‘I do still feel her presence’: Alison Hammond reveals she believes her late mother Maria is looking out for her on This Morning gig
Alison Hammond has admitted becoming the Friday host of This Morning was ‘bittersweet’ as her mother was not here to see it.
The TV host, 46, who has presented the Friday show with Dermot O’Leary since January, lost her mother Maria last year after a battle with lung and liver cancer.
Speaking to The Mirror, Alison said she can still feel Maria’s presence and thinks she is looking out for her.
Heartbreaking: Alison Hammond has admitted becoming the Friday host of This Morning was ‘bittersweet’ as her mother was not here to see it
She said: ‘This Morning was always a staple in our family home growing up. It’s so bittersweet to know that this has happened and she’s not here to see.
‘Having said that, I do still feel her presence. It feels like my mum is still looking out for me in a strange way.’
Alison became a roving reporter on This Morning back in 2002 after she rose to fame on the third series of Big Brother.
The TV star told how her mother loved watching her on the show, which is currently receiving its best ratings in 19 years with 1.25million viewers.
Family: The TV host, 46, who has presented the Friday show with Dermot O’Leary since January, lost her mother Maria last year after a battle with lung and liver cancer
Alison recalled: ‘When I was younger she’d be the one getting out all the old video tapes showing everyone. She was totally my number one fan and was always mega proud of me. In a way I’m living my mum’s dream.’
Alison, who also lost her father Clifford last year, will be hosting This Morning alongside Dermot throughout the half-term.
Having met when she was on Big Brother, Alison said hosting with Dermot is like coming ‘full circle’ and said they have a great brother-sister relationship.
The TV personality also said that her son Aidan is very supportive of her career and encouraged her to accept the This Morning hosting job when it came up.
She said: ‘This Morning was always a staple in our family home growing up. It’s so bittersweet to know that this has happened and she’s not here to see’
Alison and Dermot took over from Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford on Fridays in January and are coming up to six months as a presenting duo.
It was previously reported by The Mail On Sunday that Alison turned down the presenting job at first as she feared it would be seen as ‘tokenism.’
Friends said the job offer – just two months after the show’s editor Martin Frizell pledged to staff that he would appoint a black presenter – left her feeling ‘uncomfortable.’
According to sources, she was happy to remain in her role as entertainment reporter, but Frizell persuaded her to sign up for the bigger presenting job on the popular show.
Alison added: ‘Having said that, I do still feel her presence. It feels like my mum is still looking out for me in a strange way’
‘Alison has been on This Morning for more than a decade and had never been offered this job before,’ said one source.
‘Then Martin makes a big announcement that he wants a black presenter and she is wanted for the role.
‘ITV decided last year they wanted diversity on their programmes and then they decided to offer the presenting job to Alison. If you look up the dictionary definition of what tokenism means, then this is it.
‘Alison was happy as she was, she loved interviewing the likes of George Clooney. She is amazing at it and it was enough for her.’
Alison also felt torn about replacing Ruth, but was reassured by her close friend that she should take the job and had her blessing.
Team: Alison and Dermot took over from Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford on Fridays in January and are coming up to six months as a presenting duo