Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs Royal special comes to ITV1 this Christmas

Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs will air a special Royal episode this week on ITV1.

The channel will celebrate 160 years of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home with a one-off special episode of the award-winning series tonight (19 December) at 9PM.

It will feature Her Majesty The Queen Consort, a long term supporter of Battersea and self-confessed dog-lover, hosting a celebratory event at Clarence House and later helping Paul care for some of the abandoned dogs searching for a new forever home.

A teaser of the episode, filmed when Her Majesty was still The Duchess of Cornwall, shares: “The world famous rescue centre is celebrating its 160th anniversary and it’s been one of its busiest years, partly because of the cost of living crisis, so Paul has enlisted the help of their most distinguished supporter Her Majesty, The Queen Consort.

“Battersea is increasingly taking in dogs that are hard to rehome because of their age, their behaviour or their medical issues. Paul and The Queen Consort, then the Duchess of Cornwall, help these dogs in a variety of ways, from teaching a blind dog how to find his way in the world, to bathing and comforting dogs that have been found abandoned on the streets.

“Paul also takes dogs to a Garden Party hosted by Her Majesty at Clarence House in the hope of finding them their forever homes in time for Christmas.”

In a preview clip. Paul and Her Majesty, The Queen Consort meet Reggie at Clarence House. Reggie is an eight-year-old giant Schnauzer with a life-threatening gastric issue, looking for a forever home in time for Christmas.

Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs – A Royal Special airs on ITV1 on Monday, 19 December at 9PM.

Paul O’Grady said: “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.”

Past episodes are currently available on ITVX here