangaloni.com. Really hope you enjoy our walk with Vittorio and do give us a like and a follow so you can catch us every week. Here's Vittorio and Ray Ray.

So in terms of your career take, off. Did it just come, you were gradually doing gigs, you did Edinburgh one year and then you started attracting attention. Well I just was always posting things online which is actually something I advise against if any young comedians ask me. Why? Well I just think you should learn in the dark where nobody can see you be bad quietly but I think I was quite loudly bad but I think I got reasonably good quite quickly. I'm not pretending to be the finished article or anything but I think I got reasonably good reasonably quickly learned a few lessons quite quickly and then posting things online getting a little bit of

traction and I was I was very hard working I think a lot of comedians would say that about me that was very very hard working in terms of the social media stuff and even after shows I would have a little QR code I would stand as the audience were leaving and go scan this to follow me on Instagram scan this to follow me on Instagram because I thought so they've got a business approach haven't you to it yeah I think so I think so I I think part of it was from a fear coming up, like growing up in Belfast and watching the Belfast comedy scene be largely ignored by the BBC.

Right. Like the last Northern Irish comedian to be on mock the week was Patrick Kilty, which is quite a while ago really. So a lot of them, people like Shane Todd, Colin Gedis, Aaron McCann, Mickey Bartlett sort of built their own audience. from the ground up on social media and you know started touring and they can all do the arena now in Bafas and you sort of go I always had this feeling of I can either just wait around for somebody to offer me a gig or the gatekeeper to let me on the TV show but

that might not happen right so I was like well I'll try and do this social media thing And if the gatekeepers let me in, then great. Then we have both. Either way. But also you see people now who have a good run at the Edinburgh Friends, and then they get on a few different TV shows. And they come out the other side, and maybe it doesn't quite stick.

And they just have sort of, they just sort of leave with nothing but a big tax bill that year because they've done all the TV shows. And a few people have said in bars, they were great. That's what I think. It's like, you've got to think about why you're doing this, because seven people in the Indian people

in the industry saying, well, they were quite good. Yeah. Anyway, let's get on with those people who've got 10 million followers. For sure, so I just thought, and it's not been about figuring out what the audience wants online and making that. It's about what do I do and how do I package that for

the online sort of algorithm. But even you, it's interesting the way you talk about this, from a business perspective, which I respect, because I would describe you as still, someone who has kind of a lot of integrity in terms of your work but you're a realist I think yeah well yeah and and and it's gotten me in like a little bit of bother with other comedians and maybe people would turn their nose up and go oh god it's a lot of self-promotion isn't it and it's a lot of this that and the other end go yeah but who else is going to promote what I'm doing you know

my might come across as arrogant but if I go on Instagram and go come see my tour show it's fine. Like that's not going to work. I have to come on and be like, it's a really great show, you're really going to like it. Come watch it. I'm class. Like that has to be an element of it. Like we're past that thing of gatekeepers giving you a golden ticket. Well, I think also we've passed that thing, again, which is kind of a Gen X thing, kind of a 90s, 2000s thing of we, everybody has to be cool. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? It's like it's not cool to say, to sell yourself or promote yourself.

And I find it with my generation and I really, you know, this whole reluctance, which you really have to fight, that it's pushing yourself on social media, that it's unseemly. I can't believe they're posting that. Who wants to see that? And you think, the thing is,

if I never had Sam Ryder on this podcast, who I adored, and one of the things he talks about is that thing about being cool. He says, when he posted that thing, you know, it changed his life posting those videos of him singing. And he says...

It's not cool, I'm sure people he went to school with and other cool musicians and flip six, he's on TikTok. And he said, and it always... I think about this, at least once a day, he said, cool is how people's dreams end up on the scrap heap. Hmm. Do you know what I mean, Mathurio? And also, like, by muscling through that first instance of not being cool,

like, I'm doing the Apollo on my tour. I think by any measure, that's rather cool. You know what I mean? It's like, yeah, sure, people I went to school with when I first started posting and, like, videos will get no views and nobody was listening to my first couple podcasts that I tried to get going. And you go, okay, that was all a bit cringe, but you just have to get over that cringe factor. You have to be bad at something first. And the thing with social media is you have to be bad publicly. It has to not work, and then you figure it out, and then it works.

And you touched on that thing you said about other comics, I thought was interesting and kind of. brave of you to acknowledge that because I was watching your last show I think it was your last show the big stupid bowling pin show I love the big stupid who do you think you are I am yes it's not called the big stupid boy no it's called who do you think you are I am available on YouTube and it's a special which you can watch on YouTube absolutely and it's absolutely brilliant and you touch on that in this special where you talk about how are the comics there are a sort of a WhatsApp group discovered had been set up and you were being talked about in this WhatsApp group yeah I was sort of the talk of the town at the Edinburgh fringe in 2022 so that was my debut year at the

Edinburgh fringe and a clip went round of me on a podcast and on my own podcast talking about how oh that's a very lovely old dog I'm obsessed with this dog what kind of dog is it oh look hello my love he's death oh oh of course yeah yeah beautiful What's the name? Monty. Monty. Oh, I love Monty. He's very nice.

Raymond. No idea, then. No. He's a corgi. I thought I should have been braver. He's quite unusual. I think if his ears had stood up. Yes, maybe.

I love corgis. They've got similar body types to me, and that's why I relate to them. I have short legs. I have short legs. I have pistons, how I relate. Hello my love do you want to meet Raymond? It was so nice to meet you and you Monty I know you can't hear me but I'm sending you so much love

Bye good Monty very good Bye bye Monty oh he likes my bring in Victoria See you later fella Have a good one take care Oh what a lovely dog that was So Yes so this bit in the show I say it's a bit in the show is I think that happened

Yeah this clip of me talk talking about people saying I was the guy this year at the fringe, you know. And it was the thing that comedians had said to me and agents and a few other people said like, oh, this is you're here to be the guy or whatever. And I'm spoken on the podcast at the time about how I was finding that all quite stressful. Yeah. And but it got taken out of context as just the arrogant bit of it of me saying people keep telling me I'm the guy this year.

And then unbeknownst to me, it went around all these WhatsApp groups in Edinburgh. comedians were sort of laughing at me. I know you did what were all meant to do and it was a sensible thing to do which was you know take your pain and make it into art because the truth is that must have been painful. Oh absolutely it was devastating that I thought I'd found finally found a clique that I'd fit into and that made sense I was like okay I'm a comedian you know I like all these people I can get on with them I understand how they work we can connect over this thing and then I thought it had this amazing amazing coming to Christ month of like oh my god like you know I found my tribe as it were

I and did you know and it turned out that it just wasn't the case and I think that's true of any industry any workplace like right there's groups of people you get on with and that's probably a bit threatened about the new kid on the block that's inevitable that I find that different like it's a difficult element of it for me to talk about you know that thing of like there almost certainly was jealousy amongst comedians and now I'm sounding like your mom they're you're jealous of you're going. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And you just want to go, shut up, mum, fuck off. It's not always that. But you know what? Sometimes it is. There was certainly an element of that and I think that's understandable as well. You know, I can say this is an old bag. It's not

inappropriate. You're funny. You're very good looking. You're charming. You're likable. It was going well and it's a hot, like Edinburgh is a school playground of awfulness sometimes where, and there's, you know, seven or eight people that get nominated for best newcomer. And everybody else is pissed off and then when the one person of those nominees wins the other six are pissed off and and it's just all very high pressure and all very juvenile sometimes and look at that old fella this is a lovely dog hello my sweet beautiful dog hello my love look at your foot did you hurt yourself you got a sore paw so poor oh god you're very nice so cute

What kind of dog is it? He's an English setter. Oh, you're lovely. Don't see these very often, the white and grey setter. Yeah. Oh, I can't bet. How cute are you. What's the name?

Oh, you've got a little splint on. Worcester. Worcester. Worcester. What happened to Worcester's poor? He's a fillies gave way, so he wears the booze and it points him up at the back. Otherwise, it's the classic footballing injury. Yeah.

You're like Wayne Rooney in 2004. No, this is a matter of talk. Oh, Worcester likes us, no offense, but Worcester's staying with us. Wester's, go on, Wester. Go that way, we love you. You're very good. Have a lovely day. Oh, boy, Wester.

Oh, look at Wester. Wester's a bit neurodivergent. I know. Wister's done for the day. Did you ever find out, and I wouldn't ask you to name these people, obviously, but did you ever find out who the people were on that WhatsApp group? And have you ever spoken to any of them about it? Or is that not your way? I know roughly who a few of them are.

And it was a bunch of different WhatsApp groups and sort of conversations and bars and things. I know some wonderful people that really sort of stood up for me in those moments. I know Sarah Keyworth was hugely wonderful where people would show them the clip and go, isn't this funny? Victoria was being so arrogant. And Sarah would just go, oh no, I don't think that's very funny.

Or they'd show them, you know, they edited my poster and changed all the quotes on the poster to call me an in-sell and And all the quotes said I'm the guy, he's the guy, blah blah blah blah And yeah, Keyworth just said no, I don't think that's funny, but I've worked quite hard to come to terms of the fact that Look, we're all guilty of speaking poorly about other people and there's a Something that really helped is there's a Randy Newman album called live. in London and Randy Newman is truly one of my comedy heroes. He's somebody I really, really look up to. And I was really sad. I had tickets to go see him at the Palladium. And the show got cancelled because the email said due to ongoing recovery from his most recent surgery. And I

thought that is not a man that's crossing the Atlantic again before he dies. Ongoing recovery from his most recent surgery. So I think I might have missed my bucket list moment of seeing Randy Newman live. But in this album, he has a bit about Bob Dylan in a sort of chat in between songs and he says I was listening to these lyrics by Dylan because he was watching this TV show of the 100 greatest songwriters of all time and he said by the end of the list he wanted to shoot himself

but he says he was listening to these lyrics by Dylan and he went oh God I forgot how good Bob Dylan used to be and then it gets a sort of a good laugh from the audience and he goes God I'm only joking why do we speak badly about other people it doesn't make me any bigger yeah but i think it was really wonderful that in that performance and he kept it in the live recording for the album that he spoke badly about somebody else but then sort of corrected himself for that and i thought that is just a thing of yes we all do that it's a massively human natural thing just doing it to do so i'm not going to begrudge anyone their moment of because look

if another comedian had been clipped on a podcast saying that people keep telling me i'm the guy this year at the fringe and I had seen that. There's plenty of comedians I would laugh about and forward that to other people and I've been part of that before. It's not a nice thing. It's horrible when it gets back to you and that sort of feeling of being out of the loop of it. It feels you know, but it's interesting what you say. You know, Gore Vidal always said when a friend of mine does well a little part of me dies. And I think again it's an acknowledgement because that quote is zoning it, saying a little part of me dies. It's not saying what wankers saying, look, I know this is my issue.

Well, it's the idea of yourself that you, that little ego bit of yourself that goes, oh, I thought I was the main character. There's a great clip of Tim Key on, I think Romish Ranganathan's podcast, talking about that feeling of getting nominated and then watching your friend get something ahead of you. Who was it, Tom Bastin? Oh no. Yes, somebody, it was somebody, I can't remember who it was. Alex Horn watched Tim Key win Best Show or something.

And he said, that's what drove him to make Taskmaster. I love it. And there's a great, have you ever seen the video of Donald Gleason and Brendan Gleason were both up for an acting award? No. And Brendan Gleeson won the award, but he couldn't attend the ceremony. So Donald Gleason, who was also nominated for the award, had to accept the award on his behalf that he just lost to his dad.

And it is the funniest speech at any award ceremony ever. At the end of it, he goes, fuck you, dad. And just walks off. It's really great. I like that feeling of ownership. And I have a lot of friends who are actors and they're constantly losing out on jobs to somebody they know or they see somebody else get cast in it. And I think it's nice when they go, oh,

Fuck you, I wanted that. Because of course you did. Why'd be like, oh, I'm so chuffed for you. Of course, you'll be so much better than I would be. Why are you lying? You think that you would be better than them. You wanted it. They got it.

Be open about it. Let's not pretend anything else is happening. And there's something, you know, it's truth, isn't it? And I think truth is kind of hard to come by. And when people do express truth, even if it's dressed up or it's overblown for comic effect, there's still an inherent truth there. And the acknowledgement of that truth is so. so refreshing. I love. Do you know what I'm loving? I'm noticing about your moustache.

You get a little bit of snow. Frosty. Yeah. I got a frosty mustache. I also, I should, on the topic of that Randy Newman thing, I try to do a version of it in that Who Do You Think You Are I Am show, which is sort of about that being slagged off by other comedians. That's sort of the pivotal point in the show. And throughout the show, I make fun of other comedians. Yeah. To almost prove the point. I try to be hypocritical. all my shows. It's quite a strange thing to try and want, but I think there is something deeply

human about being frustrated when something happens to you, but it's something you do to other people. And so I make fun of other comedians. And I think I do have, I've sort of only realized it right now that it is a version of that Randy Newman joke that I have in the show where I say I got nominated for the award, didn't win, she was Mexican and deaf, I didn't have a chance. And that's a little joke about Larry Ricote, who I genuinely think is, brilliant. Yeah. And I say that in the show and I asked her whether I could tell that joke or not.

I didn't ask everyone. I make fun of Michael McIntyre. I didn't ask him if I could make fun of him in the show because he didn't ask me if he could make fun of Belfast accents in his Netflix special. But I thought that was sort of a little, I mean, nobody will get the reference other than the wonderful listeners of this podcast, but a little hat tip to Randy Newman to be like slagging somebody off, but I also think that they're brilliant. I love that.

It's just the joke was fun to make. So, we've talked about your last special, which I absolutely loved. And the one before that, I think it was the one... Translations. I've watched that as well, which I love. And you're going on tour again, aren't you? I am going on tour again. It starts in a couple weeks, that's mid-January.

Can I come and see you? You can. You can come to the Apollo? Yeah, I'd love her. Or I'm doing a little run through. I'd always be comedy if you want to come see it in a smaller room in advance. I might come with Pierna belly, my friend. I might come with Pierna belly, my friend.

But you'll miss out on, I've got lots of bells and whistles with this show. Have you? I've got a band. Oh, I want the band. Yeah, come to the Apollo. Look at me. I'm a band girl, aren't I? I'm not the dark comedy club.

I've done that, love. Come to the Apollo. It's, you know. So the new show is called You Can't Say Nothing Anymore. I love that. Which is on sort of a title that exists on three levels. Number one, it's making fun of comedians who think you can't say anything anymore because I think it's nonsense. And as you say at one point, yeah, on their Netflix special.

You can't say anything anymore. Or YouTube. Or YouTube. And also a play on say nothing, the book by Patrick Radden Keith, which became a series on Disney Plus. Because I talk about growing up in the aftermath of The Troubles and what that was like. Oh, it's amazing. Is it okay to say I love it? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's harrowing. That's what I mean. It doesn't sound trivial. But it was amazing. And I've lots of friends in it. I'm good friends with Anto who played Brendan Hughes in it. He's sort of amazing and Lola's amazing as well. So I talk about that.

I always rip off posters for the things. So when I did translations, I ripped off the National Theatre's poster for translations. So good. You can't say nothing anymore. I nicked the Disney posters and did a version of me in Lola's place. And she thought it was very funny. And then this idea of comedians and artists as activists in the sense of you can't say nothing anymore, like this pressure we have to be outspoken about everything and be...

That's interesting. It doesn't work on a lot of levels. Yeah, I'm pretty tough with the title. The show might not live up to it, but... I can keep going that way, actually. Do you think? I really love the title. I'm delighted with the show.

Did it at the fringe for the whole month. Yeah, I sold out a bunch of extra shows. Really, really exciting. And, yeah, doing some very cool venues around the UK and Ireland. And so that starts in... That starts in January, and that goes through the UK till March, Ireland, in April, and then America and May. in southern hemisphere in autumn yeah it's all as long as they don't revoke my visa but we'll see

oh the irish do well i did new york in november it was so exciting i did i did it in new york a sort of little venue to test the waters but i absolutely loved it american audiences are so unashamed do they like irish so enthusiastic i mean i'm half irish half italian i belong in new york i was gonna say they're gonna build a show you're yeah i know i know i know i'll be hosting a late-night chat over the end of the week. Do you know, I don't doubt it with you. I think you're going to be huge. I don't know why. I don't know. Like, I'm very, like, I've achieved, I'm in this funny little point where I've, like, the last tour was achieving maybe everything I set out to achieve and going, oh God, like, you know, I've done a tour. It's sold out, like a bunch of shows. Some of them in big

theatres. Like, that's so exciting. And now this tour, it's sort of bigger again. And you go, oh, God, this is so exciting as well. I don't know, like, What do I do not? Like, I'm just keeping on, keeping on, I guess, and saying yes to as much stuff as sort of aligns with me, trying to stick to that feeling of making things that I would want to consume. Who do you admire and respect?

Daniel Kitsyn. Oh, he's great, isn't he? He's my favourite. I think he's so, so good. I really respect Kevin Bridges, and very fortunate to be of becoming friends with Kevin recently, which... Daniel Kitson's interesting because he sort of said,

I'm not playing your game. Yeah, I wish I had the balls. I wish I had the balls. For people that don't know Daniel Kitsen, sort of this mythological comedian in the UK who sacked his agent and refused to become famous, doesn't do any TV. And it's genuinely not interested in any of that,

which you can tell, like agents and other comics, I think some of them don't believe him. Yeah. Because they would think, oh, well, everybody would want, what I've got. And you think it's kind of weird when someone doesn't want that. Yeah. I think it unsettles people. Yeah. Like it's like, I find sometimes there's a single person when people are like, but why don't you want what we've got? Why don't you want marriage? Yeah. And you think, well, I don't have a problem with you being married, but why do you have a problem with? And I think

it's that strength of mind to step back and go, there's a lot of trodden paths. Yeah. That it's very easy to fall into and just go, okay, I'm going to do this, going to do this, going to do this. But taking that step back, I think there's a lot to learn from that with someone like Kitson and someone like Stuart Lee. And I was really glad when you said earlier. Yeah, it feels like there's an integrity there where you go, no, I'm not just going to do this because it's what you're supposed to do. No. I'm going to make what I want to make. Are you glad when I said that about you? Yeah, I think so. I think that's... I think that is true. I think that's something I'm really striving for especially because you know somebody with whatever number of

followers on TikTok and Instagram you could be there's a lot of people with a lot of followers who are making pandering shite and it's hard to strike that balance because there is a dopamine rush of getting lots of likes and lots of views and you could really pander very easily and I try not to do that but it's striking that balance of how much of a step you take towards the audience and how much you just perform for yourself. Do you know what I've just noticed? For the first time, in the entire time,

we've been walking, Ray has stopped shivering. And that's because you're holding him. Why do you think that is? I think he finds you comfortable. Animals found me very soothing. Did it? Did it? Did it?

My girlfriend thinks it's because I'm so anxious that they think they need to look after me. So they feel my heart weight and go, good God, I can't be the stressed one here. I think animal sense good people, though. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think they do. Where's your darkness? What do you mean?

Well, you're a comedian. I'm immensely... I'm looking for the dark. I mean, I would say the anxiety I can see that. Yeah. But you, I can't... You seem... I think whatever dark...

you have had, it seems like you're kind of working with it and acknowledging it, aren't you? Yes, and I think that's one of the few benefits of being a very mentally unwell child. I've been in therapy since I was nine. Really? I'm a tremendously reconstructed person. Do you still have therapy? No, I'm thinking of getting back into it, but I'm also thinking of getting mad into religion. Really?

Just for, like, just maybe. Do you know? You're either. It would be a shame not too. I think I might go to Mass every Sunday during the tour just because it might be nice. If I had your accent I would. Yeah, all of my great uncles are priests and my great aunties are nuns and you know, like Italian, Irish. Like if I'm not Catholic who is. Well my favourite is a nun who breaks bad. Oh yeah.

Do you know what I mean? I love a nun that leaves the order. That was good and say nothing when Lola and Hazel were dressed up as the nun. up as the nuns robbing the bank. Spoilers. So good. The IRA robbed banks. I should say, we're on hamster teeth and I've honestly never seen any of you quite like it. God, it is, the whole city is experiencing golden hour, isn't it? Look at this, or can we take a picture? It's still one. It's so beautiful. You're, you're quite a relaxing person to spend time with. Do you think so? That's nice. Yeah, I find you very

relaxing. I think maybe it is that thing that people always shied on about with Robin Williams of like him being so depressed and he wanted to make sure nobody else was depressed. I want to make sure everybody else was happy. I think I maybe have that with my own anxieties and maybe some of the autism things that I would never want someone to feel socially awkward or I would never want someone to feel stressed around me so I think I work quite hard to be maybe a calming influence on my environment. Well Ray's really taken to you, Victoria. He's a good dog. He's a good dog. Have you enjoyed spending time with Ray? I've loved spending time with Ray.

He's a lovely little dog. I mean, I think you maybe could have got a few more steps in, Ray, but... I just so worry when he gets cold. Yeah. Look, let's put him down for a bit to get... That's a good idea. Ray, you go, how you walk right? Victoria wants to see you run.

Come on. Come on. Show Victoria how you run. He is. Very sceptical of the frosty grass. Ray, Ray. Good job, Ray. Good job.

Boy. Good boy. Oh it is all a bit stressful. Are you shaking off the stress? You're good boy. Are you shaking off the stress? Come on. Come on, Ray.

He doesn't love the snow. Oh, look. He's doing very well. You're doing so well, my love. Come on. You're shaking. And is Ray named after any particular Ray or is he just Ray? Yeah, so he's called Raymond for two reasons.

One sort of vaguely humorous, one a little bit moving, which is how I launched. moving, which is how I like things. Hmm, that sounds like very up my street. So one is because my sister died and she was called Rachel. Oh, lovely. And when we grew up in Australia Vittoria, you know what they're like? They shorten everyone's name. Yeah.

So they shorten everything. And so Rachel became Ray. And she was like, I fucking hate they keep calling it Ray. Like, Ray Dean, Ray, right away. So anyway, so it kind of, what was, it was really sad when she died. And I thought, actually, I want to remember. her because I partly got dog to sort of deal with that. Yeah.

And I thought, you know what? It's a bit confronting calling my dog fucking Rachel. Yes, that's a bit on the nose. Yeah, whereas I thought, this feels like a nod to her that's not weird. And so that's really lovely. And then, so that it's partly out of her memory. And then it's also because I love Ray Palma, the Arsenal player. That's good.

That's good. I was trying to figure out what, era of Arsenal player would be your era of Arsenal player. Ray Pauler. Liam Brady was he at Arsenal first? Yeah, yeah. Was he ever? Because I had Arsenal top trumps

because my older brother is an Arsenal fan. Oh yeah. I noticed you picked out the Irish. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course. Don't get me wrong. Come here.

Good boy! Oh, he looks so cute. Are you having a nice time? He enjoyed it. He got about 20 steps in there, Ray. That was good. He got his 20 steps. Well done.

Well done. done really so um yeah so we've talked about your special which i can't wait to come and see and i think this is going to be quite a big year for you isn't it i hope so i've i've started to get my first bits of tv and stuff and i have been enjoying them i've recorded cats does count down i think i'll be okay i did the original countdown um when i was 21 or something um just because That'll probably be the undiagnosed autism, I'd say. Yes, just as a punter. I wangled my way on there and did terribly against the guy who'd beaten seven people in a row before me.

So it felt like I was his eighth victim. You didn't do work? Not on the original countdown. I did okay on the Castles' countdown one, but they have a new format where somebody arrives and joins the losing team on the last part of the show. So you're only on very, very briefly. But yeah, stuff like. like that does feel I'd love to do some radio four comedy I think people don't

think I scream radio for comedy and maybe like don't think I would fit into it but I really like I grew up listening to Radio 4 comedy and I'd love to do like the news quiz or any of that type of stuff but um do you find being recognized I quite like it I think that's something that might change heading into the slightly more mainstream thing what I find having an online following is that anybody who recognizes me likes me and enjoys what I do because they've clicked on my face

enough that it comes up in their algorithm and they've started to recognise my face and maybe they follow me. Whereas my concern and it did happen with Richard Osmond's House of Games my sort of first foray and TV stuff is that Richard Osmond's House of Games is a lot of people's favourite TV show

and if you go on and they don't like you then for a whole week you've ruined their favourite TV show and I was and this is arguable and slightly too competitive on Richard Osmond's House of Games I don't think you're supposed to win all five days but I did because I knew all the answers so I answered them which felt pretty straightforward to me if I know the answer I'm going to answer it as quickly as I can because that's the game and people said God you could have given the other people a chance and I sort of thought and somebody accused me of bad teamwork

and I went well it's not a team game so but that's the thing where people go like God they really didn't like that and get sort of angry tweets about that so that's the worry that's something I'm nervous about of like entering entering these worlds where you're pumped into somebody's living room which is a very different experience than just putting out your own stuff online because if people don't like it they can just scroll past online yeah that's difficult that isn't it because it's sort of more profile which is all good for you

but equally you have to manage that with the sort of the other stuff that comes with greater visibility for sure you know and again I think

maybe from that experience of being very socially anxious when people come up and speak to me they're often very nervous like I had a guy on the way here on one of the overground platforms What does he say? Oh, I'm so sorry.

Am I, are you, I love your podcast. And I went, oh, thank you so much, man. And I just try to be, make it as positive as an experience for them as possible. Because I know that feeling of bumping into somebody you recognize or spotting them and going, oh, I'm just such a big fan. I think you're brilliant. And I remember I met a brilliant. Well, it's so personal as well, isn't it? Yeah.

I met a brilliant musician who's now more of an actor, Cosmo Jarvis. And I went to one of his gigs in London. And I was obsessed with him when I was a teenager. and then when I was 19, went to see him at a pub in Islington and met him after and said, God, I just really appreciate that you exist. And he went, I really appreciate that you exist. And I just thought, that's, he smashed that.

You know what I mean? So I've always tried to make somebody feel just as important as I am. You know what I mean? Because they sort of put you on a pedestal, but I think it's nice to be like, oh, thank you so much for saying that. That's really kind. I also learned it from old traditional Irish musicians

in pubs. in London where somebody comes up and goes, oh, that was brilliant or whatever. Like I was very, I think I sang a song at a traditional Irish music session at a pub in London. And so he said, oh, that was great. And I went, oh, no, no, no, it was shit. And one of the older fellas goes, no, no, no, you don't do that.

You don't do that. You don't tell someone they're wrong for saying what you did was good. And then somebody came up to him later and said, oh, God, that was brilliant. And he went, thank you so much for saying. And it's like, you haven't agreed with them. You haven't gone, yes, I am brilliant. You've gone, that's really nice of

you say I really appreciate that. Yeah, because someone once said that to me that when someone says you look lovely or whatever, you've got nice eyes or whatever, when you say, no, no, no, don't be silly, exactly, you're taking away from them. Yeah. It's a form of generosity to say, thank you for that. I really appreciate that. You've made my day better because I'll make them feel great. Yeah. Yeah. This is the excuse we give ourselves to luxuriate in compliments. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, we're coming to the end of our walk and I have to say, it's been an absolute joy. It's been so nice.

Have you liked it? And I've been out of the house when a sofa got delivered to my girlfriend, so I'm chuffed. I think we need to become friends. I think so. We're so local. I think we'd get on quite well, don't we? I occasionally do the pub quiz at the King's Head. Oh, I might come down there.

If you want to hang out. And? I love a pub quiz. I mean, smashing Richard Osmond's House of Games doesn't surprise. No, no concern for how it came across. No, no, no, no, no. It's about the quiz. And Ray absolutely adores you.

Well, I'm a big fan of Ray. Oh. This has been so nice. What a lovely podcasting experience. It wasn't on Zoom. I didn't have to go some stupid studio. I got my steps in. I have absolutely loved this.

And by the way, I also want to say, talking of podcasts, which we were, you have to listen to Vittoria's podcast as well. Mike and Vittoria's Guide to Parenting. Yeah, in which they don't talk about parenting. Neither of us have children and we don't talk about parenting. It's so good though. It's very good fun.

The joke reason that it's called that. The real reason is we just wanted the stupidest name available. But the joke reason is that we're trying to attract an audience of young mums. So if you're a young mum looking for a bit of crack and absolutely no parenting advice, Mike and Vittoria is guide to parenting. Well, I love it. It's brilliant. And I love you and Ray adores you.

Thank you so much, Vitorio. And we will definitely be coming to see you on tour. Yes, please do. And we can get tickets at... Vitorioangelooney.com. Good luck spelling it. I know I'm quite good at spelling it. Bye, Vittorio.

Thank you so much. Bye, bye, Ray. I really hope you enjoyed that episode of Walking the Dog. We'd love it if you subscribed. And do join us next time on Walking the Dog wherever you get your podcasts.