Julian Norton, star of Channel 5's The Yorkshire Vet, is set to carry out one of his most challenging surgeries yet in the latest episode: removing a bladder stone from a tiny hamster. The 54-year-old surgeon, who left Skeldale Vets after 21 years, now runs two practices: Sandbeck Veterinary Centre in Wetherby and Thirsk Veterinary Centre.
Delicate surgery on a hamster
According to The Yorkshire Post, this week's episode features Norton performing the delicate operation on a hamster named Milo, who becomes very ill with a bladder stone. The team has concerns about whether such a small animal could survive the anaesthetic. With everyone on tenterhooks in theatre, Norton decides to take the plunge, and viewers will have to wait to see how the surgery goes.
Norton joined Skeldale as a junior partner, and the practice later merged with the national organisation Medivet. However, he was not happy with the direction the practice was taking and left after 21 years. In 2019, he established Sandbeck Vets in Wetherby with some old friends, and in March 2021, he opened Thirsk Veterinary Centre.
Sandbeck and Thirsk practices
Sandbeck takes pride in being a small, local practice. Their website states: "We never want to grow big and impersonal. We want to know all our clients and their pets in Wetherby and the surrounding areas as individuals and make every visit to the vet as stress-free as it can possibly be." Norton is listed as director and veterinary surgeon, having worked in the field since the mid-1990s. He is also active in charity work, supporting organisations such as the Cheetah Conservation Fund and VetMentor, and serves as an honorary associate professor at Nottingham vet school, assisting with their veterinary outreach work, Vets in the Community.
Thirsk Veterinary Centre also emphasises its independent status: "Because we are an independent practice, we have the freedom to do things in the way we think they should be done. As veterinary surgeons, we want to offer our professional skills, but also empathy and compassion for you and your pets." Norton, again listed as director and surgeon, has made Thirsk "his home". He shared: "I've spent time working in the North of Scotland, the Cotswolds, a small animal emergency hospital in Pennsylvania, as well as other towns in Yorkshire."
Fifth birthday and ongoing study
In April 2026, Thirsk Veterinary Centre celebrated its fifth birthday. Norton reflected on the surgery's evolution: "In some ways, the time has passed in the blink of an eye; in others, it seems a lifetime ago that we were working out where to put the internal walls, where to store the syringes and how many anaesthetic machines we would need," he told The Yorkshire Post. Norton gained a GP certificate in small animal practice in 2007 and is currently studying towards an extra qualification in ophthalmology. The Yorkshire Vet airs on Channel 5 on Thursdays at 8pm.
