On the day of the event, I arrived to find pantomime horses of all different shapes, sizes and colours, not to mention a few pantomime cows, bulls and even camels. Teams from all over the country had been preparing for months for the event and there was a definite sense of competition in the air as the back ends of purple and yellow spotted horses chatted nervously to the front ends of green camels while they waited for the event to start.

At the parade ring I met my fellow judges, doctor and presenter David Bull, and TV fashion expert Trinny Woodall. After a brief conference between us on how the event was going to work, it was time to start as the first horse trotted eagerly into the ring. David introduced the horses and ‘owners’ before Trinny and I examined and commented on the physical – and sartorial – state of each entry. Each horse was different, with a look and style designed around their comedy name, and each posed a different challenge for the pantomime vet. ‘Cheryl Foal’ was a flirty and seductive mare who nuzzled up against me as I tried to examine her, whereas ‘Only Fools on Horses’ cantered around wildly and nearly trampled me under hoof – but none were quite as mad as the combined ‘Volcanic Ash & Not So Easy Jet’ horses which billowed smoke and cavorted around the ring! I’m not sure Goodwood had ever seen anything quite like it – and I know I haven’t in my career, that’s for sure!

It was a great day out and I thoroughly enjoyed myself – far more than if I’d been dealing with 30 real horses! – and loads of money was raised for good causes including the charity Action on Addiction as well.

The trip was to a photo studio in London so MORE TH>N could get some photos of me for their website  – and they’d asked if Jack could come along too. The day started bright and early as I took Jack for a walk in the crisp pre-dawn air before getting in the car and heading off to the station to catch the early train down to London. I was a little nervous about how Jack would cope with all the noise and busy people at the station but he was absolutely fine and instead of being stressed he spent his time charming the commuters and getting his back scratched! The early morning travellers seemed fascinated by seeing a dog on their train and it was strange how Jack’s presence seemed to make the whole experience of being on the train much more relaxed and friendly – rather than sitting silently ignoring each other, people were engaging with me and Jack and each other far more than usual and by the time we got to Paddington there was quite a sense of community on the train!

At Paddington we were met by a woman from one of the agencies organising the shoot and a car took us across town to Shoreditch to the studios. Not suspecting that he was about to be cooped up in a studio and asked to perform for camera all day long, Jack bounded enthusiastically from the car and half-dragged me along the corridors to where the photographer and his team were waiting.

The shoot itself was quite something, with a full team of people including photographer, 3 assistants, creative director, make up lady, advertising agency representative and 2 marketing people from More Than, in a large professional studio.  Thankfully Jack seemed to take the whole thing in his stride and really turned on the charm for the camera – I’m sure he knows what media work is all about as he always seems to perform whenever there’s a camera about!

It was a long day, both for Jack and me, as we took literally hundreds of shots trying to get the exact images that the creative director was looking for. There was much standing, sitting, moving slightly to the left then the right, smiling, grinning, frowning and gesturing (and that was just from Jack!) before the team were happy with the shots, and it was late in the afternoon by the time we’d finished.

It was well worth all the effort though as the photos looked great, and it really made me appreciate the value of having such a professional set up for a photo-shoot – it may seem over the top to have such a big team of people to just take a few snaps, but it makes such a difference to the end result to do things properly.

At the end of the day it was back on the train and home. Jack was wonderfully behaved all day (apart from a minor misdemeanour where he tried to follow me to the toilet on the train and got caught up in the automatic doors!) and really seemed to enjoy his day out. I had a great day too – but I must admit that however exciting it is to spend a day in the big smoke, it’s always a relief to be back in the countryside again at the end of the day.