Alison Hammond has lost 11 stone after overhauling her diet and exercise regime. During a recent appearance on This Morning, the 49-year-old said: "I was in a situation where I was morbidly obese. I had to lose weight otherwise I was dying... I was dying. I mean I'm still big now, people can still see I'm big but now I'm 17 stone rather than being 28 stone."
Alison, who joined The Great British Bake Off last year, has become more mindful about her diet, and as a result, has decided to try fewer samples on the show. "You're allowed to taste every bake and last year I put on a stone. It's taken me a year to take that stone off," she admitted. Speaking with MyWeekly, Alison has since revealed the new rule she set for herself.
"Instead of eating the whole amount, I had little tastes here and there. I was quite good. I only had it when Paul did a handshake," she told the publication.
Alison also reached out to her co-star, Noel Fielding. "She tried to eat less this year but Alison's quite childlike. She said: 'Noel, stop me eating cake, I want to be good,'" the comedian revealed to The Guardian.
"The next time I saw her, she was literally like [mimes eating]. Alison has a good time all the time. You don't want her to not be eating the cakes."
The judges and presenters of The Great British Bake Off have previously opened up about gaining weight during each season's 10-week run, referring to it as "the Bake Off stone."
Set to return on Tuesday, September 24, The Great British Bake Off will introduce viewers to 12 new contestants in a matter of days. Each year, the show is filmed at Welford Park in Berkshire, with the infamous white marquee pitched next to the Grade-I Listed Welford Park House and its church.
Ahead of the show's return, Alison revealed that she feels far more comfortable on Bake Off these days. "It's so much nicer coming back into the fold, it felt like a family seeing everybody and it was so nice," she explained to Best magazine. "I felt more comfortable slipping straight back into it. We do have a laugh."
Alison took over from former presenter Matt Lucas, who wave goodbye to the tent in December 2022.
"Farewell Bake Off! It's been a delicious experience and I can't imagine a more fun way of spending my summers. But it's become clear to me that I can't present both Fantasy Football League and Bake Off alongside all my other projects. So, after three series and 51 episodes, I am cheerfully passing the baguette on to someone else," he penned on Instagram.
"I would like to give my warmest thanks and gratitude to everyone at Love Productions and Channel 4 and to Noelipops, Paul, Dame Prue, the crew and, of course, the wonderful bakers for welcoming me into the tent. I wish whoever takes over the very best and I can't wait to tune into the next series without already knowing who won!"