Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
THE SHOW WITH THE BOW WOW FACTOR
Unbelievable dogs, heartwarming stories and lots of controversy – Crufts has it all...
Former Blue Peter presenter Radzi Chinyanganya has had a solid grounding in live television, quite often with animals thrown in too, but even he wasn’t prepared for the challenge of Crufts. ‘In any other TV show you’d address the owners,’ he says, ‘but with Crufts you speak to the dogs first. And you always remember that, to their owners, these dogs are like children.’
It’s certainly a unique event. With obedience, agility, dancing and jumping events alongside the Best Of Breed and Best In Show competitions, it’s a must-visit for those in the dog world, but also a major TV event for us dog-loving Brits. Founded by dog biscuit salesman Charles Cruft, the first Crufts was held in 1891. Back then the contest was by royal appointment, and Queen Victoria’s collie Darnley II and two of her Pomeranians won prizes at that first show. The following year, dogs belonging to other European royals were entered, including Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia’s borzoi and Prince Henry of Battenberg’s collie.
The push in recent years has been to make the show a must-watch in ordinary homes. It was televised by the BBC for half a century, but this association ended in 2008 when a BBC1 documentary criticised breeding practices for compromising the health of pure-bred dogs. After several sponsors pulled out, the Kennel Club, who organise Crufts, agreed to review its standards and judging. The show has been broadcast by Channel 4 since 2010.
Clare Balding leads the coverage, and is described by co-presenter Radzi as the font of all knowledge. ‘If you ask her who was Best Of Breed in ’72, she’s likely to tell you,’ he says. ‘She’s phenomenal.’ She also has a personal connection to the show. The grandfather of her beloved pet Archie was a Tibetan terrier called Araki Fabulous Willy, winner of Best In Show in 2007.
Conversely Radzi, 32, says he was brought in three years ago because of his lack of expertise – he was someone who could explain things to a non-specialist audience.
It’s one of the few televised contests that doesn’t offer big prize money. Best In Show winners receive a replica of the silver Keddell Memorial
Trophy (named after Robert Keddell, show manager for 30 years) but only a modest cash prize of £100. There is plenty of money to be made afterwards, though – in sponsorship deals and breeding opportunities.
For the winners, that trophy is the equivalent of Olympic gold, so perhaps it’s no surprise that Crufts has long been a hotbed of controversy. There have been astonishing stories of skulduggery over the years, with claims of owners slipping rival dogs laxatives or sticking chewing gum in their fur. In 2015, three-year-old Irish setter Jagger died from poisoning the day after coming second in his class. ‘Murder At Crufts’ screamed one headline. Thankfully (for Crufts) a post-mortem revealed that Jagger had consumed the poison after returning home to Belgium.
In 1974, Crufts actually featured in a murder trial. An Old Bailey jury heard how a man started an affair with a woman he met at Crufts, then was stabbed to death by his wife with the knife he used to cut up their dog’s food. And Crufts’ colourful past doesn’t end there. In 2010 a streaker wearing a strategically placed cat mask ran onto the floor, and in 2018 protestors from animal rights group PETA caused chaos.
Yet for every horror moment, there are thousands of heartwarming ones, and countless funny ones too. Radzi’s favourite from last year came when he was ‘interviewing’ a border collie called Scaffie, who had just won the dancing competition. They were all watching his performance on a screen. ‘He was watching himself and barking when the music reached its crescendo. His owner said when he watches films he will cry in the sad parts and bark in the happy parts. He was possibly the most intelligent, responsive dog I’ve ever met.’
Clare Balding says the perception she would most like to challenge is that Crufts is ‘just a beauty parade’ for pretty dogs. In recent years there’s been a push for more inclusive categories, and in 2000 the Kennel Club started the alternative show Scruffts for crossbreeds.
One of the most popular categories is the Friends For Life competition – this is the one most likely to make you well up. Owners explain why their dogs are their heroes, and some of the stories, says Radzi, ‘are simply amazing’. Last year’s winner Finn is a police dog who saved his owner’s life after a vicious attack. ‘It reminds us of the importance of the relationship dogs have with their owners, and indeed the other humans they come into contact with,’ says Radzi. ‘It’s the thing that makes me leave with a smile on my face. Whenever I think of Crufts I always think of the power of dogs, and this sums it up.’