A Leeds Gogglebox star has hit back at social media critics who accused her of 'animal abuse' after Friday's show.
Ellie Warner, who appears on the Channel 4 show with sister Izzy , was the target of outraged viewers after she was seen pushing her dog away from food.
The Leeds TV star pushed her six-month-old Italian Greyhound Mick off a footstool after accidentally scalding herself with hot beans.
Animal lovers were furious, with some even tweeting at the RSPCA Twitter account to report the act, the Mirror reports.
But Ellie has responded to critics and reassured viewers Mick was 'not hurt' and is 'a very happy dog' - even calling for the RSPCA to come investigate if they wish.
After the show, one viewer tweeted: "Dog abuse #Gogglebox @RSPCA_official."
While another commented: "Do NOT shove your dog away like that #Gogglebox."
A third remarked: "Watching the poor puppy being pushed about makes me want to cry, she shouldn’t have a dog if that’s the way she treats it & god only knows how rough she is with it off camera #Gogglebox."
Another wrote: "Do NOT shove your dog away like that #Gogglebox."
After one tweet about "dog abuse", the RSPCA replied: "This is sad to see, it's unnecessary to push a dog away like that :( We only advocate the use of positive reinforcement training, as opposed to punishing bad behaviour in dogs ."
In response to one fan's criticism, Ellie wrote: "Thank you for your comment and under normal circumstances that would have been appropriate, but considering I was being scalded that was what I had time for in that particular moment, mick is not hurt and is a very happy dog. Have a nice weekend."
Googlebox had also tweeted the clip, under which Ellie addressed the criticism.
Ellie and Izzy had been eating KFC when Ellie spilled beans onto her trousers, scalding herself. She put her plate down on the foot stoll that Mick had been on, then pushed hi, away from the food and onto the floor.
She wrote: "Sorry everyone was scolded by burning hot beans, the foot stool is literally a foot from the floor so mick was not hurt. I love my dog and would never hurt him and I also would not let him eat Kentucky fried chicken as it is not suitable food for dogs."
One fan tweeted in response: "@RSPCA_official this dog has been shoved around a few times on TV it appears something that happens regularly. This breed is particularly fragile you should investigate to see if there are any injuries."
Leeds participants wanted for TV show where you share all your earnings with housemates
After the RSPCA responded, Ellie tweeted: "You are welcome to visit and investigate any time please feel free to dm me to make arrangements thank you."
Gogglebox airs Fridays at 9pm on Channel 4
LeedsLive has launched a WhatsApp group to keep you up to date with the latest news! Click here to join and follow the instructions on your phone. Your number won't be shared with anyone else in the group.
