Alison Hammond is enjoying the ride

When I’m coming up with questions for Alison Hammond, I’m aware there are two routes I can take. The first? A joyride through the 49-year-old presenter’s whirlwind entrance into the industry, making stops at the school-set parody Palace Hill and Big Brother (Birmingham-born Hammond competed
on the third series of the UK edition of the reality show in 2002 and was the second to be evicted). That clearly wasn’t a major setback, though — not if her work as the vivacious face of The Great British Bake Off and This Morning is anything to go by. And the second line of questioning? Unpicking the woman behind the viral moments that have transcended our TV sets and taken up residence in the internet hall of fame. Those of reducing the famously standoffish Harrison Ford to giddy laughter, accidentally pushing a hapless model into Liverpool’s Royal Albert Dock and playing a game of Connect 4 with Beyoncé. But at the end of the day, it’s not really up to me. I won’t be conducting the interview. That duty will be taken on by Hammond’s ostensible right-hand man (and her This Morning co-host), Dermot O’Leary.

As soon as the two presenters jump on our call — I’m there to make sure we hit at least some of the necessary bullet points — it’s clear that their chemistry is no made-for-TV façade. Right off the bat, they’re locked into bantering back-and-forths. “You’re a banana,” O’Leary says. “You’re a banana,” Hammond replies. Their friendship isn’t just there for the cameras, and it most definitely lives beyond that famous blue sofa. At one point, O’Leary even manages to segue into a story about attempting to stop a robbery. I had to cut that bit out, though Hammond, unsurprisingly, had heard it before. But as O’Leary settles into his role as “journalist extraordinaire”, as Hammond puts it, what becomes most apparent isn’t their infectious rapport, but his genuine admiration for his co-host: “You’ve never shirked a hard day’s work in your life.” And O’Leary would be right to say that. From helming discos at a Tunisian holiday resort to becoming the first Black star to have made the Best TV Presenter shortlist at the NTAs, Hammond has earned her stripes as something of a national treasure.

This excerpt was taken from HUNGER Issue 33: Good People. Stay tuned for the full story.

Join Alison and Dermot O’Leary on This Morning every Friday from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX. This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.