Episode 4 Sport Relief's Top Dog

72 dogs.

24 celebrity team captains.

And one big tournament to find

Sport Relief's Top Dog.

On tonight's show:

Team captain Debra Stephenson, an actress and comedian,

and her Labrador, Biscuit, are joined by

Brendan Donnelly, a Ministry of Defence dog handler from Surrey,

and Arnold the Rottweiler, who is a retired patrol dog.

And Tracy Body, an insurance underwriter from Kent,

with Echo, her pet cocker spaniel.

They're taking on:

Gail Emms, an Olympic badminton champion,

and her West Highland terrier, Raffa,

are joined by Ian Walpole, a fire officer from Northamptonshire,

and Labrador Maysie, a fire investigation dog.

And Jeff Walton, a dog trainer from Oxfordshire,

with Buzz, his pet Border collie.

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

It's Sport Relief's Top Dog.

DOG BARKS

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Gaby Roslin!

CHEERING AND WHISTLING

Hello and welcome to Sport Relief's Top Dog

where our four-legged friends go out on a limb,

all in aid of Sport Relief.

Now, tonight, we have more wags than the England squad,

as we see our canine friends enjoy a dip in the pool,

a visit to the drop zone,

and discover just who really is the brains behind these barking buddies.

-Hello, Team Debra.

-Hello.

Team captain Debra. And who is this?

This is Biscuit, and I'm trying to get her to sit the right way!

-LAUGHTER

-She's quite forceful, actually.

When she's excited, she did once...

I went to a running race that my son had entered.

And when they fired the starting pistol she just decided to run.

Pulled me over. I lost the leash, she ran after them.

Oh, Biscuit!

You're very famous for doing impressions.

How good are you at doing dog impressions?

SHE GROWLS AND BARKS

-Terrible!

-LAUGHTER

Let's hear it for Debra!

APPLAUSE

Oh, hello!

Introduce me to your beautiful dog, please, Brendan?

-This is Arnold.

-He's a Rottie.

-He's a Rottweiler.

As you can see, he's a big, lovable puppy.

-He's a retired working dog.

-What was he doing when he was working?

He was a patrol dog,

he used to patrol around fence lines of military establishments.

You are so lovely. Yes, I know. Look, why don't you just... Oh, OK!

What would you like to do now?

-A little dance? Not me, thank you very much.

-Stand down.

Let's hear it for Arnie!

-APPLAUSE

-Thank you very much.

Hello, who's this?

-This is Echo.

-Hello, Echo.

-Oh, Echo.

-He wants to give you a kiss.

-Echo helped you through a very tough time.

-He did, yes, he did.

My mum, unfortunately, was in hospital.

The day before she arrested,

she said that she wanted me to have one of my friend's puppies.

The week after her funeral, I got him.

-Oh, so he was there to help you through all of that?

-Yes, he was.

Echo, you are very special. Yes, and you know it.

You really do know. Let's hear it for Echo and Team Debra!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Welcome, Team Gail. Gail, the team captain.

-Yes.

-Olympic champion.

-Well, yeah.

-What do you mean, "Well, yes"?

-Silver medallist, yeah.

-She won a silver medal!

-It's not bad!

-APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

-Yes.

OK, now tell me about your gorgeous doggie?

This is Raffa, he was a birthday present for me on my 30th birthday.

He's not the brightest, but he's been incredible.

He's helped me through retirement, actually.

Look at that face, though.

You can do whatever you want with that face, yes.

Thank you very much, Gail!

APPLAUSE

Hello.

Now, Ian, tell me about your incredible dog?

Maysie is a fire investigation search dog

for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service.

She's one of only 15 to 20 in the whole country.

And she looks for tiny traces of ignitable liquid

that are found at scenes of arson.

She wears boots because the scenes she works in are very dangerous.

-I don't think she likes the boots.

-No, she loves it.

-Does she?

-She now thinks she's working.

Look at you, Maysie. Let's hear it for Maysie.

CHEERING

Jeff, hello, Jeff.

Ah, hello, you.

OK, tell us about this beautiful dog?

Buzz is a three-year-old Border collie. He's my pet.

I teach puppy classes,

he helps me out and socialises with the young puppies.

Whenever we're doing it, I think he's 100% full of enthusiasm.

Oh, how lovely.

-Look at that face.

-AUDIENCE:

-Ah!

Let's hear it for Buzz, and Team Gail.

APPLAUSE

So, we're ready for our first game of the evening

where the action will be, quite literally, off the scale.

Team Debra have decided to put forward Tracy and Echo.

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

So, let's play Catch Of The Day.

This game requires excellent teamwork.

Our handlers have to throw their fish,

and it's up to their sea dogs to retrieve them.

The team who've retrieved the most fish will take first "plaice"!

-AUDIENCE GROAN

-Now... Thank you!

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

Tracy and Echo, off you go to get yourself yourselves ready,

thank you very much.

And, wading in at the deep end, as usual, our water experts.

Give us a wave, Dave!

CHEERING

-And give it some welly, Ellie!

-APPLAUSE

-OK, are you ready up there?

-Yes.

On your barks, get set, go!

So, Echo is first up today.

According to Tracy, he absolutely loves the water.

She takes him to a hydrotherapy pool for regular swims.

He did opt for the easy entry there.

But maybe he's just warming up.

-Go!

-CHEERING

There we go. He's jumped straight in this time.

A lovely little leap from this 18-month-old cocker spaniel.

And again, he's in his stride now.

-A good old shake from Echo there.

-Straight in, that time. Lovely!

CHEERING

SHE GIVES ENCOURAGEMENT Whoops!

AUDIENCE GASPS

I think he got to that fish quicker by jumping off the ramp.

Clever move there, from Echo.

CHEERING

Good boy.

BEEPING

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Those big old spaniel ears make Echo look

more like a helicopter than a dog.

Either way, I think he's going to be tough to beat.

Well done!

You managed to get five fish actually back in the bucket.

-Very well done.

-Thank you.

Let's see how Maysie can do, ready?

-I am.

-On your barks, get set, go!

-Go, girl, go on.

-CHEERING

No hesitation at all from Maysie. Straight in after that fish.

Good girl. Good dog, Maysie, away.

Good girl.

-CHEERING

-Good girl!

And, again from Maysie.

She's bigger than Echo, so she jumps that little bit further.

-CHEERING

-Good girl.

Now, Maysie is a working fire dog.

She helps Ian to work out how fires have started.

She's a very clever dog, this one.

-CHEERING

-Good girl! Good girl!

Good girl. Good girl.

She's holding on to that one a little bit too tightly.

CHEERING

She judged that one perfectly, landed with her mouth right on the fish.

She really doesn't want to give these up.

That could cost him a bit of time.

LAUGHTER

-Good girl.

-CHEERING

She's a really fast swimmer, she's really racing back to Ian.

Good girl. Come on.

LAUGHTER

-Quick.

-You've got 15 seconds.

CHEERING

Now, can Maysie get just one more back in time? It's going to be tight.

Five seconds!

BEEPING

Oh-ho, yes, well done, Maysie!

Some great leaps from this beautiful black Lab.

She brought home plenty of fish.

She didn't always want to hand them over, though.

OK, the results are in.

Tracy and Echo managed an impressive haul of five fish.

And Ian and Maysie, your catch...

-..seven fish!

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Which means that Team Gail are the winners.

Now, I think we should cut to the moment we've all been waiting for.

It's Echo and Maysie doing the wet dog shaggy shake!

CHEERING

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

# Show 'em how to do it now

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

# Show 'em how to do it now. #

CHEERING

Now, all of our games tonight have been designed

with the guidance of our fantastic dog experts. So, let's meet them.

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.

And alongside him is his apprentice, Ellie Bedford.

APPLAUSE

Now, it's the turn of our celebrity team captains to step up

to the breach. We've got Debra and Biscuit and Gail and Raffa.

Our second game is a quiz with a twist.

I will be asking a set of questions,

each with a multiple-choice answer, A, B or C.

They will then have ten seconds from when they leave the red spot

to place their dog on the appropriate disc and return.

However, if the dog moves from their spot,

if they get the question wrong or if the handler does not make it back

to their own position within ten seconds, no points will be scored.

Team Gail is going first, so let's play the Pup Quiz.

-OK, Gail and Raffa, are you ready?

-I think so.

On your barks, get set, question one:

What is the name of Mickey Mouse's pet dog?

a) Pluto, b) Mars, c) Uranus?

Stay, wait, wait.

Wait, wait!

BELL SOUNDS

You get that right and the answer is correct.

Here's your next question: A group of ferrets is called a what?

a) company, b) business, c) corporation?

No idea! Here we go.

Wait. What's this?

Wait. Wait.

BUZZER

-I'm afraid it's the wrong answer.

-I had no idea.

-The answer is a business.

-You learn something new everyday.

Name the fictional robotic dog who often appears in Doctor Who

and the Sarah Jane Adventures.

Is it a) K7, b) K8, c) K9?

I'm guessing that one!

Come on. Here we go. Wait.

Wait. Wait. Go back!

BUZZER

You gave me the correct answer but I'm afraid you don't get that point.

Your next question - Tintin the reporter

is aided in his adventures by his faithful white dog.

The dog's name is:

a) Snowy, b) Rainy, c) Windy.

Raffa. That's it. Goodbye. Wait.

Wait. Wait. Wait.

BELL SOUNDS

You got that point and the correct answer.

Actually, he looks just like Snowy. And your last question -

which St Bernard was given the name of a famous composer

in the American family film?

Was it a) Bach, b) Beethoven, c) Mozart?

Good boy. That's it. Now wait. Wait.

Wait.

BELL SOUNDS

And you get that point, too! It's the correct answer. Well done.

You've had all five of your questions. Well done.

Yeah, I think Gail will be really pleased with that effort from Raffa.

He certainly looks pretty pleased with it himself.

Well done, and Gail and Raffa scored three points.

Well done, Raffa. Well done.

OK, Debra, are you two ready?

On your barks, get set, your first question -

Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston star in a film

where they adopt which naughty Labrador puppy?

a) Barley, b) Marley, c) Carly?

Skip. Here.

Stay. Stay.

Stay.

BELL SOUNDS

Correct answer, and you get that point.

Your next question -

what is a group of ravens known as?

a) an unkindness, b) a nastiness, c) a raucous?

Come on, Biscuit.

Come on, Biscuit.

And sit. Stay. Stay.

BUZZER SOUNDS

Well done, Biscuit, but I'm afraid you gave us the wrong answer.

The correct answer is a) an unkindness.

-Oh.

-Next question -

in The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave

and A Matter Of Loaf And Death,

Wallace is accompanied by which dog?

a) Sean, b) Wendelin, c) Gromit.

Biscuit, come on. Come on.

And sit. Sit. Stay. Stay.

Stay.

BELL SOUNDS

You get that point.

Your next question -

which toy dog is friends with Woody in the film Toy Story?

a) Slinky, b) Plinky, c) Plonky.

Come on. Biscuit, come here. Oh, no. Don't start!

LAUGHTER

Come here.

Come here. Sit.

Sit! Stay.

LAUGHTER

BUZZER SOUNDS

Oh, Biscuit!

Correct, but I'm afraid Biscuit didn't stay on his spot.

LAUGHTER

Your final question -

which dog helped save 101 Dalmatians with his partner, Perdita?

Is it a) Pongo, b) Pingu or c) Dumbo?

Come on.

Come here. And stay. Stay.

BUZZER SOUNDS

No!

It was the right answer but I'm afraid Biscuit wasn't on the spot.

But well done. Thank you very much, Debra and Biscuit.

APPLAUSE

Debra did warn us that Biscuit was quite a forceful dog.

I definitely think she's got her hands full with that one.

That was joyous. That was absolutely joyous.

Debra and Biscuit scored two, but Gail and Raffa scored three

which means that team Gail are in the lead, 2-0.

APPLAUSE

Now, all this mutt mayhem is not just a bit of fun.

It's also about raising money

so Sport Relief can change the lives of some of the most

vulnerable people around the world and right here in the UK.

Christina is 17.

She has cerebral palsy and lives at home on the Isle of Wight.

Her limited mobility

and sight means she relies on her family to do pretty much everything.

I think it's nice that people want to help me and they give me

lots of help but sometimes, when I see my friends going out

by themselves, I want to be able to do that, as well.

And that's where Georgie comes in.

Georgie is an assistance dog and is being provided by

a Sport Relief-funded charity called Ability Dogs For Young People.

Dogs can change people's lives, and in Christina's case George

is going to start to give her much more independence and confidence,

as a 17-year-old, to be able to get her phone

when it's ringing or go out on her own without an adult.

It will just be amazing.

They're both still in the early stages of training,

but already Georgie is making a big difference to Christina.

He's my friend and I'd like to have my independence

because it will make me feel happier.

And I'd feel more grown-up.

Your money is changing lives.

With Georgie by her side, Christina has the chance to lead

her own life in a way she could never have imagined before.

To donate £5 to Sport Relief right now:

Projects like that one can really change lives right here

in the UK so every donation will make a massive difference.

Thank you very much.

Now, next up is a masterclass in obedience and timing.

Two members of each team have now played which leaves one remaining.

For team Debra, that's Brendan and Arnie.

For team Gail, it's Jeff and Buzz.

Now, the rules are simple.

The handler who was facing away from the dog must recall them

and get them to stay in the scoring zone.

Each player has two runs down the carpet and three attempts to

accumulate as many points as they can and get their dog to stay.

Let's play The Drop Zone.

APPLAUSE

OK, Arnie is now in position.

I'm asking now for total silence so they can work together. OK.

On your barks, get set, go.

Heel. Sit.

First attempt from Brendan there

and Arnie's down in the scoring zone so that's 25 points.

Another quick command. He's back down for another 25.

Heel. Down.

That's your three attempts that round.

You get another turn,

but if you'd like to reset Barney to the top.

OK. Off you go.

On you come. Heel. Down.

Brendan was a brick to quick with that one. No points.

Barney, heal.

Down.

At least half of Arnie needs to be in the 25 zone to score

so not quite there.

Come. Heel. Down.

Got it that time. Well done, Arnie.

Well done, you've had all six attempts.

Give them a round of applause.

APPLAUSE

Arnie and Brendan just missed out on an extra 25 points there

because there wasn't enough of Arnie's body across the line.

Many congratulations. You just scored 19 points. Well done.

Jeff and Buzz, it's now your turn. You ready?

On your barks, get set, go.

Buzz, come. Down.

Buzz's first attempt there, no points.

-Buzz, come. Down.

-He's really fast. He's down in the 25 zone that time.

Buzz, come. Down.

He's so quick he's raced over the 15. Settling on just one point.

Well done, you've had your first three attempts.

If you'd like to reset Buzz to the top of the carpet.

I am so impressed by this. You have no idea.

Wait for me to start you off again.

-Are you ready?

-Yep.

-Go.

Buzz, come. Down.

-Same start as last time. No points there.

-Buzz, come. Down.

Another 25 for Buzz.

-Buzz, come. Down.

-That looks like a single point. Yeah, it is.

-Well done, you've had all six attempts.

-Good boy.

Buzz just missed out on the 15 because most of his body

was in the 1 zone.

Is that going to cost them the game?

The score you had to beat was 90. And you scored...

52. Well done, though.

APPLAUSE

That does mean that Brendan and Arnie are the winners of that round.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

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

Team Gail are still in the led 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 -

yes, it's time for The Bark Off.

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 SOUNDS

They will only get two attempts at each obstacle

and they can't move on until they hear this sound.

BELL 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 Debra have the pressure of going first.

And because they're lagging behind, they'll be starting their run

with 15 seconds already added to the clock.

It's time to play The Bark Off.

OK, are you ready? On your barks, get set, go!

So it's Echo off first from Team Debra

with 15 seconds already on the clock.

Now, he loves his agility courses so expect a good run here.

Must be a bit slippery on there old tracks at Barking Tube.

Sit, sit.

CLOCK TICKS

BELL DINGS

Through the tunnel together.

-Go on.

-Echo looks like he's having a great time.

He's not doing much to help get Tracy up on her feet.

-Through the weave.

-Wow, great weave from Echo there.

This is when you can really tell if a dog's done agility courses before.

Lay down. Down.

SONG: "Ferry Cross The Mersey"

BUZZER SOUNDS

Echo's not a seafaring pooch it would seem.

I don't think he's going to stay in.

-Stay!

-No, he's out.

BELL DINGS

Move on then.

BELL DINGS

Here comes Arnie.

Much more relaxed approach from the big dog.

He's not in a rush, is he?

Look at Arnie. Still smiling.

CLOCK TICKS

BELL DINGS

-Lovely.

-Good boy, Arnie.

He might be big but he's very agile. A lovely jump over Sherwood Forest.

Oh, Arnie, look at you.

Arnie really concentrating on following that ball.

Great technique from Brendan.

Further down the course after a successful trip across the Mersey

and he's finished.

BELL DINGS

Right then, here comes Biscuit.

We've seen that she can be playful at the best of times!

Will she behave now?

Through Barking Tube.

Clearly not a fan of the underground. Don't worry, Biscuit -

I'm with you on that one.

If in doubt, throw a ball. Works every time.

-Sit!

-Now, is she going to stay?

CLOCK TICKS

BELL DINGS

Well done, Biscuit.

Both of you through the tunnel.

Oh! Just have a little scratch.

I'm not sure if anyone's explained this to Biscuit, but this is a race.

Good girl. Stay.

BUZZER SOUNDS

That's one jump out. One more and she'll have to move on.

SONG: "Ferry Cross The Mersey"

Appears Debra's had a word.

This doesn't look like the Biscuit we've come to know.

Good girl! Come on!

Through the end!

Lovely celebratory skip to finish. Well done, Debra and Biscuit.

Well done, Team Debra! A very impressive...

four minutes 50 seconds!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

OK, Team Gail, are you ready?

On your barks, get set, go!

Right, Buzz is first to go for Team Gail.

You know the time to beat.

Very fast off the mark.

Jeff says he does everything at 100mph. That's pretty evident!

Buzz is fast.

CLOCK TICKS

BELL DINGS

Fantastic jump from the Border collie.

I think our Olympic team captain has been giving some pep talks.

Buzz and Jeff often take part in agility courses

and again you can really see that on the weave.

SONG: "Ferry Cross The Mersey"

He sat up. He wanted to see the whole of the Mersey better.

Nope, just missed out Hadrian's Wall. He's going to have to go back.

BELL DINGS

Maysie's next and it looks like she might be even faster than Buzz.

Look at that!

Ian's using a whistle to get Maysie's attention.

BARKING Looks like it's working on the others, too!

The dogs are loving the whistle.

Maysie is our trained fire dog -

one of only 15 or 20 in the country.

They've lost a bit of time there

but this really does look like an Olympic winning team to me.

SONG: "Ferry Cross The Mersey"

That's one refusal from Maysie.

Another one. BUZZER SOUNDS

-They'll have to move on.

-Move on.

Get in. No, here.

Good girl.

BELL DINGS

Here comes little Raffa

and our Olympian Gail who is going for the chase the ham technique.

-And it appears to be working.

-Ham, ham, lovely ham.

-LAUGHTER

-Keep going.

What's in there?

-Raffa speeding through the tube there in search of a treat.

-Wee! Come on.

And a very cute jump over Sherwood Forest.

That's a big mountain for a little dog.

Owners can choose either the weave or the stepping stones here.

Yes, he is still chasing that ham.

Stay!

Stay!

SONG: "Ferry Cross The Mersey"

LAUGHTER

I think we know who's getting Rear of the Year award this year.

Good boy. Come on.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

No, no!

-This way, yes!

-BUZZER SOUNDS

Yes!

CHEERING

It was a shaky start for the little Westie,

but in the end it was the ham that got him through.

Well done. OK.

Now, if you remember, the time to beat

was four minutes 50 seconds from Team Debra.

I can now reveal Team Gail's time was...

-three minutes 33 seconds!

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Huge congratulations to Team Gail for winning tonight's show.

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

Only the top four winning times of the series will make it

to the next round. We'll have to wait and see.

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...

Thanks to all our dogs and the owners for taking part

and thank you so much for watching.

Until next time, good night.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE