Walking The Dog with Emily Dean

In part two of Emily and Ray’s walk with Johnny Marr, there’s more from an extraordinary life in music, from the Manchester childhood that shaped him to the career that followed and the experiences that have stayed with him along the way.

Johnny shares more about his upbringing, his relationship with music and what it has meant to spend much of his life doing the thing he first fell in love with as a boy. There’s also plenty more on a career that has taken him from The Smiths through countless collaborations and on to his acclaimed solo work.

And it turns out guitars aren’t the only thing Johnny can’t resist. When a stray football appears during the walk, all thoughts of being a legendary musician are temporarily forgotten as he immediately has to give it a kick.

If you haven’t already, catch up on part one of Emily’s walk with Johnny. His new album, The Age of Everything, is out now, and the anniversary edition of his autobiography, Set the Boy Free, will be released on 22 October.

Follow Emily:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyrebeccadean
X: https://twitter.com/divine_miss_em

Walking The Dog is produced by Will Nichols
Music: Rich Jarman
Artwork: Alice Ludlam
Photography: Karla Gowlett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Emily and Ray take a stroll with one of the most influential guitarists and songwriters of his generation, Johnny Marr.

Johnny grew up in Manchester in a house filled with music, before going on to co-found The Smiths and create a sound that would influence generations of musicians. He tells Emily about those early years, the formation of the band and the extraordinary musical legacy they left behind, as well as the lasting impact that period had on his own life and career.

After The Smiths, Johnny built a career every bit as eclectic as you’d expect, working with artists including The Pretenders, The The, Modest Mouse and Gorillaz, before establishing himself as an acclaimed solo artist.

His new album, The Age of Everything, is out now, and a new anniversary edition of his autobiography, Set the Boy Free, will be released on 22 October.

And, crucially, Johnny is a serious dog person. He arrived for the walk armed with treats for Ray and plenty of stories about his two Rhodesian Ridgebacks, leaving Emily wondering whether she and Ray might be able to move in with Johnny, his wife Angie and the dogs. There is just one condition: absolutely no guitar playing while Emily is watching reality TV.

Follow Emily:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyrebeccadean
X: https://twitter.com/divine_miss_em

Walking The Dog is produced by Will Nichols
Music: Rich Jarman
Artwork: Alice Ludlam
Photography: Karla Gowlett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part two of Emily and Ray’s walk with Nick Knowles, Nick takes us behind the scenes of DIY SOS and explains just how much work, care and love goes into creating the transformations we see on screen.

He talks about the people and communities at the heart of the programme, why the show has remained so important to him after 26 years, and what it’s like being there when months of planning and hard graft finally come together.

Nick also opens up about the less straightforward side of being a familiar face, from dealing with press attention to the strange ways fame can affect your everyday life.

If you haven’t already, catch up on part one of Emily’s walk with Nick. And you can see the current series of DIY SOS on Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC One.

Follow Emily:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyrebeccadean
X: https://twitter.com/divine_miss_em

Walking The Dog is produced by Will Nichols
Music: Rich Jarman
Artwork: Alice Ludlam
Photography: Karla Gowlett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Emily and Ray take a stroll with Nick Knowles, who has been at the helm of DIY SOS for an incredible 26 years, or, as Emily prefers to call it, Time for My Weekly Cry.

Nick grew up on a council estate in West London, left school at 16 and spent the next few years doing just about every job imaginable. He tells Emily how he eventually blagged his way into television with the help of some questionably acquired BBC letterhead, beginning a broadcasting career that has made him one of the most recognisable faces on British TV.

There are stories from a remarkably adventure-packed life, from working with David Attenborough and orangutans to chatting with Prince Harry at Buckingham Palace, plus the fabulous revelation that Nick once owned a pair of chinchillas. He also looks back on his adventures in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

And, of course, they delve into DIY SOS, the extraordinary people Nick has met through the programme and the communities who come together to transform the lives of families going through incredibly difficult times. The current series airs Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC One.

It’s a candid, entertaining and occasionally unexpected stroll with a man who has accumulated more stories than most, all delivered, appropriately enough, while wearing a cowboy hat. Now Emily just needs to persuade him to find a tiny high-vis for Ray.

Follow Emily:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyrebeccadean
X: https://twitter.com/divine_miss_em

Walking The Dog is produced by Will Nichols
Music: Rich Jarman
Artwork: Alice Ludlam
Photography: Karla Gowlett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part two of Emily and Ray’s walk with Caitlin Moran and Luna, Caitlin turns her attention to something many of us could probably use a little more of right now: hope.

Her new book, How to Be Hopeful, grew out of a search for ways to feel more optimistic about the world without simply ignoring everything that’s wrong with it. Caitlin shares some of what she discovered along the way, and why seemingly small things - nature, community, getting outside and, inevitably, dogs - can make a surprisingly big difference.

There’s also more from Caitlin on her life, family and extraordinary career, as the conversation ranges from the deeply thoughtful to the gloriously silly.

If you haven’t already, do go back and listen to part one. Caitlin’s new book, How to Be Hopeful, is available to buy now.

Follow Emily:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyrebeccadean
X: https://twitter.com/divine_miss_em

Walking The Dog is produced by Will Nichols
Music: Rich Jarman
Artwork: Alice Ludlam
Photography: Karla Gowlett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.