Paul O'Grady
Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of Dogs returns to our screens tonight off the back of a win at the National Television Awards that had all of us journalist scratching our heads and wondering what makes this one of the most beloved shows on Britain today?
What started out as simply a passion piece for the presenter last year turned into a ratings smash, pulling in an average of over 4 million viewers each week and becoming essential Monday night viewing for many.
O’Grady himself puts the show’s incredible success down to the nation’s love of animals, but even he was shocked as to quite how well the show did when it hit the airwaves last autumn. Not even the most optimistic of ITV execs though couldn’t have predicted the reception it received.
O’Grady definitely has a point. For a long time, the UK has been a country that has taken animals to its heart, no matter how big or small. We sometimes treat our pets better than other human members of the family, and that concern we have for out furry friends welfare extends to the world of TV too. It’s the reason why Animal Hospital was so popular on screen for such a long time, and it’s the same reason that screenwriters even warn against harming animals on screen. Even the remote chance of getting a good luck at some cute puppies is enough to keep folks tuning in week after week.
While the four legged component is a massive factor as to why the show has been a success (the internet would surely grind to a halt without videos of dogs and cats doing stupid things) there’s another reason why scores of people just kept on tuning in. O’Grady himself has always been an effervescent presence, but his passion for dogs is so obvious that it practically radiates off the screen.
No matter the size, shape or health of the dog, O’Grady lights up whenever they are in his presence and that’s always a wonderful thing to see. It’s a feeling that’s reciprocated, with Battersea’s residents perking up at the very sound of his voice. Even though the show quite often has its viewers in floods of tears by the end of the half hour, it still manages to make you feel warm and fuzzy for at least a large swathe of the viewing time.
O’Grady’s passion doesn’t just make itself felt in the good times either, as the emotional goodbyes that he had to deliver over the course of the first season were always so much more impactful thanks to his visceral and visible reactions.
Whilst we don’t know how many times his tales of canine sadness will make his audience cry this year, there’ll be millions tuning in to see what he’ll be getting up to in his second stint with Battersea.
Tagged in Paul O' Grady