Alison Hammond’s vibrant personality and infectious laughter have made her a favourite among TV viewers.
Physically, Alison Hammond may be half the person she once was but she’s still one of the biggest personalities on our small screens today. Driven by a desire for a healthier lifestyle, she has lost 11 stone. She focused on eating in moderation, cutting out sweets and fatty foods, and incorporating regular exercise like walking, stretching, yoga and sessions with a personal trainer, along with weight training and home workouts. These changes helped her reverse her prediabetes diagnosis.
She has previously confessed that she felt like she was ‘really dying’ at her peak weight. She has also spoken about the shame she felt when compelled to buy two plane seats because of her size.
“I was nearly 28 stone, I’ll be honest with you, and that is morbidly obese,” she said. “I was made to feel uncomfortable on one occasion when I was so close to someone’s seat and they asked to move, but they ended up moving me into first class.
“People will say I’m big but now I’m 17 stone rather than 28 stone and I’m comfortable with telling you my weight.”
Housemate
In 2002, Alison competed in the third series of the reality show ‘Big Brother’, in which she was the second housemate to be evicted. Fast forward and you’ll find she’s very much still on our screens, from ITV’s ‘This Morning’ and Channel 4’s ‘The Great British Bake Off’, to the BBC’s ‘Alison Hammond’s Big Weekend’.
Her acting roles have included ‘Palace Hill’, ‘Doctors’ and ‘The Dumping Ground’, while reality appearances range from ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here’, ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and ‘Celebrity MasterChef’, to ‘Celebrity Coach Trip’ and ‘Ready Steady Cook’.
From dream to reality
Born to Jamaican parents, Alison, who turned 50 in February, was raised in the north Birmingham district of Kingstanding alongside her two siblings. From the relatively young age of 11, she took part in workshops run by Central Television but lack of funds meant she couldn’t go to drama school. That didn’t dent her drive.
Alison has been part of ITV’s flagship breakfast show ‘This Morning’ since 2002 and was promoted to a main presenting role in 2021. A firm fan favourite, she co-hosts Friday episodes alongside Dermot O’Leary. She also presents ‘For the Love of Dogs’, after stepping in for the late Paul O’Grady in 2023. In it, she shares the ups and downs of life at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. In addition to her ITV work, she joined ‘Bake Off’ in 2023, co-hosting with Noel Fielding.
Popular choice
It seems Alison, with her down-to-earth, fun persona, is fast becoming the Beeb’s sweetheart. It was reported earlier this year that she is set to host the reboot of the BBC’s iconic game show, ‘Hole In The Wall’, when it returns to screens. Back in late spring, she hosted ‘Alison Hammond’s Big Weekend’ for BBC One, going on a ‘sleepover’ with celebrities, including Sir Lenny Henry and Mel B, in places that made them who they are. (All episodes available to watch on BBC iPlayer.)
Diverse roles in showbiz over the past 21 years have garnered Alison a net worth of between £1 million and £4 million. She has been dating 27-year-old David Putman since 2023 and there have been recent rumours the bubbly presenter is setting her sights on becoming the next big UK export across the pond. She always said she had no plans to move until her son Aiden, born in 2005 from a previous relationship, turned 21. But could the pair have been checking out life stateside when she embarked on her recent project, ‘Florida Unpacked’, for BBC Two? This travel series, which the former tour rep filmed with Aiden, saw them take on the challenge of going full-on Florida without breaking the bank.
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