This Morning’s Alison Hammond could be poached from ITV by rival channel after impressing TV bosses

Alison Hammond could be poached from ITV by a rival channel, after impressing TV bosses during the pilot of a new TV-themed comedy game show.

The TV presenter, 48 from Birmingham, recently signed up to Sky’s new TV-based quiz show, On Demand, hosted by comedian Rob Beckett. The job will see her take on the role of panel captain opposite comedian Josh Widdicombe.

Following a successful pilot, it is understood that TV bosses were so impressed with Alison, that they now intend to “keep her busy”with more work.

Alison, who hosts This Morning every Friday with Dermot O’Leary, has been a popular member of the This Morning team for over 20 years now, so her move would be a blow for ITV.

Sky’s Managing Director of Content, Zai Bennett, gushed about Alison to The Sun at the Broadcasting Press Guild’s Sky event in London over the weekend.

Zai Bennett said: “Rob Beckett is hosting it and you’ve got Alison as a captain. I think she’s a brilliant addition to Sky. She has such an infectious personality.”

He continued to sing Alison’s praises, saying: “I went to the recording of the show and the audience just did not stop cheering for her throughout the whole thing.”

“Josh Widdicombe looked quite put out. He’s the other team’s captain and he looked quite grumpy,” Bennett added.

Prior to accepting the offer from Sky in December, Alison had made a pilot for a reboot of Wheel Of Fortune for ITV, however they decided not to develop it into a full series.

Sky’s Managing Director then went on to reveal how they managed to convince the ITV star to consider her first role with Sky.

Zai said: “She’s just looking for the natural next step in what she does, and this is a nice group of people to work with, and she really likes Josh and Rob. She’s friends with Rob and goes on holiday with him.”

After first appearing on our screens in Channel 4’s Big Brother in 2002,  Alison immediately jumped into her presenting jobs on This Morning. Whilst doing so, she’s also popped up in other Reality TV shows over the years, including, I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, Celebrity Masterchef and Strictly Come Dancing.

Most recently, she has appeared as a judge on BBC One talent show, I Can See Your Voice, and even made a series of Christmas adverts for Sainsbury’s last year. All further establishing herself as a household name across the UK.