One of the frontrunners to take on the mantle from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman on Strictly Come Dancing next year has disappointed fans and TV bosses alike with their latest move
The search to replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman on Strictly Come Dancing has taken a new twist.
TV darling Alison Hammond – a hot favourite to host the BBC show after Tess and Claudia hang up their co-hosting hats, has renewed her presenting contract over at ITV for This Morning.
The beloved telly star, 50, had been rumoured as a frontrunner to take over next year – but she’s now locked into the ITV daytime chatshow, dashing any hopes of her taking up the sparkly reins at the BBC ’s biggest show.
According to a source at the Sun, mum-of-one Alison is very content at This Morning, where she presents alongside Radio 2 DJ Dermot O’Leary every Friday – and steps in ad hoc on other days for other presenters.
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The source claimed to the newspaper, “Alison is a huge talent and no one was surprised she’s being looked at for Strictly. But she’s very happy at This Morning so, as far as anyone knows, has no intention to quit to take on the dance show — but there may need to be some juggling of the schedule”.
There were rumours that Bake Off host Alison was one of ten big names set to screen test next month for what is surely one of the biggest gigs on British TV – alongside the likes of Bradley Walsh, Alex Jones and Alan Carr.
There was also speculation that Rylan Clark, Rob Rinder, Zoe Ball, Holly Willoughby, Amanda Holden and Angela Scanlon were also being considered for the top job.
The source went on to claim, however, that “no one is bigger than the show so whichever lucky pair land the jobs will be the ones who the BBC think will be the perfect accompaniment to the series”.
Meanwhile, Alison – whose rise to fame on the small screen has been stratospheric since she won Big Brother in 2022, kickstarting her career as a showbiz reporter for This Morning, has clapped back at any suggestion she’s on too many shows.
Asked if she was worried about being so prolific right now, she told The Guardian defiantly: “No. If I need to rest up or a job doesn’t appeal, I won’t do it. I’m good at saying no. I turn down 10 things per day, no exaggeration.
” It looks like I’m on TV a lot, sure, but I stand out partly because it’s still not the norm to see a Black woman doing this. I don’t want to bring race into it but no one says that about Davina (McCall) or Ant and Dec.
Proudly highlighting the many years she has grafted to get where she is now, the star – who is thought to have recently moved in with her model boyfriend David Putnam, 28 – said, “I’ve worked hard for 22 years to get here. That woman on TikTok is allowed her opinion.
” It keeps me grounded. I’m not a national treasure. I’m just me, doing a job that I adore to the best of my ability, trying to be better than I was yesterday. “
Source: Mirror
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