OFF THE LEASH
Alison Hammond hits back at For The Love Of Dogs criticism after show is slammed by critics
The Sun revealed how ratings for the ITV series had nosedived since Paul O'Grady's death
ALISON Hammond has hits back at the backlash she's received since taking over For The Love Of Dogs from the late Paul O'Grady.
The This Morning star, 49, has been subject to criticism from ITV viewers - with many saying she is the wrong host for the show.
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Die-hard fans pointed out that Alison doesn't have any pets, which lead them to believe that she isn’t as passionate about animals as Paul was.
But Alison has appeared to hit back as she took to social media to re-share positive fan comments on her Instagram.
One viewer shared a screengrab of Alison on last night's episode and wrote: "This brings a tear to my eye every week, poor Pluto such a gorgeous dog. Loving Alison Hammond and her outfits."
While a second posted: "Absolutely love you on this show Alison Hammond."
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TV star Alison also re-posted a fan snap of her beaming alongside an adorable pooch.
Fans have questioned if Alison was the right host for the ITV show.
Last week The Sun revealed how ratings for the ITV series had nosedived since Paul O'Grady's death.
The late Paul had three dogs, two of them rescued from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, where the show is filmed.
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A few minutes after the show aired, viewers took to social media and slammed Alison for being "scripted" and failing to deliver a personal touch.
While the TV personality received a lot of backlash online, one viewer admitted they wanted to give the show a chance as they penned.
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“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.”
Despite the backlash, Alison will continue to present the series and has fired back at fans.
The mum of one told The Sun's TV Mag: "I was actually surprised with how much 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'.
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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."
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