“Things are going really, really well,” she says. “He just has the most beautiful energy and everyone feels it when they’re in his presence.”
11:00, 13 Dec 2025
Alison Hammond said: “I am so grateful that he chooses to spend his life with me.”(Image: Instagram)
She’s the hardest-working woman on TV, so when Alison Hammond tells us she’s hoping for a “chilled-out” Christmas, we almost breathe a sigh of relief on her behalf.
2025 has seen her bring her bubbly charm to our screens in four huge shows: The Great British Bake Off , This Morning , Alison Hammond’s Big Weekend and — alongside her son, Aiden — Alison Hammond’s Florida Unpacked . No wonder the Birmingham-born presenter is ready to put her feet up.
“I’m going to tone it down this year, babes, I’m not going to lie,” she tells us. “I have been killing it every single Christmas — you know, at least 12 people coming round for lunch — so I might just go out to a lovely restaurant with my beautiful son and my boyfriend, just the three of us. Then I don’t have to cook… or wash up.”
Alison, 50, has been dating masseur and model David Putman, 28, since early last year. Addressing the 22-year age gap, she has previously explained that, as David is “mature and sensible” and she’s “so not”, they’re extremely well-matched.
Alison has opened up about her love for boyfriend David(Image: Instagram)
“Things are going really, really well,” she says. “He just has the most beautiful energy and everyone feels it when they’re in his presence. It’s very rare. I am so grateful that he chooses to spend his life with me.”
While Alison, who shot to fame on the third series of Big Brother back in 2002, already seemed more than happy with her lot, being with David has made her feel even more blessed.
“It’s a lovely feeling to be in love,” she says. “It makes you more patient, it makes you kinder, because you’ve always got somebody you want to care for — and they’re caring for you.”
It’s clear that Alison is smitten with David, so we can’t help but wonder if a festive proposal might be on the cards for the star.
“I think this is a question you need to ask my fella, not me,” she chuckles. “No, there are no plans for weddings or marriage right now, because we don’t feel like we need to. We live together and we’re happy the way it is. I don’t need a ring to show my love to somebody.”
But after a brief pause, she adds, “What I will say is, if he asked me tomorrow to marry him, it wouldn’t be a ‘no’. That’s all I’m going to say to you.”
With her personal life in such great shape, talk turns to TV — and a certain high-profile job vacancy that has Alison’s name written all over it. Again, the presenter pulls no punches — her eyes are clearly on the Strictly prize.
“They’d be silly not to go for me with the Claudia [Winkleman] role, up in the gods, talking to all the contestants. We all know that is my job,” she says confidently. “If they don’t go for me, that’s OK. It wasn’t my path. I’ve had quite a lot already, so you know, I don’t want to be greedy. But guys, that is my job!
“You’ve got to visualise it and see it – and I see it. So whoever gets that job, good luck to them. But it probably will be me.” Cackling, she tells us, “That’s your headline: ‘Alison for Strictly !’ Let’s just put it out there.”
Alison with her son Aiden on her show Florida Unpacked(Image: BBC/Rock Oyster Media Productions Ltd)
If her prediction turns out to be true, who would Alison pick to be her ‘Tess Daly’? “I could get on with anyone,” she says, adding that Amanda Holden, Davina McCall and her This Morning co-host Dermot O’Leary would all fit the bill. “I could do a Vernon Kay, too. Don’t you worry, I could do ’em all.
“But if I was the producers — and this is me doing myself out of a job, really — I’d sign up Davina McCall and Amanda Holden.”
There’s no doubt Alison has the Midas touch right now, but asked to share the secret to her success, she insists she’s got where she is simply by being herself.
“I believe I can bring joy to people,” she explains. “If you Google ‘Alison’s best bits’, they can actually take you out of a dark space. I don’t take that lightly and that’s what gives me confidence — knowing that I’m helping people. We need joy right now.”
With her knack for making others feel good, it’s no wonder Specsavers chose Alison to help shine a light on their Home Visits service, which even saw her shadow one of their optometrists on her rounds.
“I want people to know that Specsavers have this amazing service — and it’s literally free,” Alison says. “Nearly half of carers say the people they look after are missing vital appointments and that just really struck me. My mum used to use a wheelchair and if I’d known about this amazing service back in the day, a million percent I would have used that for my mum. Home tests make such a huge difference.”
Alison is promoting SpecSavers’ home visits service(Image: Specsavers / SWNS)
As to what, or rather who, makes a difference to Alison’s life, top of the list is her “amazing” son, Aiden, 20, an aspiring music producer.
“He’s my everything,” she beams. “I love the fact he actually wants to be with me now, because there was a time in his teenage years where I was the last person he wanted to be around. But he’s come full circle now and wants to spend time with his mum. That’s a really lovely feeling.”
Alison says she still hopes to be co-hosting This Morning when she’s “grey and old”, but in the unlikely event it all ended tomorrow, she’d take it on the chin.
“There might be a day where they tell me, ‘Alison, there’s no more work for you on TV,’” she says. “And you know what, if it did end tomorrow and it was my time, I’ve had it all, I really have. I’m so happy and grateful for everything that I’ve achieved and that people have accepted me into their lives when I’ve not had to change anything. I’ve just had to be myself. It’s a lovely feeling. Because honestly, my life so far has been wonderful.”
Alison with Noel Fielding, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith on Bake Off(Image: Channel 4 / Love Productions)
