For tortoise, terrapin and turtle care and conservation
Mandy, my Hermanns tortoise, did some filming, with my assistance, earlier in the year for the new Peter Kay programme which airs tonight (September 3rd) on BBC2 at 9.00pm. It's called Cradle to Grave, and she plays the family tortoise, actually supposed to be a male but who's to know at home. We filmed over several days in Manchester, and she did very well, being an old hand in front of the camera and well used to strange situations. She doesn't turn a hair (if she had any!) and is quite content to investigate new situations rather than pull up the drawbridge and hide. I coached Peter Kay and the cast in the right way to handle a tortoise, and also took along my animatronic version of Mandy, which I made some years ago, as a stand-in for some scenes. See if you can spot the difference in the picture. Mandy is on the right!
John Thorpe
