This Morning: Dermot introduces Britain's Ugliest Dog contestants
One segment on This Morning's latest episode left viewers outraged as they slammed the show as "horrible".
Presenters Cat Deeley and Dermot O'Leary returned to helm ITV's daytime hit on Tuesday, unveiling a controversial segment in search of Britain's Ugliest Dog. The contentious contest has been whittled down to just four unorthodox-looking dogs.
Dermot introduced the feature with a remark that hinted at his own reservations, saying: "This isn't our title, I'm a bit uncomfortable with this. Britain's Ugliest Dog."
Cat tried to inject some humour into the proceedings, stating cheerfully: "Oh, I love an ugly dog and we are about to meet four of this year's finalists, but only one worthy winner will clinch the coveted crown."
They proceeded to reveal the competing dog lineup as the furry contenders strutted their stuff with their owners in a quirky canine catwalk, reports the Mirror.
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Nevertheless, with Dermot expressing discomfort over the segment's theme, viewers were similarly disgruntled. Audience members took to X in large numbers to voice their discontent.
An emotional viewer complained: "This is a horrible segment! Those poor dogs!" Another joined in the criticism, saying: "Those dogs are lovely and not ugly - what a strange segment."
Reinforcing these sentiments, a third chimed in: "You wouldn't have an ugliest person competition, why's it ok with dogs?"
Another insisted: "These little dogs aren't ugly." While one viewer added: "This is s**t they are lovely."
Last year, Peggy, a unique blend of Pug and Chinese Crested known as a Pugese, scooped up the title of Britain's Ugliest Dog. Peggy's owner, Holly Middleton from Leven, near Hornsea in East Yorkshire, revealed that her family and friends had encouraged her to enter Peggy into the competition, confident in her chances of clinching the win.
Holly remarked: "We tend to forget Peggy isn't your standard looking dog and we are very aware some people would refer to Peggy as ugly. It's always in a humorous way and we don't take offence, and neither does she."
"Even though some people find Peggy's unusual appearance strange, and in rare cases off-putting, and despite Peggy winning the ugliest dog in the UK title, we think she is beautiful both inside and out, and wouldn't change her for the world."
This Morning is on ITV1 weekdays at 10am and on ITVX
