Alison Hammond has insisted she is “made” to take over Strictly Come Dancing. The presenter, 51, was a contestant on the BBC Saturday night favourite in 2014 and managed to reach 10th place alongside Aljaž Škorjanec.
The Big Brother legend, who has gone on to front This Morning and a string of other hit TV programmes since she starred on the Channel 4 reality show in 2002, was told at the time that she was too overweight to take part, and refused to listen.
She said: “I’ll never forget being told, “You can’t do Strictly. You’re too overweight. You need to lose weight. I did Strictly when I was 25 stone!” Alison, who has shed an incredible 11 stone, was then asked about the idea of herself taking the reins following last year’s shocking departure of long-standing hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
Rumours have been rife about who might take the coveted television jobs, with names such as Zoe Ball and Rylan Clark, as well as Alison’s fellow This Morning star Sian Welby, all being touted. But Alison thinks she would be a perfect fit to take over from Tess and Claudia, who fronted the programme for more than a decade together.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, she added: “I’ve not heard anything, but that job is made for me, let’s be honest!”
In the initial announcement, which consisted of a video of the pair sitting next to one another, Claudia began with: “Hi, it’s Claud and Tess. There have been some rumblings, and we want you to hear this from us…” Tess added: “Yeah, we have news. After 21 wonderfully joyful years on Strictl,y we have decided the time is right to step aside and pass on the baton…”
“The very sparkly baton…” Claudia continued before she turned to Tess and said: “You’ve been here since the beginning…” Tess, who used to host the show with the late Bruce Forsyth, then replied: “2004 with Brucey – lovely Bruce.
“That’s over two decades ago and a lot of that time has been with you. It’s been a huge part of our lives, hasn’t it? Since our children were literally babes in arms and now they’re young adults and I think, genuinely we have cherished every second.”
Claudia added: “We have, we’re so lucky to have been part of this amazing show and we just want to thank the Strictly team because Strictly is the people who make it so thank you…” Tess agreed: “They are the very best team in television we’ve been so lucky.
“And the audience as well, they’ve been so wonderful. They’ve been with us for this entire journey of 21 years and we wouldn’t have a show without them and they’ve been just so loyal and supportive.”
Claudia added: “We have, we’re so lucky to have been part of this amazing show and we just want to thank the Strictly team because Strictly is the people who make it so thank you…” Tess agreed: “They are the very best team in television we’ve been so lucky.
