Alison Hammond teases Nigella Lawson on The Great British Bake Off - and her new TV gig where she “cries most episodes”

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

With her loud laugh and big personality, Alison Hammond is now one of television's most recognisable presenters, with shows like The Great British Bake Off, For the Love of Dogs and her latest gig – hosting Channel 4's new singing competition, Your Song, from the team behind The Piano.

But 51-year-old Hammond has been in the industry since she was six years old and first worked as a child actor. Is it frustrating that her talents took so long to be recognised? "I've grafted hard all my life, then got the fruits of my labour after quite a few years, which is how normal careers work."

For those who haven't followed her career, Hammond first hit the big time as a contestant on the third series of Big Brother in 2002, alongside the late Jade Goody. Her obvious intelligence and humour caught the eye of This Morning bosses, who gave her a job as a reporter, interviewing A-list celebrities such as Beyoncé and Hugh Jackman.

Yet for many years the work was intermittent, and slowed down so much at one point that she took a job helping out in a hairdresser's. It wasn't until 2021 that she landed a permanent role on This Morning, presenting the show with Dermot O'Leary on Fridays. Bake Off followed two years later.

"It's been a slow progression, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. My son [Aidan, 21] has seen times where I didn't do very well, so he's a well-rounded, kind and grateful kid. I'm a grafter. If there's money not coming in, I'll get a job in Tesco. Ultimately, I'm a people person. I can get on with anybody."

It seems unlikely that Hammond will ever have to worry about that, though. She's now such a TV staple, she's a bookies' favourite to take over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman as one of the new hosts on Strictly Come Dancing. Expecting the standard woolly answer from a celeb, I ask if she's been approached. "I have, actually," she says. Seeing my surprise, she laughs, "You didn't expect that answer, did you? I can't lie, I'm incapable."

So – is she going to do it? "I'm so busy, babes, that I'm not sure it's going to happen. It's unrealistic. I'm so happy they considered me but, like Traitors, I can't do it because everything clashes. I would have loved to have done it – anybody that gets it, they're going to land the perfect job. But I'm so happy with everything I've got. What would I drop, to do Strictly?"

It's a good question. Unsurprisingly, Hammond isn't prepared to leave Bake Off, which she co-presents with Noel Fielding: especially as Nigella Lawson is taking over from Prue Leith as a judge in the upcoming series. Is she excited to meet Lawson, who's known for her glamour and sexy innuendoes? "Oh, my God, Nigel!", she screams. "Don't tell her I've been calling her Nigel, for some reason!

"It's sad to see the back of wonderful Prue, but Nigella will be brilliant. Noel and I have been invited to her house. Paul's been already. I'll be nosying around and looking in the toilet and all the cupboards. I'm going to tone it down a bit with the filth this year, though: I'll leave the innuendoes to our Nigella."

Alongside her bread-and-butter shows, Hammond has managed to squeeze in a new series: Your Song, in which contestants across the country perform on a touring pop-up stage and share the emotional meanings behind their music choices. Singers Sam Ryder and Paloma Faith judge the music, while Hammond presents.

Hammond says she's enjoying this new phase of her career, in which she gets to show her more sensitive side. "Your Song shows my softer side because I cry most episodes. When you hear someone talking about how much a song means to them because they were bullied, or they've been ill, it's moving. Yes, I have a big, loud laugh, but it doesn't define who I am. People ask me to send a voice note of my laugh, but I never do. I've done adverts where they've gone, 'Can you do the laugh?' and I'm like, no, unless you make me laugh. It's not a schtick, it's something I do naturally, like breathing."

Hammond is a clever choice for Your Song, because she's good at talking to people, and because music is important to her. When I ask if a particular song makes her emotional, she points to Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, because it reminds her of her beloved mother Maria, who died in 2020.

"She was obsessed with that song," says Hammond. "Since she passed, the tears come as soon as I hear it. She loved Bake Off and For the Love of Dogs; she'd have loved Your Song. My whole career is centred around my mum, because she got me into showbiz."

Maria, a single parent who held down several jobs including as a travel agent and carer, had a passion for being an extra in films and TV shows. When Maria landed a non-speaking role in a TV film called Artemis 81, starring Sting, she persuaded them to cast her then six-year-old daughter, too, and later encouraged Hammond to audition for the Central Television Workshop, whose alumni include Samantha Morton.

For several years Hammond had roles in shows such as Boone and Crossroads. Does she dream of returning to acting? "My son asked me that the other day," Hammond says. "I loved playing a character, but there's nothing like being paid to be yourself. Imagine people loving you for being you? It's a nice feeling."

Hammond's diary is, she says, terrifyingly full, and she only looks at one week at a time for fear of becoming overwhelmed. To cope with the volume of work, she has prioritised her fitness and wellbeing, dropping several dress sizes.

"I've had a personal trainer for five years, even when I was at my biggest," she says. "But I had a childish mentality with regards to food, especially toffees – but now I'll only have a couple a day. We're not getting any younger, are we, babes? You realise at some point you've got to look after yourself. I've got a speaker under my pillow to play relaxing music, and a sleep tracker."

Throughout our interview, which takes place after a day of filming, Hammond doesn't flag once: her packed schedule doesn't seem to be affecting her energy. "If the camera's in front of me, I'll be 100 miles an hour because I like showing off, but I'm the same off camera," she says. "I've got a lot of energy. People say I work hard, but it's not hard to go on TV and be myself. My job is quite simple, really: just turn up and be me. That's not even work, is it? I'm just lucky."

Your Song begins on Sunday, 12 April at 9pm on Channel 4.

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