Episode 15 Sport Relief's Top Dog

72 dogs.

24 teams.

It all comes down to this.

Two teams led by Olympic champions.

They're going head-to-head

in the grand final of Sport Relief's Top Dog.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Gaby Roslin!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Oh, yes, it's the moment that we've all been waiting for.

Hello, and welcome to the grand final of Sport Relief's Top Dog.

After three weeks, 56 rounds and 673 bowls of dog food,

we have reached the climax of our series,

and it's an Olympic showdown,

as two Great British medallists go head-to-head,

all in aid of having fun and raising awareness for Sport Relief.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

They'll be playing for the glory, the trophy

and the dog biscuits backstage.

Ladies and gentlemen,

it's time to introduce our first team of finalists.

For Team Sally, please welcome Nicci and Leo.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Tom and Tara!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

And Sally and Diggy!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

-Well, well, well! So lovely to see you again.

-Thank you.

Congratulations for reaching the final.

I can't believe it, there's no way that I'd ever thought

this dog could do anything.

And here we are in the final, and anything could happen.

Do you think it's still in you, that whole competitive thing?

There's got to be something, yeah. I don't know.

It's all about our dogs, it's not really what we do.

I do feel as if I've really got to know her,

and I think she likes me, really likes me now.

-And I really like her, so that's good.

-That's lucky.

-Would you like to introduce us to your team-mates, please?

-Yeah.

We have Tom and the lovely Tara.

-And we have Nicci and Leo.

-Wonderful. Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

I know you're all used to winning rosettes for your dogs.

But I hope this is something special.

I'm so proud of my little dog for doing what she's done so far.

I never expected this much from her.

-She's just given and given. Yeah, fantastic.

-You're quite emotional.

I can't believe everyone's getting quite emotional about all this.

Lovely to see you back here for the final.

And Nicci and Leo. Nicci, as we've said every time you've been on,

-you really want to win this.

-NICCI LAUGHS

And now you've made it to the final, so you must be thrilled.

I am, I am so pleased. I am so proud of him.

I couldn't have asked for more from him. I'm really pleased for him.

You're getting emotional. Everybody's getting so emotional.

We're going to end up in tears.

-Let's hear it for Team Sally!

-APPLAUSE

So, time now to meet their contenders for the crown.

For Team Gail, please welcome Jeff and Buzz.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Ian and Maysie.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-And Gail and Raffa.

-Yay!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-So, as I said, Gail...

-Yes.

-..two Olympians in the final.

-I know, it's quite funny.

The funniest thing is I remember watching Sally,

-when I was 15, so I can't believe it.

-Here we are.

Who'd have thought we'd compete against each other with our dogs?

Which is quite funny, really.

Would you like to introduce your team, please?

We have the incredible Ian, with magnificent Maysie.

And we were struggling with the J, so we came up with jazzy Jeff.

And brilliant Buzz! Yay!

CHEERING

Oh, Ian, the smiling man,

back for the final.

LAUGHTER

-She wants that ball.

-I know.

-Go on, let her have it to play with.

There! For once, she gets it. There we go.

-So, what does this mean...?

-GABY LAUGHS

-What does this mean to you to be in the final?

-Just to get here,

I'm extremely happy with that. And she's very happy as well.

She is very happy. I wish you the very best of luck.

-Let's talk now to Jeff and Buzz.

-Hi.

-Hello, how are you?

-Fine, thank you.

-What does this mean, would you like to win?

Yeah, of course I'd like to win. He's a super-talented dog.

Sometimes he's held up by me, who's getting older and slower.

What are you talking about? You're not old at all.

-My kids tell me I'm old every day. I'm losing my hair.

-Aw.

That's what kids are for. Look at you.

-Is this a hug?

-Yes, he has to give you a Buzz hug.

Thank you very much for my Buzz hug, I'm going to miss that, yes, I am.

I wish you the very best of luck for the final.

Thank you, let's hear it for Team Gail!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Now, our contenders are raring to go,

so let's introduce the first challenge.

Team Sally decided to put forward Nicci and Leo.

And Team Gail have decided to put forward Ian and Maysie.

They're going to need a steady hand and quick reactions.

It's time to play Top Gun Dog.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Now, this is a game that not only tests the dog's ability to retrieve

from water, but also the handler's shooting skills,

as they try to rack up as many points as possible

by firing a ball at the target.

Once the handler has fired, they wait for their dog

to retrieve the ball before they can reload and fire again.

As ever, they're up against the clock.

So, Nicci and Leo, you're going first.

Would you like to get yourselves ready? Good luck.

APPLAUSE

So, for the last time,

let's have a wave from Dave.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And give it some welly, Ellie!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

OK, good luck to Nicci and Leo.

-Are you ready?

-I'm ready.

Good luck for the first game of the final.

On your barks, get set, go.

-Go!

-So, kicking events off, it's Nicci and Border collie Leo.

Team Sally beat Team Louise in their semi,

which secured their place in the final.

Drop it, drop. Leave it.

Nice jump by Leo.

And it looks like it was a bull's-eye from Nicci.

Go.

-Go.

-APPLAUSE

Good boy!

Leo keeping his head above the water there.

Drop it, leave it.

The faster Leo gets the ball back to Nicci,

the more opportunity to score points she'll have, before the time's up.

Lovely jump from Leo. He's using the ramp as a diving board.

Drop it, leave it.

Leo and Nicci comfortably won both Pooch Puns in their heat

and Buoy Zone in the semifinal.

So we know that Leo is very comfortable in the water.

Come on! Yes, good boy!

-Up the ramp, come on, Leo.

-Leave it.

Ready? Go! Good boy.

Another great shot, Nicci pulling out all the stops for the final here.

And Leo's with her every paw paddle of the way.

Can Leo get back to Nicci in time to make this shot count?

It is going to be close. TIMER BEEPS

Whoa, by the skin of his teeth, he made it. Very nice work, Leo.

Leo and Nicci once again showed amazing skill in the water game.

Lovely job.

Leo is obviously very happy.

Would you like to know how many you've scored?

-Yes, please.

-You did really well.

-Congratulations, you got 90 points.

-Oh!

-Well done.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Ian and Maysie, to take the first game,

you have to score over 90 points.

-Are you ready?

-I'm ready.

On your barks, get set, go.

-Maysie, go fetch it.

-Good shot!

To win this round, they have to beat Nicci and Leo's 90 points

within the time limit.

Hang on, what's happening? Maysie's left the poolside!

-LAUGHTER

-Maysie!

-OK, she's heading back up now.

-Go fetch it. Good girl.

And she's jumped.

Maysie seemed to lose her nerve there.

But, luckily, she seems to have her head back in the game.

Good girl. Good girl.

Ian and Maysie lost vital time during her excursion there.

They'll have to seriously focus and work together as a team

if they want to beat Nicci and Leo now.

-Maysie, come back.

-Team Gail triumphed over Team Jenny

in their semi, propelling them straight into this spectacular final.

-Good girl. Good girl.

-In she goes at last.

She has the ball, and she's heading back.

We knew you had it in you, Maysie.

-OK, Ian needs to score some high points now.

-Fetch it.

-Get back, get back.

-Yes! Maysie straight in there now.

These two won both Catch Of The Day in their heat

and Buoy Zone in their semifinal. So Maysie no stranger to water games.

Fetch it!

Luckily, her earlier reticence to get her paws wet seems to have left her.

A nice, clean retrieval there.

They're running out of time, though. Will Ian attempt another shot?

-Time.

-TIMER BEEPS

No, that's it, all over.

Maysie didn't want to take the plunge at first.

In the end, she found her courage and put in a fine performance.

-APPLAUSE

-OK, the results are in.

Now, the score to beat, of course, was 90.

Many congratulations, you did really, really well.

-You scored 80 points.

-Well done, Nicci.

-AUDIENCE:

-Aww!

So, Team Sally win the first game.

Many congratulations to Team Sally.

Now, off you go, now, and get yourselves all dried off.

APPLAUSE

All series, we've been watching dogs jumping, catching,

sitting, fetching and leaping in the water.

But, for me, the best bit has always been 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. #

-APPLAUSE

Now, time for our second game of the evening

with our celebrity team captains Sally and Gail,

and their dogs, Diggy and Raffa,

stepping up to the plate, quite literally.

All they have to do is place their dog

on our very own Temptation Island,

where they must stay for the duration of the game.

However, the dog will face a barrage of distractions

and temptations from the other team, to get them to leave the island.

Now, if they do leave the island,

their owner will be in for a little surprise.

The team who resists the most temptations are the winners.

Let's play Desert Island Sit.

Gail and Raffa, are you ready?

Wait.

On your barks, get set, go.

So, the first temptation is a tennis ball rolled by Sally.

Well done, Raffa.

Wait.

That was a bigger ball. It's ended up on the island with him.

-Raffa is unfazed, though.

-Good boy.

Can he resist a dog toy?

Sally is going for the hard sell.

Wait, wait.

Good boy, good boy.

-Even the dog toy.

-Wait, wait.

Raffa gets points for the team with every temptation he resists.

Will he resist the sausage?

Never did I think I'd see one Olympic hero trying to tempt

the dog of another Olympic hero off a desert island with nothing more

than a plate of sausages on a radio-controlled car.

This is nail-biting stuff and truly feels like history in the making.

-Wait.

-Raffa has physically turned away from temptation there.

BUZZER

Oh, time is up and Gail gets the surprise Gaby mentioned anyway.

Well, it is the final.

Gail, well done. You and Raffa scored six points.

Whoo!

APPLAUSE

OK, let's see if Diggy can do exactly the same.

Six is the maximum.

-Stay.

-On your barks, get set, go.

Stay.

So, Gail is trying to distract Diggy by bouncing

the ball before throwing it.

And she's bounced it over. This is a new tactic.

Diggy hardly even blinked. She is good.

Oh, just a quick look, though.

OK, here comes the big ball.

And you can hear Gail's frustration.

Diggy is so focused on Sally.

It's a Sport Relief toy.

Stay. Stay.

Gail is following Sally's example by really selling this one to Diggy.

She's having none of it, no reaction.

Look at that.

I think Sally is hypnotising me as well.

Wow.

Diggy hasn't taken his eyes off Sally.

There's absolutely nothing... I'm resorting...

If this doesn't work...

It's dog hypnosis.

Sausages, sausages.

Now, this is the true test of Diggy's resolve,

-the great British banger.

-I love sausages.

-Stay.

-Look at that.

-Stay.

-Sausage.

-Stay!

Oh, a lick of the lips and she's on her feet. Is she going to go for it?

No, Sally has kept her on the island with a well-timed titbit.

That's tactics for you.

SALLY SCREAMS

I think you actually hypnotised your dog.

It was quite extraordinary to watch.

-Congratulations, you've also got six points.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Which means that we've reached a tie-break situation.

The question is for you two, please.

The other team members, please keep very quiet.

Can we just test your squeaker?

SQUEAKING

And can we test yours?

BUZZ

Thank you very much. OK, I'm going to ask you a question with three possible answers.

Please don't squeak in until you've heard all three possible answers.

Which of these hound breeds hunt by sight rather than scent?

A, beagle,

B, bloodhound,

C, whippet.

SQUEAKING

C, Whippet.

You're absolutely correct, you get the point.

No idea.

Let's see what that does to the overall score.

It's a draw, one game all.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Now it's time for game three, where

we have our last two team members to play.

For Team Sally, it's Tom and Tara

and for Team Gail, we have Jeff and Buzz.

Now, this game is all about speed and retrieval.

Our handlers have to send their dogs hurtling into a shallow duck pond

to retrieve as many ducks as possible.

They'll receive one point for each duck returned over the line,

but watch out for the rogue tennis ball.

Bringing home that impostor will be worth nothing at all.

Remember it's one game apiece,

so it's all to play for.

Just building the pressure to get you really nervous.

OK, let's get ready for Duck Pond Derby.

Tom and Tara. Tara obviously is very eager to play. You're up first.

Our dog and handler are in position. OK, you ready to go?

On your barks, get set, go!

Yes, Gaby isn't wrong. The pressure really is on both teams here.

They're currently neck and neck with one game each.

And Tara's started well. That'll get them one point.

Away! Fetch!

Tom's directing Tara towards the pond. Another duck down.

Well done, Tara!

To me! Come on, come on.

Tom must be feeling the pressure here.

They lost the Dog's Bowl challenge in their heat

and only scored five points.

Luckily Tara seems more comfortable with duck ponds than bowling alleys.

As a mountain rescue dog, Tara's more used to saving lives

than chasing ducks, but she's doing just fine.

Away! Fetch! Good dog! Good dog!

-Good dog!

-She's doing really well!

And another. Now she just needs to give it back...

Away! Fetch! Away!

-Five seconds.

-Can they get one more?

Go on! Good dog! Good dog! Good dog!

TIMER BEEPS Oh, no!

APPLAUSE

Out of time. Well done.

She loved that. She absolutely loved it.

-Congratulations. You got four ducks.

-Four ducks.

-OK.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Jeff and Buzz, are you ready?

-Yep, we're ready.

You have four to beat to make this 2-1 up to go into the final.

I wish you the very best of luck. On your barks, get set, go!

Jeff and Buzz are starting from an equal position to Tom and Tara.

They also lost their round in their heat.

We can already see Buzz is happy with this type of challenge.

That's one point.

-Buzz, go, fetch it!

-Off he goes.

Good boy! Good boy!

-That's another one.

-Good boy.

If they can get more ducks on the podium than Tom and Tara did

before the time's up, they'll have won this

and given their team a significant advantage in The Bark Off.

Go fetch!

Every one of those ducks is a step closer to becoming top dog

for Team Gail.

-Nice one.

-30 seconds left.

Good boy! Go fetch it! Fetch it, fetch it, fetch it.

Jeff tells us he loves competing with Border collie Buzz

because they make such a great team.

Jeff's a dog trainer by trade

and you can see he's done a tremendous job with Buzz.

He's showing no hesitation.

And another duck! This is a fantastic round for these two.

Is he going to go for the ball? No, he's got the duck.

I can see why Jeff called him Buzz cos that's the feeling you get

when you see him doing his thing. TIMER BEEPS

Oh, my goodness me!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

OK. So the scores are in. You managed four.

And I hope, Len, you don't mind me doing it like this.

You scored sev-en!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Many congratulations.

Well, that means that Team Gail are the winners.

So let's see what that does to the overall score.

Congratulations, Team Gail. They're now in the lead by two games to one.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And that 2-1 lead of theirs will earn them

a very handy time advantage in the last contest. So this is it.

We've reached our final game of the series. One last hurdle.

In fact, several of them, not to mention a tunnel and a ferry.

It's the moment of destiny for our teams,

but only one can emerge as the overall winner.

It's time for the decider as we play The Bark Off.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So here we have the familiar Bark Off agility course

with one last alteration.

The Giant's Causeway has been removed,

so all dogs must attempt the weave poles.

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...

BUZZER SOUNDS

They will only get two attempts at each obstacle

and they cannot move on until they hear this sound...

BELL DINGS

The team that completes the course in the fastest time

will take overall victory

and the coveted title of Sport Relief's Top Dog 2014.

Team Gail are in the lead,

which means that Team Sally 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 the final roll of the dice,

the last bite of the bone as we play The Bark Off.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Team Sally, for the final I wish you the very best of luck.

On your barks, get set, go!

And they're off! The final Bark Off of the series.

-Nicci and Leo shooting across Tower Bridge.

-Leo, come here!

While Leo's going so fast he overshoots the roundabout,

but a quick U-turn and he's back in position.

Sit.

BELL DINGS

-Good boy!

-Moving on over Sherwood Forest.

No, he's missed the ferry.

-There you go, in he gets.

-Stay there! Stay!

And he hunkers down for the ride. He doesn't want to go overboard.

Now the Welsh train tunnel. Leo's done it again.

He's dived straight over the balls in the tunnel. What a dog.

-Weave! Weave!

-What a weave! Unbe-weave-able!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Let's have one more look at that weave. Incredible.

-BELL DINGS

-And off you go!

Now Tom and Tara.

Team Sally labouring under a 15-second time penalty,

so they'll be hoping to nail this run.

Oh, no! She's missed the Tube tunnel.

OK, Tom's showing her the way.

But I think she's waiting for a train! Oh, that's more like it.

You can feel the tension here in the studio. The atmosphere is electric.

Tara isn't letting it affect her. She's staying well.

BELL DINGS

-Great!

-The jumps and onto the ferry.

No, she's missed the Forest Jump.

-Come on, Tara, this is the final, you know!

-Well done, Tara.

Happily in the ferry.

Whoa!

You can see how Tara remains calm despite the speed she's going.

Over the last two jumps.

And they're done. BELL DINGS

Sally, off you go.

-Sally is starting fast. It's all down to her and Diggy now.

-Come on!

That's it! That's it!

A slight delay on the Tube,

but she's back on track for the Magic Roundabout.

Stay, sit. Stay. Stay.

Stay. Stay. Stay. Stay.

-Using her hypnosis again.

-BELL DINGS

Great stuff.

Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick!

Off to the ferry now. Sally making sure Diggy's on board.

BUZZER SOUNDS Oh, Diggy's dived off.

One last chance to make the crossing.

Stay! Stay! Stay! Stay!

-No, Diggy's had enough of the Mersey.

-Time to move on through the tunnel.

Diggy always took the Giant's Causeway in the past,

but in the final there's no easy option.

-Oh, well done! Diggy's never done this before.

-What's this?

What's this? Come through here.

Not the most comfortable we've seen Diggy. Can they do it?

Last bit. Well done!

No Diggy, no doubt! Good job!

Two jumps and then through John o'Groats.

Sally and Diggy lost some time for their team there,

but they've done all they can.

They finish The Bark Off.

OK. That was really good. Well done.

Your final time for the final was 3 minutes 24 seconds.

Very well done.

-Very well done.

-Thank you.

Oh, I'm all of a flutter now. So you know the time that you have to beat.

I wish you the very best of luck, to Team Gail.

On your barks, get set, go!

Now, Team Gail's Bark Off is kicked off by Jeff and Buzz.

Fast through the Tube and onto the roundabout.

-Sit. Wait.

-Buzz sitting very nicely indeed.

BELL DINGS

Onwards now. Over the treetops of Sherwood.

Buzz truly sailed over the taller jump there

and went straight for the first-class cabin on the ferry across the Mersey.

Sitting comfortably. Smooth cruising. Lovely.

-Through the tunnel, both of them.

-Buzz! Buzz! Here!

Jeff squeezing past the balls.

Buzz, Buzz, here!

Weave, weave, weave, weave, weave!

Oh, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow!

Wow, indeed! Buzz can call himself a master weaver after that. Gorgeous!

Round the flowerpot. And then over the jumps.

Two flying leaps and they're done.

BELL DINGS

Up next - Ian and Maysie.

Maysie went over Tower Bridge like a firework on New Year's Eve.

Oh, she's lost a little momentum through Barking Tube, but she's OK.

Ian uses his dog whistle to signal Maysie to sit and stay.

BELL DINGS Done it!

-Over Sherwood Jump and wow-ho-ho!

-Whoa!

Maysie boarded the ferry

so fast she knocked it halfway across the Mersey to Birkenhead.

Ian finishes the crossing for her.

Last two jumps.

Over the wall and over the bridge and they're done.

BELL DINGS

OK, here go our final Bark Off contestants of the series,

Gail and Raffa.

Chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken!

Chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken!

Yes, Gail tempted Raffa across the bridge with the promise of poultry.

Good tactic.

Wait. Wait. Wait.

The pressure of knowing that the whole competition comes down to

this moment must be weighing heavily on the little dog's shoulders,

but he shrugged it off and now for the smaller Sherwood Jump.

Up here! Up here!

-RAFFA GROWLS

-I know.

A little protest from Raffa about getting a helping hand,

but at this stage of the competition every second counts.

Stay, stay, stay, stay, stay.

Through the tunnel.

What's this? Chicken.

Those seconds are ticking away as they power through the tunnel.

Chicken! Chicken!

Onto the weave.

BUZZER SOUNDS

Oh, come on, Raffa, this isn't the time to play games.

Nearly there!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Oh, the crowd's showing their appreciation. They're so close now.

Chicken! Whee!

Over Hadrian's Wall. Oh, no! He's missed the Forth Bridge!

This way, quickly!

-Come back, Raffa!

-Last jump! Come on!

Here he comes. One last jump, Raffa.

-Chicken! Chicken!

-Yes!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Oh, not far now! I'm on the edge of my seat!

And they're through!

That one little leap has just decided the competition,

but which team is going to be awarded Sport Relief's Top Dog?

I have the trophy in my hand here.

So the time to beat was 3 minutes and 24 seconds.

Now, I'll tell you...

-..you were doing fantastically until Raffa ran off.

-Oh...

Your time was very fast. How do you think your overall time was?

It's very close. It's very, very close.

Don't know.

Gail?

Sorry. They were so fast. I know.

OK. How do you think?

-I think it's probably about the same.

-OK, all right.

Well, I'll put you out of your misery now.

I'll tell you that your time was also three minutes...

..but your seconds were...

17. You won!

3 minutes 17 seconds.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Well done. It was all down to you.

Which means the winners of Sport Relief's Top Dog 2014 are Team Gail.

Congratulations.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-There we go. This is for all of you to hold up high together.

-Yeah.

Enjoy that trophy.

Please give your dogs a massive pat on their backs,

cos they've done wonderfully well. Let's hear it again for Team Gail!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And commiserations to our wonderful runners-up, Team Sally.

They put up a brilliant fight. Well done.

Well done, guys.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So that's it from us. The journey is over.

Thank you to everyone who took part,

to all the dogs, owners and experts, of course.

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

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

You can find all the details, fundraising ideas

and buy dog-related Sport Relief treats at...

From all of us, good night and thank you so much for watching. Bye-bye!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE