Sykes (dog)

Sykes was a dog actor from Clifton, Oxfordshire, England. He was best known in the UK for his appearance as Harvey in Thinkbox's television commercial and, under his real name, in Midsomer Murders (Series fourteen to eighteen, inclusive). He also appeared in several Hollywood blockbusters. Originally found as a stray in 2004, he was owned by animal trainer and stunt dog specialist Gill Raddings. Since January 2016 Sykes had been in semi-retirement with him no longer being displayed as available for hire on Gill Raddings' agency website; however, if a producer from a previous role of his had needed Sykes they were able to use him.

Sykes
Sykes, appearing at Discover Dogs in 2010
SpeciesDog
BreedTerrier
SexMale
Bornest. 2003
believed to be in Clifton, Oxfordshire, England
Died15 or 16 June 2019 (est. age of 16 years) a[1]
Nation fromUnited Kingdom
OccupationDog actor
Years active2004-16
OwnerGill Raddings
AppearanceBlack markings on white fur

History

Sykes was found roaming as a stray in 2004, at an estimated age of seven months. He was rehomed with Gill Raddings, a stunt dog specialist in Clifton, Oxfordshire,[2] after some friends of hers found the dog while out walking dogs of their own. Raddings runs a company called Action Stunt Dogs and Animals, and other dogs living at her home with Sykes included Kyte, the Belgian Shepherd who portrayed Wellard in EastEnders. Although he was a cross-breed, his owner believed that there might have been some Parson Russell Terrier stock in him due to his long legs.

Career
They say you should never work with animals or children but, as far as I’m concerned, it’s rubbish because Sykes – as I’ve come to know him – was the consummate professional. It was a joy to work with him.

—Peter Kay[3]

In 2004, Sykes worked in his first movie, Alexander. Sykes first came to fame in 2006, as the star of the TV movie, Pickles: The Dog Who Won The World Cup. Harry Enfield played his voice.

Following his appearance in Thinkbox's award-winning advert "Every Home Needs a Harvey", he became better known to the public as his character in the advert, "Harvey".[2][4] By the end of 2010, the advert had been viewed on YouTube more than a million times, and had over 11,600 followers on Facebook.[2] The advert was named "Advert of the Year" by ITV for 2010.[5] Sykes was Dog Trust's Canine Celebrity of the Year.

In September 2010, the John Smith's Brewery advert "Dog Show" began to broadcast, starring Peter Kay and co-starring Sykes as the Jack Russell Terrier. " Campaignlive named the ad as one of the Top Ten Best Dog Ads.[6]

Sykes starred in two more Thinkbox adverts. In 2012, he was with his best friend Rabbit, and in 2014 with his leading lady, Harmony. The 2014 advert, Harvey and Harmony was one of UK's top ten most liked ads of 2015.[7]

Films that Sykes appeared in include Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), Young Victoria (2009), The Duchess (2008), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), The Wolfman (2010) and Clash of Titans (2010).

Sykes appeared in the British medical series, Casualty. In 2008, Sykes appeared on Miss Marple, Series 3, Episode 3, as Donald, a disobedient dog running on the beach and smelling like fish. He even sat on Miss Marple's lap. He then had a brief disobedient role in Return to Cranford (December 2009). He also appeared in Doc Martin (2009), Series 4, Episode 1, as the lead dog of strays interested in the cow hearts the Doc was carrying in a grocery bag. Sykes was then cast in Midsomer Murders after attracting the attention of series producer, Brian True-May, and appeared in the show regularly in series 14 through 18 (inclusive).[8] His last episode was "Harvest of Souls." During the filming of series 18 (2015), his trainer, Gill Raddings, called the Executive producer, and said it was time to retire Sykes from Midsomer at the end of the year. She had noticed that Sykes had started to go deaf.

During his pre-retirement years, Sykes also attended Crufts,[9] fan conventions, and bank openings. He also competed, at the championship level, in agility shows.

In 2016, K-9 magazine considered Sykes as one of the top 5 dogs in TV advertising.[10]

Sykes spent his retirement years with his foster family. The official Harvey Facebook page showed that in September 2016, Harvey, Harmony, Rabbit, and the pups were relaxing.

The official Midsomer Murders Facebook page reported that he died in June 2019.[11]

References
  1. https://www.facebook.com/OfficialMidsomer/videos/342853276397946/
  2. Sloan, Liam (1 February 2011). "How Sykes the Oxfordshire terrier became a TV star". The Oxford Times. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  3. "Peter's 'Kay-nine' capers are best in John Smith's show". John Smith's Brewery. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  4. Sweeney, Mike (9 September 2010). "Dog has its day in Thinkbox campaign for power of TV advertising". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  5. "Ad of the Year 2010: the countdown". Thinkbox. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  6. Day®, National Purebred Dog (25 August 2016). "Sykes". National Purebred Dog Day®. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  7. "Harvey and Harmony: about Thinkbox's 2014 ad". thinkbox. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  8. Burton, Matt (22 September 2016). "DCI Barnaby is getting a new companion in Midsomer Murders as Sykes the dog retires". Radio Times. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  9. "Sykes (Harvey) at Crufts 2013". March 2013.
  10. O'Meara, Kim (10 May 2016). "These 5 Dogs Are Taking the Advertising World by Storm". K9 Magazine. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  11. Young, Bill (20 June 2019). "R.I.P. Sykes — DCI John Barnaby's loyal sidekick on 'Midsomer Murders' passes away at 16". Tellyspotting.kera.org. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.