Kate and Gin are a real tonic

She was the moon-walking dog that took Britain's Got Talent by storm.

But now Gin, the super-talented seven-year-old Border collie, has a new companion – Ice. And trainer Kate Nicholas, who lives on the north Shropshire border, is already teaching the four-month-old puppy the tricks of the trade.

Since Kate and Gin shot to stardom this summer, the pair have never been out of the spotlight.

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The superstar finalists, who wowed both the judges and viewers with Gin's canine freestyle, are now appearing in Peter Pan at the Theatre Royal Windsor. Kate plays a red Indian in the panto, performing a dance on stage alongside Gin.

Last week, Ice landed the role of helping Gin to hand out goodie bags to children sitting in the audience during a sing-a-long in the show.

"I want to make it a double act eventually," she tells me, in her dressing room, littered with dog toys.

"She can do lots of tricks already. She does them really well."

And I can believe it, as both canines show off their skills during the visit.

But I also notice Kate is not one to sit still either. The 17-year-old animal management student at Reaseheath College, near Nantwich, has given up her studies for the time being to concentrate on her new-found career.

Asked what she does in her spare time, the pretty blonde replies: "I get one day off a week. But you are buzzing all the time, so when I have the day off, I think, 'what do I do?'."

Kate, who lives with parents Nigel and Tina at Norbury, near Whitchurch, was given Gin at the age of nine.

"She was a surprise one day when I came back from school," she says.

"We just basically grew up together and just played in the garden together, learning tricks.

"She was such a naughty puppy and needed something to do. She would never come in the house when she was called and she was just a rebel, weren't you?," she continues, lovingly stroking Gin.

"I just needed to keep her busy and the more I taught her the better she got at it."

As Gin's skills developed, so did the duo as an act, prompting the application for Britain's Got Talent. But she never anticipated the success that would follow.

Judge Piers Morgan said at the time: "I think we have to accept that the winner of Britain's Got Talent this year might not be human."

"All my life I've searched for another Lassie and now I've found him," added Judge Simon Cowell.

"Gin just loves to do it," continues Kate.

"When I got to the final I was really pleased with that because it meant we got to go on the tour and go one step further.

"The best show was at the O2. It was the biggest venue that we did."

The pair have been in huge demand since, performing at country shows, Butlins, plus appearances on TV including Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong and more recently as guests of Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden on Gordon Ramsay's Cook Along Live, last month – and not forgetting a book deal.

Kate and Gin tells the story of the partnership spanning six years. And the end of the panto season does not spell the end of Kate and Gin. They have been inundated with offers, including TV adverts and a DVD series involving a step-to-step guide on teaching a dog new skills.

At school, Kate was taunted and bullied over her unusual hobby. These days she cannot walk down the street without being stopped for autographs and pictures.

"The dogs have had Christmas presents. There are strange letters, stalker-like, but then we get really good ones. We have had a lot of fan mail down here," she says.

While many girls her age can be found swooning over the likes of Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt, Kate admits: "I am not really like that."

However, she confesses to being star-struck the once when coming face-to-face with Mic Martin.

"Who?," I ask.

"You probably don't know who he is, he does the Dog Borstal BBC3 programme. I met him and I thought, 'oh, wow', because I have always watched him."

Kate's ultimate dream is to set up her own dog training school.

"I want to train people and their dogs, and train dogs for TV and film, as well as other animals," she enthuses.

"At the moment, I want to get Ice out there to perform and share Gin's limelight.

"When we were on tour she was a bit lonely because she was the only dog, but now she has her own friend now."

There is no doubt this once vulnerable and timid schoolgirl is maturing into a bubbly and self-assured young woman. Asked how the last eight months have changed her life, she replies: "It has given me more confidence and independence.

"On Britain's Got Talent I was really nervous and terrified to go on stage, but now it's just second nature.

"And I have got the little one to keep me busy now. It has just been unbelievable. I can't describe it," she adds, embracing the pooches.