GOGGLEBOX star Ellie Warner has defended shoving her dog off the sofa after she's reported to RSPCA for "animal abuse" by viewers.
The TV couch potato faced huge backlash online for her "horrible treatment" of pet dog Mick in last night's show.
Ellie's six-month-old Italian Greyhound went flying off a stool after she swatted him out the way to stop him eating her dinner.
The moment frustrated animal lovers at home - with some even reporting her to the animal welfare charity.
A fan raged: "Dog abuse #Gogglebox @RSPCA_official."
Another added: "It doesn't matter that the stool was a foot from the floor, should not have been pushed. Corrected, and trained properly.
"Perhaps take a class or two, you can teach him, not punish. Reward him with his in treat."
Ellie responded to the fan this morning, writing: "Thank you for your comment and under normal circumstances that would have been appropriate, but considering I was being scalded that was what I had time for in that particular moment, mick is not hurt and is a very happy dog. Have a nice weekend."
The Sun Online has contacted the RSPCA to find out if they are investigating the Channel 4 star.
The shock scene aired in last night's episode of the Channel 4 show, with Gogglebox's official Twitter account also tweeting the clip, which has since been deleted.
In the footage, Ellie and her sister Izzi can be seen tucking into a KFC when the blonde telly addict spills her beans.
The family's six-month-old Italian Greyhound, Mick, is sitting on a nearby stool and viewers were horrified when Ellie was seen using her arm to seemingly push the pup while she got up to clean the mess.
With Izzi picking up Ellie's plate, the star shouts: "I don't care, it's burning me!"
Taking to Twitter, fans criticised the way that Ellie treated Mick, with one writing: "This has made me go right off this pair! Some people just don't deserve dogs!"
Another added: "Not a nice way to push that poor puppy. It's your own fault!"
A third said: "These two need to grow up and treat that dog with respect. They don’t deserve this beautiful animal."
One fan seethed: "Way too rough with that puppy. Doesn’t deserve a dog. Not the dog's fault."
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Taking to the Twitter account that she shares with her sister last night, Ellie hit back at the haters.
She wrote: "Sorry everyone, was scolded by burning hot beans, the foot stool is literally a foot from the floor so Mick was not hurt.
"I love my dog and would never hurt him, and I also would not let him eat Kentucky Fried Chicken as it is not suitable food for dogs."
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