At home with the ‘All Creatures’ favourite pup... ‘one-take Derek’
WC FIELDS said “never work with animals or children”, but clearly he had never met Derek, aka Tricki Woo.
As we revealed recently, Tricki Woo is the real breakout star of Channel 5’s All Creatures Great And Small, beloved by viewers and cast members.
When interviewed over Zoom with his owner and trainer Jill Clark – from 1st Choice Animals which supplies TV shows – Derek exuded his same doggy charm.
This included his trademark low growl or “snore”, according to Jill, which has made him a favourite not only with the cast of this hit show, but with millions of fans of the rebooted series.
Jill Clark saw many Pekingnese puppies for the role but it was Derek who wowed her. He now lives with her “as part of the family”.
Describing him as a “dude” who was “born for TV work”, Jill said Derek instinctively responds to those around him.
“It’s just his character. He’s so nosey and wants to know what’s going on. But so clever and so easy to train,” said Jill. “A normal dog can take two years, but with Derek it was just six weeks. He was born for TV work. I don’t know how to explain his character but he’s just a dude! Such a cracking little dog.”
“Pekingnese are quite rare now and I saw several for the role but Derek was just the best by far. He’s not a dog I would have ever owned myself, but having got him he’s just the nicest, most charming little dog that you would ever wish to have. I would have 20 of them now. They’re gorgeous.”
Derek plays Tricki Woo in the famous 1930s veterinary drama, who is indulged by his millionaire owner Mrs Pumphrey, played by Dame Diana Rigg, who died last week. She feeds the dog everything she shouldn’t such as Beef Wellington and trifle.
“Derek doesn’t have Beef Wellington,” said Jill. “His favourite treat is actually roast chicken, a little of which I think we dangled in front of him as he did the walk with Tristan [Callum Woodhouse] in a future episode. He also likes hot dog sausages.”
This is Derek’s starring episode in the series, which took four days to shoot.
Tricki Woo runs riot in the vet’s house in Darrowby, raiding the hamper of rich food against the wishes of vet James Herriot.
Tricki Woo is then given to Tristan to bring back to fitness after the pooch has put on weight during his stay. But he wasn’t fattened up for the role, reveals Jill.
She said: “No, we didn’t actually. The thing is that if you plump up his coat, he just looks bigger. It’s a little trick. If you fluff him up you have a fat dog.
“And when you saw him eating a trifle, he was actually eating his own food, the chicken.”
Derek has been a hit with the cast. “You can’t not like Derek,” she said.
“He’s the kindest, nicest little dog and everybody just fell in love with him.
“During lunch breaks you could tell
where he is because all the cast were normally with him.”
Derek is a professional too. “He’s onetake Derek. He gets it right every time.
“He got all his takes. The actors say the only time they finished early was when the animals were on set. We never held them up.”
Jill has other dogs in the show – the dachshund, the alsatian, and the “background dogs”, such as the border collie, and the Yorkshire terrier.
Her son also looks after the larger animals such as the huge e bull Jester.
“He gets all the big cattle to lie down. Jester ter is a real sweetie.”
Do the animals upstage the actors? “I don’t think you can say that because Nick Ralph [James Herriot] is amazing.
“I can’t speak too highly of him. His birth scene with the cow in the first episode was incredible. He actually had his arm under it and remembering how to act.”
Jill became quite close during filming to the late Dame Diana. “It was very sad. We had a bit of friendship going on because I was settling the dog in and she would chat to me quite a lot. She was very fond of Derek and she thought he was a cracking little dog. It’s very sad.”
Asked why she thought the show had done so well, she replied: “You could feel it on set. It was just so magical. I’ve been on a lot of film sets and I’ve never felt that way before.”
Yet Jill revealed modest Derek has not been overawed by his star profile yet.
Asked if he’d wa watched the show go out, Jill replied. “He can watch it. He’s in the room at the sa same time but doesn’t seem terrib terribly bothered by his stardom at the moment.”
“He would love another series, but we don’t know whether it will go or not sadly, with the death of Dame Diana. But for Derek, he would love to do another one.”
All Creatures Great And Small, Channel 5, Tuesday, 9pm