WOOF Green played host to dog trick act Ashleigh and Pudsey tonight as Swindon descended on the town centre for the annual Christmas lights plunger-push.
Hundreds packed into Wharf Green, where inSwindon, the town centre management firm, had brought in 2012’s Britain’s Got Talent winners and various Swindon acts.
After a short, exclusive set from Ashleigh and Pudsey backed by Pharrell Williams’s ‘Happy’, they moved to the front of the stage with Heart presenters Ben Atkinson and Kirsten O’Brien and switched the lights on.
Despite the noise, Pudsey was not bothered by the commotion.
Ashleigh, 19, said: “He loves a crowd and it really was a huge crowd tonight, but we loved it. It makes him hyper and harder to control, but he did really good out there. He doesn’t need much of a warm-up, he knows what he’s doing. He’s good with a crowd.”
The pair are appearing in Dick Whittington at the Bristol Hippodrome over this Christmas period and revealed it’s likely to be a quiet Christmas Day for them both.
“We are doing panto this year so I am sure we will both just be sleeping and eating probably. He will probably get some turkey.”
The stage was set long before people started arriving in the town centre, but things started moving when performers from Swindon Dance put on a festive-themed show.
Emily Smith then came out with an aerial hoop performance inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas, complete with skeleton make-up.
The star quality dial was turned up a notch at that stage with a recorded message from Wyvern Theatre pantomime villain Nigel Havers, who will play King Rat in Dick Whittington.
Speaking from the big screen, he said: “Hello, I’m Nigel Havers, and welcome to the sweet, stupendous, sensational, splendiferous people of Swindon. Have a good time and I will see you in the panto.”
Havers was followed by Ashleigh and Pudsey, with fireworks rounding off the night.
North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson said: “The whole of Swindon came alive tonight and this will hopefully be a kick-start to our festive shopping period. I know all the retailers I talked to tonight were ecstatic with the turn-out, the luck with the weather and the fantastic line-up.
“Even my wife was really excited about Pudsey. Our dog Suzie is going to training now too.”
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