Inside Alison Hammond’s heartbreaking weight struggle as This Morning star breaks down over ‘battle with disease’

THIS Morning fans' hearts went out to Alison Hammond today when she broke down on air speaking about her battle with obesity.

The star sobbed that she has been coping with her weight "all my life" explaining: "It's a disease - you can't help it."

Alison, 47 - one of the best-loved presenters on TV - very rarely discusses her pain over the subject.

She has had gastric band surgery and has attempted diets and exercise in a bid to loose weight - and even appeared on Celebrity Fit Club.

Last year she told The Sun she had been given a warning by her doctor saying: "Lockdown was dire for me in terms of weight.

"I couldn’t control my eating or how much exercise I did.  It got to a stage where my doctor said: ‘You’ve got to do something about this, Alison.’"

The star has admitted in the past that her weight has passed the 20 stone mark and said she would love to weigh 12 stone.

However, she explained: "If I got to 15 stone and around a size 14 to 16 I'd be over the moon."

Alison, a former Big Brother star, also broke down on This Morning back in 2010 when Ruth Langsford told her: "This is a side of your life you don't talk about."

The star admitted: "I laugh about it and make jokes about it but it's getting serious now. I am over 20 stone, it's not funny any more.

"I've done diets before. I've even had surgery and that's not worked."

Speaking about having a gastric band fitted, she said: "It's actually quite a difficult thing. It just didn't work for me.

"I didn't like the feeling of it. You still feel hungry but you can't eat."

Showing viewers a shelf in her fridge overflowing with chocolate bars she said: "My main issue is I've got a real teeth tooth.

"I love sweet things and any type of chocolate I eat it. I'd wash in it if I could."

Alison, who has worked for weight-loss firm WW, added: "My relationship with exercise is a little bit of a love-hate. I love doing it when I'm doing it - I have so much fun.

"But to get to go and do it, I hate that bit because I literally can't do it."

Last year she was inundated with support when she shared a message on Instagram reading: "Wish everything was as easy as getting fat."

And people were equally kind today, flooding her with messages on Twitter.

"Alison showing her vulnerability and her struggles on tv is why I love her so much. She’s so relatable for so many people! I just wanted to cuddle her."