TV presenter Alison Hammond is known for doing celebrity interviews where she sometimes has as little as five minutes to get to know her subjects.
But if you’ve been watching the 50-year-old on ITV’s This Morning and Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off – which she co-presents – you would know how her warmth, curiosity, and bubbly personality helps to bring out some of the not-so-well-known parts of her interviewees.
So, imagine what she will do with Alison Hammond’s Big Weekend, a new six-part series coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer in which Hammond spends quality time with some well-known celebrities.
Hammond, who took over presenting ITV’s For The Love Of Dogs from Paul O’Grady after he passed away in March 2023, will ask the questions viewers are desperate to know, as she gains exclusive access to the stars’ personal lives, history and homes.
The first episode features former Little Mix singer-songwriter Perrie Edwards, who welcomes Hammond to her South Shields home and gets vulnerable about becoming a mother, her upbringing, fame, and health.
In subsequent episodes, Hammond takes a boat trip with Irish-British comedian Jimmy Carr and visits the Midlands with British-Jamaican comedian and actor Sir Lenny Henry.
Other guests on the show include Spice Girl Mel B, Welsh actor Luke Evans and former professional boxer Tony Bellew.
Hammond, who in 2002 also took part in the third series of reality show Big Brother, talks about her interviewing skills, public perceptions of celebrities, who surprised her the most, and the most memorable moments whilst filming the show.
HOW DO YOU GET CELEBRITIES TO OPEN UP TO YOU?
I’ll be honest with you, I do absolutely nothing but be myself and go in with an open heart and open mind to see what these people like.
What you tend to find is when you’re with them, and they’re talking about their lives, and they’re in their own homes and not a studio, they’re a lot more comfortable and relaxed.
They don’t need to impress anyone, because they’re in their own environment.
I do absolutely nothing but be myself and go in with an open heart and open mind to see what these people like
Alison Hammond
DOES SEEING A CELEBRITY WITH THEIR FAMILY AND FRIENDS HELP CHANGE THE PUBLIC’S PERCEPTION OF THEM?
When they’re with their family and friends, you probably would feel that they’re a little bit more on edge.
They don’t want their family and friends to say the wrong thing, because they’re not media-trained. They’re more likely to throw them under the bus, which they probably do a couple of times.
But I just think it’s lovely to see their real relationships, how they connect with their own family and how they naturally are in their own habitat.
You get to see a lot more when their families are involved, because you hear stories that they’ve never told before, or you hear stories that are just so endearing because they come from the truth and their family.
With a lot of these celebrities, they’re very media-trained. They’re at the point where they know exactly what to say, what to give, what not to give, but they’re a little bit more vulnerable when they’ve got their families there.
DID ANY CELEBRITY SURPRISE YOU?
All of them surprised me in some way. Jimmy Carr, I never knew he went off and did cold water baths and stuff like that. I didn’t realise that he was into saunas and how much he was always on the road.
With Mel B, I didn’t realise she was so into leopard print, to the point where she would put it up as wallpaper in her living room. I thought that was purely from being in the Spice Girls. But she genuinely, absolutely loves leopard print. It’s not even a joke, it’s who she is.
WHAT WAS ONE OF THE MOST EMOTIONAL MOMENTS WHILE FILMING THIS SHOW?
Probably with Perrie Edwards, when I found out about her illness that she’s had all her life, from when she was a child.
I think that was quite emotional because she reunited with the doctor who diagnosed her with a rare health condition, which was quite complicated.
She thought the doctor had retired and that she would never see her again. So that was quite emotional, because that doctor uncovered what was wrong with her, when no other doctor could.
WHICH CELEBRITY HAD YOU LAUGHING THE MOST?
I thought it was going to be Jimmy Carr, but Carr was actually quite deep, to be fair. Although he’s a comedian, he’s quite a thoughtful and measured man.
But I probably had a lot of fun with Sir Lenny Henry, and also had some beautiful, poignant moments.
Tony Bellew was so much fun and funny, because I sparred with him. I thought he and his wife [Rachael Roberts] were hilarious. I mean, their accents are everything.
All of them are funny in their own right. With all the celebrities that I interviewed, I had a good laugh and had moments where it made me think, which I think is brilliant.
So you get the full spectrum with this show. You really get to see each celebrity in their entirety.
WHAT’S THE WEIRDEST THING YOU FOUND IN A CELEBRITY’S HOME? DID ANYTHING SURPRISE YOU?
I quite enjoyed Tony Bellew’s home and finding all these old massive champ belts he had to wear. That was quite interesting.
I didn’t realise Mel B kept the signs that she used to have for shows and stuff like that. So, for example, ‘Mel B in Concert for One Night Only’, like that is literally in her kitchen, hanging up.
And do you remember those massive shoes that they used to wear in the Spice Girls? She’s still got them. I tried them on, but her feet were smaller than mine, so I couldn’t get my foot in. But little trinkets and stuff like that were quite nice.
Alison Hammond’s Big Weekend comes to BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Friday May 16