A close shave, Gromit... you were going to be a cat (but at the last minute Wallace's trusty side-kick was turned into a dog

For more than 20 years they have been Britain’s favourite animated duo regularly attracting audiences of 15 million.
The nation has come to love the escapades of an eccentric inventor and his super intelligent canine sidekick.
But Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park has revealed that Wallace’s faithful four-legged friend was originally mean to be a cat.

Proms duo: Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park revealed that Wallace's faithful four-legged friend was originally meant to be a cat

‘I had this idea about this guy who builds a rocket in the basement of his house, and would blast off through a sequence of trap doors, for a joke,’ he told Radio Times.
‘Then I thought he had to have an assistant. So I drew a cat, called Gromit.
But Mr Park revealed he opted to create a dog instead because it was a simpler design.
He explained: ‘But when I came to model the cat out of clay, I just found a dog easier to make.

‘With longer legs and a proper snout. Plus, I had a packet of dog’s noses from a craft shop on me... so Gromit became a dog.’ Mr Park also revealed that he had altered the character on the first day of filming.
He said: ‘Gromit was going to be a bouncy, extrovert character but he was too hard to move. I found it much easier just moving his brow.
‘It gave him a personality, an inner, discerning mind. Suddenly he became a contrast - a child more intelligent than his father.’ The 53-year-old gave details about the forthcoming Wallace & Gromit Prom, which will see the pair make their debut at the prestigious classical music event.
Entitled, Concerto in Ee, Lad, organisers say it will capture the ‘warmth, grittiness and gumption’ of the down-to-earth Northern duo.
Radio 3 controller and Proms Director Roger Wright revealed he had been in negotiations with Mr Park for more than a year about the Wallace and Gromit Prom.

Mr Park revealed he had altered Gromit on the first day of filming because it was easier to make a dog out of clay