The TV presenter on lifting weights, taking the mickey out of Ryan Gosling and kissing Elton John
Born in Birmingham to Jamaican parents, Hammond worked as a holiday rep and cinema usher before finding fame as a Big Brother contestant in 2002. Later that year she landed a slot on This Morning, which she still presents. She has appeared on reality shows including I’m a Celebrity and Strictly Come Dancing. Her new BBC show, Alison Hammond’s Big Weekend, starts on Friday. She lives in the West Midlands with her son, Aidan, 20.
Even if I’ve gone to bed at 2am, I still get up at 6.30am. But if it’s a Friday and I’m filming This Morning I’ll be up at 4am, in a car for 5am and arriving at the studios in London at 7am. I’ll be on set for 9.30am and live at 10am. It’s all over at midday and I’ll be home by 3pm.
If I’m not filming, the first thing I do — usually several hours before Aidan wakes up — is go to the gym, where I’ll do some heavy lifting. I’ve been doing weights for ten years now and I can deadlift 65kg. It’s good for my mental health and to prevent osteoporosis. You’ve got to keep on top of things.
Podcast days are much easier as I record them from my bedroom and I’ll have breakfast at home with Aidan. I’ll have a ginger shot, then eggs, bacon, sausages — the full works — which will set me up for the day.
If I’m not working I’ll get my nails or eyebrows done, or nip into B&M, the discount shop. More often than not someone comes up to me and says, “Can I have a hug?” I go, “Of course you can, bab.” You might see me in a baseball cap, a hoodie and a big scarf but that’s to keep warm, not to hide. There’s no hiding with this big body.
At the studio I’ll have a juice and some Caribbean food for lunch — rice and peas and chicken. If I’m home I’ll cook a lasagne for Aidan, then I potter.
Cleaning is so therapeutic — I love mopping — or I’ll repaint a wall. Or I might head to the cinema or for a game of golf with a friend (I’m rubbish). It depends what mood I’m in. I might also put my feet up and watch a bit of The Traitors or Married at First Sight or read a couple of pages of the Bible, which I always carry with me.
My Bible is my guide to life. If I don’t have the book with me, I pull up a psalm on my phone. Faith is the most important thing in my life and one reason behind my success. Nothing worries me. In good times or bad, I’ve got God to lean on.
I’m grateful for my faith and for things that happen in my life but I don’t really reflect on my journey. I love my life whether I’m interviewing Tom Cruise or cleaning my house. You have to give thanks. Always.
I’m not a big one for social media but I might have a little TikTok or Instagram scroll and knock out a quick post or two. I’m very much a post-and-go girl and don’t bat anyone off. People can say what they want, even if they’re negative.
If I’m staying in I’ll rustle up curried goat and rice or chicken fried rice, but I do love an occasional awards do. The most glamorous night ever was probably Elton John’s 2019 Oscars party, which I covered for This Morning. That was good fun. I had a kiss from Elton, a chat with Paris Hilton and met the Kardashians. I realised that no matter how famous people are and how much you’ve bigged them up in your mind, they’re just normal people like me and you.
It’s so important to have some light relief and a little bit of happiness in your life. If that comes through me taking the mickey out of a big star in an interview — like I did with Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford or Hugh Jackman — then brilliant, I say. I get letters from people saying that they were on the brink of suicide before they watched one of my interviews.
If I’m relaxing of an evening I’ll do a bit of gardening or knitting, and I’d love to paint more, though my style is more five-year-old than Van Gogh. Before bed I like a nice Dettol bath — my mum always used to put it in the water and it reminds me of when I was a child. I’ll read a couple of psalms, probably numbers 23 and 91 as they’re really beautiful. I’ll be asleep when my head hits the pillow.
News
For Four Years, I Restored My Family’s Life With My Money. But When They Came To My City And Still Refused To See Me, I Found The Crack That Couldn’t Be Repaired.k
# I Stopped Setting the Table for People Who Never Came My name is Sophia Taylor, and for most of my life, I mistook being useful for being loved. That is not the kind of truth a person admits easily….
The Waitress Took His Cruel Bet In Silence. But When She Returned In Red, The Man Who Mocked Her Learned She Already Owned Half His World.k
# The Waitress in Red Alex Carrington believed every room changed when he entered it. That was the first thing Elena Marlowe noticed about him. Not his tailored navy suit, though it fit him like it had been stitched onto…
The Little Girl Never Opened The Takeout Box. But When He Followed Her Into The Dark, He Found Out Why She Had Been Lying Every Night.k
The man thought he was giving away dinner. Just one white takeout box. Just one warm meal handed to one hungry little girl standing outside a restaurant, watching strangers eat through the glass as if she had forgotten what it…
The Wheelchair Hid What The Little Girl Was Too Scared To Say. But When The Water Hit Her Legs, Her Father Finally Saw The Truth.k
The first thing Daniel Reeves heard when he stepped out of the car was his daughter screaming. Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just one broken little sound, caught between fear and shame, the kind of sound a child makes when…
The Doghouse Kept The Children’s Screams Hidden. But When Their Father Found One Tiny Shoe Inside, His Wife’s Deadliest Secret Came Out.k
The first thing Daniel Whitmore noticed when he stepped through the golden gates was the silence. Not peace. Not the soft, expensive quiet that usually floated around the estate like perfume. This silence was different. It had weight. It…
The Little Girl Had Only Eleven Cents And A Promise. But When A Hotdog Vendor Fed Her Anyway, The Whole City Discovered Who She Really Was.k
The little girl had only three coins, and she counted them like they were all that stood between her and disappearing forever. Two nickels. One penny. Eleven cents. They rested in the center of her dirty palm, small and…
End of content
No more pages to load
