Episode 14 Sport Relief's Top Dog

72 dogs. 24 teams.

12 incredible heats.

There's been dashing...

..there's been splashing...

..and a whole kennel-load of doggie drama.

Team Sally have already secured their place in the final,

but who will be joining them?

It's Team Gail vs Team Jenny.

Welcome to the last semifinal of Sport Relief's Top Dog.

APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Gabby Roslin!

Hello and welcome to Sport Relief's Top Dog,

where, after weeks of fun and games, we've reached the second semifinal.

Yes, we've reached the business end of the series and at stake

is a place in tomorrow's grand final alongside Sally Gunnell's team.

Before then, two of our best teams will be competing against each other

in three dog-friendly games, where they will be awash with excitement,

enjoying some retail therapy and hitting the mark with a bark.

All in aid of Sport Relief.

Of course, their place in tomorrow's final

all rests in their performance in our endgame,

the race against the clock that we all call the Bark-Off.

So without further ado,

let's meet our first team captain, Jenny Falconer!

APPLAUSE

-Hello there.

-Congratulations for making it to the semifinals.

Can I just say, this has surprised me more than anyone else.

Who knew that Alfie could do stuff like this?

Alfie was magnificent!

-Can I just give you an example of Alfie in previous life?

-OK.

He escapes out the front door and that's it, he's gone.

We spend hours looking for him, the whole neighbourhood's involved,

and he's found three hours later in the pub.

Introduce your team, please, Jenny.

We've got here lovely Jay and Cedar.

And we've got Andrew and Tag.

They're here as one of our four fastest winners.

Let's see how they did it.

Team Jenny took on Team OJ.

Jay and her retriever, Cedar,

paddled their way to victory in Pawprint Springs.

TV presenter Jenny and her puggle, Alfie,

jumped through all the right hoops to win Dog Tired.

And Andrew and his Border collie, Tag, sniffed out the competition

to complete a 3-0 landslide for Team Jenny.

So with a 30 second advantage,

winning the Bark-Off was a walk in the park.

Hello, Cedar. Are you thrilled that you're through, Jay?

Absolutely, very proud of Cedar. It's brilliant to be back.

What do the semifinals and the finals mean to you?

Cedar obviously does lots of different things,

she comes to work with me every day at Hearing Dogs For Deaf People,

but it's great to have these dogs here working and enjoying it

and showing everyone how much fun dogs can be

and how they love coming and doing this sort of thing, it's great.

Innocent now, but see her fighting face. Do it, do it!

-I can't!

-Do your Kung-Fu face. ..There we go.

Slightly scared by this. Thank you. Andrew and Tag, Andrew...

now you were absolutely magnificent. Yes, you were.

What would it mean to get to the final?

Obviously, it's in aid of a great cause, so, first and foremost,

show dogs in their best light, having a lot of fun.

-But at the end of the day, I want to win!

-You want to win!

Let's hear it for Team Jenny!

APPLAUSE

-Raffa...

-I know.

-It's awful, because you're very important,

Olympic medal winner, but everyone goes straight to Raffa!

Introduce us to your team, please.

-We've got Ian and Maisie and we've got Jeff and Buzz!

-Wonderful.

Let's remind ourselves of how Team Gail got here.

Team Gail took on Team Deborah. Ian and his Labrador Maisie

-hooked themselves a win in Catch Of The Day.

-Good girl!

Olympian Gail and her westie Raffa passed the test to win Pup Quiz.

But Jeff and his Border collie Buzz fell short of the drop zone.

Team Gail went on to claim victory,

completing the Bark-Off in Olympic winning time.

APPLAUSE

-Ian, how are you?

-We have absolutely loved it being here.

-In fact, after the heats, I did not sleep a wink.

-Really?!

The adrenaline, it was fantastic. And with the exception of

the first time Maisie got licensed as a fire investigation search dog,

-it's the best thing we've ever done together.

-Aw!

What does the final mean to you, to get through to the final tomorrow?

We go to so many sad scenes and scenes of total devastation,

so for us to be here and have a great bit of fun,

without Gail, Raffa, Jeff and Buzz,

we definitely would not be here. They're fantastic, so thank you.

Well done to you guys. OK, Jeff and Buzz! I love it,

when you call Buzz in that game, and you lifted your arms in the air.

Oh, hello, Buzz. Hello to you.

OK, how do you feel about being here? ..Oh, hello.

-Really excited, Buzz had a great time.

-Sorry! OK!

-Is that better? There we are.

-Great team, great team captain.

-Gave us a team talk halfway through last time.

-What did she say?

I can't reveal that. It was an Olympic-style team talk

and I think we pulled it out the bag in the last one.

Can I move? No? Shall I just stay?

Shall I just stay here? So lovely.

Let's hear it now for Team Gail, everybody!

APPLAUSE

As a show full of dog lovers,

their happiness is our number one priority, which is why we have

five highly-qualified experts standing by to look after them.

Rina 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 councillor.

David Pugh trains dogs to swim and save lives.

And alongside him is his apprentice, Ellie Bedford.

APPLAUSE

All of tonight's games have been designed around the dogs' abilities

and signed off by our experts.

So, with tension mounting, we are ready for our first game,

in which the dogs must go in at the deep end.

Playing for Team Jenny, we have Jay and Cedar,

and, for Team Gail, we have Ian and Maisie.

We have our line-up, let's head off to the pool to play Buoy Zone!

APPLAUSE

Yes, this is Buoy Zone.

As you can see, the pool has been divided into three different areas.

The handler must throw the buoy for the dog to retrieve.

The further it is thrown, the higher the score.

But of course, the further it's thrown, the more the dog must travel

and the more time it will cost them. Points will be banked

once the dog has brought the buoy back to the handler.

The team with the highest score is the winner.

We flipped a coin to see who's going first,

and, as Ian and Maisie go off to get ready, we can say hello

to our canine water experts standing by in the pool as always.

Give us a wave, Dave!

CHEERING

Give us some wellie, Ellie!

CHEERING

We're in place, you OK? On your barks, get set - go.

Maisie, go fetch it, good girl!

So Maisie's first off, she's a fire investigation dog,

she can sniff out up to 12 different types of flammable liquid.

That first throw from Ian's going to be worth 20 points, and with

big leaps like that, Maisie's definitely

-getting off to a good start.

-Fetch it!

A HUGE throw from Ian this time,

if Maisie gets this one back, that'll be another 30 points.

Oh, Dave getting a little in the way there.

Getting those extra points means a longer swim back,

so it's a risky tactic.

Maisie won her water heat last time, and you can see why,

she is incredibly fast.

Another long throw into the 30 zone from Ian.

Good girl!

It's a long swim back for Maisie,

she is really powering through the water.

Labradors are excellent swimmers, Maisie is no exception.

Slightly shorter throw into the 20 zone this time,

crowd really willing Maisie on to get this ball home.

A tricky ball there for Maisie,

she needed a few attempts to get it in her mouth.

Maisie, quick, quick!

OK, a tiny throw into the ten zone for some quick points.

-15 seconds.

-Quick, Maisie, Maisie.

And another carefully placed ball in the ten zone,

can she get this one back in time?

-Quick, quick, quick...

-Five, four...

Good girl, good girl! GABY LAUGHS

TIME UP BLEEP

A hesitant last jump from Maisie, but some skilfully placed balls

from Ian means that this should be a great score.

You managed a phenomenal 120 points.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Thank you very much.

OK, so you know what you have to beat. On your barks, get set - go.

OK, Cedar's turn - oh, no, Jay's misjudged that one,

thrown the ball out of the pool.

-Yeah, good girl.

-Another try, Jay gets this one into the 20 zone.

Mummy's a terrible throw. Yeah, come on, good girl. Ready?

Safely in the pool this time, and back into the 20 zone for the pair.

Cedar needs to get this back quickly to make up for that lost time.

Cedar's a flat-coated retriever, this breed very lightweight,

so she is pretty fast.

Oh, nice long throw from Jay, into the 30 zone now,

trying to rack up more points.

Lot of great encouragement from Jay,

and Cedar responds by paddling extra fast to get back.

Yay!

Another display of those strong dog legs working hard

-to power Cedar home.

-Go!

Long throw from Jay again, and well placed, just inside the 30 zone,

so that Cedar doesn't have so far to swim back, good tactics.

AUDIENCE: Cedar! Cedar! Cedar!

Cedar getting lots of encouragement from the crowd.

You've got 15 seconds left.

15 seconds to go, Jay may have thrown

that one too far to score the points.

Remember, Cedar has to get the ball

back into Jay's hands to score.

Is she going to make it?

HIGH-PITCHED: Quick, quick, quick!

-TIME UP BLEEP

-Oh, no!

-Good girl, yeah! Good girl.

-That last ball just too far.

Could it have cost them the game?

So the score to beat was 120.

OK, you didn't get quite as much, you got 100 points,

-but you still did really, really well.

-Aw, thank you, Gaby.

Well done.

So, many congratulations to Ian and Maisie,

which means they've won our first round, so it's 1-0 to Team Gail!

Off you go and get dry.

And while they're being fluffed and dried, let's treat ourselves.

It's time for Cedar and Maisie to do the wet dog shaggy shake.

MUSIC: "Shake Your Groove Thing" by Peaches and Herb

Ohhh, I love that.

Now, it's time for our celebrity captains Jenni and Alfie,

and Gail and Raffa, to play our next game.

Shop 'til You Drop requires each team to do a spot of shopping

whilst riding a tricycle.

Thankfully, it'll be the humans who'll be doing the pedalling.

The course consists of eight boxes containing various items.

As they go around the course,

they must collect as many items as possible,

placing them in the shopping basket in front of their dog.

They can only pick up one item at a time from each box.

Sounds simple, but there is a catch of course.

Their vehicle can only move while their dog is sitting in the trailer.

If the dog jumps out or any item falls from the basket, the celebrity

must stop and put them back in place before they continue.

The winner will be the team that collects the most items within the

time limit, so let's get the wheels in motion for Shop 'til You Drop.

OK, Jenni and Alfie are in position. On your barks, get set - go.

So, Jenni's off with her puggle Alfie.

So far, he doesn't seem too bothered.

I think he might have a few treats in there.

Alfie, stay there, good boy.

-That's the first item for Jenni - so far, so good.

-Alfie, Alfie, Alf...

-Alfie deciding he'd rather walk this one.

-In there, stay there.

Good boy. Look, I've got chicken.

LAUGHTER

Definitely put on weight since doing this show, this bike is heavy.

Stay there. Do you want some more?

The question is - does Jenni have enough chicken to keep Alfie going?

There we go, stay there.

Some real multitasking going on here from Jenni,

she's driving, feeding and shopping.

Don't try this at home please, everyone.

Here, here, here - no!

Either that was the last piece of chicken, or Alfie's full.

Either way, Jenni's going to need a new tactic.

Get in, in! Stay there!

Ugh! Right, stay there.

-AUDIENCE: Woo!

-You've got ten seconds.

-Stay there.

-Stay there, Alfie.

Stay... Stay there. Oh, I can't even pedal. STAY!

TIME UP BLEEP

CHEERING

They say, if you want loyalty, you should get a dog.

But you should also have plenty of chicken.

Well done, Alfie and Jenni, together you managed nine points.

Oh, brilliant. Well done, Alfie!

So, Gail, you know what you and Raffa have to beat.

On your barks, get set - go.

-Wait.

-Time for Raffa and Gail to have a go.

Olympian Gail should certainly have the fitness to speed round

this course, but has her little Westie got the patience to stay put?

No, don't try and put Raffa off, Alfie.

I need longer arms. Wait, wait...

Yeah, Gail is speeding round this course,

Raffa just sitting there, he's loving every minute.

CHEERING

-Wait.

-Wait.

-Wait.

-You've got 45 seconds left.

Wait.

-Wait, wait, wait...

-OK, a little pit stop.

Oh, no, Gail's getting a little confused,

she's given Raffa the shopping instead of a dog treat.

Oh! Ugh.

It looks like Raffa must weigh a lot,

Gail is huffing and puffing her way around this course.

No, don't squeak.

LAUGHTER

LAUGHING: Wait. Wait. Wait. What am I doing?!

I've no idea, Gail, what ARE you doing?

Just keep going! You've got three seconds.

-TIME UP BLEEP

-Yes!

So despite some confusion early on, Gail got her head down,

used her Olympic training to speed through the course.

Raffa decided to keep one of the purchases.

Yeah, no chance of getting that back.

-You managed nine.

-Yes.

-Gail and Raffa, you managed 11, congratulations.

-Oh, my God!

That means it's now 2-0 to Team Gail!

APPLAUSE

The reason we're all here is to support Sport Relief.

The money being raised will change the lives of some of the

most vulnerable people around the world and back here in the UK.

-ALEXANDER ARMSTRONG:

-Andrew is 18, and from a deprived part of Hull.

Growing up living with different parents,

he struggled with loneliness and fitting in.

A few years ago, I was

getting into a load of troubles.

Fighting every now and again, shoplifting, skipping school.

I preferred being by myself than being around other people.

For Andrew, the world felt big and empty.

But there was help and, when it came, it had four legs.

Andrew started going to a youth night

ran by a Sport Relief-funded charity called Pet Respect.

Where the star of the show is Jess.

Some people might think it's a bit unusual having

a dog at a youth club, we don't see that at all,

because we know and we see the effects every week.

Dogs have got so many therapeutic qualities.

Jess has helped lots of young people like Andrew gain confidence

and build relationships.

With Jess being there, it made it easier for me to communicate

with people, cos I could do it whilst interacting with the dog.

We're so proud of Andrew.

When we first knew him, he looked like a lost soul, and now,

he's just a confident young man.

Andrew's now going to college, something he says

wouldn't have happened without Jess and Pet Respect.

To donate £5 to Sport Relief right now...

Every text counts, so please, do give if you can.

Now we have our last two to play.

So for Team Jenni, that's Andrew and Tag, and for Team Gail,

we have Jeff and Buzz.

The game is called Hot Spot Hound,

and it's a test of understanding and obedience.

The dog has to move around the floor

and sit on the spot for three seconds as prompted by the owner.

Each spot has a different value

and the winner will be the dog racking up the most points.

Each spot only counts once, so, if a dog returns to the same spot,

no additional points will be awarded.

OK, time to get ready for Hot Spot Hound.

OK, so Jeff and Buzz are ready. On your barks, get set - go.

Buzz, ready.

So, Jeff has to get Buzz to sit on the spot to win the points,

and he's gone straight for the highest number.

-DING

-Fantastic start from Buzz, that's 40 points.

Good boy, wait.

Border collies are excellent at understanding commands

and they're extremely obedient.

-DING

-Another perfect display from Buzz

and 15 points to add to their total.

Good boy, good boy.

-DING

-Wow, Buzz is flawless!

That's another 30 points, he's just making it look so easy.

-Good boy.

-On for the 35.

DING

There is no stopping this dog, he's a Hot Spot Hound master.

-Good boy, wait.

-Buzz just edging off there.

-DING

-He's still on the spot, he gets 25 points.

Good boy, wait. Good boy.

DING

That's another ten points, he could do them all at this rate.

Wait, wait, good boy.

-DING

-He's heading for the last one,

have they got time to complete all eight?!

-Good boy.

-Oh, no, Buzz!

TIME UP BLEEP

Oh, well done!

An amazing round from Jeff and Buzz, they narrowly missed out

on a full house, making them a pretty tough act to follow.

Team Gail, Buzz managed to score...

175 points.

CHEERING

OK, for Team Jenni, Andrew and Tag. On your barks, get set - go.

Tag, go on away...

So Tag is another Border collie,

so two very evenly matched dogs here, how's he going to get on?

Tag taking a little longer to get settled than Buzz,

but he's straight onto that 40 point spot.

-DING

-Well done.

Go on, find it.

Some great commands from Andrew, Tag hanging on his every word,

-so impressive.

-Down.

Tag, come, down.

-DING

-That's another 35 points for the pair,

they're definitely keeping up so far.

-Down!

-Oh, that's some of Jenni and Alfie's left-over chicken,

there's a bonus, Tag.

-DING

-And another 15 points.

OK, Tag, down.

Tag missed the 30 there, he's ended up on the five,

that could be costly.

-DING

-He is completely focused on Andrew.

Tag, come, down.

Down.

-DING

-And that's the 30, good work, Tag.

-Need to get some more big numbers in though.

-Tag, come. Down.

Tag, come. Down.

TIME UP BLEEP

Oh, well done.

APPLAUSE Good boy.

A fantastic display of obedience from Tag,

but with some hesitations along the way, have they done enough to win?

OK, if you remember, the score to beat was 175.

Andrew and Tag, you did really well, but you did get 125,

which means Team Gail is the winner of Hot Spot Hound, and that means

Team Gail are now in the led by three games to nil,

they did the hat trick.

GAIL: Well done, guys.

And that 3-0 lead of theirs will earn them

a very handy time advantage in our final deciding game.

Yes, it's time for the Bark Off.

Now, before you is the familiar Bark Off course,

with a few minor alterations.

For example, Barking Station now has the distraction of food inside it.

We've added a chair to Swindon's magic roundabout,

so the owner as well as the dog has to sit and stay for three seconds,

and there's a surprise inside the train tunnel.

As ever, the course will be completed one dog at a time,

and, if an obstacle is refused or incorrectly cleared,

-they'll hear this sound.

-EH-EHH!

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 go through to the grand final, joining Team Sally.

Team Gail are in the lead,

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

and, because they're lagging behind three games to nil,

they'll be starting their run

with 30 seconds already added to the clock.

Let's play the Bark Off.

Best of luck, Team Jenni.

On your barks, get set - go.

So, it's Andrew and Tag off first, we've already seen Andrew's

competitive side, so this should be a pretty good run for the pair.

Tag, come, come.

Like a runaway train, Tag speeds through Barking

-and completely misses the sausage.

-Sit.

Now both need to be sitting for three seconds at the magic roundabout.

-DING

-Yes!

After a little sit down, Tag sprints for Sherwood Forest

-and a trip across the Mersey.

-Good boy.

FOGHORN BLARES

Down, stay.

Lovely smooth crossing for Tag.

And onto the tunnel.

Balls hidden in the tunnel.

After battling with the balls, Andrew emerges,

and it's onto the weave at the Royal County Down Golf Course.

Lovely weave!

Clearly not Tag's first time, as he handles that weave with ease.

A great finish from Tag, as they hand over to Jay and Cedar.

And a lightning start from Cedar, across Tower Bridge.

Cedar didn't fancy the sausage, but looks like her tail did.

DING

Successful sit and stay, over Sherwood Forest and onto the ferry.

The wind, wait... FOGHORN BLARES

MUSIC: "Ferry Cross The Mersey" by Gerry and The Pacemakers

Good girl, come on then.

Flying trip across the Mersey for Cedar,

and we're onto the tunnel for both of them.

-Weave, weave.

-Oh, wow.

Another expert weave from Cedar, giving Team Jenni a great chance.

Over.

Over Stonehenge, and Forth Bridge - oh, no, she's knocked it over!

Cedar just failing to scale the heights of the Forth Bridge.

Through here, come on, Alfie.

OK, onto team captain Jenni

and puggle Alfie to take up the final leg.

-In here.

-Now Alfie loves his chicken, will he be tempted by the sausage?

Jenni sneakily holding temptation out of his reach there.

Sit down, sit down. Stay, stay, stay, stay,

stay, stay, stay, stay - good boy.

CHEERING

A lovely sit and stay on Swindon's magic roundabout, well done, Alfie.

Oh, he's missed Sherwood Forest, go back.

In. Sit down, on you go.

Stay.

Yeah, time for a ferry ride with on-board dining, by the looks of it.

Stay, stay. Alfie, here, look.

Wow, Jenni's chicken's really been her secret weapon.

Come on, come on.

Taking Alfie over Giant's Causeway instead of the weave.

..the last two jumps.

A fantastic finish from Alfie, holding his own with

the professionals, but will it be enough for a place in the final?

That was very, very fast, well done, your time was three minutes, 23,

so very fast indeed.

OK, Team Gail, the time

to beat is 3.23 to get through to tomorrow night's final.

On your barks, get set - go.

OK, here comes Buzz, he is a lightning fast dog across

this course, do not blink, you might miss it.

Owner and dog now.

I tell you what, this is the only time you'll see Buzz sitting still.

DING

-Over the jumps.

-Buzz clears Sherwood Forest with no problem at all.

Further down the course now, and onto the ferry.

A gentle ride across the Mersey.

Through the tunnel.

Buzz bursts through the tunnel and waits impatiently for Jeff.

To infinity and beyond!

DING-DING!

OK, time for fire investigation dog Maisie,

she is just as fast as her team-mate Buzz.

Maisie making quick work of Tower Bridge.

She's missed the sausage at Barking Tube too.

IAN BLOWS WHISTLE

DING

Yeah, a lovely, composed sit and stay from Maisie.

Through the tunnel.

Tactical move from Ian there,

using Giant's Causeway rather than the weave to save time.

There they go.

And just a single bounce in between jumps from Maisie,

what a great athlete.

Raffa, what's this, what's this?

And speaking of athletes, here comes our Olympian

and team captain Gail with Raffa.

Gail used the "chase the ham" technique last time,

it looks like she's bringing it out again.

Gail sneakily throws some ham down the line,

and Raffa doesn't even notice the sausage swinging above his head.

-Wait.

-Raffa sitting nicely,

Gail finding it a bit trickier.

DING

-Up, up.

-Cute little spring over Sherwood Forest from the Westie.

Stay, wait, wait, wait.

Chris Hoy, remember Chris Hoy?

Let's go.

A flawless ferry passing, and it's onto the tunnel for them both.

-Here, Raffa, what's this? Not the ball!

-Not the ball.

OK, Gail choosing Giant's Causeway for Raffa.

The ham making an appearance again,

I wonder if it works as well as the chicken?

-Raffa, and up - weee!

-Last couple of jumps, come on, Raffa! Oh, no!

-Over the last jump.

-And again.

Through John O'Groats.

GAIL EXHALES DEEPLY

Yes, he took his eyes off the ham and missed that last jump.

Have they done enough for a place in tomorrow's final?

The time to beat was three minutes and 23 seconds,

how do you think you did?

-It's going to be close.

-Three minutes...

and one second, you're through!

Oh, my goodness!

CHEERING

Huge congratulations, then, to Team Gail for winning tonight's show

and a place in tomorrow's final, going head-to-head with Team Sally.

Will they go one better and claim the title of Sport Relief's top dog?

We'll find out in just 24 hours.

Commiserations, of course, to our runners-up, who did so well

and came oh-so-close.

AUDIENCE: Woo!

Remember, if you want to take part in all the Sport Relief

fun and games, then please sign up to an event near you.

You can find all the details, fundraising ideas

and dog-related Sport Relief treats at...

Thanks to all our dogs and owners for taking part and thank you

so much for watching.

We'll see you tomorrow for the momentous event

that is the grand final.

Until then, good night.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING