Go behind the scenes at 'The Dog House'

Regularly pulling in over a million loyal viewers, The Dog House is one of Channel 4’s most successful – and beloved – TV shows.

For anyone who hasn’t seen it, the BAFTA nominated programme follows individuals, couples and families who have decided they would like to adopt and care for a dog of their own.

The hit show is filmed entirely on location at Woodgreen Pets Charity, a well-established animal welfare shelter based near Godmanchester. The sprawling 43-acre facility takes unwanted small pets – like cats, gerbils, guinea pigs, rabbits and even chickens – and cares for them until they are able to be rehomed.

However, it is of course the centre’s dog population which is the main focus of the mega-popular, and often very moving show.

Last week (March 30), the Peterborough Telegraph got the chance to take a peek behind the scenes and meet some of the show’s stars and producers.

‘It’s not like being a proper celebrity’

Like all of the people who appear on the show, my first stop is the familiar-looking reception desk.

From here, I saunter round into a stylish lounge area which I’m surprised to learn is actually a crew-built TV set. On the programme, this is where those appearing on the show first meet with Woodgreen staff to discuss the kind of dog they’d like to be paired with.

Here waiting for me is Lizzie Charnock, Woodgreen pet advisor and one of the de-facto stars of the show.

Bright and breezy with an infectious smile, Lizzie tells me how she deals with her new-found fame.

“It’s not like being a proper celebrity,” she explained.”It's quite strange, I think - it’s really odd to get used to but it’s alright.”

Lizzie says she often gets recognised when she’s in her uniform. However, her recent hairstyle change is making sightings more manageable:

“I’ve had a bit of a change of style,” she confided, “I’ve got pink short hair now. “

“In all the series that I have been on so far I’ve got long blonde hair so I’m kind of in disguise.”

Lizzie admitted that working and filming at the same time felt “strange” when she first started contributing to the programme.

However, it didn’t take her that long to adapt to the duel requirements of her new role: “You forget that you’re being filmed, you're being listened to, being watched,” she said: “you’re nervous for five minutes and then you just get on with it.”

"you very quickly just slip into doing your normal job.”

‘A very hands off approach’

After chatting some more about the recent sad passing of Paul O’Grady (“It’s all a bit of a shock for everyone”), I leave Lizzie to go and meet the real stars of the show.

Woodgreen is home to hundreds of unwanted dogs at any one time. Some arrive because their owners can no longer manage them, others end up here through cruelty and neglect. All of them would love nothing more than to be part of a loving family.

As I pass through the kennel areas I notice each accommodation block is named after a plush hotel (Hilton, Connaught, Claridges, Grosvenor, etc). When I discover every single kennel boasts underfloor heating and all dogs have access to a Premier League standard recreation ground (“The Astro”), it soon becomes clear how apt the monikers are.

From here I am taken to the TV operations base (gallery) where a large bank of monitors keep an eye on things for the show’s producers and crew. The programme is made for Channel 4 by Five Mile Films, a Bristol-based independent television company.

Series editor Jordan Malloy told me Five Mile Films use a “very hands off” approach when making the show:

“We follow everything,” he explained, “but everything is obviously driven by the Woodgreen staff so we’re very much observing what’s happening.”

‘There’s usually a lot of nervous excitement’

My next port of call is Woodgreen’s meeting paddock. Regular viewers will know that this is where the real magic happens on The Dog House. It is here where dogs selected by Woodgreen staff meet with prospective new owners who – on paper – may seem like a good match.

“There’s usually a lot of nervous excitement before the dog comes in,” Jordan explained.

He said he always enjoys the scenes shot in here as there is often “a great facial reaction when the dog walks in for the first time.”

Like everywhere else in Woodgreen, the cameras used for filming in the meeting paddock are clandestine remote controlled cameras, not that dissimilar to CCTV cameras.

The show doesn’t use human camera operators as they would distract the dogs.

While most of the cameras I’ve seen around the centre are positioned around five feet off the ground, there are several in the meeting paddock set just above ground level.

This, Jordan explained, is so that viewers can “see things from the dog’s point of view.”

As we walk back to the reception area, Jordan tells me that Five Mile tends to make one series a year for Channel 4, and that filming on series six is about to begin. He also shared that they have just finished filming the Christmas Special.

When pressed further, he assured me the festive special WILL indeed feature “Christmas dogs in Christmas jumpers.”