A top dog groomer from Wythenshawe is currently competing to be crowned the best in country on BBC One’s newest reality show.
Tom Heaton-Clarke, 27, describes himself as “a typical Manchester lad”, but his love for dogs and years of training saw him be named Rising Star at The British Dog Grooming Championships in 2018, and has landed him a spot as one of the youngest contestants on the new series Pooch Perfect UK, which first aired on BBC One last Thursday.
He was scouted by the show’s producers at a dog grooming competition last year, and has said that being on the show – which sees 16 professionals compete in a string of themed challenges to create epic transformations of beloved pets – was “daunting”, but that presenter Sheridan Smith put him at ease right away.
Speaking on his experience with the show, Tom said: “To walk in and have all the lights on you, and to have never groomed in that atmosphere before, it was daunting. It’s like going to a grooming competition, but the amount of stress times 10 – you have no idea what you’re in for.”
He continued: “[But] Sheridan was the best part. I grew up watching Two Pints of Larger and I just remember her as Janet from the show, so when I saw her in person, I got a bit star struck,
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“[But] she’s dead down to earth and she really put me at ease, so nice, I wish I could go to the pub with her.”
Tom – who has his own pet Poodle called Badger – had two chances up against the clock to impress judges Colin and Verity on The Dogwalk by bathing and brushing a fluffy Alaskan Malamute, and delivering a puppy Schnauzer’s first groom.
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His efforts will be shown in tonight’s episode at 8pm on BBC One.
Tom originally wanted to work in a kennel re-homing dogs, but instead fell in love with dog grooming when he was training for his animal care qualification, and after volunteering for a number of shelters in Denton and Tameside, he worked his way up in the grooming business following an apprenticeship in Altrincham.
During lockdown, the expert groomer converted his garage at home into his salon, Tom’s Dogs, where he says he has clients in the neighbourhood that watched him grow up at school.
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He is keen to encourage dog owners to find aptly-qualified and registered dog groomers, and urges his customers to book regularly to avoid matting, which can often happen when a dog is neglected, adding: “I always educate owners in that the dog’s welfare is the priority and that they need to keep on top of the appointments.”
Pooch Perfect UK / BBC One
“I’m so proud of myself to get on the show,” Tom continued.
“There’s a lot of tough competition and I know a lot of groomers in the country, so to be considered good enough, that alone was a proud moment for me,”
“And so to win the show against all those tough-competition groomers, that would be a dream come true.”
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You can watch Pooch Perfect UK tonight on BBC One at 8pm, and you can catch up on BBC iPlayer.
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Bruno Fernandes out for ‘at least a month’ following Aston Villa injury
Danny Jones
Less than ideal news for Manchester United fans as first-team star Bruno Fernandes is reportedly out for “at least a month.”
Reds can consider that akin to a lump of coal in their Christmas stockings.
Man United lost 2-1 to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday night despite a good performance, and certainly missed their creative spark in the middle of the park when Bruno Fernandes was forced off at the break.
Supporters in the away end and watching at home were no doubt looking through their fingers as they saw him pull up out of the blue and let the ball go out of play, especially given the fact that he never missed a game through injury.
To put things into context, Fernandes has played more matches than any top-level football player in Europe in the last three years (approximately 6,343 minutes – yes, really), so not only is it usually taken as read that he’ll start, but seeing their midfield talisman pull up mid-game was obviously a worry.
Fans immediately feared the worst as he had to stop moving and signal to the bench on multiple ocassions towards the end of the first half, and although it couldn’t certainly be worse, The Telegraph is now reporting that Fernandes has injured his “soft tissue” and faces at least a month on the sidelines.
The exact nature of the damage and the precise window he is expected to spend on the sidelines is yet to be fully confirmed by the club, but it seems likely that he’s latest to find his way onto the physio bench with a muscle problem.
Safe to say that it comes at a rather unfortunate time in the season, not only with three important players missing on AFCON duty, but with his supposed ‘like-for-like’ positional replacement, Kobbie Mainoo, seemingly having picked up an issue as well.
It still remains to be seen, however, just how serious the young Stockport-born star is injured for.
As the Portuguese captain, you can see the moment he suddenly pulled up and had to stop play – before ultimately seeing out the 45 – here:
Bruno should not have been on the pitch.
He’d done his hamstring.
Watch the video… Why is he still on the pitch if he can’t close down the player? pic.twitter.com/H8swgaQGSP
His compatriot Ruben Amorim was in no doubt that he would “lose some games”, but did play down that “nobody is going to die.”
The manager is still struggling to pick up points and still has the worst win percentage stat looming for the time being.
It doesn’t help that his now diminished squad have a tough game against Newcastle United coming up on Boxing Day; it’ll be interesting to see how the Red Devils head into 2026.
You can watch the highlights from Aston Villa vs Man United down below.
Five of the best things to watch on TV this Christmas 2025
Emily Sergeant
Christmas – it’s a hectic time, right? We all know that.
For some of us, if the run-up to Christmas wasn’t already busy enough as it is, there’s often not a moment to breathe on the big day itself between presents being opened, travelling to see people, entertaining guests, slaving over a hot stove for hours, and eating plenty of food.
Sometimes though, you may find yourself twiddling your thumbs with some time to spare, and that’s why the distraction of festive television is so brilliant.
For others, sitting around to watch the TV is an important part of Christmas itself.
No matter what your situation is, there’s some cracking things to watch on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day this year – with classic seasonal films, to festive specials of our favourite shows, and a few family-friendly additions all on the agenda.
Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Christmas Fishing 2025
BBC Two
Christmas Eve – 9pm
Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Christmas Fishing 2025 / Credit: BBC
Bob and Paul (and terrier Ted too, of course) are back for another Gone Fishing Christmas Special, and this year, they’re heading down to Devon and Cornwall for their festive treat.
The duo fish the stunning rivers Lyd and Camel in Devon, and even head out to sea in Cornwall on a traditional fishing boat.
There’s also appearances by other famous faces Dawn French and Dr Anand Patel, and they’re even welcomed into No6, Paul Ainsworth’s celebrated restaurant in the heart of Padstow, for some Michelin-starred fine festive dining.
You can watch Gone Christmas Fishing 2025 on BBC Two at 9pm on Christmas Eve.
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Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special 2025
BBC One
Christmas Day – 5:30pm
Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special 2025 / Credit: BBC
We’ve all come to expect a Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special at this point, haven’t we? After the iconic ballroom dance competition programme has been bringing us smaller, festive editions of the show we all know and love since 2004, it’s back once again this Christmas Day.
Six celebrity contestants will be taking to the floor to impress the judges and battle it out for the Christmas glitter ball trophy.
Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt, singer and cook Melanie Blatt, and Irish singer-songwriter Brian McFaddan are just some of the big names competing this year.
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You can catch Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One at 3:55pm on Christmas Day.
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The Great Peep Show Christmas Bake Off
Channel 4
Christmas Day – 8pm
The Great Peep Show Christmas Bake Off / Credit: Channel 4
For the first time since Peep Show wrapped in 2015, fan favourites David Mitchell, Olivia Colman, Isy Suttie, Matt King, and Sophie Winkleman are reuniting on screen.
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And this time, they’re donning festive jumpers and rolling up their sleeves to tackle a series of seasonal baking challenges.
Under the watchful eyes of judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood, and with plenty of mischief and charm from Bake Off hosts Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond, you can expect laughter and chaos in this Great Peep Show Christmas Bake Off special.
Watch The Great Peep Show Christmas Bake Off on Channel 4 at 8pm on Christmas Day.
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Amandaland Christmas Special
BBC One
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Christmas Day – 9:15pm
Amandaland Christmas Special / Credit: Natalie Seery (BBC/Merman)
Massively-popular BBC sitcom Amandaland is back for a festive special on Christmas Day.
You’ll get to see title character Amanda and her family head to Aunt Joan’s country house, but the plans change when Mal and Anne tag along and she struggles to recreate the magical Christmases she spent there as a child.
Anne’s in despair at being separated from her family, and Felicity is increasingly irritated by her sister’s constant high spirits. Meanwhile, Mal sees a hidden photo that seems to reveal a deep family secret.
You can catch the Amandaland Christmas Special on BBC One at 9:15pm on Christmas Day.
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Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2025
Channel 4
Boxing Day – 9pm
Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2025 / Credit: Brian J Ritchie (via Channel 4)
What’s Christmas without a quiz? It’s time to remember everything you’ve already forgotten from this past year, as the Jimmy Carr is back with the annual Big Fat Quiz of the Year for 2025, and a handful of famous faces will be put to the test.
This year, Jonathan Ross, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Ryan, Nick Mohammed, Roisin Conaty, and Lou Sanders all answer questions about Katy Perry, Lily Allen, and THAT Coldplay concert.
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You can watch Big Fat Quiz of the Year on Channel 4 at 9pm on Boxing Day.
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Fancy a festive film?
As an added bonus, we thought we’d just round up all the Christmas films that are being shown on telly in the coming days, as there’s nothing like sitting down to watch a festive flick to get you into the spirit of the season.
Nativity! – Monday 22 December at 2:20pm on BBC One
Bridget Jones’s Diary – Monday 22 December at 10:10pm on BBC Three
Home Alone – Christmas Eve at 5:35pm on Channel 4
Love Actually – Christmas Eve at 9:10pm on ITV
When Harry Met Sally – Christmas Day at 11:35pm on BBC One
There’s also just plenty of great films on in general, ones that aren’t strictly Christmas films or set during the festive season like the ones mentioned in that list.
Here they are:
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Mrs Doubtfire – Monday 22 December at 6:35pm on ITV2
Oppenheimer – Tuesday 23 December at 11pm on BBC Three
E.T – Christmas Eve at 1:35pm on ITV
Sister Act – Christmas Eve at 1:35pm on Channel 4
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Christmas Eve at 2:55pm on BBC One
Paddington – Christmas Eve at 5:30pm on BBC One
The Devil Wears Prada – Christmas Day at 6:50pm on Film4
Jaws – Christmas Day at 9:15pm on BBC Two
Edward Scissorhands – Boxing Day at 6:55pm on ITV2
Four Weddings and a Funeral – Boxing Day at 10:15pm on BBC One
Elvis – Saturday 27 December at 7:45pm on BBC One
2001: A Space Odyssey – Sunday 28 December at 6:15pm on ITV4
The Godfather – Sunday 28 December at 10pm on BBC Two
Challengers – Sunday 28 December at 10pm on BBC Three
School of Rock – Monday 29 December at 6:45pm on ITV2
Pretty Woman – New Year’s Eve at 9pm on ITV1
The Sound of Music – New Year’s Day at 3:15pm on BBC One
Back To The Future (the whole trilogy) – New Year’s Day from 7:10pm on BBC Three
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Featured Image – BBC | Disney+ / 20th Century Studios (Press Images)
Emily Sergeant -
14th January 2021 
