The Panther In My Kitchen: My Wild Life With Animals

Brian Blessed has a lifelong love of animals and over the years has rescued numerous cats and dogs, horses and ponies, and even a very ungrateful fighting cock. All were characters in their own right, such as Jessie, a dog left languishing for a year at the local RSPCA, who ruled the entire household with a rod of iron, when she wasn’t out harassing the local vicar. Bodger, an abused terrier cross breed, was nursed back to health by Brian and his wife, and lived as if every minute was precious to him. Peppone, a stray cat and notorious thief, was responsible for a crime epidemic in the Bagshot area. And then there was Misty, a soul mate and the first Jack Russell Brian met who didn’t take an instant dislike to him.

Over the years Brian has encountered more exotic animals too, from the black panther who had free run of his kitchen and the orangutan he tried to save from captivity to the female gorillas who found him incredibly attractive. Written with all of Brian’s ebullience, The Panther in My Kitchen is a laugh out loud, life affirming book about the joy animals bring and why we should care for them.

Brian Blessed grew up in Goldthorpe, Yorkshire, and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. His television appearances include Z-Cars, Boy Dominic, I, Claudius, Cold Comfort Farm,The Little World of Don Camillo, Blackadder, My Family and Other Animals,The History of Tom Jones and Peppa Pig. His films include The Trojan Women, Flash Gordon, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, As You Like It, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Brian is also an explorer and mountaineer. He became the oldest man to reach the North Magnetic Pole on foot in 1999 and to reach 28,000 feet of Everest without oxygen. He lives in Surrey with his wife, Hildegard Neil. He is the author of several books, including his bestselling autobiography Absolute Pandemonium.