Last week Models Direct asked Are Pet Models Becoming The New Supermodels?. Now it seems that ITV have answered our question, as news that they’re planning to air a brand new pet modelling reality talent show has reached the MD head office.

According to various sources, the X-Factor style show will feature open auditions for dogs who are felt to have the potential to become a model. They will be judged by a panel and the winner will apparently walk away with a modelling contract.

It has been suggested that panellists will consist of Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Jonathan Ross – this is no surprise to us as all three are known dog-lovers. Sharon Osbourne employs a nanny to help care for an incredible 12 furry friends; Jonathan Ross was reportedly so devasted when his pug ‘Mr Pickle’ died last year that he cancelled filming a series he was working on at the time to get over it; and Cowell once famously declared at a Britain’s Got Talent press launch that he would love a canine to win the show, going on to suggest that if it ever happened he may well even take to the stage himself in celebration: “Because I would love a dancing dog to win so much, if it won I would consider dancing with it!”

Britain has been known for years as a nation that loves it’s pets, and the entertainment and modelling industries certainly seem to be taking this on board right now. The Top Dog Model show is just the latest in a run of pet model and pet actor stories that we’ve seen this year. So what will the winner be judged on? A source is reported to have told the Sun: “The challenges are to test their suitability as models so they may be tested on working with other animals, intelligence, obedience etc. It’s all very lighthearted, with the devotion between the owners and their pooches at the centre of it.

“Never has there been a more apt moment to launch a show like this. With Uggie stealing hearts at the Oscars, Schmeichel being missed on Corrie, Gin on BGT and the Duchess of Cambridge’s Lupo, Britain loves man’s best friend. Top Dog Model seeks to find a true doggie star — the new Cindy Pawford, Claudia Sniffer or Elle Macfurson.”

Would you consider entering your pet into a modelling competition?