This Morning: Phillip Schofield apologises after 'cruel' dog prank

Phillip Schofield was forced to make an apology to This Morning viewers today after playing a ‘mean’ prank on all the dogs at home.

The presenter shouted ‘walkies’ and ‘who’s at the door?’ in a joking attempt to send the pooches of the country wild.

But some viewers didn’t see the funny side of the prank, as it did indeed get their pets all worked up.

One dog owner tweeted: “@Schofe is the devil reincarnate after that stunt on #ThisMorning … I now have a truly heartbroken Staffy because she heard the “W” word but I had no intention of moving.”

Co-host Rochelle Humes immediately apologised to viewers, describing the prank as ‘mean’ to both the dogs and owners watching at home.

But Schofield continued to tease the nation’s dogs, giggling as she shouted: “Where’s your ball?, where’s your ball?”

Later in the programme, Schofield apologised for the prank, realising how it may have affected the dogs and their owners.

“I have to publicly apologise for causing chaos this morning,” he said. “We were showing animals watching the show and I might have shouted ‘walkies’.”

The prank came after viewers of the Sir David Attenborough BBC documentary Dynasties claimed that their cats went crazy after seeing lions on the screen.

Schofield said that viewers of Monday’s show (November 26) also complained that Mr. Blobby had upset their pets during his live interview.

Before carrying out his prank, Schofield asked viewers to start recording their dogs so they could send in their reactions.

In one clip, two dogs jumped up on a sofa and started barking after hearing his voice. But most seemed to be unfazed by the prank, going about their very important business of sleeping the day away.

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