It’s still a dog’s life for Scott Miller. The Surrey-based TV vet tells Jane McGowan about his latest pet projects...
It shouldn’t happen to a vet, as the title of a popular book once plaintively proclaimed. But for TV vet Scott Miller, just about everything that could possibly have happened has occurred within a single year.
For one thing, the Australian presenter bid a fond farewell to the South West London practice, which formed the backdrop for six series of his much-loved reality show, Vet on the Hill. Into the breach comes a brand new Surrey practice, The Chobham Vet, for which he made over a building 500 years old.
There is a new YouTube show, The Rescue Vet, and Scott has also introduced therapy dog Buddy to the ITV1 family on This Morning. Away from the cameras, 2024 saw the end of his marriage and attempts to come to terms with a recent diagnosis of autism.
Quite a chapter. But looking at the enthusiastic, fresh face before me, it is hard to believe that the 49-year-old native of Brisbane has been on our screens since 2000.
Even more surprising, it was all thanks to a couple of chickens.
“Well, I was running a practice in Mile End, in East London, and I got a random phone call asking if I knew anything about chickens,” explains the father of four. “It turned out that the chicken in question was Margery, which had been introduced into the Big Brother house to give the contestants something to care for.
“It was the first-ever series, and I was actually on camera, taking the chicken away and then returning it to the set. Then one of my clients, who happened to be an agent, introduced me to the team at This Morning, and it went from there.”
Born in 1975 to parents who had emigrated as Ten Pound Poms – the assisted pasage scheme to Australia and New Zealand after World War II – Scott cannot remember a time when he wasn’t thinking about caring for creatures.
“I wanted to be a vet from the age of seven,” he says.
“I have always had a massive affinity with animals. No matter what the species, I was desperate to touch them, pick them up, have a good look.
“We used to go camping a lot and we’d be faced with Australia’s wonderful wildlife – and ocean life too. With me it is definitely a case of all creatures great and small.”
And so, after studying veterinary medicine in Queensland, Scott began working for the RSPCA in Sydney – a role which enabled him, he says, to see the best and the worst of humanity.
“It gave me such an insight into how people do, and do not, care for animals. It was the first time I had been away from home too and I really enjoyed the ‘bigness’ of the city, meeting all kinds of people from different cultures.”
His wanderlust piqued, he decided to make the most of his UK passport and head to London.
“And then you get English friends, an English wife and four English kids, and so you have to get used to this dual existence. I feel like I’m in a sort of stratosphere, somewhere in the middle.
“But I definitely still call Australia home. I am a proud Aussie. The clearest measure of allegiance is who you support when England plays Australia – and for me it’s always Australia,” he laughs.
Following his success with shows such as Vet on the Hill and Bondi Vet – which ran for eight seasons – for The Rescue Vet, Scott returned to his RSPCA roots. A clinical vet for the past 26 years, he believes that he can now “dive into” the rescue world.
“Throughout my career, I have always supported rescue centres, and really, my heart is there,” he explains.
“Those people are my true heroes. They work day and night, don’t get paid that well and they are out in all weathers performing a frequently thankless task.
“This show is for them; to shine a light on what they do and hopefully to get more people to volunteer. We are in a global animal rescue crisis right now. Across the world, there has been a big uptake in pet ownership since Covid-19, but the subsequent cost of living crisis has put huge pressure on these centres to take in animals that people can no longer afford.”
One of the best things about being a television personality, says Scott, is that it affords him – and the charities he works with – a greater platform from which to champion the needs of animals.
“Offering media support is the very least I can do to help these centres reach their goals. Every time I go anywhere, I either film stuff to share on social media or just try and get the message out there.”
He will never get used to the way some people treat their pets. In order to cope, he has had to develop strategies that enable him to focus on the goodness of the rescuers rather than on the perpetrators of the horrors.
“Actually, within a week of my opening The Chobham Vet, in came a dog which had been chucked in a bush on the common. It was an overweight toy poodle, covered in her own urine and excrement and with all her fur matted. She was clearly a victim of the puppy farming culture and it was heartbreaking.
“But we were able to get her well and groomed and to find her a forever home, and that’s what we have to take away.”
Scott introduces me to another happy customer: his latest ‘rescue’, Mango.
“He’s an absolute dreamboat,” he swoons. “He was from a family who could no longer afford him and was a bit worse for wear. This year has been rather a tough one for me and I am just so grateful to have him.
“Dogs are the very best versions of what we could be. Anyone who has had an animal knows in their bones that these creatures read us in ways that we just can’t comprehend.”
Indeed Scott – who is patron of several charities – credits his role at Dogs for Autism, based at Alton, in Hampshire, for reinforcing his view of how valuable dogs can be.
“Dogs are man’s best friends, and man should be very glad to have them,” he insists. “One of the things I hate most about society is the selfishness and the speciesism when I believe that we are all part of one beautiful world.”
So, what does 2025 have in store?
“Lots of juggling, lots of plate spinning. My diagnosis of autism has taught me that part of my coping mechanism is to busy myself and have loads of things on.
“I have always enjoyed entertaining as well as educating – education by stealth, you might say. I like to make people smile, but there is often a message in there.”
The Chobham Vet is now open at 26-28 High St, Chobham, Woking. Catch up with Scott on The Rescue Vet or on This Morning (itv.com).
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Rachel Lim 90 days ago