Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick has admitted he fears his Channel 4 show “will never see the light of day”.

The 56-year-old veterinarian rose to fame in 2014 when the documentary series first aired. But the Irish surgeon has revealed in his new autobiography that the hit show almost didn’t make it to the big screen.

In his tell-all book, Noel Fitzpatrick: Becoming the Supervet Who Listens to Animals, he describes the difficulties he faced trying to get the green light for the program from TV producers in the early 2010s.

He admitted: “I find the business side of making television quite difficult; Just like Fitzpatrick Referrals, it requires a large team of people and brings different logistical and financial demands for the production company.

“Without Jim, there is no doubt that Supervet would never have come into existence, as he and I had created much of the footage for the first six episodes on our own, long before Blast came into being.”

The medical expert went on to explain that the show largely depends on the few people in his corner who help put the show in the right hands.

He continued: “It still amazes me how complicated the television production ‘machine’ has become to ensure a successful broadcast of a programme.

“The show wasn’t officially commissioned until late 2013, but by the time Jay Hunt confirmed it, Jay had also commissioned The Bionic Vet and moved on from the series. BBC To head up Channel 4.”

Praising the TV executive, he gushed: “Needless to say, if Jay noy still believed in me the show probably wouldn’t have seen the light of day there, for which I’m very grateful.”

It was at this point that Noel revealed that the Channel 4 program had been given an almost completely different name. He admitted: “There was a lot of debate at the time about a suitable program title.

In my mind this boiled down to renaming it the Bionic Vet, or my personal favorite that I suggested, Supervet. The first was not appetizing enough for the publisher and the title had already been changed from Animal Emergency Room to 24/7 Animal Surgery.

“They were still considering a dozen or so other possible working titles before finally choosing The Supervet.”

“Suddenly my dream came true and it looked like my team and I were about to embark on our most exciting and challenging journey yet,” the expert continued.