This podcast is sponsored by Pet Plan who are the UK's number one pet insurer.

I've always used Pet Plan for Raymond as they cover things other insurers don't

and they can even pay your vet directly, which can be a big help. No Raymond that doesn't mean you can spend

all the extra cash on treats. Terms, conditions and excesses apply. Pet plan is a

trading name of Allian's Insurance PLC.

Okay, this is the last bit of danger.

We just have to get to that gap in the tree.

This is a lot, bit of danger.

This week on Walking the Dog, I went to Somerset to visit

broadcaster, journalist, an owner of probably the most distinctive and

most fabulous voices ever, Mariela Frostrup.

Mariela has two dogs, a Yorkie poo and a Yorkie Maltese poo called Katushka and Baum,

and we took them for a walk through her local fields.

So I hope you enjoy me being a ridiculous towny

and getting absolutely freaked out by cows.

I've long been a fan of Mariela since her days as a presenter in the 90s and I'm obsessed by her

guardian advice column but I was also interested to chat about her recent BBC

documentary The Truth about the Menopause which I know so many women found incredibly

helpful. Mariela has a reputation for being charismatic and warm and she really

was, but I also loved how open she was. We talked a lot about her slightly chaotic childhood and her party girl years.

And how she finally managed to find domestic bliss with her human rights lawyer husband,

who, by the way, Helen Fielding apparently calls Mark Darcy.

...