Nadia Sawalha has felt the wrath of fans over the treatment of her dog – with one even branding her “cruel”.
The Loose Women star, 61, has come under fire after being captured on film while at home with her pets.
Nadia has recently got a new puppy but her followers fear she has been “ignoring” her eldest pooch, Toffee.
The fury was sparked in a recent video uploaded to Nadia and her husband Mark’s YouTube channel.
Nadia Sawalha slammed for ‘ignoring dog’
Nadia is seen arriving home from a shopping trip and fails to acknowledge Toffee.
The Loose Women star makes a beeline for their new puppy, Pepper, who is penned off in the kitchen.
Adopting a squeaky voice, Nadia gushes to Pepper: “Hello, my darling angel. I love you more than daddy!
“Oh look at that… oh my God, look at her. Honey bunny!”
Nadia’s hubby Mark, who is filming, looks down at Toffee who is barking and strokes her.
Reassuring the elderly pooch, he says: “She’s is cute. And you are too, baby.”
As Toffee continues barking while looking up at Nadia, she gets out her phone and takes a picture of Pepper.
“Who’s my daring angel?” the TV star asks her excited new pup.
Mark tells Nadia sadly: “Oh, Toffee thinks you’re talking to her.”
But Nadia does not react to Toffee and continues to look at Pepper, saying: “Hello, hello. Hello, my darling angel.”
The footage has not gone down well with some of the couple’s online followers.
One woman called Eileen fumed in a now-deleted comment: “That was so cruel of Nadia totally ignoring Toffee. I felt really sorry for Toffee. It’s obvious Nadia couldn’t care less about her. I will never watch her again, awful woman.”
Another wrote: “Poor toffee was ignored, she wanted attention when Nadia walked in.”
A third person else echoed: “Poor Toffee, totally ignored by Nadia.”
And someone else penned: “Feel so bad for Toffee. They do feel the difference. Glad Mark and Maddie try to treat her special.”
Replying, a follower agreed: “Exactly, I hated seeing that.”
Nadia’s husband hits back
Mark has now replied to one fan who wrote: “Way too much attention on Pepper, poor Toffee.”
The film director said underneath: “Yawn off.”
Others have been supportive of the couple.
Nadia and Mark have also received widespread praise for their collection of daily Vlogmas videos last month.
One fan clapped back: “Can people lay off Nads on the whole Pepper v Toffee situation THEY are creating.
“We only see a snap shot of her day, for all we know her and Toff could be in the jacuzzi most of the day!
“She’s had a [bleep] time and Mark is showing the moments of joy she’s experiencing with their new puppy. I hate to leave a less than positive comment but this is [bleep-ing] me off.”
Mark replied: “Agreed 100% xxx.”
Someone else gushed: “Well done. Thank you so much for vlogmas. Very hard for you this year, so appreciate that you managed to still do it.”
Another fan wrote: “Thank you so much for still delivering vlogmas with all the sadness going on behind the scenes.”
And one comment said: “Thank you so much for all you do on the channel. Especially during such a hard time for you both.”
Nadia and Mark’s followers are referencing their recent tragic heartache.
It was confirmed at the end of last month that Nadia’s close friend Hannah Gardner had died aged 39 from breast cancer.
Nadia had campaigned tirelessly on Hannah’s behalf for life-extending cancer drugs to be made available on the NHS in England.
The couple have also confirmed that Mark’s elderly mum Di is also battling serious health conditions.
ED! has contacted Nadia’s rep for comment.
Read more: Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha reveals she almost divorced her husband ‘many times’
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