Paul O’Grady talks to TV Times magazine about what he has in store for Christmas this year and why he’s so glad to be back with a festive special of For The Love of Dogs (ITV1, 6pm, Christmas Day)... You have so many dogs already, but are you tempted to take more from Battersea Dogs Home? “It’s getting ridiculous! I can’t do this show and take a dog home with me every time – I’ve got four dogs already [Olga, Louie, Bullseye and Eddie] and it’s bedlam! I’ll have to put the brakes on and be hard as nails.” What’s happening in the Christmas special of the show? “We’re not dealing with any dogs that have got to be put down, there’s nothing upsetting, it’s all nice things. The show opens with me going off to Battersea in a sleigh.” Was that fun? “We’re filming it on Saturday and there are two real reindeer coming down to my house in Kent – I don’t know what my neighbours must think! Seriously, the amount of various critters that go through my gates, from barn owls to goats... My pig Tom goes right up to the gate and sticks his head through. I should put up a 'Beware Of The Pig' sign! So the neighbours are obviously used to the animals now, but when they see reindeer coming in they’ll think, 'Now he’s lost it!'” You certainly seem to have a way with animals, and dogs in particular! “There was a dog brought in who hadn’t eaten for three days because he was stressed out. We were filming a whole item about him not eating – everybody at Battersea had tried to feed him and then I gave him some turkey roll and he ate it! Another dog was scared of the stairs, but I had a quiet word with her and up she went. The staff were saying that I must have some sort of magic power!” Christmas can be a tough time for pets and animals, though... “So many pups get dumped after Christmas. People don’t realise that dogs are a lot of work – when my grandkids come down they’re easier to look after than the dogs, they really are. It’s a full-time commitment. Parents say, 'OK, we’ll get a dog for our little boy', and then they’re not happy when it starts eating slippers and it’s not house-trained.” What will Christmas for your dogs be like? “They get spoiled all the time. They get lectures off me – I keep telling them they’re absolutely ruined!” What’s your Christmas food heaven and hell? “Mince pies are horrible. I don’t like the pastry, I don’t like the sugar on top that sets your fillings on edge and I don’t like the mincemeat. I do like Christmas pudding and if there’s a tin of Quality Street or Cadbury’s Roses in the house I’ll sit and eat them one after the other. The amount of chocolate I’ll eat is dreadful – when I go back to work I look like a teenager with massive acne!” You’re really busy in the run-up to Christmas, too, starring as Lily Savage in Aladdin – A Wish Come True at London’s O2 arena... “I’m looking forward to it, but I’ve got a love-hate relationship with panto. When I’m not doing it I miss it. I’m not mad on Christmas and I loathe shopping – I’m more likely to put money in a card – but when I’m in panto I get very Christmassy in the week leading up to the big day, I’m full of it.”
