Alison Hammond shares blunt message to ‘trolls’ criticising For the Love of Dogs hiring

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Alison Hammond has shared a blunt response to those criticising her replacement of Paul O’Grady on ITV series For the Love of Dogs. 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 continued: “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.” The series, which saw O’Grady meet rescue animals in need of owners at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, returned on Wednesday. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free “I can’t wait to share the joy of their searches for new loving forever homes and hopefully make lots of furry friends of my own along the way.” Alison Hammond with the ‘For the Love of Dogs’ team In 2022, O’Grady was joined by Camilla for a special one-off episode to mark 160 years of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, an organisation for which he was an ambassador.