Alison Hammond: ‘I’m Brummie through and through’

TV presenter Alison Hammond says living in Birmingham is what keeps her grounded and she would never modify her accent to fit a showbiz mould.

The This Morning and Bake Off host, who sprang to fame on reality show Big Brother, grew up in Kingstanding, an area to the north of the city.

“I keep my feet firmly on the ground and come home and be with my people,” she told BBC Radio WM. “I think Birmingham is underrated, to be honest.

“I’m unapologetically Brummie. It’s never going to change.”

The presenter, who turned 50 last year, said she felt “10 times better” after losing weight, which she has been doing slowly over the past five years.

“I feel younger at 50 then I did when I was 30,” she added.

She said what worked for her was simply eating less and moving more, and though she had been tempted by weight-loss drugs, she had not tried them.

“Literally in the last year, people are really interested in the fact that I’ve got a little bit smaller,” she said.

“I personally want to be smaller because it helps me with my health, with my diabetes, with my knees, with my hips.”

Hammond, who now lives on the outskirts of the city near Solihull, said she protected her weekends to spend time with her son.

However, she did not rule out waltzing back into the ballroom to take up the reins on Strictly Come Dancing after the departure of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

“It would be every TV presenter’s dream to do that show,” she said.

Hammond was partnered with Aljaz Skorjanec in 2014 and the sixth contestant to be voted off.

“You want somebody who first of all has a connection to Strictly, and secondly who cares about people because ultimately it’s about people, it’s about the dancers,” she said.

“Whoever takes it on, I just hope they look after it.”