Paul O’Grady returns to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home tonight in a new series that will feature guest appearances from both the Queen and Tom Hardy.
Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of Dogs will see the Queen visit Battersea to open a kennel block, as well as actor Hardy attempting to find an owner for long term Battersea resident Sidney the Staffie.
Now in its fourth series, the award winning show has O’Grady meeting and trying to help more of Battersea’s canine residents, an experience he describes as intensely emotional.
O’Grady said: “There are a lot of happy and funny moments but there’s a few tears this series.
“It’s very sobering when you are with these poor animals and you see what they’ve been through.
“I don’t go home at 5pm and forget about them, I go home and worry.”
He also described his elation whenever a dog finds a home.
“When I go in and find out that one of them got a home, I’m over the moon, literally,” he said.
Tonight’s first episode on ITV1 sees O’Grady meet an elderly Labrador-cross called Hope, whose elderly owner is unable to take care of her anymore, as well as a Doberman-cross puppy found abandoned in Camden.
Filmed across all three London centres, Brands Hatch in Kent and Old Windsor in Berkshire, the series features Battersea’s vets Shaun and Phil, as well as canine welfare trainer Ali.
Feature image courtesy of ITV, with thanks
