22 Jul 2026
The TV presenter said she found going behind the scenes at a vet practice to be “so reassuring”.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Fern Britton praises veterinary nurses and recommends younger people pursue a career as a VN.
TV presenter Fern Britton has opened up about her experience filming a series offering a behind-the-scenes look into an independent veterinary practice.
Inside the Vet’s, which takes viewers into The Grove Vets in Bristol, returned for a second series on ITV1 and ITVX this month.
Miss Britton said it can be “terrifying” for owners to drop their pets off at a practice, but she found “to go behind the scenes was so reassuring, they’re so respectful” and relished “the amount of joy every time an animal came in”.
The former Ready Steady Cook and This Morning host said she was apprehensive about witnessing surgery during filming but added: “The more and more I saw, the more interested I was in how you look inside, not just the vets, but inside the animals, and how respectfully they’re treated whilst they are so vulnerable and lying there off in another world.”
She continued: “It was much more than I expected it to be. It was just amazing, mind-blowing.”
Miss Britton reserved special praise for the practice’s veterinary nurses and said she recommends younger people pursue a career as a VN.
She said: “It amazed me how well trained and efficient and important the veterinary nurses are. They’re the anaesthetists, they do everything.”
Miss Britton added: “They’re wonderful, and the vets themselves are just great. They’re funny, and when it gets tense, they get quite tense.”
Recalling an emergency when a dog began haemorrhaging after surgery, the presenter said: “It went so calm, so fast. They were so on it. Every single person stopped doing what they were doing, made sure the dog was comfortable… and it was just that fantastic, serious calm.”
Vet and practice co-owner Andy Valenzia stayed with the dog through the night. “The next morning, he was knackered and he’s a bit grumpy, but he was also in tears because he’d saved her,” Miss Britton added.
On rising vet bills, which she discussed with vet James Greenwood in the series, she said the costs reflect the level of staff training and the state-of-the-art equipment used.
She continued: “Everyone’s concerned about vet bills rising and is it the difference between an independent vet or one owned by a corporate?
“And actually, the answer is: if you’re happy with your vet and he’s/she’s doing all the right things, stay with them. If the animal is happy and doing well, stay with them…
“Yes, it’s expensive, but it’s worth it, because how much do your pets give you in love and joy and companionship?”
Pet insurers Petplan, which co-created the show, is also celebrating its 50th anniversary by attempting a Guinness World Record for the largest online album of animals, targeting 104,000 photos.
Miss Britton said breaking the record would be “enormously special”, adding: “It’s highlighting the joy and the love that we all have for our animals, and how bereft we all are when they go.”
Photos can be submitted at petplan50th.co.uk/ until 31 July.