ITV celebrates 160 years of Battersea with a special episode of the Paul O’Grady’s series

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, now known simply as Battersea, is a very special place.

The animal rescue centre was established in Holloway in 1860 by Mary Tealby, who called it “The Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs”.

Initially, The Times ran a story ridiculing the idea of opening a home for dogs when there were homeless people in London.

But Tealby’s work won many admirers, notably Charles Dickens, who wrote about a “remarkable institution” that had saved over a thousand dogs in 1860.

In 1885, Queen Victoria became patron of the home, and it has remained under royal patronage ever since.

To mark its 150th anniversary in 2010, the charity’s London Cattery was opened by HRH the Duchess of Cornwall, and Royal Mail released a set of stamps featuring a series of dogs and cats that had been adopted by staff.

Then, in 2015, Queen Elizabeth II unveiled a plaque to officially open the intake kennels named after their founder, Mary.

Tonight, ITV is celebrating 160 years of Battersea with a one-off special episode of Paul O’Grady’s NTA and Bafta-winning series.

The programme will feature Her Majesty The Queen Consort, a supporter of Battersea and dog-lover, in her previous role as The Duchess of Cornwall helping Paul care for some of the abandoned dogs and hosting a celebratory event at Clarence House.

Last month, The Queen Consort shared details of her special relationship she has with Beth and Bluebell, two rescue Jack Russells she got from Battersea.

“Beth came from a family who could no longer care for her and poor Bluebell had been found abandoned in the woods, three weeks old, starving, covered in sores, with a docked tail and just a few patches of fur.

“Battersea nursed her back to health and I fell in love with her when I visited their brilliant centre in 2012. They are both colourful characters – and now I cannot imagine my life, my home or my sofas without them.”

The Queen Consort is now a patron of Battersea and she joins Paul at its Brands Hatch site in Kent to celebrate the special anniversary.

Together they meet some of the dogs struggling to be rehomed and assist with their treatment and care.

Paul and Her Majesty set about teaching a blind Jack Russell to find its way around, bathe and comfort dogs that were abandoned on the street, and attempt to find them a happy-ever-after home in time for Christmas.

Top of Paul’s rehoming list are a giant Schnauzer with a life-threatening gastric issue and a puppy with a will of steel.

Battersea is incredibly busy due to an overwhelming number of dogs that are more difficult to rehome due to their older age, medical or behavioural issues.

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.”

With the situation becoming desperate, Paul turns to a “special friend” for help in throwing a garden party to drum up interest.