Yorkshire Vet's Julian Norton's life off screen from quitting job to famous wife and kids

Yorkshire Vet Julian Norton's life off screen from quitting job to famous family (Image: Channel 5)

British vet Julian Norton, famed for his role in The Yorkshire Vet, has been a staple of the popular Channel 5 series for all thirteen seasons. The show documents the professional lives of Julian and fellow vet Peter Wright as they care for animals in North Yorkshire.

Born in Castleford, Wakefield, 52 year old Julian studied veterinary medicine at Cambridge University and has spent the majority of his career practising in Yorkshire. In addition to his television work, he has penned six books, including Horses, Heifers and Hairy Pigs: The Life of a Yorkshire Vet in 2016, A Yorkshire Vet Through the Seasons in 2017, and The Diary of a Yorkshire Vet.

Beyond Yorkshire, Julian serves as an ambassador for the Cheetah Conservation Fund, a group committed to preserving wild cheetah populations.

In 2018, both Julian and his co-star Peter left Skeldale Veterinary Centre after three years on The Yorkshire Vet. Julian subsequently established his own independent practice with his wife, Anne, in March 2021, named Thirsk Veterinary Centre.

Around this time, Skeldale joined forces with Medivet, a veterinary group that runs over 200 practices across England and Wales. Shortly thereafter, Julian announced his departure, voicing his discontent with the direction the practice was taking, reports Yorkshire Live.

Yorkshire Vet's Julian Norton left Skeldale in 2017 and started up his own Thirsk practice a few years later. (Image: Instagram)

In a heart-to-heart with the Darlington and Stock Times, the vet expressed his unease about the new direction, admitting: "It wasn't the way I wanted the practice to go. I didn't think it offered necessarily the best way forward" and revealing the emotional weight of his decision: "It was a difficult decision, it was part of my life, it was a big change."

Taking to The Yorkshire Post's Country Week, he fondly reminisced about his tenure at Skeldale, sharing that he had "thoroughly enjoyed" his years there and will "always treasure my memories" of the celebrated veterinary establishment. Not just known for his Skeldale connection, Julian is renowned as a partner at Sandbeck Veterinary Centre in Wetherby and is a regular columnist for The Yorkshire Post's Country Week.

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But Julian's passions extend beyond veterinary science. Aside from his profession, Julian, father to sons Archie and Jack and husband to Anne, also cuts an impressively athletic figure in the world of sport.

He polished his competitive streak by setting a world record back in 2010 with ex-Olympian Roger Brown for the longest 24-hour tandem indoor row.

His laundry list of athletic feats also includes a commendable finish within the top 50 at the UK Ironman challenge in 2013. Flying the flag for Britain, he donned national colours at the age-group level competitions in the European Long Course Duathlon Championships in both 2014 and 2015, along with the European Middle Distance Triathlon Championships across the same years.

And not one to rest on his laurels, Julian conquered the grueling Patrouille des Glaciers ski mountaineering event from Zermatt to Verbier in 2018.

Yorkshire Vet's Julian Norton's life off screen from quitting job to famous wife and kids

Yorkshire Vet's Julian Norton's life off screen from quitting job to famous wife and kids

Yorkshire Vet's Julian Norton's life off screen from quitting job to famous wife and kids

Yorkshire Vet's Julian Norton's life off screen from quitting job to famous wife and kids

Yorkshire Vet's Julian Norton's life off screen from quitting job to famous wife and kids