From Big Brother to the Great British Bake Off: The rising stardom of Alison Hammond

TV presenter, Alison Hammond, 48, is a popular figure on our screens and in her latest role she will co-host Great British Bake Off - with the new series beginning next week.

Alison will be appearing on the beloved baking show with judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith and a host of new contestants. Alison will be co-hosting with Noel Fielding after as Matt Lucas stepped down.

And that’s not all that’s keeping our Brummie Queen busy, Alison joined the Loose Women live tour at the London Palladium and posted a photo of herself on Instagram on Monday (September 18). She has also been hosting This Morning on ITV with co-host Dermot O’Leary. She is also going to star in a panto in her hometown later this year. Alison will be the “spirit of the bean” in Jack and the Beanstalk - which runs from December 16 to January 28 at Birmingham Hippodrome.

But Alison is clearly very excited to be part of GBBO. She said about filming the latest series - number 14 which is set to return to Channel 4 on Tuesday, September 26 - via The Sun: “It’s like being on holiday — it’s wonderful, free, and you feel safe. You don’t have to think politically about anything. It’s just a happy and safe show.” Let’s have a look at the rise and rise of Alison Hammond, whose first taste of fame came when she appeared on Big Brother.

Where did Alison Hammond grow up?

Born to Jamaican parents, Alison was raised in Kingstanding and has two siblings. She attended Cardinal Wiseman School and has been interested in acting for a long time. She attended drama workshops run by Central Television since the age of 11 but couldn’t attend drama school. Later, she moved to Hall Green. The single mom was previously married to Noureddine Boufaied and has one son.

How did Alison Hammond’s career start?

It has been more than two decades since she made her TV debut on the third series of the Channel 4 reality series Big Brother in 2002. She went on to appear on the BBC soap opera Doctors the same year and presenting and reporting for ITV’s This Morning.

Over the years, she has been a reality TV hit and appeared in shows like Celebrity Fit Club, Celebrities Under Pressure and Big Star’s Little Star. The ever busy Brummie queen became a contestant on the tenth series of I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2010 but was the fourth contestant to be eliminated.

Alison Hammond on GBBO

The 48-year-old Brummie TV star continues to dazzle audiences with her great personality and beautiful smile on the biggest TV shows like GBBO - which will return next week.

She said she considered the GBBO role after “Twitter went berserk” about her replacing Matt. She said: “I never dreamt that big. I never allowed myself to dream this big.”

Noel Fielding opened up about a secret from the show’s set. He said: “My favourite thing Alison does is eating the bakers’ ingredients they definitely need and have measured out.”

Hammond won’t be the only person one from the West Midlands on the show as one of the contestants - Nicky, 52, who is a retired cabin crew & volunteer - will be joining her.