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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
This Morning’s Alison Hammond has claimed that she was “dying” while making a candid confession on Friday’s edition of the ITV show.
The 49-year-old, who recently admitted that there was a period where she struggled to find work despite being a household name, made the revelation during a discussion on whether overweight flight passengers should buy two plane tickets to accommodate themselves.
Speaking to co-host Dermot O’Leary and guests Tom Swarbrick and Gyles Brandreth, Hammond opened up about her weight struggles and feeling “embarrassed” when travelling, having previously purchased two seats in the past for flights.
Hammond said: “I was nearly 28 stone I’ll be honest with you and that is morbidly obese and I used to buy an extra seat because I didn’t want to put anyone in a situation where I was touching them.”
The former Big Brother contestant continued: “I was made to feel uncomfortable on one occasion when I was so close to someone’s seat and they asked to move but they ended up moving me into first class.
“It was embarrassing the whole thing and from that moment I just started buying two seats. I don’t do it anymore because I’ve lost a bit of timber but not everyone can afford to do that.”
Hammond went on to say that “airlines should cater for bigger people and I know a lot of people are going to disagree but what if you’ve got obesity and you can’t lose weight.”
Brandreth then asked her if the awkwardness of these situations encouraged her to lose weight but Hammond retorted by saying: “I was in a situation where I was morbidly obese. I had to lose weight because I was dying, I really was dying.”
She added: “People will still say I’m big but now I’m 17 stone rather than 28 stone and I’m comfortable with telling you my weight.”
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Back in November 2023, Hammond was praised for her swift shutdown of Cliff Richard after the singer made fat-shaming comments on This Morning about Elvis Presley.
Richard said: “I once had the chance through a journalist while I was promoting ‘Devil Woman’ in the States. He said, ‘Oh, I know Elvis.’ He knew that I was influenced [by him]. “
However, after being offered the chance to meet Presley, Richard said he told the journalist: “Can we put it off? Because he’d put on a lot of weight, and I thought, ‘If I’m taking a photograph with him, and it’s going to be hanging on my refrigerator, he’s gotta look good’.”
Hammond called Richard out for his remark, telling the singer: “You should never have put it off just because they’re a little bit heavier.”
Richard, seemingly oblivious to the offensive nature of his comments, said: “If you’re a fan of somebody’s, meet them – even if they’ve put on weight.”
An undeterred Hammond continued to casually shut down Richard’s remarks, firing back: “Is that why you don’t want me at your house?”
