Bake Off's Alison Hammond unveils hidden connection to boxing icon Muhammad Ali
This Morning star Alison Hammond revealed how her dad was so besotted with boxing legend Muhammad Ali that he made sure everyone in the family had some small connection to him
Alison Hammond has revealed she has secret ties to one of the greatest boxers in history(Image: Getty Images for the NTA's)
Alison Hammond has admitted there is a secret connection between her and boxing star Muhammad Ali. She explained that it all comes down to her father, who had met the boxing legend at the height of his fame.
Alison, 51, is gearing up for the release of her autobiography, You've Got To Laugh, which chronicles her rise to stardom from Big Brother to today. She also tells the story of her family life and spending time with her darling dad Clifford who died in 2020.
But as she reflected on her life so far, Alison admitted that she and her siblings will always have some connection to the man responsible for the Thrilla in Manila and the Rumble in the Jungle. This was all deliberately done by her dad to keep the family connection alive, she revealed.
Alison revealed she had been named after the boxing great(Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Speaking to Jonathan Ross on his ITV show, This Morning star Alison explained that she is in fact named after Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay. She also revealed that her dad was incredibly close with the boxer, having served as his bodyguard when he stopped by the UK.
Bake Off host Alison left her fellow guests floored as she explained everything: "Friends and family will call me Ali — Muhammad Ali. My dad named me and I've got a sister in Jamaica called Alicia and then I've got a brother called Ali.
"The three of us are named after Muhammad Ali, because my dad was his bodyguard; he absolutely loved him," she added, according to the Daily Mail. "Whenever Muhammad Ali would come to Birmingham, my dad would be called out to go and look after Muhammad Ali."
Clifford served as a bodyguard for Ali when he passed through Birmingham(Image: Getty Images)
TV icon Alison even said she went on to meet the boxing legend, who died in 2016 at the age of 74. However, her claim to fame for meeting the sporting icon came when she really did not want to see him.
"You know, I've met him," she boasted, "but it was at an age where I didn't want to meet him. You know like when your mum drags you out; I didn't know who he was! I was like, pulling away from him."
Alison only opened up on her dad Clifford's status in Jamaica as he worked transporting trucks between the UK and the Caribbean. She admitted that he was a well-known man in the community and often left residents "uneasy" as she claimed "he didn't mess around".
Clifford Hammond was said to be a respected and feared part of the community as he "didn't mess around"(Image: Instagram/ @alisonhammond55)
Clifford would end up passing away in 2020 following a long battle with cancer, something that left Alison devastated. After his death was announced, the TV star took to her social media to share a photo of her loving dad.
"This is my real Dad Clifford Hammond who passed away last week in Jamaica," she wrote in the caption at the time. "I'm saddened that I won't be able to make his funeral and saddened that he wasn't part of my life as much as I would have liked but I still have a sense of loss and emptiness. Sleep well Daddy, love leaves a memory no one can steal. RIP."