Britain’s Ugliest Dog Contest 2024: How to enter your dog in the competition - last year’s recipient was Hollywood star Peggy starring in Deadpool and Wolverine

Owners of ugly but adorable dogs have been invited to enter a national contest to find the successor to Peggy, the pugese whose owner is from Yorkshire and was crowned Britain’s ugliest dog in 2023.

The competition, which is organised by photography company ParrotPrint.com, is asking dog owners to send in photos of their ugly pets in the hope of discovering the next dog superstar.

The idea behind the contest is to celebrate the diversity of Britain’s beloved dogs by finding the pet with a face only a dog mum or dad could love.

Dog owners are being asked to send in photos of their pets if they believe them to be visually challenging with the prize of a professional dog makeover and photo shoot for the winner.

Competition judges have warned potential entrants to consider whether their mutt is unsightly enough to take Peggy’s crown before applying.

A spokesman said: “We received too many photos of cute mutts last year and this time around we want to see more dogs of Peggy’s calibre.

“Britain is a nation of dog lovers so it was perhaps unsurprising we received so many pictures of pretty pooches.

“There are some unique-looking dogs out there, and it is those pets that stand out from the crowd and make you look twice that we want to see this year.”

The spokesman said that last year’s winner was so special that she came to the attention of the creators of the Deadpool films and was given the role of Dogpool in the latest film.

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He added: “When we launched the competition over a year ago we never would have believed our winner would become a superhero and Hollywood star known worldwide.

“Last year's competition set the bar so high and we’d love to surpass it if we can by giving one lucky dog the pamper session of a lifetime and perhaps even make them a superstar.

“We can’t stress enough though, that it’s an ugly dog competition so only the ugliest mutts need to apply.

“As Ryan Reynolds admitted on Jimmy Kimmel Live when Hugh Jackman asked him about Peggy winning our ugliest dog competition - ‘Boy she earned it’.

“So we are asking Britain’s dog owners to only send us pictures of the most unphotogenic pooches and we can’t wait to reveal the finalists soon.”

The contest is now open for entries and 12 shortlisted dogs will be announced in October ahead of the selection of an overall winner before Christmas. To apply, send a photo of your dog to [email protected].

Commenting on the competition, Peggy’s owner Holly Middleton said this year’s entrants could breathe a sigh of relief as she wouldn’t be entering this year after a busy schedule of filming, red carpet walks and film premieres.

She said: “There are no plans to enter Peggy into any future competitions, she’s having some well-deserved downtime.

“Peggy is back home now and living her normal life - she does get more attention when she’s out and about which I'm sure she enjoys.

“Winning Britain’s ugliest dog competition has taken us on a crazy adventure full of a whole range of emotions and I’m excited to see what is in store for this year's winner.”