Who will be top dog at Crufts 2024?

Presenter Clare Balding once again helms the show, and is a perfect choice as both a fantastic sports anchor and a well-known dog lover.

She’s joined by Sophie Morgan to kick off the live coverage from the NEC in Birmingham with the flyball heats – a fast-paced event packed with speed and excitement. Among the competitors are the brilliantly named Belgian team Road Runners Beep Beep, who are returning in their bid to win the title for a third year in a row. This is the team that set a new national record last year with 14.27 seconds, so there should be fireworks this time around.

Vanessa McAlpine, Crufts Show Manager, said of their previous win: “Road Runners Beep Beep put on an incredible show in the ring for all the crowd and a massive congratulations to all of the dogs and owners in Road Runners Beep Beep for securing their win.

“Their teamwork and passion for flyball was evident throughout and we want to wish them the best of luck in following competitions and future Crufts to come!”

For the uninitiated, flyball is a relay event in which teams of four dogs must negotiate a line of hurdles, press a paddle to release a tennis ball, which must then be caught and returned to the owner before the next dog can begin.

Reporter Radzi Chinyanganya leads coverage of that contest, while commentators Jim Rosenthal and Graham Partridge are on hand to make sure we don’t miss any of the action.

Other disciplines in contention will include obedience, agility and heelwork to music, while the main event, so to speak, is the battle for the coveted Best in Show title.

We get to see some of the first groups to be judged on their way to that prestigious award in the evening programme (7.30pm, Channel 4), as the Utility and Toy dogs groups are scrutinised, while over on More4 (6.30pm) the Vulnerable breeds take on Agility contests; the dancing and discipline of the Heelwork to Music competition also takes place.

Plus, that programme features action from the flyable heats, as well as the agility finals for small and medium dogs.

Yet Crufts is about more than just the competition itself – it’s also home to one of the biggest trade shows in the canine world.

To find out more about that, Sophie Morgan and her guests rove the halls of the NEC, presenting features, conducting interviews and discussing all the dog world’s current hot topics.