Alison Hammond previously opened up about her weight loss battle, revealing a traumatic childhood incident triggered it.
Since shooting to fame in the 2000s, Brummie Alison has become a regular on telly screens – from stints on This Morning, The Great British Bake Off and I’m A Celebrity.
Over the years, Alison – who is on Your Song today (April 26) – has long been open about her weight struggles. And recently, she has undergone a major transformation, losing 13 and a half stone through diet and exercise.
However, in her 2021 memoir, Alison candidly shared that an incident with her late father led to a lifelong battle with her weight.
Alison Hammond on traumatic incident that led to weight battle
In her memoir, You’ve Got to Laugh, Alison candidly opened up about her childhood. She was raised by her single mum Maria as her father Clifford was mostly absent from home. According to Alison, after Maria became pregnant, she found out Clifford was already married and had children.
Alison also bravely revealed that it was her father Clifford’s actions that led her to overeat.
She recalled an incident when she was eight-years-old: “Mum’s great cooking came into its own when she made her Sunday roast, but this Sunday I reached a point when I’d had enough to eat.”
Alison added: “My dad looked up. ‘Eat the rest of your dinner,’ he said sternly. I shook my head. ‘I’ve finished. I don’t want any more.’ ‘Eat your dinner, now.’ His eyes bored into me and then he started taking his belt off.
“My eight-year-old self did a quick calculation: If my dad beat me with his belt, my mum would try to protect me and he would overpower her.”
Alison says it ‘left a psychological imprint’
Alison also shared that after she told that incident to a therapist, they suggested that it was the root of her food issues.
She revealed: “When I explained what had happened, he suggested I’ve carried that moment through my life ever since.
“I went away and thought about what he’d said. It made a lot of sense. I never leave anything on my plate, and that’s maybe one reason why I’m a big girl.
“That Sunday lunch left a psychological imprint: I finished my food to protect myself and something about that experience set up a lasting link in my brain between eating and self-preservation.”
Alison added: “Once you make a connection like that, you should be able to do something about it, and I think I’ve let it go… up to a point.”
Meanwhile talking to The Telegraph earlier this month Alison discussed her weight loss and insisted: “I like being bigger than everyone! I don’t want to take up less space in the world. I want to fill that space.”
And when asked where that desire comes from, she replied: “It must come from some insecurity from childhood.”
Watch Alison on Your Song on Sunday (April 26) at 9:00pm on Channel 4.
Read more: Alison Hammond reveals upsetting comments levelled at her mum as she was dying of cancer
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