Viewers of new BBC series Pooch Perfect will by now know the face of bubbly award-winning dog groomer Hannah Bowles.

When the new BBC1 show launched on Thursday (15 January) the first part of the competition saw 5ft Hannah from Hatfield Peverel grooming beautiful but huge Alaskan Malamut Hancock to perfection.

Show host Sheridan Smith was clearly impressed and commented on Hannah's strength.

However, 34-year-old Hannah is used to handling pets of all shapes and sizes as she has been grooming dogs since she was just 17.

When I met her on Zoom on the morning before the first show was aired, Hannah appeared with her red hair, giant smile and two-year-old son Brody, but it wasn't long before cocker spaniel Louis was up by the screen, looking at me with huge brown eyes.

"I've got three dogs," Hannah says, "There's Louis and Lola and little Freddy."

Yorkie Freddy moved in with Hannah's dad at the start of lockdown.

"I was worried about Dad being a bit lonely during lockdown and Freddy keeps him company. They're like two old men together, " Hannah laughs.

So how did Hannah get into dog grooming?

"I've always loved animals and I thought I wanted to be a vet, but I did some work experience and fainted watching a castration. From that moment I knew it wasn't for me."

An animal care course at Writtle College appealed and it was while she was there that Hannah had her first try at dog grooming. She knew straight away it was what she wanted to do and was soon running her own grooming salon in a garage area in Chelmsford at first before moving to her studio - Pooches Grooming Studio - in Oyster Place, Chelmsford.

Business was busy and there were competitions and seminars. In January last year, Hannah was at one of them and gave a seminar on cocker spaniels. The producers of Pooch Perfect were there and before she knew it, she was filling in application forms for the show.

"I had different forms to fill in and then we moved on to Zoom meetings and as time went by I started to think, 'Wow, this is getting serious, maybe...' and then they told me I was in the show."

Hannah grins. "I was nervous at first, but I'm used to working with lots of other groomers and doing competitions - and I loved it.

"Being on the show has given me so much confidence."

Of course, she can't reveal a thing about what happens in the competition - and it wasn't until I watched the show on Thursday evening that I saw Hannah get through to the quarter finals, which will be shown later on in the series.

Hannah talks about her experience of lockdown. Her studio is currently closed and when she opened up again after the first lockdown, she was sad that some of the dogs were in some need of attention.

"After the first lockdown, we saw so many cases where dogs were suffering the consequences of not being groomed. For a lot of dogs, it's part of their healthcare routine," Hannah explains.

So does she still enjoy her work and what would she say to anyone thinking of a career in dog grooming?

"I love my job, but it's important that anyone thinking about it knows it's hard work. It's not all cuddling puppies, but if you're prepared to put in the hard work, it's a great job," Hannah says.

"But dogs are amazing and when you're sad, they're there. They're always up for a cuddle - and every day is different and there's such a wide variety of breeds."

Now Hannah is looking to the future and wants to make the most of any opportunities that come along.

"I would like to run a school for dog groomers," she says, "and I would love to help out with the show in the future, too."

The Pooches Grooming Studio website can be found by following the link here.

You can also find Hannah on The Groomers' Spotlight website here.

Pooch Perfect is on BBC1 at 8pm on Thursdays.