Alison Hammond's life off-screen including weight loss surgery, double tragedy and and her 'sliding doors' moment

Alison Hammond has come a long way from being reprimanded by Big Brother after breaking a garden table on the reality show. She was trying to make contact with the outside at the time - and 22 years on, the world has certainly taken notice of her.

She applied for Big Brother to clear her debts but after being spotted by a television producer, has gone on to become one of the best-loved names on British TV. After starting with occasional slots on This Morning, she now hosts some of the country's most popular shows.

Last year the Brummie took over from Matt Lucas as co-host of The Great British Bake Off. And she's also stepping into the shoes of much-missed Paul O'Grady to present For the Love of Dogs.

Of her latest role, Alison, 49, has said: "I am very aware that I can never replace the iconic Paul in this wonderful series, but if I can continue to shine a light on the brilliant work done at Battersea and help to tell the stories of those beautiful dogs, then it will be an absolute privilege to give it my all."

Read on for everything you need to know about Alison and her life on and off screen.

Early life in Birmingham

Alison grew up in Kingstanding, in the north of Birmingham, and went to Cardinal Wiseman School. She then moved to Hall Green, living just round the corner from her mum.

A budding performer as a youngster, Alison joined the Central Television Workshop at the age of 11 but drama school remained out of reach for financial reasons. She performed as an extra on the BBC nurse drama Angels and Marjorie and the Preacherman and later starred in CITV’s Grange Hill parody Palace Hill.

She told Gal-Dem: "I was kind of thrust into the world of television early on. My mom said to me, I want to get you off the streets."

In her early 20s she worked as an extra, including appearing in the background of the BBC's daytime medical drama. But it was all fitted around her day jobs, including at British Gas, in a cinema and as a holiday rep,

She told Gal-Dem: "Basically, I was grafting as an actress but I wasn’t getting the work as a Black actress. Then someone says ‘why don’t you go and audition for this Big Brother? You could win yourself 70 grand’, I was like ‘really?’"

Blind Date, Big Brother and a 'sliding doors' moment

Alison was 27 when she auditioned for ITV dating show Blind Date - but was also selected for Big Brother and couldn't do both. She's recalled: "It was a sliding door moment where I could do Big Brother, money. Or Blind Date, love. So I chose money."

At the time she was £4,000 in debt and auditioned for the third series of Big Brother in 2002 at the suggestion of a friend. Speaking on ITV show Lorraine, she said: "Everyone kept saying: ‘You should go into Big Brother. At the time, I was £4,000 in debt. I went into an internet café to apply online."

And speaking on Jessie Ware's Table Manners podcast in 2022, she said: 'I was in Tunisia, repping, and everyone was reading the papers about Brian Dowling - he had won Big Brother. And they were saying "you should go on Big Brother, you'd win it".

"Every time I got paid I just couldn't make that debt go down. So I thought that'd be a good idea to win £70,000 going in a TV show."

She entered the show alongside the likes of eventual winner Kate Lawler and the late Jade Goody - but was evicted after two weeks. She said: “I lasted 14 days. They evicted me. I thought I’d go back to my old job."

It seemed an unlikely beginning for a TV career - but her talents had been spotted.

First appearances on This Morning and TV career

Alison's stint on Big Brother was brief, but it was enough to catch the eye of a producer for ITV morning show This Morning, who thought she had potential in front of the camera. She initially presented a segment called Diet Camp for six months was sent to interview George Clooney.

She was nervous - and accidentally hit him over the head with her microphone - but show bosses loved it. It was the first of several viral interviews, including with Hugh Jackman and Ryan Gosling. And she also famously charmed famously reluctant interviewee Harrison Ford.

She told the Guardian in 2020 that a few months’ work "turned into six months, which turned into a year. Then I went to interview George Clooney and Britney Spears and that was it. I haven’t left. I’m going to be using a Zimmer frame still working for This Morning, aren’t I?”

Her star on the rise, in 2020 she was promoted to the This Morning sofa, hosting the Friday edition of the show alongside Dermot O’Leary - who presented Big Brother companion show Big Brother's Little Brother.

Reality show queen and commercial success

Alison has appeared on a whole host of reality shows, including Celebs Go Dating, Celebrity Fit Club, I'm A Celebrity, Celebrities Under Pressure and Big Star's Little Star. She also performed as Nina Simone on Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes.

She was a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef in 2014 and competed in the twelfth series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with Aljaž Škorjanec. They were voted off in week seven, finishing in tenth place.

More recently, the star has moved into documentaries, making her first - Back To School - in 2020. It saw her travelling around the country learning about Black historical figures who have been overlooked by the curriculum.

That led to the release of her first book for children, Black In Time, which tells the stories of incredible Black British figures left out of the history curriculum. In 2021, she released an autobiography called 'You've Got to Laugh: Stories from a life lived to the full'.

And if you've never watched any of Alison's shows, you might know her from a range of commercial deals and brand endorsements. She has fronted adverts for the likes of In The Style, Crown Bingo and DFS Furnishings and secured deals with Sainsbury's and Natwest in 2022.

Alison is now thought to be worth between £1m and £4m, earning around £600,000 a year for her work on This Morning.

Bake Off and 'the best job I've ever had'

Alison made her debut on Channel 4's The Great British Bake Off alongside co-presenter Noel Fielding in September 2023. And the critics immediately adored her - praising her as a "joyous" and "welcome" addition to the show.

The Guardian wrote: "Hammond's sheer joy has reinvigorated this show. While some of the handshakes and soggy bottom shtick has been getting stale, season 14 has wisely injected the most lovable jolt of energy in the form of Alison Hammond, who replaces Matt Lucas to present alongside Noel Fielding."

And the Telegraph said: "Change was needed, and Hammond is a lovely, sunny presence. A little Alison goes a long way, but she's deployed at just the right level here."

Alison later told the Guardian: “It had honestly never been on my radar. I’ve always watched Bake Off but never imagined hosting it. When Matt left, my Twitter feed went crazy.

"Complete strangers were saying: ‘You should do Bake Off.’ And I was like: ‘Hmm, maybe I should.’ When I got the gig, my phone blew up with celebrities congratulating me. I didn’t realise how sought-after this job was."

And she said she had fond memories of her first summer filming the show: “I didn’t have to think about politics or have any opinions. I just looked after the bakers while they made amazing cakes. It’s the best job I’ve ever had, I’m not going to lie."

Gastric band surgery after "mortifying" Matt Damon interview

Alison had a gastric band fitted after a "mortifying" interview with actor Matt Damon in 2007 when he was promoting The Bourne Ultimatum. She said she realised a chair was a "a bit tight" but continued with the conversation - until realising it had broken.

She wrote in her autobiography: "My girth had broken the chair while I was interviewing Matt Damon, one of my idols. I was mortified. I wanted the world to swallow me."

She said she went bright red in the face as the actor asked her if she was okay, but she made light of the moment - making him laugh when she ripped the arm off the chair and flung it to the floor to continue their discussion.

Alison said she then decided to have the life-changing operation as she "didn't want to be fat any more". While it was a success to begin with, said said the band was "rejected" by her body and she started to become ill.

She later had it removed, telling the Express: “I just wasn't ready because I had to eat salad. “I'd literally be feeling sick and I thought, 'This isn't normal. I don't want to do this anymore'. So after about three years I asked the surgeon to take it out. I was over the moon when I got rid of it."

She said she did put some weight back on but has learned to love who she is, saying: "I just think I'm a big girl. Everyone can see I'm a big girl. I love life and I love food.”

A heartbreaking loss and double tragedy

Alison's mum Maria died in January 2020 from liver and lung cancer. Alison shared the news on Instagram on Valentine's Day the same year after laying her mum to rest in "a beautiful ceremony she would have been proud of."

Paying tribute at the time, Alison said: "Today I dedicate Valentine’s Day to my beautiful, wonderful Mother Maria who passed away from liver and lung cancer. Yesterday my family and I celebrated her amazing life and laid her to rest in a beautiful ceremony she would have been proud of," she said.

"Thank you mummy for giving me the strength to move forward in the knowledge that your ok and with God in Heaven now. I will always remember you and try and make you proud. I love you mum."

Alison suffered a double tragedy that year, with Maria's death followed by the loss of her father, Clifford Hammond, in Jamaica four months later in June 2020.

In her memoir You’ve Got To Laugh. Alison revealed that Cliff used to smuggle drugs, handled wads of cash and even carried a shotgun in his truck. Flying from his native of Jamaica, Cliff would show up at Alison's mum's Birmingham-based home. But it was only during Maria’s pregnancy with Alison that Cliff revealed he was married and had a family.

Alison said she didn’t get to spend as much time with her dad as she would have liked and was heartbroken not to be able to attend his funeral due to Covid restrictions.

She wrote: "I’m saddened that I won’t be able to make his funeral and saddened that he wasn’t part of my life as much as I would have liked... but I still have a sense of loss and emptiness. Sleep well Daddy, love leaves a memory no one can steal. RIP."

Marriage, romance rumours and love for Birmingham

Alison was married to Manchester cab driver Noureddine Boufaied, with whom she had son Aiden, now 19. The marriage ended in divorce and in 2014 she became engaged to security guard Jamie Savage.

Alison announced their split three years later and was then linked to audio technician Ben Kusi, who she met on Celebs Go Dating in 2020.

In 2022, she revealed that she'd been dating a "mystery man" for 18 months - reported to be a "handsome" gardener called Ben Hawkins. She told The Sun: "He absolutely worships me and massages my feet every single day. What more do you want?!" However in March 2023 Alison announced on This Morning that she was single.

Despite work increasingly taking her to London, Alison remains loyal to her home city of Birmingham and once said that she would never leave. She told Birmingham Living: "I like doing dead ordinary things when I'm away from work – I just dropped my son off at the Snowdome and that's more important and more fun than all the partying under the sun.

"This is who I am. I am a private person in real life but very outward going when I have an audience. I love Birmingham. I love everything about it. I would never leave it."

Last year it was reported that she had put her £700k home on the market, anticipating spending more time in London for work. But she told Bang Showbiz: "I put my house on sale and people were saying I'm moving to London but anyone who knows me knows Alison ain't going anywhere.

"I love Birmingham. I don't know what it is about the Brummies but I find the people are really warm."