Bouncy pig proves bacon's got talent

Three little pigs from Pigs in Clover in Cardeston, near Shrewsbury, are set to wow the judges of hit TV show Britain's Got Talent at the audition stage in Birmingham on Thursday.

Scarlet, a Hungarian mangalitza, will be taking to the trampoline in front of thousands in the audience and millions of TV viewers during the filming this week.

She will be starring in front of judges Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden at the NEC.

Gwen Howell, 46, who runs Pigs in Clover, with her husband Steven, 43, said Scarlet would be accompanied on stage by Polly the Kune Kune pig and mangalitza Arthur.

Estate agent Gwen said: "We have been getting in some last-minute practice on the trampolines today ahead of the trip to Birmingham this week.

Dances

"We are really looking forward to going down to Britain's Got Talent. Scarlet will be trampolining and Arthur and Polly will be doing their own dances nearby."

Gwen said: "We tried to put Scarlet on there. Whenever you pick a pig up they squeal really loudly.

"But we picked her up and of course she screamed, but as soon as she was placed on the trampoline she stopped.

"She started sniffing around and started to walk on it, then we put some food on there and she started feeling her feet.

"She started to jump a bit and she has only been doing it for three days, for 45 minutes a time. She loves it.

"All our friends want to see Scarlet in action as soon as they get here, she's become the star attraction."

She added: "We were going to have a few pigs to eat for ourselves. And my husband went to go and buy some and got quite carried away.

"He ended up coming back with 10 pigs and we had nowhere to keep them. We moved into the farm in February this year.

"When we had them it just clicked, it was great. Pigs are such wonderful animals and have their own special characters.

"They get to know you and they talk to you. We just love having them."

By Andrew Morris

PORKER'S BID FOR STARDOM

• Scarlet is a Hungarian mangalitza pig, the breed currently featured on Gordon Ramsay's F Word show.

• Mangalitzas originate from Hungary and the Balkans and are directly descended from boars.

• The mangalitza is distinguished by its rich and curly coat, which can be blond, black and occasionally red.

• The breed is admirably hardy and adaptable to mountain feeding and low temperatures.

• It is also extremely disease and stress resistant.

• Scarlet trains for 45 minutes a day on the trampoline.

• Scarlet has a diet consisting of a mix of wild pasture, supplemented with potatoes and pumpkins produced on the farm.

• Mangalitzas are usually transformed into sausages, but Scarlet will escape this fate.

• Pigs sleep through the night and often take long naps in the day.