Midlands Heroes: It's no longer just Big Brother watching Alison Hammond
Big Brother is always watching - and back in 2002, it certainly watched this Midlands Hero.
Born in 1975, Birmingham’s own Alison Hammond came to prominence when she starred in the third series of the aforementioned reality show, and has since gone on to become a presenter and reporter on ITV's This Morning.
In 2023, Hammond became a co-presenter on the Channel 4 reality baking competition The Great British Bake Off alongside Noel Fielding. The following year, she began presenting the ITV reality show For the Love of Dogs.
Born to Jamaican parents and raised in the north Birmingham district of Kingstanding, Hammond participated in drama workshops run by Central Television from the age of 11, but lack of funds meant she was unable to attend drama school.
Undeterred, she found her big break with Big Brother, and is now a household name, flying the flag of the Midlands proudly.
Early last year, Hammond reflected on her fitness journey and said she had not wanted to use medication for weight loss.
Reportedly, the TV star started seeing a personal trainer twice a week after finding out that she was pre-diabetic, and said at the time that she is now no longer pre-diabetic and has a “new shape” that she loves.
Reflecting on a conversation she had with her mother, she said: “Just before she died, Mum said to me ‘If you can, sort out your weight, Alison’ – and that really set it in my head.
“My mum had type 2 diabetes and she was worried for me, so when I then found out that I was pre-diabetic, that was frightening.
“I thought ‘I have to be an adult about this’. The sweets had to stop – and the fatty foods.
“Twice a week I see my personal trainer, and I have a couple of weights in my bedroom.
“I walk, I stretch and sometimes I do a bit of yoga.
“I try to vary it so it’s not the same every day.
“After a session at the gym, I think I’m Venus Williams, with all those endorphins pumping around.
“If I miss a session or two with my trainer, I notice it. That kick you get out of the way you feel is so good.”
Speaking about weight loss medication, she said: “I think that, for people who need to use them, they’re a good thing. But for me, as soon as I hear any scare story, I get frightened.
“So I haven’t wanted to use them, but that’s not to say I wouldn’t in the future, and I certainly wouldn’t look down on anyone who did.”
She added: “I’m no longer pre-diabetic, so I’m a bit naughtier with my food now.
“But because my body’s working properly, I can allow myself a bit of sugar here and there.
“I love my new shape and although I still have areas I’m conscious of, such as my arms and my tummy, it’s great being able to wear things I would never have been able to before. I mean, look at me, I’m a bombshell.”
A keen philanthropist, Hammond has also been doing her bit for those in the Midlands with physical impairments.
According to research from Specsavers Home Visits, at the end of last year thirty-three per cent of people in the West Midlands who couldn’t leave their homes without support were missing out on essential sight and hearing care.
As a result, eight per cent of carers said that the person they care for had had their eyesight negatively impacted and 58 per cent had untreated hearing loss, because they couldn’t get to a store.
The Specsavers Home Visits service provides personal, expert and convenient eye examinations and hearing checks to those who are eligible. However, only 20 per cent of carers are aware that both are available and 13 per cent are unaware that the person they care for is eligible.
To help more people access these vital at-home health checks, Hammond joined the Specsavers Home Visits team, lifting the curtain on this essential service for people who are unable to leave their home unaccompanied and without support.
During her time shadowing Specsavers Home Visits Optometrist, Julie Benson, on her rounds, Hammond said: "I had no idea how much goes into a Specsavers Home Visit until I joined the team myself. We met so many amazing people who simply can’t get out, and being able to visit them in their homes makes such a difference. As well as assisting with the eye test and helping customers choose their glasses, I got to have a proper chat with them and hear all about their lives. Seeing the difference these services make genuinely touched me and made me realise this is so much more than a job."