Supervet launched in 2014 (Image: Instagram )
admitted he feared his show “wouldn’t see the light of day”.
The 56-year-old veterinarian shot to fame back in 2014 when the docuseries first hit the airwaves. But in his new autobiography, the Irish surgeon revealed the much-loved programme nearly didn’t make it to the small screen.
In his tell-all book, Noel Fitzpatrick: Becoming the Supervet Listening to the Animals, he opens up about the struggles he faced trying to get the show the green light from TV producers in the early 2010s.
He confessed: “I find the business side of making television quite difficult, in that it requires a big team of people, just like Fitzpatrick Referrals, and it carries with it different specific logistical and financial demands for the production company.
“Without Jim, there is no doubt that The Supervet would never have existed, and because he and I had already created most of the footage on our own for the first six episodes, long before Blast came on board.”
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The Channel 4 show was almost given a completely different name (Image: Channel 4)
The medical expert went on to explain the show was heavily reliant on the few people he had in his corner who helped push the show into the right hands
He went on: “It still amazes me how complex the ‘machinery’ of making television becomes in order to actually have a programme successfully broadcast.
“The show wasn’t formally commissioned until later in 2013, however, when Jay Hunt approved it, Jay had also commissioned The Bionic Vet, and had moved from the to become the head of Channel 4.”
Praising the TV executive, he gushed: “Needless to say, the programme would probably never have seen the light of day there had Jay noy still believed in me, for which I’m very grateful.”
It was at this point that Noel revealed that the Channel 4 show was almost given a completely different name. He confessed: “During that time, there was much discussion about a suitable programme title.
In my mind, it boiled down to calling it The Bionic Vet again or my proposed personal favourite, The Supervet. The former wasn’t appetising enough for the broadcaster and the title had already changed from Animal ER to 24/7 Animal Surgery.
“They were still considering a dozen or so other possible working titles, before they finally went with The Supervet.”
The expert continued: “Suddenly my dream was a reality and it seemed my team and I were about to embark on our most exciting and most challenging journey yet.”