Why did Julian Norton leave Skeldale?

WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Yorkshire Vet. 

The Yorkshire Vet continues to follow the careers of some of TV’s best loved vets but what was the reason for Julian Norton’s departure from Skeldale?

The Yorkshire Vet’s latest series continues tonight, Tuesday, August 27, at 8pm on Channel 5, with Julian Norton’s Thirsk practice at the heart of some drama.

In the upcoming episode, a heavily pregnant basset hound is rushed to the vets where it’s “all hands on deck to save her puppies”.

Why did Julian Norton leave Skeldale?

Vet Julian Norton has been a star of The Yorkshire Vet since it first began more than a decade ago, alongside the likes of legendary vet Peter Wright.

But it was back in 2018 that both of them decided to leave Skeldale behind for good and pursue alternative workplaces, despite their years of loyal service.

At the time, Skeldale was merged with veterinary group Medivet which has more than 200 practices across England and Wales.

It wasn’t too long before Norton announced his exit, explaining that he wasn’t happy with the direction that the practice was being taken in.

Opening up to the Darlington and Stock Times, the 52-year-old said: "It wasn't the way I wanted the practice to go. I didn't think it offered necessarily the best way forward.

"It was a difficult decision, it was part of my life, it was a big change."

Writing in The Yorkshire Post’s Country Week, he said that he had “thoroughly enjoyed” his years at Skeldale and will “always treasure my memories” of working at the iconic practice.

Norton, at the time, also expressed interest in opening an “independent mixed practice in the future”.

It was in 2021 that his dreams came to fruition as he opened the doors to the Thirsk Veterinary Centre, which he runs with his wife Anne.

In addition to this, Norton is also a partner at Sandbeck Veterinary Centre in Wetherby.

The Yorkshire Vet continues every Tuesday at 8pm on Channel 5.