Martin Clunes offers £2,000 reward to help find fan's dog

Martin Clunes has offered a £2,000 cash reward for the return of a dog which was stolen from the home of one of his biggest fans.

The Doc Martin star and animal fan stepped in to help after he heard about the theft of elderly pooch Pippin in a smash-and-grab raid.

Pippin's owners, Sarah and Gareth Wilson, have said they are distraught at the loss and are worried that the dog may become ill as he needs regular medication.

They are bowled over by Clunes' generous offer and hope that it may help get Pippin back home.

Ms Wilson, a long-time fan of Clunes, had brought Pippin along to meet the actor on the set of Doc Martin in Port Isaac.

She said the actor immediately hit it off with the dog, who is a 'Yoodle' - a cross between a Yorkshire Terrier and a Poodle.

But she was left distraught after 15-year-old Pippin was taken by thieves who broke into her home in Wigston, Leicester, last Tuesday.

"They smashed their way through the back door and took Pippin but didn't take anything else even though they had access to the house," said Ms Wilson's son Gareth.

When Clunes read about the loss of the dog in an online appeal offering a£2,000 reward, he offered to double the cash from his own pocket.

A spokeswoman for said: "Martin can't think what he can do to help except add another £2,000 to their existing reward offer."

Clunes presented ITV show A Man and his Dogs in 2008 and then narrated Secret Life of Dogs on the same channel in 2013.

He also hosted a one-off ITV documentary called Martin Clunes and a Lion Called Mugie which was filmed over three years in 2014 and has also presented shows looking at the relationship between humans and animals..