These two girls dressed in their pyjamas, women, going down the corridor saying,

I want to say to the other, oh duffers, I've got shampas all over my gym jams.

This week on Walking the Dog, Ray and I went for a stroll with a very special guest,

the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davy.

I know, I can't believe it either. Picking up Ray's poo with Sir Ed Davy watching over me definitely wasn't on my 2026 bingo card, but I was delighted he agreed to join us for a walk. And frankly, having a close protection officer following behind us just confirmed Ray's belief that he is literally the most important dog in the world.

But security aside, what was interesting to me was how relaxed the whole thing was.

I mean, I'd envisaged an entourage of kind of scary Westminster men in suits

saying, look, can we keep the Shih Tzu on message? But Ed and I

ended up strolling around for a couple of hours having a really in-depth proper chat about

pretty much everything. We talked about his childhood growing up in Nottinghamshire, losing his

father to cancer when he was just four years old. And how after his mother was diagnosed with

cancer, he then spent much of his early teens helping to care for her before finally losing

her when he was 15. We also chatted about Ed's time at Oxford University and how MI6 tried to

recruit him as a spy. But he decided espionage sounded far too stressful, so opted for the famously relaxing world of politics instead.

Ed also told me about why support for carers has become one of the defining themes of his life, from helping to care for his mother to now caring for his son John, who has severe disabilities,

and navigating that with his wife Emily following her diagnosis of MS.

It's something he explores in his book, Why I Care and Why Care Matters,

which gives you a lot of insight into Ed and why he's so passionate about advocating for carers.

And if you want to give it a read,

it's now out in paperback. Ray and I genuinely had the loveliest time with Ed. I found him surprisingly open and unscripted for a politician. At one point, he even let me grab his phone

to look at his playlist. And by the way, there was both

Abba and Adele on there. And I was also incredibly moved by what he's been through in his life and

...