Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs Royal Special will celebrate 160 years of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home with a one-off special episode, airing over the festive season.
ITV has confirmed that the episode will feature Her Majesty The Queen Consort, who is a long-term supporter of Battersea and self-confessed dog-lover. In the pre-recorded episode, she appears in her previous role as The Duchess of Cornwall.
Speaking about the special episode, Paul says: "In the 11 years that I’ve been filming at Battersea, I’ve never known it so busy. What’s worrying is, there are a lot of dogs in here who would be classed as hard to home. Dogs with disabilities, blind dogs, you name it, we’ve got them in here at the moment."
Here's everything you need to know about the Christmas special...
Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs Royal Special air date
The special episode of Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs will air on Monday, December 19 on ITV1. It will also be able to watch on the broadcaster's new streaming service, ITVX.
What should we expect from the Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs Royal Special?
In this special episode, Her Majesty The Queen Consort joins Paul O'Grady to celebrate 160 years of the iconic Battersea Dogs & Cats Home which was founded in 1860.
It was established in Holloway, London, in 1860 but moved to Battersea in 1871 and that has been its home ever since, helping rescue dogs and cats find their forever homes.
The episode will feature a celebratory event hosted at Clarence House to celebrate the big anniversary, and The Queen Consort will also help Paul care for some of the abandoned dogs at their Brands Hatch site in Kent.
While there, Paul and the Queen Consort will be assisting with their treatment and care, in the hope of finding them a happy-ever-after home of their own in time for Christmas.
Sadly, Battersea Dogs & Cats home is currently incredibly busy due to an overwhelming number of dogs that are more difficult to rehome due to their older age, medical or behavioural issues, so finding the right owners is even more important.
The synopsis adds: "Top of Paul’s rehoming list are a blind Jack Russell, a giant Schnauzer with a life-threatening gastric issue and a puppy with a will of steel, fighting all the odds to survive. With the situation becoming increasingly desperate, Paul will turn to a very special friend for help."
Is there a trailer yet?
No, ITV has not released a trailer for the Christmas special yet, but we'll share one here if one is announced.
