When the COVID-19 shutdown halted live sport in March 2020, BBC commentator Andrew Cotter turned his broadcast voice to a different kind of contest: the everyday rivalry between his Labradors, Olive and Mabel. His calm, high-stakes narration made breakfast, toys and walks feel like fixtures on a sporting calendar that had suddenly disappeared.
How the Olive and Mabel videos began
With tournaments cancelled and his usual work interrupted, Cotter began posting videos of the dogs during lockdown. The comedy came from the contrast: the action was ordinary, but the commentary treated it with the precision and rising tension of a major sporting event. The Big Issue described the clips as growing out of lockdown’s boredom and banality, while giving viewers familiar elements of sport—form, momentum, strategy and a result.
Olive is the older Labrador; Mabel is the younger one. Their recurring contests over food and toys gave Cotter a ready-made rivalry to narrate. In a rubber-bone tug-of-war, The Guardian observed, Olive held on while Mabel pursued the game with intensity. A small household moment became a championship drama without either dog needing to know they were competing.
Why Olive and Mabel resonated during lockdown
The videos arrived when many people were missing both live sport and the routines of ordinary life. Cotter’s composed, authoritative delivery made trivial events funny precisely because it did not wink at the audience; the dogs’ unremarkable behavior remained the center of the performance. Viewers could recognize the rhythms of sports coverage while watching two familiar companions carry on as usual.
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At Wigtown Book Festival, Cotter explained that “everybody was at home, forced online and looking for something to make them laugh,” adding that dogs were the final ingredient that helped the clips take off. He also told The Guardian: “It just shows how much we are all missing sport and what we term ‘normal life’.” The videos offered a brief, shared ritual in a period when much of that normal life had stopped.
How widely the videos were watched
The clips reached very large audiences, but the reported figures refer to different videos, platforms and reporting dates rather than one definitive lifetime total.
- First eating contest: The Guardian reported in 2020 that the video posted in late March had been viewed about 9 million times.
- Bone contest: The Guardian reported that the video posted on 9 April 2020 passed 3 million views in less than five hours.
- Broader audience claims: Wigtown Book Festival later said the videos had earned more than 50 million views. Text Publishing described the second book as arriving after more than 87 million YouTube views. These are separate claims from different dates and contexts, not directly comparable totals.
How the videos led to Cotter’s first book
The leap from short dog videos to a book began quickly. In an interview with Ayrshire Magazine, Cotter recalled: “The offer to write the book came in the darkest days of June 2020. I’d put out three of the Olive and Mabel videos and a publisher, Black & White, asked me if I’d like to write a book about them.”
Olive, Mabel & Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs is the natural starting point for readers who want the story behind the clips: Cotter’s relationship with the dogs, their life together and the rise of the videos. Black & White Publishing lists the hardback publication date as 15 October 2020, ISBN 9781785303227, and 272 pages plus a colour-plate section. The publisher also lists paperback, ebook and audiobook formats.
How the two Olive and Mabel books differ
| Book | What it covers | Publication details listed by Black & White Publishing |
|---|---|---|
| Olive, Mabel & Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs | The household, Cotter’s relationship with the Labradors and how the videos became famous. | Hardback published 15 October 2020; ISBN 9781785303227; 272 pages plus a colour-plate section. Paperback, ebook and audiobook formats are also listed. |
| Dog Days: A Year with Olive & Mabel | The year after the lockdown breakthrough, including the trio’s experiences and the public life that followed the videos. | Hardback published 21 October 2021; ISBN 9781785303654. Paperback published 26 May 2022; ISBN 9781785303876. |
Cotter told Ayrshire Magazine that he enjoyed writing the second book because it was more about life and the trio’s experiences through the pandemic, with the dogs at its center. If you want the origin story, start with Olive, Mabel & Me; if you want to follow what came after the clips took off, choose Dog Days. Editions and formats can differ by location, so check the publisher or bookseller for current availability.
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