EastEnders star says Alison Hammond took her job after landing Paul O'Grady show
EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison claims Paul O'Grady "would have definitely wanted" her to take over his For The Love Of Dogs show - not Alison Hammond.
The TV legend, who died suddenly last year, fronted the show for more than a decade and it has now been announced that This Morning regular Alison will carry on his incredible work when the show returns. But Cheryl says it should have been her taking over.
Alison will be heading to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home to help the animals in their care look for a new place to live, following the sad passing of much-loved presenter Paul last spring. But actress Cheryl, 58, says she has been "struggling to find work" ever since she was axed from the soap 12 years ago and in a bizarre video address to her followers on social media, claims she should have been given the nod because it is what Paul would have wanted.
Alison Hammond will be taking over the reigns for the late Paul O'Grady on ITV's For The Love of DogsCheryl said: "You know, I can turn my hand to most things, I'm not begging for a job. I'm just telling you I'm perfect for a lot of jobs but you guys are not putting me up for them, letting me go for them, and I don't know why. I say good luck to Alison Hammond for getting For The Love Of Dogs.
"But I'm telling you now, Paul O'Grady would've definitely given me his blessing to do that job, because I have a dog, we've discussed our dogs quite a lot and I've always had dogs in my life, and erm yeah, dogs are the best, it's that simple," Cheryl, who played chaotic Heather Trott on the soap, made the remarks in a live-stream on Instagram.
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Of her new role, Alison said: “I am very aware that I can never replace the iconic Paul in this wonderful series, but if I can continue to shine a light on the brilliant work done at Battersea and help to tell the stories of these beautiful dogs, then it will be an absolute privilege to give it my all. I can’t wait to share the joy of their searches for new loving forever homes and hopefully make lots of furry friends of my own along the way."
The former EastEnder says it should have been her (Instagram)
Cheryl's much-loved character Hev was murdered by Ben Mitchell (@cherylfergison1/instagram)The actress played the loveable character for five years from 2007 and she quickly stole viewers hearts as Shirley Carter's best friend and an unlucky-in-love knicker washer. It has now been over a decade since Cheryl's much-loved character was murdered by none other than Ben Mitchell - and the former soap star still feels as though the writers' decision to kill her off in such a brutal way was rather harsh.
Cheryl described EastEnders as "out of touch" for choosing to murder Heather as Ben walloped her across the head with a photo frame. After five years of playing the George Michael obsessed character, Heather's time on the BBC soap was up. "They need to bring it back down to earth a bit," she told The Mirror back in 2022. "When the sensational stuff becomes like a movie, it becomes a bit like a blur.
Cheryl Fergison says she has been struggling to find work (@cherylfergison1/instagram)"Arthur stealing the money, Den and Angie’s divorce papers, those were the hearts and lives of real people. The producers need to go out and talk to people. If you wanted explosions, you'd watch Fast and Furious." She also hinted at the lack of body diversity in the BBC soap as she shared her desire to see more "big people" in successful TV careers.
Cheryl is keen to see larger actors in more three-dimensional roles. "We can identify better when someone looks like you is represented," Cheryl insisted. "And we do have sex! People like to pretend that we just laugh around being jolly and eating, but we don't. I saw Pierce Brosnan's wife, who's bigger, and was like 'Yeah! Goooo on!'."
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