大象传媒

One Man And His Dog

17 February 1976

Television sheep-dog trials were not the most obvious choice for a programme, but One Man and His Dog - which began on 17 February 1976 - proved to be a popular addition to the 大象传媒 Two schedules. The Radio Times felt the need to inject some drama into its description - "with unpredictable sheep, there is always the element of chance" – but there was no need, as viewers responded to the slow pace, Phil Drabble's quiet enthusiasm and Alan Benson's soothing theme tune. At its peak, eight million people were tuning in.

Phil Drabble introducing the programme with Eurwyn Daniel on location for the series in the Lake District.

In the first programme Drabble explained the history and development of sheep-dog trials, visiting several shepherds to look at how dogs are trained. The competition began the following week, with teams from England East, England West, Scotland and Wales. In the first series David Sheehan and his dog Meg won the singles trophy, with the brace trophy going to Wales, represented by Glyn Jones with Gel and Brachen.

Drabble presented One Man and His Dog for 18 years, before handing over to Robin Page. The regular series ended in 1990, but returned in Christmas specials. Drabble died in 2007, but the enduring popularity of the format led to its revival in 2013, as a part of Countryfile.

February anniversaries

Search by Tag:

Rebuild Page

The page will automatically reload. You may need to reload again if the build takes longer than expected.

Useful links

Theme toggler

Select a theme and theme mode and click "Load theme" to load in your theme combination.

Theme:
Theme Mode: