Archive photo of Laois native, Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick on his university graduation day

Pioneering veterinary surgeon Noel Fitzpatrick has not changed much from his student days, as a newly uncovered picture from the Leinster Express newspaper archives shows.

The star of Channel 4's Supervet is beloved by millions for his dedicated work to save family pets at his multi million surgery facility in Surrey, England.

He grew up on the family farm in Esker, Ballyfin in Laois. After attending the Patrician College Ballyfin, he went on to University College Dublin to study veterinary medicine.

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Our photo which featured in the Leinster Express in July 1990, shows him smartly dressed in a sharp suit on his graduation day with a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine, with his parents Rita and Sean Fitzpatrick.

The Laois man was reportedly called on by Meghan Markle, bride-to-be of Britain's Prince Harry, last December, to see if he could use his pioneering bionic surgery techniques on one of her dogs after it had an accident and broke two of its legs.

Later this year, he will embark on his first live stage tour in Britain and Ireland, talking about growing up in Laois and how he went from being bullied in school to becoming a world-renowned 'Supervet'.
Audiences will also be transported into a virtual operating theatre to illustrate some of his techniques and witness some of his bionic inventions.  

The photo (below) will be featured in the Leinster Express's weekly Times Past section.