Great British Bake Off co-host Alison Hammond has also been part of the This Morning family for twenty years. But since 2021, her and Dermot O’Leary have been the regular presenters for the ITV daytime flagship series on Fridays, too.
Having taken over from Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford in that slot, Alison – who is on screens for The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer on March 24 – and Dermot have also filled in on other weekdays in This Morning over the past year following the exits of Phillip Schofield, and then Holly Willoughby.
However, their time on the This Morning sofa has seen their partnership scrutinised by fans, and even in the headlines, too. They’ve also previously admitted it took a while to get comfortable with one another on screen.
Here’s more about Alison’s friendship and professional partnership with co-star Dermot.
Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary friendship
Amid tabloid claims of a ‘rift’ between the pair, ITV issued a statement concerning the relationship between Alison and Dermot in June 2022.
It insisted: “Despite the challenges of starting their on-screen partnership during a pandemic, Alison and Dermot have developed a firm friendship and their chemistry has proved a ratings success.
“Since the pandemic ended, the pair are now able to enjoy socialising together post the show and have enjoyed spending time with each other’s families too.”
Shortly afterwards, Alison’s pal Josie Gibson stuck her oar in, too.
She said at the time to New! magazine: “Those two are like brother and sister. I don’t know what’s been written but they really do get on! Dermot worships Alison and Alison loves Dermot.”
Dermot worships Alison and Alison loves Dermot.
Josie added: “She even bought him a lovely watch not long ago and they go round each other’s houses for dinner. I can’t understand why people think this.
“They’re really comfortable with each other and when you’re on This Morning and they’re hosting it is so relaxed. You don’t buy people watches and go round their house if you don’t like them, do you?”
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Alison Hammond on This Morning
Meanwhile, in the summer of 2023, ITV told ED! further tabloid claims suggesting “things have become strained” between the duo as “absolute nonsense”.
MailOnline alleged at the time there were fears the pairing may “present apart a bit more”.
But ITV was having none of that. “There’s no tension between Alison and Dermot, quite the opposite,” a source maintained.
Since then, the tabloid rumours seemed to have settled down a bit. And that could be due – according to Heat magazine – that Alison and Dermot are said to have a ‘pact’ together.
The mag quoted an unnamed insider around the time of MailOnline’s claims as saying: “Their chemistry isn’t going to work if they’re both miserable, so they’re doing something about it, rather than risking another disaster for the show.
“They’ve made a pact to bring up anything that is said about them and also implemented a rule of checking in with one another at least once a week to make sure there’s no hurt feelings.”
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