Jess Fostekew (Part One)
Walking The Dog with Emily Dean
Goalhanger
4.6 • 3.3K Ratings
🗓️ 4 November 2025
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week Emily and Ray take a walk with the brilliant Jess Fostekew, comedian, writer and all-round powerhouse of warmth and wit.
Jess is best known for her acclaimed live stand-up, as well as her appearances on QI, Live at the Apollo, and more. She chats to Emily about growing up in Dorset, how comedy became her social currency, and why she swapped a promising career in law (complete with a very posh law degree) for the world of stand-up, a decision that’s since earned her a devoted following and a Comedy Award nomination.
It’s a funny, thoughtful and joy-filled chat with one of the most effortlessly likeable voices in British comedy, and someone who handled Ray’s rather unathletic walking speed with saintly patience.
You can catch Jess on tour in her brand new show Iconic Breath, running from February to May 2026. For tickets and dates, head to plosive.co.uk.
Follow Emily:
Instagram: @emilyrebeccadean
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.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | That's their form of therapy. Yeah, one-off as well as therapy. Please do also do the therapy, |
| 0:05.8 | comedians. But yes, for crying out loud. This week on Walking the Dog, Ray and I went for a North |
| 0:12.2 | London stroll with the brilliant comedian at Jess Foster Q. Jess is well known for her hugely |
| 0:18.4 | successful live stand-up shows, as well as her numerous TV appearances |
| 0:22.9 | on everything from QI to live at the Apollo, and my favourite Celebrity University Challenge. |
| 0:28.7 | And we had the loveliest chat about her childhood growing up in Dorset, how comedy became |
| 0:34.7 | a currency for her with her friends when she was growing up, |
| 0:37.9 | and why she'd initially planned to be a lawyer. |
| 0:40.9 | She even nabbed herself a posh law degree, |
| 0:43.2 | so if anyone ever soothes me, I know who I'm calling. |
| 0:46.1 | But fortunately for all of us, she decided on a career in comedy |
| 0:49.4 | and has won legions of fans and a Comedy Award nomination for her genius comic insights. Ray and I |
| 0:56.2 | love Jess. She's such a fabulous person to go for a walk with, mainly because she's hilarious, |
| 1:02.2 | but also she's so warm and open and easygoing. And also, despite being one of the fittest people |
| 1:08.3 | I've ever met, she very patiently tolerated Ray's |
| 1:11.8 | painfully slow snares pace, which has more than could be said for me. If you want to catch Jess |
| 1:17.1 | live and I really urge you to, the good news is you can get tickets to see her in her show, |
| 1:22.0 | iconic breath, which will be touring in 2026 from February right through to May. |
| 1:30.3 | To book tickets, go to plosive.co.uk. |
| 1:32.4 | Really hope you enjoy our chat. |
| 1:34.4 | I'll hand over to the woman herself. |
| 1:50.0 | Here's Jess and Ray. Jess, who are these big boys? I know. |
... |
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