Meet the Winton dogs that stole their scene in ABC drama series Total Control premiere

The Australian border collies captured hearts in the debut episode of the ABC drama series Total Control.

The scene sees their Winton owner Steven Elliot offer Ms Mailman's character a puppy, to distract her from telling him to take his medication.

The well-trained canines jumped on her ute as she tried to drive away.

Mr Elliot was originally cast as just an extra in the Blackfella Films production.

The directors saw something special in him and the dogs and wrote them all a bigger role in the show.

"They all slotted in and did their little bit," Mr Elliott said.

It was a long day filming on set, but the dogs took to it like ducks to water.

"They sort of got sick of it by the finish," Mr Elliott said.

"One fell asleep underneath the car at one part."

Scores of the Winton locals were cast as extras in the production and the larger role came as a surprise to Mr Elliott.

"We were thrown in the deep end there a little bit," he said.

"They said 'we're going to do something next week', then they turned up that afternoon and gave me a piece of paper," he said.

"They said 'this is what you've got to say and we're going to start at half past six in the morning' and out we went."

Leaving their mark

With a quick whistle and a flick of his hand, the dogs are quick to respond to Mr Elliott's every command.

"They all really enjoyed it, all the film crew and everyone, they all love the dogs," he said.

"They were enjoying the extra pats."

Mr Elliot is hopeful for an even bigger role with Ms Mailman if there is a season two.

"We kinda clicked after a little bit and got on real good too," he said.

"It was pretty fun to work with her."

Mr Elliott thinks the dogs left an impression in more ways than one.

"I think the dogs ended up making a bit of a mark on the camera stand at one point," he said with a laugh.

You can watch Total Control on ABC TV and on iView.

Source | ABC