'Birmingham is everything I know': Alison Hammond talks ahead of hometown role in Rocky Horror Show

She grew up just down the road from the Alexandra Theatre and will be joining Duncan James (Blue) as Frank-N-Furter, Joanne Clifton (Strictly Come Dancing champion) as Janet, and Ben Adams (a1) as Brad on stage from May 13 to 25 as part of the Rocky Horror Show’s 45th year.

“I look forward to everything I do, to be honest with you,” she says. “I won’t go into something unless I’m excited by it. I chose something that I think will be a right laugh. I remember seeing Rocky Horror and remember the audience dressing up. By the end of the evening, I was thinking it was one of the best shows I’d ever seen. To be involved in this whole production is a dream come true.”

The Rocky Horror Show tells the story of Brad and his fiancée Janet, two squeaky clean college kids, who meet Dr Frank-N-Furter by chance when their car breaks down outside his house while on their way to visit their former college professor. It is an adventure they’ll never forget, with frothy fun, frivolity and frolics.

Richard O’Brien’s legendary rock ’n’ roll musical has been seen by an astonishing 30 million theatregoers and this production will be directed by Christopher Luscombe. Fans can look forward to a show that’s bursting at the seams with timeless classics including Sweet Transvestite, Science Fiction/Double Feature, Damn It Janet and, of course, the pelvic thrusting Time Warp.

Hammond is featuring exclusively at the Alexandra as The Narrator and is looking forward to taking on the audience.

“You can have a bit of banter with the audience. I’m going to be ready for them. I plan to be Alison. I plan to quite stern and at the end of the day it’s my show and I’m running things and I’m running the story. The little cheeky side of me will come out.”

And then she pauses and sort-of lets us into a secret.

“Look, one of the biggest reasons I’m doing it is because of where it is. I can just rock up from my home and I’ll be there in 10 minutes off the train. There’ll be no hotels. I’ll be at home. What more do I want? That’s one of the best things. I’ve never performed at the Alex. I’ve played the REP.”

The way she’s going, she may end up at the Hippodrome, some day, in panto. “Yes, I’ve never done the Hippodrome. I’ll be the fairy at the panto.” And she erupts with one of her infectious belly laughs – the one that millions of people have come to know and love over the past decade-and-a-half.

The Second City is an enormously important part of Hammond’s make-up. She still lives locally, rather than upping sticks and basing herself in London, and says Brummies help her to stay grounded.

“Birmingham is everything I know. I was born and raised here. It’s really important for me to maintain that. Birmingham is an anchor. I don’t feel great when I’m not here. I’m most happy when I’m coming home. I know where everything is. I know where to get my eyebrows threaded.” And she laughs again. “I think the people are genuine, more than anything. When you come to Birmingham, you keep your feet on the ground.”

Hammond cut her teeth on the third series of Big Brother. The series was watched by an average of 5.8 million viewers, making it the highest viewed series of the show to date. Its finale peaked at 10 million viewers – making it both the most watched episode of Big Brother UK and the ninth most watched broadcast by Channel 4 to date.

She was evicted after 15 days – prompting her house pal Kate Lawler to declare that she’d win it on Alison’s behalf. And she did. The series was notable for a number of contestants, not least the fourth-placed rising star Jade Goody and Sandy Cumming, who climbed over a wall to escape the house.

We might reasonably have thought we’d seen the last of the bubbly Brummie. After all, finished last-but-two on a series of Big Brother isn’t much to write home about. But there was more to her than 15 seconds of fame. Hammond’s enthusiasm and lively personality made her a perfect fit for TV. She signed up for ITV’s This Morning and has never looked back.

She’s grown up in TV land, learning from the pros and becoming a wise hand herself.

“As I get older, I’ve got wiser. And maybe I’m a little bit more comfortable now. I was more edgy and nervous before. I do feel settled on This Morning and in my own life. I feel a lot happier. I feel like if I gave up my job at This Morning, I’d be alright.

“I’ve been there for 17 years. I really enjoy it. It’s like family to me. I’m not saying we’re in each other’s pockets. Phillip and Holly are quite private. But we’ve got each other’s back. All the people that the public don’t get to see behind the scenes, the crew, they’re all friends.

“And it’s a show where I love the interaction with the viewers. Viewers do believe they’re your mate. They’re invested in you. You don’t get that with other programmes. They feel like they know you and in a sense they do, that’s the thing.

“They’re changing lives and they’re saving lives on that show. It’s entertainment but it’s wonderful.” Her love for the show is evident.

And yet she’s never had a career plan. The idea that she’d one day end up as one of the nation’s foremost celebrity interviewers didn’t enter her head when she was growing up. The former holiday rep and entertainer who worked in Tunisia and served stints as a cinema usherette and child actress didn’t imagine things would work out as they have.

“Even now, I kind of just go with the flow. I’m very much like air when it rushes over things. I see what happens. I go on this little journey and just enjoy it. I don’t know where it’s going, I just enjoy it. I just ride the waves and see what happens. Sometimes I don’t want to do stuff. I’ve turned down amazing opportunities like going off to America. I didn’t want to do that – I wanted to stay in Brum. I go with what my gut says. If it doesn’t feel right, I say no.”

And yet, so often, things do feel right. So since leaving the Big Brother house, Hammond has appeared on many television programmes, including Celebrity Fit Club, Celebrities Under Pressure and Big Star’s Little Star. She has also appeared on Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes, performing as Nina Simone, and was on Celebrity Ready Steady Cook and Daily Cooks Challenge. In addition, she was a panellist on ITV’s Loose Women and a presenter on the short-lived ITV Play channel.

In 2004, Hammond played herself as a TV reporter in Christmas Lights opposite Robson Green. Four years later, she was named as the face of online bingo site Crown Bingo and took part in live chats, voiced characters and could be heard as the bingo caller in the bingo room.

In November 2010, Hammond entered the Australian jungle for the 10th series of I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here! and became the fourth contestant to leave the show.

She subsequently participated in the ninth series of Celebrity MasterChef on BBC One. Hammond also participated in the 12th series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2014 on BBC One, partnering Aljaž Skorjanec. They were voted off in the seventh week of competition and finished 10th.

She is a regular in pantomime and made her Hollywood debut in the animated film Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation in 2018.

Strictly was one of the stand-out gigs.

“I just loved it. It’s just one of those shows that wants to make you look amazing. There’s all the make-up and costumes – on Strictly you’re being a princess. You really do have the time of your life and get to be a princess. It’s gone now and I’ll never get it back. But if I’m having an off day, all I do is tap in ‘cha cha Alison Hammond’ on YouTube. I watch it back and it makes me happy. That was an amazing experience. I’ll never forget it. I think about it all the time.”

But beyond the TV roles, Alison is probably best known as being a Brummie. She shines a bright light on the Second City and is synonymous with it. She laughs at the idea that she’s somehow viewed as being an unofficial representative of the place in which she was born.

She’s not just associated with Birmingham, however. Her work on This Morning has made her a role model to millions and recently she decided to put that to good use by becoming an ambassador for Weight Watchers. After all, she’s a real woman with real issues and, like the rest of us, needs to keep on top of those.

“I love the fact that I’ve become an ambassador for Weight Watchers because I’m someone who genuinely does need help. So many times you see people on programmes and they don’t need help and aren’t doing the programme. So I’m so excited to be working with WW.

“I went to a group in Shirley because I wanted to just change. I wasn’t invited along or looking to become an ambassador. But I’m 44 now, I want to get healthy for myself and lead a longer life because my life’s quite good and I’m quite enjoying it to be honest.

“So I went to a group and I was there for a month and WW got in touch afterwards. And I love it. I love the programme. I’m genuinely doing this programme and I’m so glad I did it. It’s inspired so many other people to go.

“I get friends texting me asking if they should sign up. I’ve had other people who are on the programme. They say they’ll do it if I do it. It might take me four years to hit my target but I’ll embrace the challenges. My personal challenge is that I travel so much so I’m not organised. In my daily routine, I’m not organised and my routine is not the same every day.

“On a daily basis I have to work out what’s important. I might have to go and walk for half an hour, wherever I am. I’m about to go into London and I’ve got a massive carrot, so I’ve got something to chew on. I like masticating, so I like things in my bag. Instead of chocolate, I’ve got the zero foods in my bag, like carrots.”

Bless. She’s entirely real, there’s nothing fake. She walks it like she talks it. She’s just like everyone else.

Career and weight loss, however, are secondary compared to the most important part of Alison’s life: being a mother to her boy Aiden.

“I’ve got an amazing family who support me with everything. My mom’s supported me with everything I want to do. She’s kind of like Aiden’s second mom. He’s got a room with me and a room at his nan’s. So when I’m working, nan takes over. He’s 14 and does a lot for himself now.”

And is he proud of all that his mom’s achieved? Is he thrilled that she’s worked so hard to carve out an unlikely and unexpected career?

“Nah, not a bit of it. He’s a teenager. He doesn’t care what I’m up to.”

Alison Hammond stars in the Rocky Horror Show from May 13 to25 at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham.