Former BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull, 64, couldn’t resist showing off his mischievous side when his friend and fellow journalist Sian Williams, 55, suggested the use of exposure therapy to treat her phobia of dogs. Sian’s fear of the pets came after she was left “sore, swollen and bruised” following an attack by a friend’s neighbour’s dog.
The pair got onto the subject when Bill told the BBC favourite during his Paws and Claws with Bill Turnbull podcast: “You and I will make a documentary about how you and everybody else watching can overcome their fear of dogs.”
“That’s a great idea,” Sian insisted in response.
Bill then quizzed: “Do you want to write the pitch or shall I write the pitch?”
“You write the pitch,” the television personality answered.
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The former BBC Breakfast presenter was diagnosed with an incurable form of prostate cancer in 2017, but explained his pet dog always cheers him up.
While speaking to Sian about their love for animals, Bill warned her the commitment of owning a dog is like that of having a “toddler”.
“It does restrict your movements,” he added, in regards to holidays and having to find kennels or a dog sitter.
Sian then noted that the advantages to having a pet far outweigh the disadvantages, to which the Classic FM host exclaimed: “Hugely!
“Particularly for me at the moment, when I have down days for various different things, you hug the dog and the dog hugs you back and there’s an immeasurable release of tension somehow.
“I don’t understand it but you feel great.”
Sian explained that stroking or cuddling an animal releases the hormone Oxytocin.
“It’s connected to love, which is why you feel better,” she told Bill.
“Thats why they use them in therapy because there is that connection, especially when people are ill.”