How This Morning’s Alison Hammond shrugged off embarrassing accident to go from Big Brother runner-up to Bafta host
IT WAS hardly the most promising start to a career in TV when Alison Hammond was the second housemate to get the boot from her series of Big Brother.
But yesterday, after an extraordinary rise from her reality show failure 20 years ago, the bubbly star cemented her position as TV’s golden girl with a triumphant outing co-presenting the Bafta awards.
While there were hitches in the show, including an interpreter for deaf actor Troy Kotsur naming Carey Mulligan instead of as the Best Actress winner, the 48-year-old host received a flood of praise for her job at the ceremony.
The only gripe from viewers was that she had less screen time than co-presenter Richard E Grant, after she left him to the podium to interview winners backstage.
One fan tweeted: “Alison Hammond is an absolute joy. She should be at the helm.”
Another added: “This show needs more Alison Hammond.”
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The Bafta gig — considered a huge honour among TV stars — is one more jewel in the crown for the new Queen of TV, whose infectious lust for life has seen her popularity soar.
As well as winning plaudits for her regular presenting role on This Morning, Alison has been in hot demand.
In the past few weeks she has been revealed as the host of new BBC dance format Clear The Dancefloor, and Sky’s new TV-themed quiz show, On Demand.
ITV bosses are keen to find more projects to showcase her talents and hope to lock her into a “golden handcuffs” deal, meaning she would be unable to work for rival channels.
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And while her career has hit new peaks, Alison has also found happiness in her private life.
Today, it was confirmed that she and gardener Ben Hawkins — who have been dating for two years — are engaged.
Her future father-in-law Colin Hawkins said: “They have both proposed to one another but there are no rings that I know of.”
Alison fell for Ben after he began tending her garden in the West Midlands in 2021.
‘It’s her time to shine’
While she kept his identity secret for a long time, she revealed that her mystery man “absolutely worships me and massages my feet every single day”.
Ben’s dad Colin added: “They are really happy but they haven’t got everything sorted just yet but they are both talking about marriage.
“I do know that when it happens none of us will know about it because it’ll be done in private. That much they have told me.
“I love Alison to bits. If you go to her when you’re in trouble, she will help you, that’s the way she is.”
Of her soaring popularity, brand and culture expert Nick Ede said: “This really is Alison Hammond’s time to shine.
“She has proven she was a welcome addition to this year’s Baftas.
“There may have been a few issues with the set-up but the buzz around her presenting her own segments and her warm and irresistible personality was a hit with Twitter users and viewers.
“This year we will see Alison step out and become a big star. A bidding war between channels will definitely be on the cards.”
It’s a huge achievement for the proud Brummie, who was £4,000 in debt when she entered the Big Brother house in May 2002, aged 27.
That third series, which also starred Jade Goody and eventual winner Kate Lawler, proved one of the vintage years for the Channel 4 reality show and Alison provided many memorable moments – including jumping on a wooden garden table and breaking it.
The former child actor lasted just 15 days, and burst into tears when she became the second evictee after jokingly telling hygiene-obsessed housemate Alex Sibley she had peed in the shower.
Then working in a cinema, her bosses told her she was too famous to get her job back, so she had to sign on at the job centre.
But a few weeks later ITV bosses rang to offer her a dream gig as This Morning’s showbiz correspondent — and the three-month contract sparked a job that has lasted 20 years.
Despite initial hiccups, including accidentally hitting George Clooney with a microphone on the red carpet, the breakthrough role was a hit, with viewers warming to her no-nonsense approach to Hollywood A-listers.
Whether it was hugging Lady Gaga, marrying Dwayne Johnson in a mock wedding or having the notoriously boot-faced Harrison Ford in stitches as she and Ryan Gosling necked whisky in an interview for Blade Runner 2049, her sunny personality shone through in every encounter.
With her star rising, she took every opportunity to raise her profile further, appearing in Celebrity Fit Club, Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes and Big Star’s Little Star.
In 2010, she took part in I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!, alongside Stacey Solomon and Shaun Ryder, and four years later she partnered Aljaž Škorjanec on Strictly.
Her popularity has soared since she started presenting the Friday shows of This Morning, partnered with Dermot O’Leary, in January 2021.
She and Dermot stood in this summer while regular hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were on their extended break, and she won rave reviews from viewers.
Alison’s name was top of the list to step in to the permanent hosting role after 79,000 viewers signed a petition calling for Holly and Phil to be axed in September over accusations of queue jumping at the Queen’s Lying-in-State.
That year Alison also made history as the first black TV star to be shortlisted for a Best Presenter gong at the National Television Awards.
In a further blow to Holly and Phil, they were snubbed in the category and booed at the ceremony in October.
Now Alison — mum to 18-year-old Aiden by ex-husband Noureddine Boufaied — is said to be nervous about stealing the crown from co-star Holly, who has reigned as TV Queen since joining This Morning in 2009.
While they are close pals, sources say Holly is “insecure about her future career” after the controversy over “queuegate” and the axing of her BBC show, Freeze The Fear With Wim Hof, after one series.
And, with ITV courting Alison with a range of new shows, it seems she is keen to keep her co-star on side.
A source said: “Alison has been really shocked to be this in-demand and ITV is determined for her to become its next big star, and want to strike while the iron is hot.
“Everyone is encouraging her to go for it. Her team feel she has a special quality viewers love.
“But Alison is freaking out a bit behind the scenes. She doesn’t want to be accused of stepping on Holly’s toes.
“She’s afraid to bring anything up with her, even though she thinks Holly will be supportive — she’s too embarrassed.”
Nick Ede added: “What’s great about Alison is she can present fun segments but also has great presenting skills which will see her slip seamlessly between lifestyle, prime-time and documentaries.”
Unstarry approach
Alison has recently appeared on The Masked Singer, acted as judge on I Can See Your Voice and, this month, teamed up with Big Brother pal Josie Gibson for a new This Morning Segment, Alison And Josie Go Off-Piste.
The TV host — who once weighed over 20st — lost 2st in 2017 when she appeared in Sugar Free Farm and has streamlined further after becoming a brand ambassador for WeightWatchers in 2019.
She has said: “Sometimes I look at myself and go, ‘Wow, I am a big girl’.
“But I like taking up a bit of space . . . I don’t think I’m hurting anyone.”
As well as her TV work, she has been expanding her brand, launching a sell-out fashion collaboration with In The Style in 2021 and two books, autobiography You’ve Got To Laugh and Black In Time, about inspiring black Britons.
Nick believes she can cash in on many more collaborations.
He explained: “Alison works with one of the best make-up artists in the business, Mikey Phillips, and Michelle Sultan does her hair so I can see her creating her own brands to go with her new glam look.
“She also loves cooking and, again, I can see her having a cookbook or even launching her own cooking range.
“She has such great appeal that anything she puts her name to will do well and earn her millions.”
She has also started to get noticed in the States.
Chat show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver aired a compilation of Alison’s best bits, including some celebrity interviews, calling it The Delightful Delight of Alison Hammond.
Just like here, Americans seem to be charmed by her down-to-earth personality, unstarry approach and refusal to take herself too seriously.
Industry insiders have warned that her team must be careful to preserve this as her star rises.
One said: “Her career has the potential to go stratospheric but she needs to keep connecting with the fans who put her there.
“That means surrounding herself with the right people who understand her appeal.”
It’s a long way from the former Tupperware seller who nervously entered the Big Brother house, worried a pulled muscle in her bottom would cause Channel 4 to drop her from the show.
Last year, as she celebrated two decades since that fateful day, she tweeted: “Omg 20 years since Big Brother changed my life. Eternally grateful to Big Brother.”
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And it certainly was life changing.
Nick adds: “Who would have thought 20 years ago when she broke a table on Big Brother she would be a co-host of the most prestigious awards ceremony on British television?”