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BARKING MAD
Give Alison Hammond a break – she had impossible shoes to fill on For The Love of Dogs and Paul O’Grady would be proud
I don't blame Alison for shaming the trolls - the critiques thrown at her have been completely unfair
ALISON Hammond is an extraordinarily gifted host and too many viewers seem to have lost sight of that as the new series of For The Love of Dogs hits screens.
With more and more nepo-babies dominating TV we should be celebrating homegrown talent like Alison, who made her debut on Big Brother in 2002 before it was flooded with fame-hungry wannabes.
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Alison wasn’t a major success on that show, becoming the second evictee as she was overshadowed completely by the likes of Kate Lawler and Jade Goody, but she worked hard to turn that around.
Since then, she's gone from sheepishly breaking the garden table to breaking the record for the best celebrity interview with her laugh out loud encounter with Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling.
Alison’s transformation from low-level reality star to the household name we know and love now has not been an overnight success, nor has it been easy for her.
She held supporting roles in the industry for years, despite her infectious laugh and huge personality winning over a huge fanbase and sparking calls for her to front her own show.
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It wasn't until only recently that those huge opportunities came.
I love Sandi Toksvig, but I was utterly horrified when she told me on the red carpet at the National Comedy Awards that she did not even like cake.
So what a refreshing feeling it was seeing Alison absolutely thrive as the host of The Great British Bake Off, one of the most established and beloved British TV franchises of the modern generation.
Just few years ago we may never have imagined Alison having the mettle to front a flagship morning show like This Morning, and yet in 2024, she makes it look easy.
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It’s safe to say that Alison is not trying to copy the likes of Holly Willoughby, Davina McCall or Cat Deeley - and that's what makes her so likeable.
Her larger than life personality stands out from the crowd and she is so unashamedly real in everything she sets out to do, never bogged down by unnecessary airs and graces.
From personal experience, Alison is as lovely and friendly as they come, both behind the scenes and on camera.
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She made me howl with laughter when I spoke with her on the NTA’s Red Carpet in 2018, when she admitted that she had a secret crush on Gorka Marquez from Strictly Come Dancing.
Paul O’Grady was an undisputed legend in the industry, with a career spanning four decades across the stage, screen and radio.
He was loved by four generations of viewers - there was nobody like him and frankly, there will probably never be anyone like him again.
For The Love Of Dogs was HIS show. He was known worldwide for his love of animals and was honoured to be given the ambassador post for Battersea Dogs and Cats home.
The show focussed on that and catered to him in that specific role, but more than anything it was a platform to show the importance of caring for abandoned canines.
That mission was central to Paul’s work on TV in later years and after his death, he would want that mission to continue.
He wanted the public and national platform to showcase the causes that meant so much to him and he would want the baton to be passed on.
The first show without him was emotional for fans. Indeed that night I reported the fact that many viewers broke down in tears with the poignant first scenes that paid tribute to Paul and his legacy after his sudden death.
But I was also utterly horrified that night when Alison made her highly-anticipated debut, only be bombarded with vitriol on social media.
She appeared as her usual bubbly and infectious self with laugh out loud moments, but she also showed the caring and sensitive side of her personality.
Alison worked hard for this moment and it’s clear that she tried her absolute best to front a programme with such a heavy legacy.
It cannot be easy to step into the shoes of Paul O’Grady and carry out his mission under the intense scrutiny of the entire country with impossible expectations.
Nobody can live up to the reputation or the legendary work that Paul O'Grady did and Alison is not trying to.
She was never trying to step into his shoes, instead she added her signature flair in a way that made the show different, but still utterly charming.
Paul O’Grady would have been nothing but proud of her - and the trolls could do with remembering that.
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If you can't see the good work she's doing or judge her as a presenter in her own right, you're simply barking up the wrong tree.
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