We are living through canine television’s golden (retriever) era. Idly flick through the channels and it’s odds on that you’ll land on a minor celebrity on a walking holiday, a documentary about air fryers, or a programme about dogs who either need a home or be better trained in the one they already have. For the Love of Dogs is the original, the top dog, and it remains the leader of the pack. The late Paul O’Grady hosted this look behind the scenes at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, for whom he was also an ambassador, from 2012 until his death last year. The title bore his name, but he was so dedicated to Battersea’s work that it would have made little sense to stop making what amounts to a primetime TV spotlight on the charity and its reach. Nevertheless, his are very big shoes to step into.
It makes sense, then, that Alison Hammond would be the presenter to take over. At this rate, all TV institutions will be under her stewardship. I’m looking forward to her inevitable stint as host of Antiques Roadshow, University Challenge, perhaps even a few months as landlady of the Queen Vic. What Hammond brings to Bake Off is warmth and amiability, and on a short, snappy, thoroughly wholesome documentary about rescue dogs, those are very good qualities to possess. With O’Grady, you had the sense that he liked dogs more than people – in an interview a few years ago, he told me as much – and that he was always on the verge of taking the dogs home with him. Sometimes, he did.
