The 10-episode series, based around the Australian’s Richmond-upon-Thames veterinary clinic, also features well-known Algarve-raised veterinary nurse, Emma Townson.
Emma, who was educated at Barlavento English School and the International School of the Algarve, began her nursing training with Scott when he was a partner in the Lagos VIP Veterinary Surgery. After the Miller family returned to the UK a few years ago, Scott convinced Emma to join him and is now Head Nurse of his three bustling practices in Richmond Hill, St Margarets and Old Isleworth.
Vet on the Hill, follows the day-to-day life of Scott and his dedicated veterinary team, giving a genuine insight into the highs and lows of a small-animal practice. Viewers will warm to big-hearted, charismatic Scott, his delightful family, his endearing patients and their loyal – and sometimes famous – owners.
The series features tear-jerking, heart-warming stories and a bundle of colourful characters including Mable, the injured rescue puppy, George. the depressed donkey in need of a new home and Smitty, the four-legged companion desperately needing knee surgery.
And for Emma, there’s an emotional on-screen reunion with her own horse, Va-Va-Voom, which she had to leave on livery in Portugal when she moved to England.
In Episode 1 Scott’s oldest patient, 21-year-old Rudi the cat, needs a huge mass removed from her ear, there’s bad news for the owner of a diabetic dog and a big-toothed bunny needs help.
Scott, a passionate animal welfare advocate, has an impressive track record as a television presenter and documentary filmmaker . In Britain he has been a regular veterinary expert on This Morning, The Paul O’Grady Show, GMTV, BBC Breakfast News, Blue Peter, CBBC, Sky 1’s Pet Nation and, more recently, a lead presenter on children’s programme, Who Let The Dogs Out.
Born in Brisbane, Australia, to British parents, Scott graduated from the University of Queensland Veterinary School and began his veterinary career at Australia’s largest animal hospital – the RSPCA clinic in Sydney.
Emma comes from an impressive veterinary lineage and longer-term Algarve residents may well remember her grandparents, Dr Robert (Bob) Townson MRCVS, and his veterinary nurse wife Jennifer, who together ran the Ladeira da Nora veterinary clinic, near Alvor, from 1970 to 1986.
Bob, a founder of the British Small Animal Veterinary Association and a renowned international show judge, was the first English veterinary surgeon to practise in the Algarve. Back in England in the early 1960s, Jennifer was a founder member and first chairwoman of the British Veterinary Nursing Association, being instrumental in getting veterinary auxiliaries recognised as ‘nurses’ and in establishing a proper training scheme for the profession.
Emma’s father, Steve Townson, is also no stranger to the media spotlight. The extreme fishing expert’s Fishing Adventure Amazonia TV series was broadcast worldwide including on Discovery UK. Her mother, Jane, a journalist, was Editor of Algarve Magazine and Algarve News in the 1980s.
“Filming Vet on the Hill has been an exhilarating and challenging experience. A normal day at the clinic is hectic enough – but when you have a film crew following your every move, that’s another story! Our veterinary team is extremely passionate and caring and I think this comes over really well in the series,” said Emma.
“It’s also wonderful that my family and friends back home in Portugal can get to see what I do every day at work. And I am extremely proud to be part of the veterinary nursing profession that my grandmother helped to gain recognition.”