Alison Hammond’s long-awaited first day as a full-blown This Morning anchor got off to a bit of an awkward start after she brought up a rather sore subject during an interview with Graham Norton.

Fortunately, Graham definitely saw the funny side of the faux pas.

This week saw Alison and Dermot O’Leary taking over from Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford as hosts of the ITV daytime show on Fridays, and spoke to Graham via video-link about his new show on Virgin Radio.

“I miss you, I love you,” Alison told the talk show host, recalling that the last time they’d seen one another he’d been “with your dog, out and about”.

She explained: “I’ve just been told I’m going to get a four-legged friend! Have you still got your dog?”

“No,” Graham said with a smile. “Dead.”

As Dermot put his head in his hands, and Graham laughed out loud, Alison admitted she was “gutted” at the news, saying: “I’m so sorry! I’m absolutely devastated! That was like the worst thing to say.”

Dermot then joked: “As soon as you asked the question, I thought, ‘well this is going to go one of two ways’.”

Fortunately Graham definitely saw the funny side of Alison’s question, telling her: “I was devastated when it happened – I’m being horrible to you.” 

This isn’t the first dog-related awkward moment that’s transpired on This Morning in the last few days, though.

Earlier this week, Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby interviewed Sheridan Smith about her new show Pooch Perfect – and viewers couldn’t help but get a little distracted by her own amorous canines who could be seen in the background.

This Morning airs every weekday from 10am.