Alison Hammond "never" wanted to host 'This Morning' full time.
Alison Hammond is happy to just host This Morning on Fridays
The 49-year-old star co-hosts the daytime show on Fridays with Dermot O'Leary but she's insisted she doesn't resent Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard after they were recently announced as permanent presenters for the rest of the week because she's too busy with her multiple other commitments.
She told The Sunday Times magazine: “We’re the Friday guys! We love being Friday guys!”
Asked if there was any discussion about her presenting more often, she added: “Absolutely not. How could I? I live in Birmingham and do 'Bake Off' and 'For the Love of Dogs'. I never wanted that job. Last year we did extra because we were going through issues, but Cat and Ben will save that show.”
The show was mired in scandal last year following the departure of Phillip Schofield over his "unwise but not illegal" affair with a young male colleague, and while Alison didn't want to talk about the controversy, she insisted she wishes "the best" for the presenter.
She said: “Listen, I don’t want to get into salacious gossip. All I need to say is I personally wish Phillip Schofield all the best. I loved Phillip Schofield. Full stop. But that’s the last thing I would want to speak about.”
The 'Great British Bake Off' host is always happy to meet fans when she's out and about because she views it as her job.
She said: "I bring joy. But I take it seriously, because life is hard and you’ve just seen how people react to me. I make them forget their life. I bring joy, that’s my role. And if that can happen for somebody through my laugh, which even I find annoying, that’s fine by me.”
And even when her mum died of cancer four years ago, Alison left the hospital and agreed straight away to take a picture with a woman who had approached her.
She recalled: “On the way out, a woman asked me for a photo.
“And I said, ‘Of course!’ That’s my job. People like that put me where I am today and I was looking at the phone screen, at our selfie, thinking, my mum just died.
"But it made that woman happy, so of course I took it. I’m not going to deny someone a photo just because I’m not in the mood. People off TV are not always this friendly, but it’s who I am. I’m hands on. I hug. We’re all on the same level.”
Tagged in Dermot O'Leary Ben Shephard Alison Hammond