Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick tearful as he gets big surprise on The One Show

What did you miss?

Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick was tearful on The One Show as he was reunited with a cat he saved 15 years ago.

The TV vet was on the Friday, 18 October episode of the BBC programme talking about how he was the first person to perform a bionic double leg implant on a cat. After he told the story, the show's host Roman Kemp revealed they had a surprise for him.

The cat, Oscar, then appeared on the video screen with his owner, leaving Fitzpatrick blinking back tears as he exclaimed: "Oh my goodness!"

What, how and why?

Fitzpatrick had explained that he stepped in to help after Oscar suffered a serious injury and lost his legs. "This poor cat had his back legs chopped off by a combine harvester," he said.

"These animals don't have a lot of options so we developed, in conjunction with human colleagues, limb amputation prostheses, which we inserted into the legs. The skin could grow in like the skin on the antler of a deer."

Kemp then admitted that he had something up his sleeve for the TV favourite, telling him: "You don't know we have done this. But Oscar is still going strong, 15 years on, and his owner Mike wanted to send you a message."

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Fitzpatrick looked stunned as Mike and Oscar appeared on the screen. "Hi Noel," Mike said. "This is Oscar here in sunny Jersey. We just wanted to give you an update on how he is doing. It's been over 15 years since he had his accident. He is 17 now and he would not be here without what you did for him."

The star was tearful after the surprise, telling The One Show hosts: "You are so naughty!" "That's incredible that you can give more than a decade of life and love, bring that light into the world," he said. "That's an honour, an honour."

What did viewers say?

Viewers were charmed by the sweet story, with several posting messages on X commenting on how heartwarming it was to see Oscar thriving so many years after such a tricky procedure.

"Lovely to see Oscar doing well," said one, as another posted a heart emoji on the platform as they wrote: "Awww, Oscar the cat."

"Oscar the Cat. What a beaut!" said another.

The One Show airs on BBC One on weekdays at 7pm.