Alison Hammond has been subject to criticism from ITV viewers, with many saying she is the wrong host to replace Paul O’Grady For The Love Of Dogs, but the This Morning star has plenty of support too

Alison Hammond has once again responded to the relentless criticism she is still receiving since taking over from Paul O’Grady as the host of For The Love Of Dogs.

The popular This Morning presenter, who recently enjoyed a flirty reunion with Ryan Gosling, took to her social media to share a supportive message from a fan who claimed she was the ideal “replacement” for the late Lily Savage icon.

Alison was announced as Paul’s replacement on ITV show For The Love of Dogs earlier this year, following Paul’s death in March 2023, but many criticised the former Big Brother contestant’s appointment, mainly due to the fact Alison doesn’t own a dog.

Despite facing backlash from some ITV viewers who feel she’s not the right fit for the show, Alison shared the fan’s post on her Instagram Stories, which said: “ITV couldn’t of found a better replacement for this show.”

The post continued with praise for Alison: “Honesty you’re doing an amazing job Alison Hammond,” accompanied by a heart emoji. This isn’t the first time Alison has shared praise from fans on her own social media channel, with the Great British Bake Off host last week hitting back on Twitter (X).

The mum-of-one, who recently found romance with a younger beau from Russia, took to Twitter to address the criticism following her debut as the new face of the show, which saw a dip in viewership. Alison faced a barrage of mixed reactions, but she didn’t shy away from the challenge. Instead, she retweeted supportive messages from her fans, expressing gratitude and solidarity with those who stood by her side.

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One fan tweeted: “Dear Alison, We can’t think of anybody better and loving to follow dear Paul O’Grady and love the pups at For The Love of Dogs. @itvFLOD xxxx,” to which Alison responded with a heartwarming quote-tweet adorned with a love heart and a dog emoji, showing her appreciation.

Another supporter chimed in, saying: “All those people judging before it was even shown. Shame on you. It is about the dogs and I’m sure Paul would have loved his programme being carried on. Alison was brilliant.” Alison echoed this sentiment in her quote-tweet, adding her own emphatic “This.”

Alison Hammond has no plans to become a dog owner in the near future
Speaking to The Sun about the backlash, Alison admitted she understood some of the criticism as she said: “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? ‘”.

She went on to say: “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’.”

In another chat, Alison revealed that she has no immediate plans to adopt a dog herself. “I’ve already come up with my strategy. I mean, I started off saying ‘I’m going to get a dog.’ But as time went on, I realised how much actually goes into having a dog and to be a responsible owner is to recognise your own circumstances and see that maybe this isn’t the time to have a dog, however, you know, there’s always the future. I like the ones who are not perfect,” she candidly shared.

“Because I’m not perfect myself. I have an affinity for the dogs where there’s something wrong with them or they might be a bit chubby or they’ve got one eye or one leg. I used to watch For the Love of Dogs when Paul O’Grady did it. He was incredible and I absolutely fell in love with all the stories and always wanted to know what was going to happen to the dogs.”

She went on to say: “I didn’t have a dog growing up because my family was a Caribbean family and they just didn’t want to have a dog around the house, but I always loved dogs and used to go and play with them at my mates’ houses. So, when I got this opportunity, I was so flattered to be asked to follow in Paul’s footsteps and I really wanted to help the charity, get stuck into knowing the dogs and let people know about all the amazing work that goes on at Battersea.”