''One Man and His Dog'' is a BBC

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

in the United Kingdom featuring

sheepdog trial A sheepdog trial (also herding event, stock dog trial or simply dog trial) — is a competition or test for working abilities of herding breeds dogs. It is a type of dog sport that emerged in the 1860s in New Zealand. By the 1870s regular trials ...

s, originally presented by Phil Drabble, with commentary by Eric Halsall and, later, by Ray Ollerenshaw. It was first aired on 17 February 1976 and continues today (since 2013) as a special annual edition of ''

Countryfile ''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues in the United Kingdom. The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker ...

''. In 1994,

Robin Page Robin Page (2 November 1932 – 12 May 2015) was a British painter. He was one of the early members of the Fluxus art movement. Biography Page was born in England in 1932. His father, Peter Carter-Page, was a humorist and cartoonist who worke ...

replaced Drabble as the main presenter. Gus Dermody took over as commentator until 2012. At its peak, in the early 1980s, it attracted audiences in excess of eight million.

History

The last regular series aired in 1999 on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

; however, the same year also saw the first of a series of Christmas specials, which continued annually until 2011 and were contested by teams of shepherds from the four nations of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

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, in the three categories of Single, Brace and Young Handlers. The main hosts have been

Clarissa Dickson Wright Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright (24 June 1947 – 15 March 2014) was an English celebrity cook, television personality, writer, businesswoman, and former barrister. She was be ...

, followed by

Ben Fogle Benjamin Myer Fogle, (born 3 November 1973) is an English broadcaster, writer and adventurer, best known for his presenting roles with British television channels Channel 5, BBC and ITV. Early life Fogle is the son of English actress Juli ...

(initially with co-host

Shauna Lowry Shauna Lowry (born 6 July 1970) is a television presenter from Belfast, Northern Ireland.(4 July 2008)What's in a mane? ''Belfast Telegraph'' ("Northern Ireland-born TV presenter Shauna Lowry (37), who has just finished filming a new series of '' ...

), and

Kate Humble Katherine Mary Humble (born 12 December 1968) is an English television presenter and narrator, mainly working for the BBC, specialising in wildlife and science programmes. Humble served as President of the Royal Society for the Protection of Bi ...

. Matt Baker joined the programme as a co-commentator (alongside Dermody) in 2006, and additionally became the main host in 2011. In 2012, the show was broadcast in two parts (the first of which was shown live) in September, and Baker was joined as a main presenter by

Michaela Strachan Michaela Evelyn Ann Strachan (born 7 April 1966) is an English television presenter and singer. Early life Born in Ewell, Surrey, Strachan grew up in Hinchley Wood and attended Chadsworth Stage School, then Claremont Fan Court School, both in ...

. Dermody remained as a commentator until 2012. The BBC has continued to broadcast sheepdog trials in a standalone series on

BBC Alba BBC Alba is a Scottish Gaelic-language free-to-air public broadcast television channel jointly owned by the BBC and MG Alba. The channel was launched on 19 September 2008 and is on-air for up to seven hours a day with BBC Radio nan Gàidheal ...

– the programme ''Farpaisean Chon-Chaorach'' has covered the Scottish National Sheep Dog Trial, International Sheep Dog Trial and triennial World Trial in its 13 series since 2008.

Cancellation and merger with ''Countryfile''

In July 2013, it was announced that ''One Man and His Dog'' was to cease being a programme in its own right, but the competition would become part of the rural affairs show ''

'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

. The first broadcast within ''Countryfile'' was on 27 October 2013, presented by Baker (who also continued as co-commentator) and

Julia Bradbury Julia Michele Bradbury (born 24 July 1970) is an Irish-born English television presenter, employed by the BBC and ITV, specialising in documentaries and consumer affairs. Her passion is the outdoors and more recently following her cancer diagn ...

. The Brace round was discontinued. Dermody was credited in 2013 as a consultant to the programme, but was no longer one of the commentators (replaced by Andy Jackman). For the 2014 competition, broadcast within the 28 September edition of ''Countryfile'', Baker co-presented with

Helen Skelton Helen Elizabeth Skelton (born 19 July 1983) is an English television presenter and Actor, actress. She co-presented the BBC children's programme ''Blue Peter'' from 2008 until 2013, and since 2014 has been a presenter on ''Countryfile''. She als ...

. The 2015 competition was broadcast on 27 September 2015 and presented by Baker and Ellie Harrison. The 2017 competition, presented by Baker and Charlotte Smith, was broadcast on 24 September 2017, and saw the reinstatement of the Brace round. Comedians

Tim Vine Timothy Mark Vine (born 4 March 1967) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter best known for his one-liners and his role on the sitcom ''Not Going Out'' (2006–2014). He has released a number of stand-up comedy specials and has wr ...

and

Kiri Pritchard-McLean Kiri Louise Pritchard-McLean (born 1986) is a Welsh comedian and writer. She has performed for several consecutive years at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and won five Chortle Awards. Career Pritchard-McLean is the director and writer for sketc ...

competed in a special celebrity version entitled ''One Red Nose and Their Dog''. Training footage featured in ''

'' on 6 March 2022, with the competition broadcast on ''

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

'' night (18 March 2022).

Presenters and commentators

* Phil Drabble (1976–1993) * Eric Halsall (1976–1990) * Ray Ollerenshaw (1991–1993) *

(1994–2000) * Gus Dermody (1994–1999, 2007–2012) *

Clarissa Dickson-Wright Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright (24 June 1947 – 15 March 2014) was an English celebrity cook, television personality, writer, businesswoman, and former barrister. She was be ...

(2000–2002) *

(2002–2007) *

(2002–2006) * Matt Baker (2006–present) *

(2008–2011) *

(2012) *

(2013) *

(2014, 2019) * Ellie Harrison (2015) *

Anita Rani Anita Rani Nazran (born 25 October 1977), better known as Anita Rani, is an English radio and television presenter. Early life Rani was born and brought up in Bradford, West Yorkshire to a Hindu father and a Sikh mother. In an episode of ...

(2016, 2018) * Charlotte Smith (2017, 2020)

Transmissions

Main series

Specials

Seasonal series

References

External links

* *{{UKGameshow, One_Man_and_His_Dog BBC Television shows 1976 British television series debuts 1970s British television series 1980s British television series 1990s British television series 2000s British television series