FOR the Love of Dogs fans have slammed new presenter Alison Hammond just minutes into the new series.
This Morning presenter Alison, 49, took over as host of the beloved ITV animal rescue programme following the death of former presenter Paul O’Grady last year.
For the Love of Dogs returned to ITV last night for series 12, which is now presented by Alison.
It was announced that she would be taking over from Paul last year, but her appointment was met with a lot of backlash.
Many fans of the show believe Alison isn’t as dedicated because she does not have any pets, unlike Paul, who had three dogs, two of them rescued from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, where the show is filmed.
And, after watching just a few minutes of the show, many long-time fans felt it wasn’t living up to Paul’s legacy as it feels “scripted” and “less personal.”
They took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts on the new series.
“I miss Paul O’Grady so much,” one viewer said.
A second viewer agreed that the show is not the same without him: “It’s all so scripted and lost that loving warmth and care for the dogs.”
“Nobody but nobody could replace Paul O Grady. He was a one-off,” said a third viewer.
However, a fourth viewer said they were trying to give the show a chance. “First 15 mins, not as bad as I thought it might be. The main difference is when Paul O’Grady did this, he did it for his genuine love of dogs. With Alison Hammond it feels like just another pay cheque,” they wrote.
But a fifth commented: “It still beggars belief that these people who hired Alison thought she’d be the one to fill the impossibly big shoes of our Paul. He didn’t deserve this. And neither did those cute dogs.”
Many viewers thought Paul’s long-time friend and fellow animal lover Julian Clary would have been a better fit to take over at the host of For the Love of Dogs.
However, when speaking with her co-host Dermot O’Leary on an episode of This Morning, Alison revealed Julian endorsed her appointment in a text.
After telling Dermot, 50, that she wants to do the show “because I want to find out about dogs and I’ve always wanted a dog,” Alison revealed Julian had been in touch.
She explained: “He just said ‘I’m so happy you got the job, Paul actually thought a lot of you Alison, thought very highly of you, and he would be so happy, as am I.’
“And that just really, like, got me. I’m so, so happy. I just want to make him proud in his legacy at Battersea and I just want to carry on that work.
“We just want to find some amazing homes for some wonderful dogs,” she concluded.
Many long-time fans of For the Love of Dogs opted to give the new series a chance.
The episode began by paying tribute to former host Paul.
After that Alison got stuck into her new role and she quickly fell in love with a young puppy which was thrown out of a car and taken in by Battersea.
While hand-feeding the little ginger puppy, Alison was overcome with emotion.
“This is taking me back to being a mum back when I had my baby. He just burped!” she said.
Many viewers voiced their support for Alison, with one tweeting: “I feel like the people tweeting are watching a different show to me – I think Alison is doing a great job! No, she’s never going to be Paul O’Grady, but she’s not trying to be! He would want the show to continue.”
“Is Alison a natural like Paul? No. But has anything so far shown she is not a fit for the show? No. at least watch the episode and then decide,” added another.
“Paul will never be replaced, but actually when she’s not shouting her head off and guffawing at jokes that aren’t funny, Alison isn’t doing a bad job,” a third commented.
