Clare Balding for Isle of Dogs

National treasure, dog lover and bestselling author Clare Balding shares her love for our favourite family pet in an adventure across Britain. National stories are often told through our politics or our monarchy – but this is a tale of how Britain is shaped by its dogs.

Clare has always been fascinated by the impact dogs have on our lives and the way they have shaped Britain across the centuries. In Isle of Dogs, she explores the characteristics of our favourite breeds, why we’re drawn to them and what they bring out in us, from how we work to how we live.

In this adventure across Britain, Clare explores the many roles’ dogs fulfil and the history of how they became such an intrinsic part of our lives. From the mysteries of extinct breeds to the ancient dogs still thriving today, she journeys from Battersea to the Orkney Islands via Buckingham Palace to tell a moving and humorous tale of loyalty and partnership.

Talking to people whose everyday survival depends on their dog, those whose experience of life has been transformed by them. And to those who work with dogs and how we have made use of their superior senses to root out drugs, discover disease, detect bombs, rescue missing or injured people and sniff out accelerants in potential cases of arson. She discovers how people care for and train dogs that are as large as a pony or small enough to fit in a handbag, meets British businesses inspired by dogs, and considers why certain breeds have soared in popularity. She also explores our long canine history, rediscovering long-lost working breeds and investigating why it was that our relationship with dogs changed during Queen Victoria’s reign.

We are famed as a nation of dog lovers, but do we truly appreciate how much our lives and our history have been shaped by our connection to dogs? Clare will show us just that on this adventure - an exploration and a voyage of discovery across our Isle of Dogs.