Swindon pooch is a TV celebrity (From Swindon Advertiser)

Swindon pooch is a TV celebrity

10:43am Monday 18th February 2013 in News By Scott D'Arcy

SOME celebrities struggle with the limelight but Spud the bulldog just takes it all in his — very small — stride.

Producers of the hit ITV2 show Celebrity Juice contacted owner Laura Collins last year after the show’s previous dog Gary died — and Spud, one of a litter of seven, was an instant hit.

His debut on the show saw him dress as Eastenders character Dot Cotton, while he has also impersonated Ozzy Osbourne, Hulk Hogan and rapper Dappy from N-Dubz as part of a round where the panellists have to guess who Spud is mimicking.

He instantly won the hearts of show regulars Fearne Cotton and Holly Willoughby, who said: “I don’t think I’ve seen anything so cute in my entire life.”

Laura, 33, said Spud was the last of his siblings to be left on sale until she decided to keep him so he could star in his new silver screen role.

The bulldog breeder said: “Gary passed away and the producers saw the advert online for Spud and got in touch.

“My bulldog Ruby had a litter and Spud was the last one for sale because he was the runt of the litter.

“His brothers and sisters were quite chunky and people picked them first but I always had a soft spot for Spud. Then the producers got in touch and said would I keep him so he could be on the show, so now I’ve got three bulldogs at home, including Spud’s sister Maddie.”

Laura, of Freshbrook, took Spud, then just eight or nine weeks old, for the first TV shoot last year in London, during which the puppy had to go in front of a live studio audience, but she said he wasn’t fazed.

She said: “It was a bit surreal when we went down there. They filmed two shows live and pre-recorded and they also tried all the outfits on him.

“It all takes place in front of a live audience and it’s pretty noisy but he just took it all in his stride.

“It was funny because when he dressed as Dappy. He was so small the outfit did not fit him and his hat was all skewiff like Dappy’s would be. He’s been loads of people, including Harry Styles from One Direction, Russell Brand, Hulk Hogan and Ozzy Osbourne.”

Now a year old, Spud is looking forward to the possibility of more filming for the next series of Celebrity Juice in the spring. To see Spud in action, visit http://www.itv.com/celebrityjuice/video/spud/ or search ‘Spud Celeb Juice’ on Youtube.