TV’s Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick has revealed he finally feels ’emotionally ready’ to become a father – with a much younger woman.

The 57-year-old Channel 4 star opened up to The Times on how he would ‘love to meet somebody between 30 and 40 and have a kid. Or a couple of kids.’

‘I love kids and I loved doing my book for kids. I think I’d be a good daddy because I’ve got good morals. I was never properly, emotionally ready, until recently,’ added the Irish veterinary surgeon.

The TV star, who lives with his two cats near Guildford in Surrey, has previously admitted that his past partners have found him ‘selfish’ – and that the reason he’s not married yet is because he ‘finds human relationships difficult’.

Evidence of his romantic struggles have even been immortalised in Britney Spears‘ 2003 hit Toxic, which is said to be inspired by Noel’s relationship with co-writer of the song, Cathy Dennis. 

Known for writing songs such as Spice Girls‘ Wannabe and Kylie Minogue‘s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head, Cathy penned Britney’s track in the same year that she split from Noel, who she dated from 1992 to 2003. 

Talking about his relationship with Cathy in his book, the vet said: ‘Cathy and I remain good friends and I’m sad that I couldn’t give her, or anyone else, what is needed in a healthy relationship.’

But now it appears the vet is ready to settle down – and he’s looking for a woman who meets his age requirements.

Noel Fitzpatrick (pictured), who grew up in Co Laois, Ireland, but now lives near Guildford in Surrey, revealed he’s finally ready to have children and is on the hunt for a much younger wife

In the wide-ranging interview with the publication, the 57-year-old, who grew up in Co Laois, Ireland, also revealed his business isn’t doing as well as it once was. 

‘Anybody looking at our accounts on Companies House will know that I’m making a financial loss. We’re open seven days a week, 24/7, and we are hurting. I’m just trying to survive as a veterinary practice,’ he admitted. 

Noel also revealed he is looking toward the future in more ways than one – not just in terms of family, but also in how his life’s work might live on long after he’s gone.

The renowned vet is exploring the development of an artificial intelligence avatar designed to embody his extensive knowledge and experience in animal medicine. 

Drawing on decades of televised surgeries, academic publications, public lectures, and digital content, he envisions a digital version of himself that could continue to educate and inspire future generations after he is gone. 

Meanwhile, although the vet tends to keep his personal life private, some details about Noel’s past relationships have emerged over the years. 

The Irish vet, who has never married, did have some long term relationships; it is believed that he was dating a woman called Michaela who worked at his practice, the Fitzpatrick Referral Centre in Surrey, last year.

In 2020, he told The Times: ‘As for children, well my mammy had six and I’d certainly like one but that requires I make changes. I’m still a work in progress. But you know, do I want to bring a child into this cataclysm?’

The Irish vet has never married however he did have some long term relationships, it is believed that he was dating a woman called Michaela who worked at his practice, the Fitzpatrick Referral Centre in Surrey, last year

Prior to his relationship with Michaela, Noel was previously romantically linked to singer-songwriter Cathy Dennis from 1992 to 2003.

As for why he’s never walked down the aisle, despite being in long term relationships, Noel revealed in his 2018 novel that he finds human relationships ‘difficult’.

He wrote: ‘I suppose I could have got married a few times in my life, and why I’m not married seems to fascinate people. 

‘It could be said that I gravitate towards animals… because I find human relationships difficult,’ he penned. 

‘The bottom line is that I have been told many times by former partners that I’m selfish, and I can see why they felt that way. 

‘Why should a woman put up with always being second best to a dog or a cat in crisis? She has needs that are not being served by me operating at midnight on a Saturday. 

‘That’s a tough call and nobody’s to blame, but that doesn’t mean it hurts any less,’ admitted the vet.

Noel confessed that his deep love for animals often hinders close relationships, finding comfort in them after years of battling depression.

Fitzpatrick was previously romantically linked to singer-songwriter Cathy Dennis from 1992 to 2003

In his book, he wrote: ‘I have made bad mistakes, though I have deep feelings for everyone I have ever held in my arms. But although my love for animals has taken me away from personal relationships, it has saved me, too.’

He also describes himself as being ’emotionally crippled’, largely as a direct result of the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of a labourer, and sometimes babysitter, on his family’s farm. 

The abuse started when he was just five and lasted for five years, leaving Noel unable to trust humans. 

In 2022, during a BBC Breakfast interview with presenter Victoria Fritz, Noel opened up about how he had been running from the ‘spectre’ of ‘prolonged sexual abuse’ as a child and hopes he can help anyone going through the same thing.

He said: ‘I got to a crossroads in my personal life as well, in the sense that I was harbouring a lot of challenges from my childhood that I had seen other people go through and I felt if somebody in the public eye, somebody like me, who you think is on the television, he’s the ‘supervet’, he’s doing all right, he’s got it sorted – if those teenagers that are having troubles see that actually I don’t have it all sorted, I’m just a bloke trying to do his best, then it might help them.’ 

He added: ‘I sustained prolonged sexual abuse as a child and I had been running from that all my life and I had met a few other similar people in that situation.’

He added that meeting similar people helped him identify ‘the darkness that I have sublimated for 40 years.’ 

He also shared that animals became his lifeline, stating: ‘Animals became my best friends because I didn’t trust humans.’

Britney released the single Toxic back in 2003, with the lyrics describing a lover as dangerous and addictive

Noel graduated in 1990 in veterinary medicine at University College Dublin and 24 years later would win the same institution’s Alumni Award for the subject.

He moved to England in 1993, setting up his veterinary practice Fitzpatrick Referrals in Guildford, Surrey, where the firm remains – treating hundreds of animals each year and employing more than 170 staff.

Their work was covered in BBC series The Bionic Vet in 2010 and since 2014 he has been the focus of Channel 4’s popular series The Supervet – covering how he and his colleagues take on trying to save pets that might not have survived otherwise.

He has gone on to become a specialist in small animal orthopaedics as well as receiving honorary doctorates from the University of Surrey and the University of Bath.

He also achieved a Guinness World Record in 2009, when he became the first veterinary surgeon to successfully apply an amputation prosthesis.

He carried out the surgery on a cat named Oscar who had lost both hind feet in an accident, with Fitzpatrick providing a pair of bionic leg implants.

Prior to becoming a vet, he had an interest in becoming an actor, spending the first decade of this century making appearances in shows such as The Bill, Heartbeat, Casualty and London’s Burning.

He also performed in films including The Devil’s Tattoo in 2003, 2004’s Live For The Moment and Frames in 2008.

In March, Noel revealed he had a sliding doors moment when he lost out on an acting role to a young Colin Farrell on Ballykissangel. 

The Channel 4 star opened up about his younger days going to drama school and aiming to prove successful on the small screen.

But he was pipped to a place in hit BBC series Ballykissangel to a younger man who would go on to have transatlantic triumphs including an Academy Award nomination.

And both he and fellow Irishman Colin Farrell have since reflected on how the decision has worked out to put both on very different career paths.

Noel, was born in Ballyfin in Ireland’s County Laois – about 100km from Farrell’s birthplace of Castleknock in the capital Dublin, nine years later.

The pair found themselves thrown together in auditions for Irish-set rural drama Ballykissangel, which ran on BBC1 between 1996 and 2001 and starred the likes of Dervla Kirwan and Stephen Tompkinson.

Farrell appeared in 18 episodes, before going on to Hollywood success in blockbusters movies such as Minority Report, Alexander and In Bruges.

He was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for 2022 film The Banshees Of Inisherin and has won awards in the title role of HBO’s Batman spin-off series The Penguin.

Farrell suffered his own early setbacks, including a failed audition trial for 1990s boyband Boyzone – but he has gone on to appreciate what a difference his Ballykissangel success might have made, according to Noel.

The Supervet, reflecting on his career, told the Guardian: ‘I went to drama school because I wanted to learn how to communicate. I did Heartbeat, The Bill, Casualty.

‘I was up for Ballykissangel, but Colin Farrell got the role. When he did The Penguin, he sent me a note saying: “But for a quirk of fate, I could have been a very good vet, but I ended up a penguin.”‘