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,
“[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.”
Watch fur fly as 4 new groomers duke it out in our Poochy Parlour and take on the formidable (and extremely cute ?) Alaskan Malamutes! Airing tonight at 8pm on BBC One #PoochPerfectpic.twitter.com/Qlri6dsfUq
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.
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.
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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What we know about Oasis’ Heaton Park reunion shows based on their first comeback gig in Cardiff
Danny Jones
Ok, so there’s no more need to pinch ourselves or double-take every time we check our phone: Oasis aren’t just back together, they’ve now kicked off the reunion and following those incredible Cardiff scenes, we’re already thinking about what this means for their Heaton Park homecoming.
There simply isn’t a brick-and-mortar Manchester venue big enough to hold as many Manc fans as want, need and deserve to see them back on stage after waiting all this time, so it’s only fitting that barely a month on from Parklife, the massive outdoor space will welcome us all back to witness history.
Quite literally millions of people tuned into various livestreams on Friday evening to see Oasis return at the Principality Stadium, so lots of you will have already seen plenty from the colossal concert – including that bald bloke balancing a pint on his head – but there was, understandably, a lot to take in.
So, with that being said, here’s what we hope, we think, we know about Oasis’ highly anticipated Heaton Park shows based solely on the details we gleaned from Cardiff night one.
The timings (roughly)
For starters, one of the most important things fans will be hoping to know is when Oasis got back on stage, as well as the set times of the other ‘Live ’25‘ support acts.
Liam, as per usual, was the mouthier of the two Gallagher brothers and let the cat out of the bag early on X (Twitter), before being clearly told off by management and deleting the details shortly after; still, it was confirmed that the main event for Friday and Saturday night gets underway at 8:15pm.
However, these things are always subject to change, as both Richard Aschroft and Cast were slightly premature on night one in Cardiff, and who knows what other arenas will be like for the rest of the reunion tour?
Another big debate online that has raged ever since the Oasis reunion was confirmed is the subject of what they’re going to play from their extensive catalogue.
Obviously, most people could rattle off most of the all-time favourites and cobbble together a pretty decent ‘greatest hits’ of Oasis setlist, but people have been more concerned with what the opener, closing track, and encore will be.
Having watched all of these moments back multiple times already, we can confirm the first track was not the old intro, ‘F***in’ in the Bushes’, as many suspected, but ‘Hello’, rather fittingly.
As for the last track in the main running order, the crowd got to bounce up and down to ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ before the legendary ‘Champagne Supernova’ beckoned the very end of the first night in Cardiff.
— The Rock Revival (@TheRockRevival_) July 4, 2025
They’ll still be reactive
That being said, this inaugural comeback show was somewhat of a pilot for the rest of the ‘Live ’25 world tour, which now totals more than 40 dates, and any good artist knows that tweaking the setlist from show to show can be key to not only to success, but keeping things fresh for you and the audience.
As a result, we wouldn’t be surprised if you see Oasis mix things up as the nights roll on, especially when playing multiple gigs in the same city as they’re doing pretty much everywhere for this reunion.
That flexibility isn’t just limited to song choice either: Liam did his famous twist on the ‘Wonderwall’ lyrics and told the crowd, “There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I don’t speak Welsh”, and in case you haven’t seen it already, they also took a moment to honour a late Liverpool star.
There were lots of little details on night one in Cardiff, but this was a very nice touch from Oasis.
A bigger focus on production than ever
The glimpse at the AV presentation seen above is just a small taster too. From the various clips we’ve seen on social media over the last 24 hours or so, Oasis aren’t just back playing music together, but they’ve levelled significantly in terms of production and stage design.
Now, if you’ve ever been to see either of the brothers’ solo shows, you’ll know that football and, more specifically, references to Man City, often feature at some point.
Noel, in particular, has maintained a strong City presence in his set, be it the blue colour palette, the MCFC badge, or even a tall cut-out of manager Pep Guardiola half during most High Flying Birds gigs.
Cardiff night one was no different as his LG instructed the crowd to turn around and do the familiar ‘Poznan’ celebration regularly seen up in the stands of the Etihad Stadium.
Gallagher brothers kick off Oasis world tour with Cardiff show, as Liam tells fans 'do the poznan'.
It was bits of comedy like this that’s been one of the biggest part we’ve missed about Oasis; both Liam and Noel have always been very humorous in their own ways over the years, but they were never funnier than in those old clips you see of them cracking each other up in their younger days.
Despite being estranged for more than a decade and a half and who knows how many years of bad blood overall, they look to have at least put it to one side and what was once a combative back and forth from a distance has circled back around to brotherly banter – or at least we hope it has.
We’re not going to pretend they absolutely adore all of a sudden, but they’re at least trying and recognising each other’s roles.
As you can see, those snaps of them smiling during the first reunion photo shoot back together don’t appear to be just for show.
Seeing the two of them walk out holding hands sent the internet into an absolute frenzy of emotion and had people joking that they were finally going to message their own troublesome relative and at least try to mend fences.
But that was just one small moment.
The duo have always admired and respected their respective talents, but for the first time in even longer than the 16-year hiatus itself, it seems like there’s some genuine love there again. See for yourself:
They’re still as massive as they ever were – if not more so
All this is to say that, in short, Oasis’ first comeback show in Cardiff isn’t just the start of the ‘Live ’25 reunion tour that will span the globe, it’s also confirmation of something people began to question in their lengthy absence…
They really are the biggest and, in so many people’s opinions (including our own), the greatest rock band of all time.
From what we can tell, it feels like one of those watershed music moments where you have be there in person to truly see and believe it – not to be part of some exclusive ‘I was there’ comeback, but because we can’t thing of any other reunion that has had this kind of impact.
Roll on the five nights at Heaton Park and strap in, folks, because you will never forget it.
I've never felt so excited about a gig I didn't even have a ticket for! I'm so glad you had a great time, the clips I've seen looked INCREDIBLE.
Featured Images — Oasis (via X)/Finnlay K (via Instagram)
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Gallagher brothers pay touching tribute to Diogo Jota on first night of Oasis reunion tour
Danny Jones
It’s official, Oasis are actually back, and during the first date on their reunion tour in Cardiff, the Gallagher brothers paid a touching tribute to Liverpool FC player Diogo Jota.
News of Jota’s passing broke on Thursday morning, after it was confirmed that the Liverpool forward was involved in a car crash along with his brother, Andre Felipe Silva.
Using the iconic track ‘Live Forever’ as the perfect opportunity to pay their respects, the screen behind them flashed up with his shirt.
Here’s the moment it happened:
At Oasis' first concert for 16 years, Live Forever is dedicated to Diogo Jota ❤️pic.twitter.com/tZriAhqVpm
A lovely touch from the Burnage boys and die-hard Blues, not to mention done rather cleverly given the song choice.
Taken from their legendary debut album, Definitely Maybe, the 1994 track is regularly voted ‘the best British song of all time’ – and moments like these only reaffirm why it connects with people so strongly.
What’s even more moving is the slight swell of noise you hear from the crowd; even on a night where quite literally all eyes were on them and the inaugural night of the ‘Live ’25’ tour, they made sure to shed some light on the bigger picture.
You could even see some fans in the crowd holding up Portugal flags in honour of the late LFC star.
Manchester City themselves – who boast a number of Portuguese players like Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Matheus Nune – were among countless clubs who shared their condolences with Liverpool in the aftermath of the 28-year-old’s tragic death.
Scouse support band Cast also dedicated one of their songs to Jota earlier in the evening.
Cast frontman John Power just dedicated Walkaway to Diogo Jota. Power: “This is Walkaway. This one’s for Diogo Jota. Take it easy brother.” #Oasis25#DiogoJotapic.twitter.com/BEGuLaOTaR
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) July 4, 2025
Put simply, Friday, 4 July 2025, at the Principality Stadium was always going to be one that went down as one of the biggest concerts in decades, but this small gesture from a pair of footy fans no doubt made it even more special for any supporters who happened to be in the crowd.
And, indeed, the thousands watching at home, as even before the tidal wave clips began to appear online, there were multiple livestreams of the show on YouTube and various other platforms.
While most of these were ultimately taken down (not before we saw that legend balancing a pint of blue WKD on his head), there was no chance of keeping this one in the building.
We saw the setlist, we heard the noise; we saw them holding hands, and we even saw them hugging as they walked off. On a night were they chose to spotlight family in more ways than one, Oasis and those who are sadly no longer around to see them ‘Live Forever’ in the memory of millions.
Emily Sergeant -
14th January 2021 
