Who is Alison Hammond? Meet the New ‘Great British Baking Show’ Host

The Great British Baking Show on Netflix feels sweeter than it’s been in years and it is in large part thanks to new co-host Alison Hammond. Across the pond, Alison Hammond is famous for being a morning news personality, cracking celebrities up and rolling with disasters on air with laughs. When it was first announced that Matt Lucas would be leaving The Great British Baking Show last winter, Decider literally put the ebullient Hammond at the top of our list of potential replacements. But what if you’re not the kind of person who’s up on your British TV personalities? What if you have no idea who Alison Hammond is? Ergo, you’re a bit nervous about the new blood in the Bake Off tent?

Never worry! We’re here to tell you all about Noel Fielding’s new co-host on The Great British Baking Show: Alison Hammond.

Ever since The Great British Baking Show moved from its original UK broadcaster, the BBC, to Channel 4, it’s struggled to find a pair of presenters who gel quite as well as original hosts Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc did. Mel and Sue were warm and witty, and shared a chemistry that was forged over years of real life friendship. While Noel Fielding has stuck around the tent for seven seasons now, he’s yet to find a partner he really works well off of. Sandi Toksvig seemed at first to be a smart foil for The Mighty Boosh star, but they never seemed to connect with one another. Matt Lucas, on the other hand, was thick as thieves with Noel, but together, they leaned into their hammiest instincts, taking on the roles of naughty schoolboys in the tent. Now, we’ll have to see if Alison Hammond is the missing piece of the Bake Off puzzle.

But who is Alison Hammond? Where might you have seen her before? And why could she be the answer to Bake Off fans’ prayers? Here’s everything you need to know about The Great British Baking Show‘s Alison Hammond…

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Who is the New Host of The Great British Baking Show? Meet Alison Hammond

Alison Hammond is a 48 year old British television presenter and actress who first shot to fame in the UK back in 2002 as a contestant on the third season of Big Brother. By the end of the year, she was appearing as a correspondent on ITV’s This Morning, where she continues to work to this day. She’s appeared as both an actress and as herself on British TV shows as varied as Doctors to I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! She was born in Birmingham to Jamaican parents and has a son, Aiden.

Even if you’re not an Anglophile, you might have seen Alison Hammond before in an interview with Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling that went viral in 2017. Hammond was interviewing the actors about their work in the film Blade Runner 2049, but it soon went off the rails — in the most deliciously fun way.

Hammond is known for her infectious sense of humor, massive laugh, and general positivity. You can find a myriad of supercuts on YouTube of her most hilarious bits, but so far she seems to be trying not to make jokes at every turn on The Great British Baking Show. (Which is honestly refreshing.)

You can follow Alison Hammond on social media @alisonhammond55.