.Alison Hammond presented the last series of For the Love of Dogs after taking over from the late Paul O’Grady and it appears that despite calls for her to be axed, bosses were impressed
Alison will be returning to For The Love Of Dogs (Image: ITV)
Alison Hammond’s For The Love Of Dogs presenting future has been revealed after her first series on the job.
This comes after the This Morning star took over from Paul O’Grady after he passed away in March 2023 from cardiac arrhythmia. Alison is due to take on the job for a second series after impressing fans. Despite Alison winning over some viewers, there were fears that the Birmingham-born star could be axed by bosses at ITV.
Earlier in the year, the TV star took over the role and met some of Battersea Dog’s and Cat’s Home’s cutest residents. The series follows the work of staff at the South London animal shelter who help to rehabilitate and rehome the animals.
Alison will come back for a second series ( Image: ITV)
It has been reported that the next series will air in the first half of 2025. The confirmation that Alison will be returning comes after rumours that she could be axed from the job. Viewing figures went down during Alison’s debut series compared to the huge figures that Paul got during his seasons. Alison’s episode in April received an average audience rating of 1.84m and reached 2m viewers at its peak.
Paul gained at least double the amount of views according to ITV, with an average of more than four million viewers in 2021. Alison opened up after her show aired saying that she was trolled while it was on. She said: “I was actually surprised with how much [trolling] I got for doing the show. I could understand in the sense that Paul was so loved, and people were saying: ‘How can she do Love Of Dogs when she doesn’t have a dog? How does she love dogs when she doesn’t have a dog?’ It’s like saying: ‘How can you love children when you haven’t got kids?’
“It’s such a flawed argument for me, and all I would say is: ‘If you don’t want to watch it, don’t watch it.’ That’s what I would say to those trolls: ‘Don’t watch it then. If you don’t want to help Battersea, don’t watch it’.”
She added: “Trolls will be trolls and I’ll still do what I do best, which is TV presenting and you’ll see for yourself, I think it’s authentic and I loved doing it. Trolls are trolls, it says more about them than it does me, really. I would never troll anybody, even if I thought it, I wouldn’t go online and put it down.”
The Sun reported that a source said: “ITV are delighted with how Alison performed at the helm of the show and are chuffed she’s going back to Battersea. It was a big risk continuing the show without Paul who obviously cannot be replaced, but Alison’s warmth and infectious personality shone through. It was a no-brainer to commission the series for another run and Alison is also delighted to be going back to Battersea.”
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Source: New York Post
