Alison Hammond defiantly hit back at For The Love Of Dogs critics after receiving mixed reaction when she replaced the late Paul O’Grady.

The This Morning alum, 50, took over hosting duties on the ITV show from Paul, who passed away aged 67 in March 2023.

The overall reception was not initially positive with some viewers being critical of Alison and suggesting the star lacks ’empathy’ for the pooches featured.

As she gears up for a second series fronting the programme, Alison admitted she was ‘surprised’ with the amount of trolling she received after she took over the helm.

She told Heat magazine: ‘I was actually surprised with how much [trolling] I got for doing the show.

‘I could understand in the sense that Paul [O’Grady] was so loved, but people were saying “How can she do it when she doesn’t have a dog? How can does she love dogs when she doesn’t have one?”

+5
View gallery

Alison Hammond, 50, defiantly hit back at For The Love Of Dogs critics after receiving mixed reaction when she replaced the late Paul O’Grady

+5
View gallery

The overall reception was not initially positive with some viewers being critical of Alison and suggesting the star lacks ’empathy’ for the pooches featured

‘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.’

The heart-warming show began in 2012 as fanatical dog lover Paul visited Battersea and met with the pooches desperate to be rehomed.

The show went on to become a huge ratings hit, winning the National Television Award for Most Popular Factual Entertainment Programme in 2019 and 2023.

Alison took over in April 2024 for one six-part series which earned mixed reviews from fans.

Receiving a torrent of abuse online, long-time viewers of the show inevitably compared her to Paul, remarking she has no pets of her own and therefore can’t fully put her ‘heart’ into the stories of the dogs featured.

However, Alison shared her own side of the story as she explained it would be unfair for her to have a dog due to her hectic schedule in television.

Speaking on Rob Beckett and Josh Widdecombe’s podcast Parenting Hell, Alison explained: ‘It’s so weird because everyone is like “She hasn’t got a dog” but I can’t have a dog.

‘I wouldn’t be around it would be unfair. I do love dogs and that’s the reason I don’t have a dog.’

+5
View gallery

The This Morning alum took over hosting duties on the ITV show from Paul, who passed away aged 67 in March 2023 (pictured in 2016)

+5
View gallery

As she gears up for a second series fronting the programme, Alison admitted she was ‘surprised’ with the amount of trolling she received after she took over the helm

‘Discussing how it felt taking Paul’s place she added: ‘At first I was nervous about doing it because how do you ever bring it back?’

‘Paul O’Grady was so incredible with dogs and he has done so much with dogs and obviously no one can replace Paul but I was thinking more of the dogs and the charity.

‘And I was thinking just do it for the dogs. Let’s get these dogs some homes.’

Alison opened up about her impressive weight loss last year, revealing that the key to her success was simply cutting out sweets, fatty foods and exercising with a personal trainer.

Admitting that weight-loss jabs weren’t for her, she told Good Housekeeping UK: ‘I think that, for people who need to use them, they’re a good thing – but for me, as soon as I hear any scare story, I get frightened.

‘So I haven’t wanted to use them, but that’s not to say I wouldn’t in the future, and I certainly wouldn’t look down on anyone who did.’

She added: ‘My mum had type 2 diabetes and she was worried for me, so when I then found out that I was pre-diabetic, that was frightening. I thought: ‘I have to be an adult about this’. The sweets had to stop – and the fatty foods.

‘Twice a week, I see my personal trainer and I have a couple of weights in my bedroom. I walk, I stretch and sometimes I do a bit of yoga.’