The Underdog Show was a six-week television series presented by Julian Clary and his dog, Valerie. The series was produced by the independent production company Splash Media.[1]

The Underdog Show
Created byFenia Vardanis
StarringHost: Julian Clary
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of seasons2
Production
Running timeMain show: 1 hour
Results show :30 minutes
CBBC show 30 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC Two
Release20 March 2007 (2007-03-20) –
4 December 2008 (2008-12-04)

Format

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The show on BBC2 featured celebrities Julia Sawalha, Anton du Beke, Clive Anderson, Huey Morgan, Mishal Husain, Selina Scott, Kirsty Gallacher and Theo Paphitis pairing up with untrained rescue dogs for a Crufts-style competition. Every week, one duo was eliminated by a panel of three professional judges Kay Lawrence, Annie Clayton and Peter Purves and the viewers via telephone voting. The outgoing dog being put up for adoption to find a new home with a viewer, although Theo, Kirsty, and Clive adopted the rescue dogs they were paired with.

Steve Mann of Alpha Dog training School was the successful trainer of eventual winners, Selina and Chump. Steve Mann, a full-time professional Dog Trainer is considered [by whom?] one of the best dog trainers in the UK.

A spin off show on CBBC replaced the celebrities with eight children paired up with eight rescue dogs and eight professional dog trainers.

Celebrity Dog's name Status/(end result)
Theo Paphitis Claudia Eliminated (8th)
Kirsty Gallacher Bruno Eliminated (7th)
Anton du Beke Ginger Eliminated (6th)
Clive Anderson Albert Eliminated (5th)
Mishal Husain Robson Eliminated (4th)
Julia Sawalha Cookie Third
Huey Morgan Casper Runner Up
Selina Scott Chump Winner

The numbers in brackets e.g. (8th) denote the final position the celebrity finished in, not the order they were eliminated.

Series 2

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A second series aired on Living instead of BBC Two. It was hosted by Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and Mark Durden-Smith.

Raef, Jason, Brian and Kevin all adopted the dogs that they were paired with.

Celebrity Dog's Name Status/(End Result)
Javine Hylton Bouncer Eliminated (10th)
MC Harvey Gambler Eliminated (9th)
Ninia Benjamin Sushi Eliminated (8th)
Lesley Joseph Louise Eliminated (7th)
Raef Bjayou Suz Eliminated (6th)
Elize du Toit Gloria Eliminated (5th)
Jason Wood Jim Eliminated (4th)
Camilla Dallerup Chico Third
Brian Blessed Dougal Runner Up
Kevin Sacre Sven Winner

The numbers in brackets e.g. (10th) denote the final position the celebrity finished in, not the order they were eliminated.

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