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Alison Hammond has set the record straight on her desire to be the next Strictly Come Dancing host.
Since Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly announced their departure from the flagship BBC reality series last year, speculation has been rife over who could possibly step into their fabulous heels.
The who’s who of British presenters have all been floated from the inimitable Alan Carr to The One Show’s Alex Jones and far, far beyond. Of course, it’s a no-brainer that national treasure Alison was soon part of the conversation.
Earlier this week, the This Morning icon shared that she had been approached about Strictly, quipping: ‘I’m so busy, babes, that I’m not sure it’s going to happen. It’s unrealistic.’
‘I would have loved to have done it – anybody that gets it, they’re going to land the perfect job. But I’m so happy with everything I’ve got. What would I drop, to do Strictly?’ the former Strictly celeb contestant added to Radio Times.
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But now, the plot has thickened when Metro sat down with Alison and co-star Sam Ryder at the launch of their new Channel 4 series Your Song, which follows aspiring singers up and down the country as they perform the tune that means the most to them.
With music on the mind, we mentioned the Big Brother legend’s gutting Strictly blow, but she was quick to push back, reaffirming her enthusiasm for the gig of a lifetime.
Sharing her incredulity at the idea of ever ‘turning down’ the job, she said: ‘Do you think I would turn down Strictly if Strictly came along? Who would turn down Strictly! They’d be absolutely crazy.’
She explained: ‘I was trying to back them off because ultimately everyone keeps putting my name in the mix and they’re ruining my chances of even getting on to Strictly, d’you know what I mean?’
‘You all need to stop talking about it because I need to get in.’
To the backdrop of Sam’s laughter, she passionately declared: ‘I’m not too busy, I’m fitter than I’ve ever been before. I can do Strictly. I can do it all. All these people saying: “I’m too busy, and I can’t do it…”, I could do Strictly. Let’s put that on the record.’
So, there we have it, folks. Don’t count Alison out of the running just yet!
In the meantime, however, she’s gonna be stirring up a storm on this new singing reality show, from the creator of The Piano, which stars Sam and Paloma Faith series mentors.
Discussing what convinced her to take up the role as host – and cheerleader for our budding music artists – she shared how instant the decision to say yes was.
‘It was about the people. It was all about something that was authentic, something that felt real.
‘As soon as I heard the concept of it, I was like: “I am in.”This is simple, this is good, but it also felt like it was looking after the contributors, which I think is so important.
‘The duty of care was there, and I just felt I’ve got to do this, and I’m the person to do it. I love people. I love singing. I love dancing as well. But ultimately, it was the show for me. I just loved it.’
Your Song airs this Sunday at 9pm on Channel 4.
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