THE Lake District has played host to a new television series which pits dog owners and their four-legged friends against each other in challenges which will be aired on BBC 2 next month.

Me and My Dog: The Ultimate Contest, hosted by broadcaster Chris Packham, is a physical and mental competition programme for humans and their dogs. Eight people who believe they have the ultimate relationship with their canine companions will compete together with their dog.

Over four weeks, canine scientists and dog trainers will help them unlock the full potential of their partnership as they compete in a series of challenges, including paddle boarding and swimming contests at Windermere. The latter, and other filming, took place in the grounds of the Brathay Trust at Ambleside.

In each episode the teams will come together for a final challenge where everyone competes head to head.

Each challenge is a chance to win points –but only the top scoring pairs from each group will go through to the final at the end of the contest where the finalists will battle it out to see who will be crowned the ultimate champions.

A North Yorkshire woman, Jennie Routley, of Skipton, is among the contestants. She will be taking part with her dog Bodger – a collie, cocker spaniel cross.

She was looking forward to competing in the show with her closest companion.

“Bodger has given me the confidence to try new things, and I wanted to give something back to my best friend,” she said.

“Bodger is a cross breed and I wanted to find out what is going on inside his head.

“Keeping busy and active helps me so I wanted to learn new skills and activities that I can do with Bodger.”

Me and My Dog: The Ultimate Contest starts on BBC Two at 8pm on April 5.