Canal boat horse set to star in hit TV reality show

The friendly shire horse has been filmed at work on the Montgomery Canal by BBC property show Escape to the Country for an upcoming episode.

The show helps people to find a new home in rural areas and was filming in the Shropshire area last week.

The hit show also provides examples of what life is like in the chosen areas and so turned to Shropshire man Tim Barker for help.

Mr Barker, from Chirk Bank, has relaunched a horse drawn canal boat service on the waterway, based at Maesbury near Oswestry.

He was approached by the show producers to ask if he would be willing to be filmed with Cracker as they pull the boat along the canal.

Mr Barker said: "It was a great experience and I think everyone enjoyed it.

"The show's presenter Nicki Chapman came down and did a few bits to camera and we had a chat with her.

"She was very personable and was really nice. She was filmed on the boat and I think she really enjoyed it.

"They were filming for about two hours and the weather was glorious so it showed how beautiful the area is and how nice the canal is.

"They will be using the footage between the house they visit.

"As I understand it Nicki will be opening that show with footage from the canal and then there will be a longer piece later in the programme."

Mr Barker said the filming was done on Wednesday last week and the show was set to air either in the autumn or in spring.

He said he expected Cracker, a powerful strawberry roan 'pocket' shire standing at 13.2 hands, to be the star of the show.

He said: "Cracker was filmed throughout so hopefully he will feature on the show a fair bit. It was great to have the production team at the canal and hopefully it will show how beautiful our area is."