BY ALLISON LEE
The BBC show fronted by two comedians, Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse, is entering its tenth season. However, this programme – which isn’t really about fishing as a sport, but about two good friends helping each other come to terms with their health problems – will be missing one very special little chap.
Ted, a Patterdale cross terrier who was abandoned at a shelter shortly after Christmas 2012, was the real star of the show. I don’t think for one minute that Mortimer or Whitehouse would disagree with me. Ted was exceptional, a law unto himself. As Paul Whitehouse said, “He wasn’t a dog; he was a species all of his own.”
I spoke to Lisa Clark, Ted’s owner and the Executive Producer of Gone Fishing, who kindly agreed to tell me about this wonderful little dog who captured the hearts of thousands of viewers.
“It’s ironic, really,” Lisa says, “that the programme is about Bob and Paul, both of whom have had heart disease – the same illness that Ted had. He was only thirteen,” she tells me, sorrow clear in her voice. “I thought I had years left with him. He really was a wonderful companion. He was totally untrained; he didn’t perform. In fact, he didn’t really do much at all,” Lisa adds, laughing.
Ted came into Lisa’s life when she was looking for a companion for her Old English sheepdog, Dolly. A friend told Lisa about a shelter, DBark in Surrey, and she looked at their website. Lisa explained that the shelter has only about five or six dogs for rehoming at any one time, and that luckily, the dogs don’t take long to find their forever homes. Lisa remembers seeing Ted’s picture on the shelter’s website and knew she had to go and see him without delay. The usual checks were done, and the shelter made sure Ted and Dolly got on well – which they did. Ted soon had his little paws in Lisa’s home and heart. Lisa recalls that someone told her Ted had originally come from Ireland. His tail had been docked; at the time, this practice wasn’t illegal in Ireland, and she wonders whether he had been intended as a working dog, perhaps on a farm, rather than for the silver screen.
Lisa says she wasn’t looking for a dog to be on TV, and Ted’s stardom came about gradually. She would take both Ted and Dolly on set with her, and whilst Dolly never left her side, Ted would wander off all over the place, sniffing around the crew and generally getting up to mischief. Lisa told me the crew absolutely loved Ted – he fitted in well, and there was no over-production. What happened, happened. Ted found his calling, and a huge fan base followed.
Lisa explained that Ted loved being out and about. When filming, they would often set off at 8 am and return to the hotel well after 7 pm. “Ted always slept well,” Lisa says with pride, recounting how much fresh air he had daily. She said Ted loved staying in hotels – probably, she suggests, because he was never, ever allowed on the bed at home, but when in a hotel, the rules were relaxed, and he was straight up!
Lisa recalls some of Ted’s antics. He loved to roll around and was often seen doing so on screen. However, on one particular day, he was milliseconds from rolling into the river, and she had to grab him quickly. Lisa explains that Ted would wander off all the time. Sometimes he would have a tracker on his collar, other times a falcon bell – so either way, they would have an idea where he was when he started to roam. Lisa told me about a time when Gone Fishing was being filmed in Norfolk. She had taken both Ted and Dolly with her, and whilst Dolly sat down obediently, Ted wandered. When she couldn’t find him around lunchtime, she and a member of the team went to look for him. They could hear the bell, but the closer they got to the sound, the further away it seemed. Lisa eventually gave up and headed back to the car, intending to drive around the perimeter of the field until she could see Ted. She laughs as she recalls that the minute Ted knew she was no longer following him, he gave up and came straight back to her.
Ted packed a lot into his thirteen years, accompanying the Gone Fishing crew on many of their journeys – including one to France. A mutt of many talents, Ted also wrote two bestselling books, with a third, The Retirement Plan, due out in September this year. Lisa says the ending will need to be changed now that Ted is no longer with them, and she knows it will be difficult to write. Ted had plans for his retirement which, sadly, he won’t be able to carry out. I, for one, am looking forward to reading what they were, and I am sure the book, like his Pawtobiography, will bring many special moments.
Not surprisingly, Lisa says she has been inundated with messages from fans of Gone Fishing and Ted, sending love and wanting to donate in his name to a good cause. A JustGiving page has been set up in his memory. Lisa says she is still undecided about which charities the money will support, but “front-runner ideas for the funds so far are dog charities (obviously), but also maybe a statue of the scruffy old lad!” If you would like to donate, please see the official link here.
Allison Lee is a smallholder from North Yorkshire who has written for the Yorkshire Times and other publications. Her website can be accessed here.