Alison Hammond may have landed one of the finest jobs on television, but she’s revealed a side effect of judging The Great British Bake Off.
The This Morning broadcaster, 48, was formally revealed in March as the presenter who will take up the co-host slot left vacant by Matt Lucas’ departure from the series.
Alison claimed she was ‘thrilled’ and ‘couldn’t wait to get started’ on the long-running programme at the time, joking that she only took the position ‘for the cake’.
However, only a few days before the first episode airs, she’s stated that eating endless cakes, biscuits, and bread has caused her to gain a few pounds.
‘I have put on a stone,’ she revealed.
‘I couldn’t believe it.
‘I am literally going running tomorrow! I am just going to get bigger!’ she added when speaking to OK!
Judge Paul Hollywood, who returns this season with Prue Leith, also said that Alison became overly enthusiastic when the cameras first began rolling, and her eyes became larger than her stomach could take.
‘You [Alison] did make a mistake in the first week and went round and ate everything! You said, “I am never doing that ever again”,’ he joked.
While Alison stated that being on the show encouraged her to improve her baking talents, her initial attempts were unsuccessful.
‘I have learnt lots. I made brownies twice. But Paul said they were bitter. I was really upset!’ she said.
She’s certainly come a long way since her last appearance in the tent, when she mistook her oven door for a missing one.
Alison appeared in an edition of The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off in 2020, alongside James Blunt, Alex Jones, and Joe Sugg, and was tasked to produce mini-Yorkshire puddings and a biscuit scene.
However, Alison was bewildered for a second when she believed her oven door had gone missing, but it turned out to be only one that had folded in on itself.
‘Where’s the door gone?’ she asked puzzled, staring at the open oven for a moment.
Once realising her mistake, she exclaimed: ‘What a cool oven!’
The Great British Bake Off returns on Tuesday at 8pm on Channel 4.
