Enough to make a Jack Russell cross! Boris Johnson’s dog Dilyn is played by an Italian mongrel called Marco in Covid crisis drama This Sceptred Isle
Producers on This Sceptred Isle have done an Italian job on the Prime Minister’s beloved pet Dilyn the dog.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Dilyn, the mischievous Jack Russell cross adopted by Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds in 2019, will be played by an Italian mongrel called Marco.
‘You’d have thought there would be a lookalike for Dilyn a little bit closer to home,’ said one source. ‘Surely it should have been a British dog playing him?’
Dilyn, who was rescued as a puppy from a breeder in South Wales by Friends of Animals Wales, has earned a reputation for behaviour more akin to a boorish Hollywood star
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Dilyn, the mischievous Jack Russell cross adopted by Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds in 2019, will be played by an Italian mongrel called Marco
Dilyn, who was rescued as a puppy from a breeder in South Wales by Friends of Animals Wales, has earned a reputation for behaviour more akin to a boorish Hollywood star.
Among his alleged misdeeds, Dilyn has been accused of cocking his leg over the handbag of a departing No 10 aide, gnawing antiques at Chequers and taking an unfortunate amorous interest in the leg of Dominic Cummings.
Marco will, however, be on a tight leash. Producers have hired Sandra Strong – the owner of Dogs On Camera, whose animals have appeared in films and TV shows including Downton Abbey and The Inbetweeners movies – to keep order, at least off camera.
A former veterinary nurse based in South London, Ms Strong is a trained dog behaviourist whose firm Perfect Dog Training runs puppy classes and courses on aggressive behaviour, chewing and obedience.
First Exclusive pictures of Ophelia Lovibond playing Carrie Symonds, while Kenneth Branagh as Boris Johnson in new Sky series ‘This Sceptred Isle’
According to insiders, Marco will be seen during the Sky Atlantic series causing ‘utter chaos and irritating staff’. And to the likely annoyance of Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds, who are fond of personally taking their pet out, producers are expected to show the three-year-old pooch being walked at Chequers by RAF personnel who work at the Prime Minister’s Buckinghamshire retreat.
Marco last week joined co-stars Kenneth Branagh, who plays Mr Johnson, and Ophelia Lovibond, who portrays Ms Symonds, on set in London.
The five-part series is due to be broadcast in autumn next year.