My Pet and Me: Meet the Presenters

Brand new show My Pet and Me comes to CBeebies from Monday 24th November 2014 at 4.15pm - we met the brand new presenters, Ferne and Rory, to find out a bit more about the show and how they got involved...

Hi Ferne and Rory! We’re looking forward to the new show. Can you tell us a little bit about the show and what we can expect?

RORY: The show is simple really - we go and meet children and learn about how they look after and play with their pets. You can expect lots of feeding, cleaning, all sorts of games and some pretty out-there cartoons based on childrens' ideas about what their pets would do if they could do anything! There's also a lot of poo. A central theme of looking after any pet!

FERNE: This show is such a wonderful concept. It covers how to responsibly care for animals but in a really fun way. A whole range of pets are covered and even if you don't have one, you can go to our website and play with the My Pet and Me hamster.!

Have you always loved animals? What first sparked your interest in animals?

RORY: I've loved animals since I was very small. My grandfather instilled in me a love of wildlife and animals when he looked after me and my siblings on school holidays. My brother is now a biologist too! We were always off to parks or zoos and I definitely caught the bug then. There were lots of latent years as a teenager though, before I got back into nature and animals towards the end of high school.

FERNE: I have always loved animals, we always had pets when I was growing up and I knew I wanted to work with them somehow.

How did you get involved with the show?

RORY: After studying Marine Biology at university, I started working for the RSPB, and have been doing various jobs (all of which I've loved!) for the organisation since 2007. My current job - working with fishermen and policy makers to reduce the number of seabirds killed in global fisheries - probably couldn't seem much further from working with children and pets in front of a television camera! However, I spent several years - in a regional park, in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Museum and on the island of Islay - showing and enthusing families about nature. I think it's so important that children have a connection with animals, nature and looking after something or someone that isn't themselves. Doing this show is a great way of making that happen! The jump to TV presenting was a bit of a random one. An appearance on BBC Radio Scotland for work led to an email invitation to submit a showreel months later. I scarcely knew what a showreel was, but a friend helped me put something together and before I knew it, I was being auditioned and then offered the job! I've been juggling my day job and presenting, so it's been a full-on summer with filming, but it's been great fun!

FERNE: I completed my science degree in Ireland and specialised in Zoology (including veterinary modules, a veterinary nursing module and zoology modules based on animal behaviour), and it was during my research in South Africa that I discovered a love for media. I completed my masters in Wildlife Documentary Production in 2012. I wanted to gain a career in children's media to try and encourage science and wildlife-based programmes. I heard about the search for CBeebies presenters for this new show and I applied!

Do you have pets? Can you tell us a bit about them?

RORY: I have no pets now sadly – I’m away from home too much - though I do look after lots of plants in my garden. When I was small, we had budgies and my favourite two were Orville and Wilbur. They would sit on my shoulder and chat away, but definitely preferred to walk around on the ground rather than flying. When staying at a friend's house one summer while we were away on holiday they even showed our pal's budgies that walking was much more fun than flying, so their budgies spent the rest of their lives wandering about the place too!

FERNE: I have two pet goldfish called Polly and Ramon. They love eating special worms and I tried to train them to play football but they weren't interested! Will try again soon!

What do you think grown-ups and their little ones will love most about the show?

RORY: I think all the special, unscripted moments of interaction between the children and their pets are the best bits. Folk will love those, but the bits of playtime are magic too - Ferne and I usually being a bit daft, probably dressed up in a costume, having a hoot with the children and pets!

FERNE: It's really informative and it encourages animal welfare and a sense of responsibility that's easily accessible to the children watching. We also had some really strange pets so those will be great to watch!

Everyone says never to work with children or animals… you did both! Were there any standout hilarious animal mishaps or anecdotes during shooting?

RORY: There was a Shetland pony that spent a lot of time standing on my foot during takes. Quite hard to keep your cool when one of those beasts is on your foot! I've been bitten, wee-ed and pooed on by mice; ignored by a cat; had pigs (and children) pass awful gas during takes (that's who I'm blaming anyway)... all sorts!

FERNE: They certainly do say that and it's all wrong! It was such brilliant fun! Of course there were funny hiccups along the way like vanishing cats, tired calves and donkey tantrums… But it was all a good laugh while we were filming! I also broke my arm at the start of filming, so that was a bit tough sometimes. Brilliant timing on my part!

What were some of the more unusual pets you met when shooting the show?

RORY: I think 'racing pigs' were definitely some of the most out there. Wait till you see the episode, they're a hoot!

FERNE: I think pet stick insects stood out to me. They are great pets but SO HARD TO SEE! And the kune kune pigs were unusual too but they were fantastic.

Visit the My Pet and Me web page

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