Alison Hammond has shared the emotional moment her mother urged her to lose weight, a comment that prompted her to shed 11 stone. The This Morning presenter, 51, recounted on Tuesday's show how her mother, who had Type 2 diabetes and died from lung and liver cancer in January 2020, told her while in hospital: “Alison, don’t end up like me, try and sort out your weight.”
The Heartbreaking Conversation
Speaking alongside co-host Dermot O’Leary, Hammond said: “I’ll never forget when my mum when she was really ill in hospital, I’ll never forget the day when she looked at me, and she’s never commented on my weight in my whole life. And she said, ‘Alison, don’t end up like me, try and sort out your weight.’ I was 30 stone that day and the fact that it came from my mum, who was like my core values and everything like, that’s the day I changed.”
The discussion on This Morning focused on how to tell loved ones they are overweight, with guests Janet Street-Porter and Nick Ferrari. Hammond added: “So if it’s done in love, and you can see someone genuinely loves you and wants the best for you, and wants you to start loving yourself, honestly it meant so much to me.”
Addressing Weight Loss Jabs and Health
Hammond has previously addressed speculation that she used weight loss injections. In an interview with The Telegraph, she said: “Listen. People are going to assume anything. They weren’t happy with me being big; they weren’t happy with me being small. I was one point away from being diabetic, and my mom was diabetic, so I’d seen what a struggle it was. I literally needed to be able to walk up the stairs.”
She also spoke about the importance of not commenting on women’s bodies, recalling how people praised her mother’s weight loss during her cancer battle: “When my mom lost a lot of weight while she was really ill with cancer, people were like, ‘Oo you’re looking great!’. And I was like, ‘Shut up! She’s literally dying!’ That really upset me.”
The Impact on Her Life
Since losing weight, Hammond said her mental health has improved, she feels “more nimble” and even younger. She also noted that her career has remained strong regardless of her size: “But my career took off when I was a big girl, and my career is still great now that I’m smaller, so I think I’m accepted for who I am.”
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.
