Episode 10 Sport Relief's Top Dog

72 dogs.

24 celebrity team captains.

-AUDIENCE:

-Aw!

And one big tournament, to find Sport Relief's Top Dog!

On tonight's show, Team Sally.

Former Olympic champion Sally Gunnell,

and her Labrador Diggy, are teamed up with

search-and-rescue dog handler Tom Gilchrist, from Scotland,

and his Border collie Tara, who's a working mountain rescue dog.

And dog trainer Nicci Hinson from Nottinghamshire,

with Leo, her pet Border collie.

They're taking on Team Peaches.

Peaches Geldof, a TV personality and model,

with her pet golden retriever, Parper,

are joined by

company director Tracy Chapman, from Manchester,

and her Italian spinone, Woody,

a working demonstration dog at a training school.

And sales administrator Fay Lloyd, from Herefordshire,

with Ernie, her pet cocker spaniel.

It's time for our two teams to go head-to-head,

it's Sport Relief's Top Dog.

APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Gaby Roslin.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Hello, good evening, and welcome to Sport Relief's Top Dog,

the show where man's best friend gets the recognition he deserves,

all in aid of Sport Relief.

APPLAUSE

Time to meet the team captain of Team Sally.

-Sally.

-Yes.

-Hello.

-Hello.

Introduce us to this lovely dog.

She is called Diggy. She's five years old.

-What's she like at home?

-Loves the kids.

They play with the youngest full-on.

Does she go running or do sports with you?

I try and go running with her, but she's not very keen.

The other one loves it. This one just sits at home and does nothing.

Just sits on the front door, "I'm not coming."

-She's just really very happy.

-A gentle soul, lovely.

Let's hear it for Sally and Diggy! APPLAUSE

Hello, Tom. We've got beautiful Tara.

Share with everybody what Tara can do.

Tara's a search-and-rescue dog. We specialise in avalanches.

Surely, in the snow, how do they pick up the scent?

We train her to collect little pockets of air scent.

It's an airborne scent.

She doesn't track on the ground, she tracks with her head up.

She's a very brave dog as well.

There's something quite extraordinary she does with helicopters.

We get winched in and out of helicopters.

She has a harness and I have a harness, we're clipped together.

She saves people's lives, what an amazing lady.

Let's hear it for Tom and Tara! APPLAUSE

Nicci, hello. And beautiful Leo. Hello, Leo.

You've got such pretty eyes.

He's a seven-year-old Border collie.

And he's full of life. A little bit crazy.

LAUGHTER

-Does he do tricks too?

-He does.

-What tricks does he do?

Leo!

-Can you do... Boast. Boast.

-LEO WHIMPERS

-AUDIENCE:

-Aw!

-Good boy.

-APPLAUSE

-Good boy.

Wonderful, let's hear it for Team Sally!

CHEERING

So, captain of Team Peaches, Peaches, hello.

-Hi.

-Lovely to see you.

-You, too.

Now, introduce us to this gorgeous, gorgeous dog.

This is Parper.

-Hasn't he got a best friend who's a kitten?

-Yes.

He has a kitten best friend.

I found a kitten abandoned by its mum in my old house.

I brought it into the house, and I laid it by Parper.

And he just licked it really rhythmically,

and then, basically, after five minutes, came back to life.

And now it thinks that Parper is its mum, it tries to get milk from him.

It rides around on his back,

around the house, clinging on. Hanging over him.

It thinks it's a dog. It chews bones with him at the same time.

-They've a really sweet relationship.

-Oh, what a lovely story.

Let's hear it for Peaches and Parper! APPLAUSE

Hello! Tracy, introduce us to this beautiful dog.

This is Woody. He's an Italian spinone, two-and-a-half years old.

There's not many in the country, not many people know what they are.

You say he does a special job, what does he do?

Yeah. We've got a training school - Academy 4 Dogs.

He goes around schools. It's called Woody's Way.

He teaches children how to read signals in dogs.

He does a demonstration, and teaches them how to train the dogs.

We'll get the camera to look straight into your eyes.

-He says, "I love my sausage."

-Fetch!

-He says, I love my sausage"!

-GABY LAUGHS

Let's hear it for Woody! CHEERING

Hello, Fay.

Tell me all about Ernie?

Ernie's a three-and-a-half year old working cocker spaniel.

-Tell me what he's like?

-He is the happiest dog you could ever meet.

His tail never stops wagging. Agility, fly-ball, you name it.

He's the dog of a lifetime? He is.

Let's hear it for Team Peaches! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The noses are wet, the ears pricked, and the coats are looking glossy.

We're in for some healthy competition.

As ever, we're off to the pool for our first game of the evening

which involves a spot of wordplay.

Please get ready for Pooch Puns.

CHEERING

This game is all about the three Rs - reading, writing,

and rolling about in a pool full of water.

The handlers must throw a ball beyond the marker

for the dog to dive in and return.

Each ball is stamped with a letter missing from a well-known phrase.

There are four missing letters to find.

The team that completes the phrase in the fastest time will be the winners.

We flipped a coin to see who is going first, and it's Fay and Ernie.

Off you go and get ready.

Our canine water experts are standing by, as ever, in the pool.

Give us a wave, Dave.

Give it some welly, Ellie! CHEERING

We're all set for the first game of the evening.

Good luck to Fay and Ernie. Are you ready?

On your barks, get set, go. CHEERING

On Top Dog, we make sure every game is suited for each dog's ability.

Ready, ready, fetch.

Cockers are the smallest of the spaniel varieties,

and love water, as Ernie is demonstrating.

-AUDIENCE:

-Ernie! Ernie!

That's his third letter. He has to bring back all four missing letters

to help Fay complete the phrase.

Good boy, Ernie. Quick! Fetch it, quick!

Not looking quite as keen to go in for that last ball.

Fay offers some spirited encouragement, and he's in.

They have an E, an A, and a D. They just need the mystery fourth letter.

They've done it! "Dog eat dog world" is the phrase they've completed.

This is a "dog beat dog" competition.

So, will their time be fast enough to win?

Congratulations, Fay and Ernie. I bet you'll want to know your time?

-Yes, please.

-An incredible time of one minute, one second.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

OK, Nicci and Leo, you know what you have to beat.

One minute, one second. On your barks, get set, go.

Go, hold it.

He dives straight in. No messing about on the ramp for Leo.

Confidently showing the other team he's not afraid of a challenge.

Ready, go! Go, go, go!

The Border collie's an extremely intelligent and energetic breed.

Leo's really showing us that energy

with his heroic dives to retrieve the balls.

Go, go, come on!

He's got the ball, heading back to Nicci.

Ready, go! Go, go!

Despite the dive, he manages to keep his head held high, very nice.

Nicci's putting in place her second letter,

just as Leo delivers the third. Great teamwork.

Go, go, go!

The mystery phrase, starting to take shape.

Leo's about to give Nicci the last letter,

then we'll know what it says.

"Every dog has its day".

In the case of Leo, he's had a very good day of spectacular dives.

But will he have brought back those letters fast enough

to make sure it's his day and not Ernie's?

Are you having some fun now? There we go.

All right. The saying was, "Every dog has its day".

And the time to beat, if you remember,

was one minute, one second, very fast.

-Would you like to know the time?

-Oh, yes, please.

-58 seconds!

-Wow!

CHEERING

That means the first game goes to Team Sally.

Well done. CHEERING

Off you go now, all of you, and get dry. Well done.

We have something coming up that never fails to raise a smile.

Yes, it's super slow and super cute,

it's Ernie and Leo doing the Wet Dog Shaggy Shake.

# Shake your groove thing Shake your groove thing, yeah, yeah

# Show 'em how we do it now

# Shake your groove thing Shake your groove thing, yeah, yeah

# Show 'em how we do it now. #

Rest assured that the dogs' welfare is our number one priority,

and we've got five fabulous experts to keep their tails wagging.

Reena Patel is our resident vet

and senior clinician at her local practice.

Roy Dyer is our canine consultant,

he's been training dogs for over 50 years.

Kristina Glover

is a veterinary-approved pet behaviour counsellor.

David Pugh trains dogs to swim and save lives.

Alongside him is his apprentice, Ellie Bedford.

CHEERING

Now, it's time for our second game,

and one which requires a good aim and a very obedient dog.

It's now the turn of our celebrity team captains.

This game is called Spot On, and here are the rules.

The celebrity team captain stands behind the line,

and fires a ball at this giant target.

There are points for every hit. However, only one ball.

The dog must retrieve that same ball, before it can be fired again.

The team with the highest scores wins.

So, Sally and Diggy, please take your positions.

It's now time for Spot On.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

-OK, Sally, are you ready?

-Yes.

On your barks, get set, go.

-Fetch.

-Bull's-eye! Great aim.

Diggy's off to get her teeth into bringing back the ball.

APPLAUSE

Well done, good girl. Very good.

Are you ready? Fetch!

Another nice shot. Labradors, as a breed, love to please their masters.

I'm sure Sally's going to be very happy with Diggy's retrieval skills.

-Let's go. Yeah!

-Another bull's-eye.

Sally's putting the "gun" in Gunnell with this challenge.

And a great catch on the rebound from Diggy.

Sally's not the only one in her family with Olympic potential.

A slight fumble from Diggy with that one.

There you go, that's more like it.

Every shot by Sally earns points.

The number of shots she can take in the time limit

will determine whether they win or lose.

Quick, quick! Quick, quick, quick!

The time's not up. But Sally seems to be happy with her score,

and gives Diggy a well-deserved reward rub.

BEEPING

Diggy showed the best qualities of the Labrador breed in that game.

Fine retrieval skills, cool head, and positive attitude. Good job.

I don't know who's looking more exhausted, you or the dog!

-Would you like to know how much you scored?

-Go on, then.

-95!

-Whoa! Well done, you! That's good!

Peaches, that's what you have to beat, 95 points.

There's no way I'm going to beat this.

Honestly, it's like... Parper's worst thing is fetching.

It's going to be humiliating.

-We cannot wait.

-All right, OK. Apologies in advance.

-Parper, are you ready?

-He's ready to run round the studio.

On your barks, get set, go!

Wow! Bull's-eye from Peaches.

Go on, get the bally! Get the bally!

-Parper, come on.

-There you go.

Almost.

It went past the line, you get that one.

Parpy, look, look.

Parpy! Go, go, Parpy, go.

Another great shot from Peaches.

Parper's not really going for this.

No, Parper's more interested in watching from the sidelines

than taking part.

Unless he starts bringing the ball back,

they'll never beat Sally's 95 points.

Look. What's that?

Parpy, look. Look, go. Parpy, go get the ball.

-Go get the ball, come on.

-Parpy, get the ball.

Why bother getting the ball when it's going to come back by itself?

I warned everyone this was going to happen.

Hello, Parpy! Hello.

Peaches tries to entice Parper back with a clean shot at the target.

But Parper seems to be settling in for the show.

Time is ticking away.

THEY SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT

Gaby's getting Parper back into the game.

-BEEPING

-No, the time is up, unfortunately.

You can see that Parper has the joy typical of golden retrievers.

He clearly had a great time. And maybe that's all that matters.

APPLAUSE

You had to beat 95. Would you like to know your score?

-No.

-LAUGHTER

They scored 65 points, which was still very good.

APPLAUSE

How is that possible?

That means, again, Team Sally are the winners.

Well done. APPLAUSE

At the end of that game, it is Team Sally in the lead.

2-0. Well done. APPLAUSE

If all this canine caper has got you inspired,

then why not join us to raise money for Sport Relief and change lives?

There are all sorts of ways you and your dog can get involved.

The first ever Sport Relief Games take place

from Friday the 21st to Sunday the 23rd March.

The best way to join the fun and games is to sign up

to run, cycle or swim.

-ALL:

-We've just done the mile for Sport Relief.

But there are lots of other ways you can take part

and raise money for Sport Relief, with your faithful friend.

How about getting sponsored on a group dog walk?

DOG HOWLS

Or, you could set up your own dog obstacle course,

and ask for donations to take part.

For more ideas, and to get your own fundraising kit, visit:

So, please do get involved.

Sport Relief is working to save lives, and to change them.

Every donation makes a vital difference.

Now, it's time for the next game, and we have our last two to play.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Right now, on to the rules.

This is a striking variation of bowling.

We've all the familiar ingredients.

A bowling alley, an inflatable bowling ball, and 15 giant skittles.

Each dog will have three attempts to push their ball down the alley,

to knock down the skittles.

The ball remains in play until it crosses the back line.

We'll add up the number of total fallen skittles,

and the team with the highest score wins.

So, let's get ready for The Dog's Bowl!

APPLAUSE

Do you think Woody wants to play the game?

-Um.

-SHE LAUGHS

He was on his side a minute ago, with his legs in the air,

so I'm thinking it might not be good!

Woody? Woody?

We're going to try our best, aren't we, baby?

-Yeah?

-On your barks...

-Are you ready?

-..get set, go!

Ready? Woody!

None of our canine competitors

have been so cool before the challenge as Woody.

On his feet now, nosing the ball beautifully.

CHEERING

Good boy. Target! Go on!

Four skittles down on his first go,

but the turn isn't over until the ball crosses the furthest line

before the buzzer goes.

Yes! Good boy!

BEEPING

APPLAUSE

Remember, you get three rolls. Go again.

Woody's an Italian spinone, a breed rarely seen on these shores.

In fact, Woody's currently one of only six in the UK.

He's certainly working hard to show those skittles who's boss.

It won't necessarily get him a high score, though!

Woody seems to still have a bone to pick with our skittle.

Are you ready? One more go.

-Find the ball.

-Woody's last attempt.

No! He's determined to have it out with that skittle.

Once Woody sets his mind to a task, he won't give up.

A shame it's the wrong task in this situation.

BEEPING On your barks, get set, go.

-Woody, come! Target!

-Tracy's using a new tactic.

But Woody's having none of it.

-He really wants that skittle!

-LAUGHTER

I'll just hold this one, shall we!

Woody's done all he can for now.

But had he left enough of a challenge for his competitors?

He certainly gave that skittle the fight of its life.

CHEERING Well done, Woody.

So, at the end of the three rounds, and two skittles killed,

you actually scored nine, well done! APPLAUSE

Oh, yes!

-You've got nine to beat. Are you ready?

-No pressure, then!

On your barks, get set, go.

And, a light kick from Tom gets the ball rolling.

-Tara sends it straight up the field.

-Get it!

Two skittles over. And the ball's out of play.

Well done, thank you very much, you get your next roll.

Tara knocked the ball, looked for reassurance from Tom.

The ball had already crossed the line.

-Go get it, go on!

-CHEERING

Now, Tara has sent the ball sideways, and looks ready to pounce.

CHEERING

Get it, that's a girl.

There she goes, another skittle down... Two, three.

She seems to think she's done enough.

But Tom makes it clear she needs to push it further.

Collies have an instinct to herd things.

You can see that she's trying to do that with this ball.

Go get it. Go get it.

Oh! Right out of the field there.

APPLAUSE

I'm afraid we have to disqualify that.

No. She's still going around the set.

As a specialist avalanche dog, Tara is happiest working on the snow.

But it was her going off piste in this challenge.

APPLAUSE

Congratulations, that was quite something.

She can now balance a giant ball on her nose.

-SHE LAUGHS Good trick.

-Very useful!?

THEY LAUGH The score to beat was nine.

And Tara managed, in the end, to knock down five skittles.

APPLAUSE But well done to Tara.

Many congratulations to Team Peaches, the winners of the third round.

APPLAUSE

Now, adding that to the overall score,

means Team Sally are now in the lead by two games to one.

And that 2-1 lead of theirs will earn them

a very handy time advantage in the final, deciding game.

Get ready, people, it's time for The Bark Off.

APPLAUSE

This is a relay race.

The course will be completed one dog at a time.

Now, if an obstacle is refused or incorrectly cleared

then they'll hear this sound... BUZZER

They will only get two attempts at each obstacle,

and they cannot move on until they hear this sound.

DING

The team that completes the course in the fastest time will take overall

victory and be in with a chance of going through to the grand final.

Team Sally are in the lead,

which means that Team Peaches have the pressure of going first,

and because they're lagging behind two games to one,

they'll be starting their run with 15 seconds already added to the clock.

It's time now to play The Bark Off.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

OK, are you ready?

On your barks, get set, go.

Fay and Ernie are off.

Ernie starts off going the wrong way over Stonehenge.

Fixes the direction though, and he's shooting over Tower Bridge.

He's not even going to slow down for the tube.

Oh, he's overshot Swindon Roundabout. That's more like it.

-DING

-Excellent.

Fay and Ernie have been in a dog display team for three years.

They've performed all over the country at charity events

and in schools, and Ernie's certainly putting in a fine

performance in The Bark Off so far.

Fay's taking Ernie over the Giant's Causeway.

Looks like the right decision. Lovely stuff.

-Stay.

-Time for the ferry ride.

Ah-ah-ah.

Have to say, Ernie looks as comfortable

on the open water as on dry land.

He's done it.

Two hops and a jump later and they're done.

Woody and Tracy up next.

Woody, over.

Now, she's head trainer at a dog training centre,

so she'll be hoping that Woody doesn't show her up.

Well, his crossing of Tower Bridge certainly would give Tracy

nothing to worry about. Marvellous stuff.

Oh, Woody's larking around as Tracy comes out of the tunnel.

His head's back in the game now.

Woody's the second member of Team Peaches to take the Causeway.

-Nicely done.

-I'm looking forward to watching this ferry ride.

No, Woody climbs straight out of the ferry. That's better.

Now he's settled in, he really does look comfortable with

life on the open waves.

Stay.

Stay. Good. Stay.

LAUGHTER

Good boy.

-Good boy.

-Wow, what a wonderful calm crossing.

Despite his earlier antics, Woody really paying testament to

Tracy's training skills in this challenge.

Racing over the last two jumps. A great finish for Woody.

Peaches and Parper start their epic trek across the landmarks

of Great Britain.

Now Peaches tells us that Parper was given his name because he has...

How can I put this? ..a bit of a wind problem.

DING OK, you can move over

to the next jump.

Well, despite that, he clearly has no problem with sitting and staying.

Has Peaches finally got the control of Parper that was

missing in the earlier game?

Wow, starting the weave nicely.

Come on, Parpy.

-No, no, he's lost it.

-BUZZER

Try and do the stepping stones, Peaches.

Yeah, he needs to try the Giant's Causeway instead.

BUZZER

No, no, it looks like Parper's back to his old self.

Very social, though, having a chat with the camera crew.

Parpy, in your bed. Stay.

Lie down.

There we go, he's in the boat.

Is he going to stay there though?

BUZZER

-No. Straight out.

-He has to go back in.

Parpy, come on. In your bed, in your bed.

-Back in.

-Sit.

-Can he do it?

Stay, Parper.

-No.

-BUZZER

-OK, move on.

-Parpy, come on.

Yep. Parper's really going out of his way to avoid the last two jumps.

-Sorry.

-There we go, a bit of a chat with the audience.

Vital seconds ticking away though.

He's finally through John O'Groats.

Not the best run we've seen, I'm afraid, Parper.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Well done, Team Peaches, you did that in 4 minutes and 38 seconds.

-Really good time.

-Not bad.

-OK, Team Sally, are you ready to go?

Yeah, we're ready.

On your barks, get set, go.

Nicci and Leo kicking things off for Team Sally. Wow, look at him go.

Leo's a speed demon. Unbelievable acceleration.

Stay. Stay.

And staying well.

DING

Nicci studied animal behaviour at university.

Leo was there at her graduation.

Leo seems to be taking The Bark Off a little literally.

Over Mount Snowdon.

-Weave.

-He's getting vocal again.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

You can see that he gives a bark every pole

he goes through in the weave.

Perhaps he's just celebrating a good run.

-Very quickly taking a seat in the ferry.

-This dog is so fast.

This might be the fastest time yet.

This is amazing, that was very fast indeed.

Tara's turn.

Now Tom and Tara will be hoping to match Leo's success with their run.

Seemed a little cautious there, but she's up and over.

No delays on the tube for Tara. All running to schedule.

Stay.

Now Tom's leaving Tara on her own at the roundabout.

It's a new tactic, but it's worked.

-Through the tunnel.

-Come on, then.

Now, interestingly, Tara was such a quiet dog that Tom actually

had to teach her how to bark.

Yes, as an avid mountaineer, Tara traverses that peak easily.

Giant's Causeway - no big deal for Tara.

Into the ferry.

Tara leaps aboard.

A nice brisk pull across the Mersey.

That's the fastest ferry ride yet.

Hadrian's Wall, Forth Bridge, and now home.

Our final Bark Off competitors today - Sally

and Diggy making a solid start.

Up, up, up, up. Good girl.

Come on, baby.

Through Barking tube.

Up she gets. Lovely focus from Diggy there.

DING

Now Sally has numerous medals, including an Olympic gold.

No doubt she'll be hoping to add winner of

Sport Relief's Top Dog to her string of achievements.

Up the mountain.

Diggy isn't letting anything stand in her way. She's over Snowdon.

Now it's a surefooted stroll across the Giant's Causeway.

Confident stride there from Diggy.

Sally clearly working hard to keep up the fast pace set by her team.

Stay. Stay.

Stay.

Diggy's digging around in the bilges of the ferry there.

Stay. Stay. Stay.

Oh, she's bailed.

Sally knows the way to Diggy's heart. Persuading her back on board.

No, she's off again.

Come on, then.

OK, those last two obstacles less of a challenge.

Diggy's finished the course.

DING-DING

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

You're so clever.

Wow.

OK.

So if you remember, the time to beat from Team Peaches

was 4 minutes and 38 seconds.

-Would you like to know what your time was?

-We do.

-I think we do.

Do you think you might have beaten that time?

I think it's going to be close.

You did it in...

3 minutes 19 seconds. The fastest of the series!

Absolutely huge congratulations.

Well done, you.

Congratulations for winning tonight's show,

which means that you each get, well, your dogs get, a nice dog toy.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

But was it fast enough to qualify for the semifinals?

Well, I think I gave it away a bit

when I said that was the fastest time ever.

Only the four fastest winners will make it through.

Their time of 3 minutes 19 seconds is a new course record

and puts them at the top of the leaderboard,

and a guaranteed place in the semifinal.

Congratulations.

Remember, you and your dog can support Sport Relief in many ways.

You can sign up to the Sport Relief Mile,

which you can walk with your dog at sites all over the UK,

details of which are on the website,

or you could also do your bit by buying a treat for that

special someone in your life

and get your dog this special Sport Relief toy,

which is available online or in store

with all profits going to Sport Relief.

Just go to...

..to find out how and for details of all the Sport Relief fun and games.

Thanks to all our dogs and the owners for taking part.

Thank you so much for watching. We'll be back here on Monday.

Have a nice weekend. Bye-bye.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE