BBC Radio 2 presenter Vernon Kay found himself at the centre of an unexpected on-air exchange after sharing a glimpse into family life with Tess Daly, while discussing ways to keep pets cool during the hot weather. Speaking on his mid-morning breakfast show today, June 25, the presenter was reading messages from listeners offering tips for coping with soaring temperatures when the conversation turned to his Chihuahua, Blue.
After reading one listener’s suggestion about freezing a hot water bottle to take to bed, Vernon revealed the lengths he and Tess had gone to in order to help their dog stay comfortable overnight. He said: “We wrapped our Chihuahua last night, in a towel, a wet towel. Little Blue. 'Cause he was struggling. He really was struggling, do you know what I mean? Little, little lad. He's a big 'un, so he's struggling. So Tess said, 'Why don't we just put him in a wet towel?' So I was like, 'yeah, looks like a poncho'. So, he had this poncho over him all night, just chilling.”
More listeners then weighed in with their own cooling methods, including one who suggested placing cool mats under bedsheets and inside pillowcases. The discussion soon returned to Blue when Vernon read out another recommendation.
The listener’s advice was simple: cucumber slices. However, Vernon was unconvinced the idea would work on his pet.
“If you put a cucumber slice in front of our dog, it's not going to keep him cool. He's just going to wolf the whole thing down,” he joked.
He added: “Maybe if they ingest it, then I guess that cools them down, but, you know, if it's not savoury, if it's not chicken or beef, he's having none of it. You know what I mean? Put them on his eyes, make him look cool and chilled? He's brilliant. He's struggling, though.”
The conversation then took an unexpected turn when travel reporter Bobbie Pryor attempted to suggest another way of helping dogs cope with the heat.
She said: “Are you not tempted to dig him a hole under the hedge? They need to be in the damp... What I meant was, sorry, let me just...”
Sensing the unfortunate wording, Vernon immediately interrupted with: “He's not dead yet.”
As laughter broke out in the studio, Bobbie quickly clarified what she meant, explaining that dogs often enjoy lying in cool, damp soil.
She said: “No, no, sorry. I didn't think about that. What I meant is, you know they like to crawl. Hang on, the producer's looking at me. Producer Phil is looking really worried.. What I meant, they like sitting in damp earth. So you've got, you know, a lot of hedgerows. You got some big trees. If you dig out a patch... Come on, that's what kind dog parents you are.”
Vernon couldn't resist escalating the joke, replying: “If you're listening Tess, get him in the ground.”
A horrified Bobbie quickly tried to rescue the situation, insisting: “I didn't mean that, Tess. What I meant was, find him some shade. Dig him a damp space.”
Summing up the increasingly chaotic exchange, Vernon asked: “What is the heat doing to us?”
Bobbie then rounded off the segment with a tongue-in-cheek apology, admitting: “So sorry, everybody. It's the BBC. They expect more from me. Trusted voice of the BBC. What am I doing?”
