Episode 3 Sport Relief's Top Dog

72 dogs,

24 celebrity team captains.

AUDIENCE: Aw!

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

CHEERING

On tonight's show, Team Jasmine.

TV presenter Jasmine Harman

and her pet Bernese Mountain Dog, Shadow,

are joined by finance director Gail Lawrence from Devon

and Teazel, a labradoodle who works for the charity Dogs Helping Kids.

And civil servant Ann Newman from Kent, with her pet Labrador Digger.

They are taking on Team Diarmuid.

Diarmuid Gavin, a TV presenter and garden designer

and his pet goldendoodle, Roxie,

are joined by happy socialising coordinator Vicki Mark from

Oxfordshire with her Labrador Niko, who works for a disability charity.

Software tester Lorraine Pearson from West Sussex

and her pet dog Toffee, an English Springer Spaniel.

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

It's Sport Relief's Top Dog.

DOGS BARK THEME TUNE

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Gaby Roslin.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Hello and welcome to Sport Relief's Top Dog, our pet project in which we

celebrate our four-legged, faithful friends, all in aid of Sport Relief.

APPLAUSE

-Team Diarmuid.

-Yes.

-Hello. Welcome to all of you.

-Now, Diarmuid, who is this?

-She is Roxie.

She's only a babe, she's only 11 months

-so this is all very new to her.

-Tell me about her. What is she like?

She is manic. She has eaten everything in the house.

-I haven't got a pair of shoes left.

-Does she help with the gardening?

She does.

She's good at digging holes in the brand-new lawn.

Roxie, do you like gardening? Yes, she did! Perfect!

Thank you very much, Diarmuid and Roxie.

APPLAUSE

-Vicki, hello.

-Hello.

-Who have we got here?

-This is Niko.

He's a demonstration dog for Dogs for the Disabled.

Tell me about what Niko does. Come round here so everyone can see you.

Niko won't ever go out working with one of our clients

at Dogs for the Disabled.

He got withdrawn so he ended up coming home with me

and he's now my demonstration dog.

She comes to lots of different events with us throughout the year

and demonstrates all of our task work that we do.

What can he do with somebody he is looking after?

So, Niko will retrieve,

he'll retrieve a range of different articles, he'll push,

so he can push, lift call buttons or foot plates down on a wheelchair.

-He can pull doors open.

-Thank you very much, Niko.

-Good boy.

-APPLAUSE

Lorraine, hello. Now, who is this?

-This is Toffee.

-Tell me about Toffee.

She's great fun to be with, like all springer spaniels.

She's full of energy, loves to retrieve absolutely anything.

Anything at all?

Anything at all - cans of beer, which is my husband's favourite.

-Doesn't she pierce the can?

-No. She's very gentle mouthed.

-Really?

-Yes.

How lovely. Now, springers, I don't know many springers.

-To me, they are always so energetic.

-Yes, they are.

-Is that all the time?

Pretty much all day long, she'll have a five-minute power nap

-and then she's ready to go again.

-Oh, how lovely.

We hope you're going to be like that today.

-Thank you very much. And good luck to Team Diarmuid.

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Right, now it's time to find out who they will be competing against.

-Jasmine, so lovely to see you and you've just had a baby.

-I have.

-He's nearly three months old.

-Many congratulations.

-Isn't that lovely news?

-Thank you.

Shadow has got a little sister now.

I was going to say, how does Shadow feel about having a baby around?

He loves his little baby.

And he's very, very sweet with her, so he is good.

-Tell me, what sort of dog is he?

-He is a Bernese Mountain Dog.

-Yes, hello.

-And they come from Switzerland, from the Bern,

and originally bred to pull a cart.

Oh, goodness me, so actually you're not going to ever have

-to push the pushchair, are you?

-Just clip him on with his harness.

-Thank you very much to Shadow!

-Thank you.

APPLAUSE

-Gail, hello.

-Hello, Gabby.

-Tell me all about your dog.

This is Teazel, she's my four-year-old labradoodle.

-You do all sorts of things with her, don't you?

-Yes.

We work for a local charity in North Devon,

helping kids in schools and libraries.

Our main task is to encourage children to read and we have

taught her to read words from a flash card to encourage children...

-What do you mean she reads?

-She reads words from a flash card.

-I'd like proof, please.

-We can prove that.

-Are you being serious?

-I am. I have my cards here.

-Oh, you just so happened to have them?

-Yes.

-That's lucky.

-OK, Teazel. Good girl!

-That is good, Teazel.

-Goodness me.

Teazel, come. Wait.

What's this, Teazel? Yes, that is very good.

And again. What's this? Teazel. This.

Come on. Yes, that's a good beg!

APPLAUSE

Teazel. Wait.

Yes, Teazel, that's very good.

APPLAUSE

Back up here.

Her other main job is, we go into a local primary school in Braunton

and we work with a nurture group, and these are children

that are possibly shy, under-confident, low self-esteem.

Teazel, everybody, oh, goodness me!

APPLAUSE

-Hello, Ann. Now, who is this?

-This is Digger.

-That's a very hard act to follow, isn't it?

-No, no...

-He can't read!

That's all right, Digger, we still think you're very beautiful.

-Tell me about Digger.

-Digger is flying the flag here for older dogs.

-He will be 11 years old in April.

-He doesn't look it, does he?

-I hope not.

-No.

-He is pretty good.

This is Digger's obsession. He would go anywhere for one of these.

-And at home, he's gentle?

-Goody two shoes.

-But turning into a crotchety old man.

-We all do!

Thank you very much indeed.

Lovely, and very best of luck to Team Jasmine!

APPLAUSE

So, the tongues are hanging out and the tails are wagging.

And the dogs are ready too!

We're ready for the first game, which involves a leap of faith

and an almighty splash, so let's play Reservoir Dogs.

APPLAUSE

OK, in this game our two dogs will perform a flying long jump

to see who can go the furthest.

Each dog will get three attempts to achieve their longest jump.

The dog that jumps the furthest will be the overall winner,

so remember, every jump counts.

We flipped a coin to see who is going to go first or second,

so, Ann, off you go to get ready and very best of luck to you.

APPLAUSE

Now, our water expert Dave is in the pool to make sure things go

swimmingly. Can you give us a wave, Dave?

And Ellie is there to throw the ball, so can you give it some welly, Ellie?

APPLAUSE

OK, Digger is ready.

On your barks, get set, go!

Now, here on Top Dog we make sure that each game is

suited to the dogs taking part.

Like with Digger and that spectacular leap!

For a 10-year-old dog, he is setting the bar pretty high.

Steady. Go!

Yes!

CHEERING

Now, in his prime, Digger was a champion in aquatic jumping events.

And as you can see, he's not lost his touch.

-Doesn't want to let go of that ball.

-No, he doesn't.

Oh!

Go!

-MAN IN AUDIENCE:

-Go on, Digger!

CHEERING

SUPERMAN THEME TUNE

Good boy!

So, each dog gets three jumps

and the longest jump determines who wins.

Congratulations, Digger. Those were amazing, amazing jumps.

-Well done.

-Good boy.

APPLAUSE

And the smile on his face each time was fantastic.

Now, we're not actually going to give them the distances

until the judges have verified all of the jumps from both of the dogs.

Let's see how Toffee can do. She is in position.

So, on your barks, get set, go!

SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Toffee's clearly got the support from the crowd there

and she seems determined to reward her fans.

What a great first jump.

Go, go, go!

Now, the springer spaniel is so-called for its ability to

flush out, or spring, game on hunts, but from that jump it looks

more like Toffee has got springs in her heels.

She is enthusiastically looking for her next ball.

A sleek profile and a powerful jump from Toffee.

This looks like it is going to be a close call.

An impressive series of jumps from Toffee, but will it be enough?

OK, we have had all the jumps verified.

I can now reveal that Digger's longest jump was five metres.

Well done, Digger.

APPLAUSE

And Toffee's longest jump

was four metres.

But still well done, Toffee.

Which means after the first game, Team Jasmine is in the lead.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

We're off to a flying start, quite literally, so let's watch

something that I cannot wait to see - it's the Wet Dog Shaggy Shake.

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

Now, we want to make sure all the dogs on this show are safe and happy.

So let's meet five people who will keep a watchful eye,

they're our experts.

Rena 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,

and alongside him is his apprentice,

Ellie Bedford.

APPLAUSE

It's now time for our team captains to go

up against each other in our second game.

This is a game that tests how well

they can harness their dogs' excitabilities.

It's simple, really.

In front of them is a space filled with bowling skittles, from outside

the box they must encourage their dog to knock down as many as possible.

The team that topples the most at the end of the game is declared

the winner. Time to play Bowl 'Em Over.

APPLAUSE

-OK, Diarmuid and Roxie, are you ready?

-We are ready.

-OK.

On your marks, get set, go.

Go. Go.

Now, earlier in the show Diarmuid described Roxie as manic.

Unfortunately, the skittles seem to have brought out her calm side!

Good girl, good girl. Come on, Roxie. Come on.

Whichever dog has knocked over the most skittles

when the buzzer goes will win this game.

Roxie, come on!

Come on. Roxie!

Roxie is half poodle and half golden retriever.

And you can really see the friendly demeanour of both those breeds

here in the way she is attentive to Diarmuid,

but it's not winning them a lot of points.

Time is up.

Roxie's gentle nature seemed to result in a reluctance

to knock into the skittles.

We'll have to wait and see if she's done enough.

Well done, then, to Roxie and Diarmuid.

-Do you want to know how many you did?

-Yes.

-Ten skittles. Congratulations.

APPLAUSE

-But now you have to sit back and watch. Jasmine, are you ready?

-Ready.

-We were born ready.

-OK. Here we go.

On your barks, get set, go!

Go on, Shads.

Come on. Come on. Come on. There's a good boy. Get down.

-There is a good boy.

-Oh, wow.

Bernese Mountain Dogs are naturally bulky dogs

and that's definitely going to work to his advantage in this challenge.

He can't help but knock over those skittles.

Good boy, good boy. What is this? Shads.

Sit, Shadow, sit!

Unusually for a dog, Shadow loves his fruit and veg

and it looks like his score is going to be just as healthy as his diet.

APPLAUSE

Yes, looks like Shadow has bowled over the competition with

-a near-perfect score.

-Oh, well done, Shadow.

Would you like to know how many skittles you knocked down?

Yes, please.

You knocked a total of 18 skittles down. Well done.

APPLAUSE

Which means that Team Jasmine are the winners

and that also means that you are 2-0 up.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Now, all of tonight's contestants are here to support a really great

cause and the countdown to this year's Sport Relief

is well and truly on. Here's how you can get involved.

The first ever Sport Relief Games take place from Friday the 21st

to Sunday the 23rd of March.

There are hundreds of running, swimming

and cycling events right across the UK.

And with plenty of different distances, there is

something for everyone.

We ran a Sport Relief mile - woo!

What's more, lots of mile events are officially dog friendly.

So, you and your pooch can get sponsored to take part.

To enter an event and join the fun and games, visit...

APPLAUSE

And please do get involved,

whatever you can do will make a real difference.

Now, this game is all about fetch and retrieval.

But this time, we're using slippers. The owners have to grab the slippers

from the red boxes and the dogs have to retrieve them from the blue boxes.

The two players need to retrieve as many slippers

as possible in their allotted time.

One point will be awarded for each slipper retrieved.

It's time now to play The Great Slipper Snatch.

OK. Are you ready?

On your barks, get set, go!

So Gail heads for the first slipper with Teazel waits obediently.

The winner of this challenge will be whatever team can bring back

more slippers before the time's up.

Teazel, get it!

She's definitely seeing the slippers,

but none of them are taking her fancy just now.

Teazel worked with children in schools and helps them

with their reading.

You can see that she has a very friendly nature.

She certainly seems to like the company of our camera crew.

Find it! Where is it?

Find it, Teazel! Find it!

Teazel. Teazel, come!

OK. Teazel's got the hang of it now.

They must keep on taking it in turns,

though, to collect those slippers.

Gail's got her second slipped,

but will Teazel be able to make it a pair by fetching another?

LAUGHTER

Come on, Teazel. Yeah, find it, Teazel.

Find it. Get it. Oh. Oh. Yes!

Teazel's gone for a pink slipper,

which will go nicely with her bandana.

BEEPING

Oh, no. That last one won't count as it wasn't in the basket

before the time was up.

OK. Teazel took a while to get going,

but she eventually got the idea.

Big congratulations to Gail and Teazel.

I think Teazel actually wanted to go to the camera men's feet instead,

but you did manage to get four slippers. Well done.

APPLAUSE

Now let's see if Vicki and Niko can do any better. Are you ready?

On your barks, get set, go!

Are you ready? Fetch it!

Fetch it.

It's just a slow walk over.

Fetch it. Good boy.

Niko's understood straightaway what he needs to do - a great start.

Wait. Wait.

Good boy. You ready? Fetch it! Where's the fetch?

Fetch it! Find it!

There's a time clock to this.

Fetch! Good boy. Get it.

Niko works with people with physical disabilities,

and the obedience required in his career is clear to see in this game.

Wait.

Good boy.

Labradors like Niko originally worked with fisherman to pull

nets and catch fish that escaped from the lines.

The instinct of fetch and retrieve clearly also applies to slippers.

Look at that tail wagging.

I think that's seven slippers so far.

Fetch it.

Ready? Fetch.

LAUGHTER

A nice scratch for Niko there.

He's clearly feeling confident with his score so far.

Where's the fetch?

-Just one more scratch there.

-BEEPS

APPLAUSE

A strong showing from Niko and Vicki.

That will be hard to top.

So you know you had four to beat.

-Do you want to know how many slippers you got?

-How many?

Many congratulations to you. You got seven!

APPLAUSE

Which means that Team Diarmuid are the winners.

APPLAUSE

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

Congratulations, Team Jasmine,

you're still 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.

It's time now for The Bark Off.

Now this is a relay race. The course will be completed one dog at a time.

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 the hear this sound.

DINGS

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 Jasmine is in the lead,

which means that team Diarmuid have the pressure of going first.

Because they are lagging behind two games to one,

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

Now it's time to play The Bark Off.

OK. Are you ready?

-Are you ready to go?

-Ready.

On your barks, get set, go!

Lorraine and Toffee up first for Team Diarmuid.

An early fault though.

Toffee needs to make it through Land's End to progress.

She's found her pace now.

She's making a confident cross of Tower Bridge.

Great athleticism there as she soars over Stonehenge

and pounces onto the approach of the bridge.

Out of Barking Tube,

but she can't wait to mount the Swindon Roundabout,

but will she stay there?

DINGS

Over Sherwood Forrest.

Toffee's made short work of the Welsh Train Tunnel

and she's waiting for Elaine.

Quick up and over Mount Snowdon.

Wow!

Toffee is absolutely nailing the Royal County Down Golf Course

weave there. Very impressive.

Toffee's aboard the ferry.

Look at that. Toffee and Lorraine have locked their gate.

Her self-control is quite spectacularly. Great voyage.

So a smooth finish and that means Vicki and Niko are off.

He is sticking to her hand like glue.

Great control from Vicki.

-Good boy. Come on then.

-Very good.

-Good boy.

He's making the descent from the Bridge

and into the underground with ease there.

Quick.

Onto the Roundabout and he's sitting patiently.

-DINGS

-Great work.

Time for a little river cruise.

Will Niko hold his nerve for the crossing?

-Wait.

-HORN BLARES

He's not looking too confident, but Vicki is taking it easy.

Cracking out those puppy dog eyes there.

Good boy. Come on.

DINGS Wait, Diarmuid. Not yet.

CHEERING

Opting for the safe option with the smaller jump there,

but a perfectly valid route.

Come on. Come on, Roxie.

Come on, go!

-A quick start for Diarmuid and Roxie.

-Come on.

-Come on.

-Not too keen on the daily commute there,

but she's decided to take a chance...and she's through.

Now will Roxie get the idea and climb the roundabout?

Yeah, she's up, sitting and staying.

-DINGS

-Well done.

At less than a year old,

you can see that Roxie is still in puppyhood.

Diarmuid leading her through the train tunnel,

-and straight up and over the mountain.

-You're doing great.

Confidently taking the Giant's Causeway rather than

the Golf Course weave.

-Onto the ferry.

-Good girl.

And off the ferry.

She needs to stay on the boat for the whole crossing to succeed.

-LAUGHTER

-Sit.

Now then, Diarmuid's used a distraction technique to take

her mind off the voyage ahead.

Is that going to be enough to keep the boisterous Roxie in the boat?

No. She's off the boat. Time to move on.

Diarmuid is leading by example and leaping Hadrian's Wall

and the Forth Bridge with her, and they're finished.

CHEERING

Overall, a fine show from Team Diarmuid.

Well done, Team Diarmuid. You're out of breath, Diarmuid.

Yeah. That was... I think I'm more exhausted than the dog is,

but the dog has four legs.

-Would you like to know your time?

-Yeah.

Four minutes, six seconds.

APPLAUSE Great start.

OK. So, Team Jasmine, you know the time to beat -

four minutes, six seconds. Are you ready?

On your barks, get set, go!

Right. Anne and Digger starting things off for Team Jasmine.

Oh, he's missed Stonehenge.

That's more like it.

Slightly nervous about Tower Bridge approach.

Over he goes.

Good dog.

Not afraid of public transport.

In fact, he doesn't want to leave the Tube it seems.

He must have bought a return.

Now, as an older dog, you can

see that his calmer disposition is an advantage for the sit and stay.

DINGS

APPLAUSE

Both of your through the tunnel.

Digger waiting patiently for Anne to finish the tunnel.

He's clearly very fond of her.

-Lovely weaving.

-Brilliant.

-So good!

Onto the ferry.

Digger getting on board for the next challenge.

Sit.

Oh, he seems to have found himself a treat there.

Wait.

HORN BLARES

# Ferry across the Mersey... #

-BUZZER

-Oh, dear. That's one fault.

But is he going to be able to stay on board

for the rest of the journey?

HORN BLARES

# Ferry across the Mersey... #

Stay.

Stay.

No. That's a second fault. He needs to move on.

Ah. No hesitation once he starts on those jumps.

-Good work, Digger.

-DINGS

Right, your turn. Off you go.

OK. Gail and Teazel off to a lightning start.

Making an early journey through John O'Groats,

but she's back on course.

It's only when you see these dogs in slow motion that the grace

and ease of them becomes really clear.

Time for a test of Teazel's resolve on the roundabout.

Her obedience is shining through yet again.

DINGS

She's missed the tunnel, but Gail's putting her right.

Wait for me.

Request from Gail there. Teazel only too happy to oblige.

Gail coming round the mountain as Teazel's coming down the mountain.

-Weave, weave, weave, weave.

-Wow!

-Teazel!

-Lovely tight weave from Teazel.

You can see she's got very precise footwork there.

-Get in the box. Lie down.

-Nice, clear instructions from Gail.

-Stay.

-Good girl.

-Very nice.

# ..across the Mersey... #

Liking this ferry ride.

Bit of wind in his hair.

Yet again, obedient, calm.

Lovely work from Teazel.

LAUGHTER

Good boy. Yay!

Now, team captain Jasmine with Shadow.

Up.

Tower Bridge looking very manageable for such a large dog.

Squeezes through Barking Tube with enough space to spare.

Sit.

A little distracted, but still Shadow holds his position.

Move on.

Easily stepping over Sherwood Forrest.

Good boy. Shadow's waiting for Jasmine at the mouth of the tunnel.

Good boy.

Now the mountain dog is right at home climbing Wales' tallest peak.

Now Jasmine's decided to take him through the weave.

Look at him!

Slow, determined and controlled. Great weaving.

-Good boy.

-APPLAUSE

Onto the ferry.

Wait.

HORN BLARES

# Ferry on the Mersey... #

Oh! A natural sea farer.

Good boy.

-Right, two jumps.

-Over.

Stepping over the last two jumps and that's it,

all over, for The Bark Off.

APPLAUSE

OK. We all know that the time to beat was four minutes and six seconds,

which you did.

And I can now reveal that you managed...

four minutes...

..and 42 seconds, which means Team Diarmuid are the winners!

-APPLAUSE

-Oh, wow. Well done. Well done.

So huge congratulations to Team Diarmuid for winning tonight's show.

And for that, the dogs each get a dog toy to enjoy.

But was it fast enough to win a place in the semifinals?

Only the fastest four winners will make it to the next round.

For now, we'll have to wait and see.

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 many locations around the UK.

The details of which can be found on the website. Just go to...

So a big thanks to all our dogs and their owners for taking part,

and thank you so much for watching.

We'll see you tomorrow. Until then, good night.