Alison Hammond 'in tears' over 'heart-wrenching' exit on Great British Bake Off

27 September 2023 , 10:20

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Alison Hammond 'in tears' over 'heart-wrenching' exit on Great British Bake Off

Alison Hammond admitted she found herself "in tears" as she opened up on the difficulties she faced hosting her first series of beloved competition the Great British Bake Off.

The This Morning presenter, who has taken over from Matt Lucas on the Channel 4 series, joined Holly Willoughby and Ben Shephard to discuss the difficulties she faced in the new role. Alison has become a member of the Bake Off team with co-host Noel Fielding as well as judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith.

Holly remarked: "It takes a long time to film so you must get to know them really well and every week you have to say goodbye to one and that's quite a tough thing." Ben added: "You have to do the bit, 'The person who is leaving the tent today is...'," to which Alison replied: "Luckily I only have to do it a few times because [I do it] with Noel."

"You get invested with the bakers," Alison added. "The first thing I was worried about was learning 12 names, the first day you've got to learn 12 different names. But, within an hour you know everybody, you know what they're like, you become invested, you learn about their families and how long they've been baking."

Alison Hammond admits she was close to tears saying goodbye to contestants (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

"That makes it even harder," Holly agreed as Alison continued: "When they go you don't even want to say it. It's heart-wrenching, I think there might have been a few tears on my half. I was like, 'Pull yourself together Alison.' It's emotional."

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Bake Off fans were thrilled by Alison's addition to the presenting line-up and took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to praise the host. One tweeted: "It’s only been five mins but I LOVE Alison Hammond on."

Another commented: "@AlisonHammond was MADE for this show!! Makes watching this year all the more fun," while a third said: "Early days but Alison Hammond looks like a good booking. Enthusiastic and bubbly but not OTT."

After the episode, Alison shared a behind-the-scenes video of her kicking off a conga line with the contestants during filming. She wrote: "Thanks for all your incredible message of support @britishbakeoff. Hope you loved meeting the bakers here is some unseen footage behind the scenes."

Charlotte McIntyre