Alison Hammond is one of the nation’s best-loved TV stars, and a doting mum to Aidan, 20
Alison Hammond has shed light on the special connection she shares with her 20-year-old son Aidan in a touching new interview. Just days before her milestone 50th birthday, the TV presenter credited their tight-knit relationship to the period following the loss of her mother Maria in 2020.
Speaking exclusively with OK!, she said: “It was always the three of us. We’ve been through the heartache of losing mum together, and that was tough. There have been ups and downs and Aidan’s seen them all. We’ll always have that bond.”
The mother-son duo recently teamed up for a new BBC travel series, Florida Unpacked, where they explore everything from salsa dancing in Miami to paragliding over the Florida Keys. It marks Aidan’s television debut, and despite finding it more challenging than expected, he says he wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again.
His mum joked that he was such a natural that she’s now ‘scared for her own job’. “The producers were like, ‘Alison, he’s good!’ I was like, ‘All right, babs, calm down’,” she said.
“You go into mother mode no matter what, don’t you? I’m very protective when it comes to Aidan. I’m a little lioness. If he wants to do more telly… it’s whatever makes him happy. I know he wants to be a DJ – but if he wanted to be a cleaner, I’d support him 100%. Happiness is the key in everything.”
Moments of stress only cropped up during car journeys, with Alison at the wheel, as Aidan isn’t yet legal to drive stateside. “Aidan is a driver, and so thinks he knows best when it comes to driving and tries to take over,” the TV star said. “The truth is he needs to listen to mum sometimes!”
Alison has become a beloved fixture on ‘This Morning’, co-hosting with Dermot O’Leary each Friday, and she holds her colleagues very close to her heart. “My co-hosts, people like Dermot and Josie [Gibson], keep it real – I connect with real people,” she explained.
“I love them all. I keep coming back for them, but also because no two days are the same. I don’t think I’d ever want to leave.” Reflecting on memorable moments, she recalled having her baby scan live on-air 20 years ago and discovering her son Aidan was a boy.
She also looked back on her famous interviews with Hollywood’s elite and, despite feeling “very nervous” before each one, she recognised they’re just people too. Her dream is to interview Oprah Winfrey or Michelle Obama.
“They’re all humans, though, they all make mistakes – that’s what you need to remember,” she noted. Alison, who’s currently in a relationship with David Putman – a man 22 years her junior – has now expressed a desire to take things easy.
She shared: “R-E-S-T. I want to rest more, and have more holidays this year. I’ve achieved everything I wanted to, really – maybe hosting Comic Relief one day would be good… But honestly? I’m happy with where I am in life.”