AN EastEnders actress took a swipe at Alison Hammond after she admitted she was hoping to take over her job on For The Love Of Dogs.
Alison sparked speculation that she was set to leave the ITV programme after facing a barrage of criticism from viewers.
EastEnders icon Cheryl Fergison, known for her role as Heather Trott on the BBC soap opera, wasted no time in throwing her hat in the ring for a second time after previously claiming she was snubbed from the role in favour of the This Morning star.
Cheryl appeared to quickly respond to speculation that Alison will be walking away from the job as she shared a snap of her cuddling up to her pet pooch before making it clear exactly where she stood.
Writing online, the star penned: “Woof woof waggy tail Rosie asks is there a job going for her mummy.”
Text over the accompanying photo also appeared to ‘swipe’ at Alison potentially losing her job as Cheryl wrote once again: “ITV is there a job going?”
Cheryl’s followers all seemed to be in agreement that she should be given a chance to front the programme as they supported her bid to be Alison’s potential replacement.
One said: “Come on @ITV , must be something!”
Another added: “You would be great on there.”
Whilst another suggested: “i’m sure @battersea_ are looking for volunteers!”
Cheryl could find herself getting her wish sooner than originally thought after Alison appeared to hint that she was walking away from her role on the ITV programme in a cryptic post.
Re-sharing the promo poster for the show, Alison wrote: “Final episode of For The Love Of Dogs.”
She then cryptically added: “I loved every minute of it.”
Having referred to the role in past tense, Alison failed to give any form of hope to viewers that she would be returning to the programme.
Her telling comments come after sources claimed that ITV were “very disappointed” with how Alison had performed on the show and were examining a future for the programme without her in it.
Prior to this, Cheryl has previously expressed her disappointment at being snubbed for the role despite claiming that the late Paul himself wanted her to be the show’s new host.
The former soap star, 58, has famously told how she has been “struggling to find work” ever since she was axed from the BBC programme 12 years ago and landing the job would have bee a huge coup for her.
Addressing her followers in a TikTok live earlier this year, Cheryl 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 a) 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.”
Regular BBC One viewers will remember how Chery’s character Heather Trott was bludgeoned to death by troublemaking Ben Mitchell in 2012, leaving them in tatters as the character was a fan favourite.
Since then, the actress has had a complete career U-turn as Cheryl moved on to offering singing lessons to her students via Zoom for £60.