Alison Hammond: Strictly job ‘wouldn’t fit into schedule’

TV presenter Alison Hammond’s name was on everyone’s lips when it was revealed Strictly Come Dancing was looking for new hosts, following the departure of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

But Hammond says she could not have fitted it into her schedule, telling BBC Radio WM: “It would have been just too much for me, I need a bit of quality time at home as well.”

Although the star has not confirmed whether or not she was offered the job, she praised Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, saying they were going to be brilliant.

“There’s the dream team right there,” she said.

The This Morning and Bake Off host also spoke about her recent weight loss, saying she had needed to do it as she had been pre-diabetic.

“Over time I just changed my ways – I was eating really badly, I was eating massive portions,” she said, adding that she had halved her portions and started exercising and drinking more water.

“I had to do it, I was pre-diabetic so it wasn’t a joke,” she said.

“I just wanted a few extra years on my life and I wanted to have a bit more quality of life – I can walk further. My quality of life is just so much better.”

The TV presenter also said that she was in love.

“He’s in love with me as well bless him,” she told BBC Radio WM.

“He’s a lovely man. He’s taking care of me and I’m taking care of him.”

When asked about how she stayed grounded, Hammond cited her “separate lives” in London and Birmingham.

“I just like the fact when I go to London that’s my work, part of the fact why I’ve stayed grounded is I do have a separate life to it,” she said.

“That’s my showbiz life when I go to London, then I come home and have a very normal life, you’ll see me in Tesco, I do my own shop.

“I’m the same girl as I was when I was younger, I’ve just got a little bit more experience, I’ve just been in the queue a bit longer.”

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