Alison Hammond appeared to be struggling with her breathing as she confirmed that filming for The Great British Bake Off is already underway. The This Morning presenter took on the role at the helm of the Channel 4 baking show just last year after Matt Lucas quit.
Posting on Instagram, Alison shared that she had gone on a little adventure with some of her Bake Off team in the middle of filming. They opted to take a break from the tent to enjoy a bit of sunshine – much to Alison’s dismay.
Clearly breathless, Alison spoke into the camera. While wheezing and gasping, she explained: “My glam team thought it was a good idea to go for a walk… I’m absolutely hating it. It’s uphill.”
The 49-year-old struggled to breathe as she added: “I’m doing the Bake Off and literally I’ve got to be on screen but I’m sweating buckets. I can hardly breathe. They’re literally five miles away from me.”
In a second clip, she showed her crew members waiting for her by a gate in the distance up a hill. Alison said: “This is them ahead of me. I am so slow. Just so you know, I’m nearly there.”
She continued to breathe heavily as she made her way up to the rest of the team.
With a final wheeze, she gasped: “I’m so unfit… Asthma attack!”
Eventually, Alison managed to catch up with her friends, but the struggle wasn’t over yet – She had to go back down the hill she had just climbed. Panning the camera around to show the steepness of the hill, Alison said: “Oh my God, why did I say yes to this walk?”
In another video she said: “But it feels good though, doesn’t it, to be out of breath? It’s actually good.”
Alison has recently taken over from the late Paul O’Grady on ITV’s For the Love of Dogs.
She initially faced backlash after fans claimed she didn’t seem as comfortable with the four-legged animals as Paul did.
According to ITV ratings, Alison’s debut episode reached two million viewers at its peak moment, while Paul had more than four million viewers per episode in 2021.
By her own admission, Alison has said she knows she will never be able to replace Paul, but was “excited” for the role.
