Dr Nick Horniman MRCVS, owner of Vets Barn in Longhope, is celebrating 10 years of working behind the scenes on one of Britain’s best-known radio programmes, BBC Radio 4’s The Archers.

Alongside his work caring for pets at Vets Barn, Nick has spent the past decade acting as an animal adviser to the long-running programme, helping make sure its animal-related storylines feel believable, accurate and true to life.

From farm animals and livestock to pets and veterinary situations, Nick’s role involves offering practical advice to the programme’s production team whenever a storyline involves animal health, welfare or veterinary care.

For Nick, it is a role that brings together two very different parts of his working life: veterinary medicine and broadcasting.

“It’s been a real privilege to work with The Archers for the last 10 years,” said Nick. “It’s such an iconic programme and there is an incredible amount of attention to detail behind the scenes. My job is simply to help make sure the animal side of a storyline makes sense and feels authentic.”

The role can involve everything from advising how an animal might behave in a particular situation to checking whether a diagnosis, treatment or veterinary conversation would realistically happen in the way it has been written.

Nick added: “As a vet, you spend your working life explaining things clearly and thinking about how animals respond in the real world. That translates surprisingly well into advising on scripts and storylines.”

Despite the unusual sideline, Nick’s day-to-day focus remains firmly on Vets Barn and the local pets and owners he cares for in Longhope and the surrounding area.

His work with The Archers is, however, another example of the breadth of experience behind the practice, and something the Vets Barn team is understandably proud to celebrate.

After 10 years of helping keep Ambridge’s animal storylines on track, Nick is looking forward to continuing the role alongside his work at Vets Barn.