This Morning star Alison Hammond was forced to address an injury she sustained on a photo shoot while appearing on the show earlier today.
The presenter is currently hosting alongside Dermot O'Leary as part of Holly Willoughby's planned summer absence from the ITV programme, but was left in a pickle after being left injured.
However, Alison joked that she couldn't reveal what the photoshoot was for before Dermot teased that it was well worth the wait to discover – "very exciting!" he exclaimed.
But during her day at work, Alison explained that she had "damaged" her thumb, which had caused her some pain as she urged Dermot to be gentle with her. As she opened the show, she high-fived Dermot and said: "Did you notice how I could only slap you with that one? I've had an injury with my thumb."
She added: "I was doing a photoshoot – I won't tell you what it's for – and I had to stay in a position for three hours, believe it or not, and I've damaged my thumb. I don't think you can actually see it," before the camera showed an up-close image of her thumb.
"It's just really swollen, just be careful with me today, be gentle," she pleaded, before Dermot joked that she was photographed for the famous Playboy Centrefold as Alison burst into laughter.
Their appearance this week comes just days after ITV sources shut down claims Alison and Dermot's relationship had become 'strained'.
Reports suggested that, despite their on-screen relationship appearing to be thriving, this isn't the case behind the scenes in what could be another blow for the network. The programme has faced huge dramas in recent months following the breakdown of Holly Willoughby's friendship with former friend Phillip Schofield, as well as his rapid decline after it emerged he had an affair with a younger member of staff.
However, an ITV source told the Mirror: "This is absolute nonsense. There's no tension between Alison and Dermot, quite the opposite."
"Alison and Dermot got off to a tricky start, they had very different levels of experience and came from totally different places but they then did start to rub along quite nicely," an inside source had previously claimed.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, they went on to add: "Recently though things have become strained and it is worrying the bosses, they fear that this couple they put together which they had hoped would carry the show through the tough times it is enduring may have to present apart a bit more."
