Alison Hammond’s future on For The Love Of Dogs revealed – after fans called for her to be sacked

ALISON Hammond has been handed another series of For the Love of Dogs after taking over from the late Paul O’Grady.

ITV bosses made the decision last year to continue with the beloved format following the Lily Savage star’s death in March 2023 with cardiac arrhythmia.

The series follows the hard work of staff at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in South London who rehabilitate and rehome the animals.

Earlier this year fans watched as This Morning host Alison, 49, became acquainted with some of the shelter’s furry residents.

A source said: “ITV are delighted with how Alison performed at the helm of the show and are chuffed she’s going back to Battersea.

“It was a big risk continuing the show without Paul who obviously cannot be replaced, but Alison’s warmth and infectious personality shone through.

“It was a no-brainer to commission the series for another run and Alison is also delighted to be going back to Battersea.”

The Sun understands the new series will air in the first half of next year.

It comes after reports suggested Birmingham native Alison was facing the axe.

Producers will be hoping ratings for Alison’s next series will improve after viewership slumped.

Her debut episode in April received an average audience rating of 1.84m and reached 2m viewers at its peak.

According to ITV ratings, Paul gained at least double the amount of views, with an average of more than four million viewers in 2021.

Alison – who hosts This Morning with Dermot O’Leary – had stirred up For the Love of Dogs fans over her presenting style – including the habit of saying ‘babs’ during episodes.

The mum-of-one hit back at her critics in a previous interview with The Sun, admitting ‘trolls will be trolls’.

She said: “I was actually surprised with how much [trolling] 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’.”

Alison 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.”