Yorkshire Vet's Matt Jackson-Smith held at gunpoint in terrifying robbery - 'Time slowed down'

The Yorkshire Vet's Matt Jackson-Smith has conscionable strapped his adorable 11-month-old girl Anastasia into her car spot and is apologising for being late. The telly vet is heading disconnected to a wedding with his woman Katherine and their lively small one, who is presently "losing her chuffing marbles successful the back" arsenic Matt chats astir his caller memoir.

With a beauteous family, a promising TV vocation and an autobiography, Matt is successful a fantastic position. However, his communicative could person ended acold excessively aboriginal erstwhile helium was held astatine gunpoint during a terrifying robbery. While moving astatine Blockbuster arsenic an 18 twelvemonth old, Matt recovered himself successful the mediate of a robbery erstwhile 2 men stormed the video rental shop. "It was rather surreal. Two men burst done the doorway 1 successful a Green Goblin mask, different successful a balaclava and they enactment a weapon successful my face," helium recalls.

"Everything seemed to dilatory down. The feline with the weapon shoved my pistillate co-workers into the backroom and locked them in. The different 1 was with me, trying to unfastened the tills." The robbers yet scarpered erstwhile a "much bigger" lawsuit walked in, however, the ordeal near the teenage Matt shaken. "That truly shook maine up. I retrieve shaking afterwards erstwhile the constabulary came. It wasn't until I near that I remembered determination was a panic fastener I could person pressed that Blockbuster had told maine astir erstwhile I joined."

Facing down gun-toting robbers was thing compared to the aggravated unit of veterinary medicine, according to Matt. He muses: "Not adjacent doing a placement arsenic a pupil and watching vets. It's a lawsuit of, 'You're acceptable and distant you go.' The champion teaching is experience. But now, erstwhile idiosyncratic uses the phrase, 'Gun to your head' – I tin subordinate to that!"

The 35 twelvemonth aged Matt, known from Channel 5's The Yorkshire Vet, shares his aboriginal veterinary experiences successful his caller book, My Life As A Yorkshire Vet. He reveals: "I've been journalling for a fig of years, truthful I had a caput commencement due to the fact that I didn't realise however overmuch worldly I really had," helium says. "I'm definite immoderate vet would accidental if they wrote their stories, they would person an encyclopaedia, ne'er caput a small book."

From being captivated by Australian zookeeper Steve Irwin arsenic a youngster to wrestling an alligator to find its gender, Matt's publication chronicles his thrilling experiences successful the field, on with the inherent risks. "I had a fortunate flight a fewer years agone erstwhile I was successful a pen with a husbandman and a calf with a breached leg, and cows each around," helium says. "We moved the calf into the close presumption – and the adjacent happening I knew, I was level connected the level with my legs being trampled.

The parent cattle had hoofed maine to the crushed and trampled implicit me. As she went for the farmer, I rolled underneath the gate. My legs were rather bruised and it's made maine wary ever since, but that was a adjacent one." In summation to treating a wallaby's fractured toed and delivering fawns, Matt has often ends up extracting assorted items from dogs' stomachs. "I've taken retired stones, champagne corks, bits of balls, kebabs, skewers," helium says. "Obviously, underwear is ever a problem. I erstwhile had to bare a afloat KFC bucket that this canine had eaten and each these bones were spinning astir its tummy similar a washing machine."

Despite the occurrence stories and convey you cards from his clients, Matt confesses that helium occasionally grapples with "imposter syndrome" erstwhile treatments don't spell arsenic planned. "You larn to process it but you're ever affected by it. You get thicker tegument and you larn however to mentally container it away. No one's cleanable and vet schoolhouse raises perfectionists. We each attraction and enactment truthful overmuch bosom into what we do, truthful it makes it each the much distressing erstwhile things don't spell well," helium says.

Matt is grateful to person his woman Katherine to confide successful aft a pugnacious time astatine work. "When thing hasn't gone well, I'll talk to Katherine astir it and beryllium capable to spot what happened. It takes a grade of effort to power off," helium admits. "Sometimes, I'm truthful bushed of work, I privation to jack it each in, but erstwhile you instrumentality a interruption from it, you realise, 'This is truly rather interesting.' With anything, sometimes you conscionable request a break.

Matt credits his solicitor woman Katherine, who helium met connected dating app Bumble successful 2019, for teaching him this invaluable lesson. "At that constituent successful time, enactment was beingness for me. Katherine pulled maine retired of it and said, 'There are different things to do.' We spent our archetypal Christmas unneurotic and that's erstwhile I knew she was The One. She gave maine a caller perspective, which hasn't happened to maine before. Then everything fell into place," helium shares.

Despite being a instrumentality of The Yorkshire Vet earlier gathering Matt, Katherine couldn't tummy the humor and gore successful immoderate episodes until Matt took her retired to witnesser a occupation successful person. "When we archetypal started dating, Katherine was truly squeamish. She would fast-forward the gory scenes successful Game Of Thrones and The Yorkshire Vet," helium says. "But erstwhile she came retired connected the occupation with me, she didn't person a choice.

"It was nipped successful the bud erstwhile she helped with a sheep Caesarean conception and her hands were covered successful blood. She loved it – she was holding backmost organs." The mates tied the knot successful 2022 and started their ain household successful October of the aforesaid year, welcoming their girl Anastasia Maria. However, Matt admits that parenthood hasn't been easy.

It's the hardest happening ever," admits Matt. "It's a full substance of emotions and I've lone conscionable started to decently bask it if I'm honest. Anastasia is astir 1 and she's starting to get her ain personality. She loses her marbles for nary evident crushed and she's teething – but I took her for a locomotion yesterday, strapped to the beforehand of me, and it was truthful cute. It has its ups and downs."

For now, the duo are contented with having 1 kid and their canine Harry successful their West Yorkshire home. "They some person small artifact zones – Harry wants to get Anastasia's toys and she wants to get his toys," says Matt. "There's decidedly immoderate sibling absorption astatine this constituent successful time. At the moment, 1 kid is capable for present and we're a one-dog household. We've got our hands full. We're besides presently looking aft a tortoise with a cracked ammunition and there's Dennis the bearded dragon, truthful we're beauteous full."

Matt Baker has his bosom acceptable connected salsa-ing onto Strictly Come Dancing, peculiarly aft teaming up with JLS prima JB Gill connected 'Springtime On the Farm'. "I would emotion to person a spell astatine Strictly," helium smiles. "We're cheering JB connected and it would beryllium awesome if the accidental came up."

But arsenic for taking connected the trials of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, that's not connected the cards for the affable vet. "It would beryllium nonrecreational ruination to bash the jungle due to the fact that the British Veterinary Association is precise anti having animals successful there. There are loads of discussions astir whether insects are sentient beings, truthful it's a blistery potato," helium explains. "As overmuch arsenic it would beryllium amusive to do, immoderate things are amended near alone."

Yet, erstwhile it comes to perchance pursuing his The Yorkshire Vet workfellow Peter Wright onto the acceptable of All Creatures Great And Small, Matt's each in. "I would emotion that – I'll get my level headdress on!"

Matt's book, My Life As a Yorkshire Vet (Mirror Books, £20), is retired connected Thursday 10 October. You tin bargain the publication connected Amazon here.