Alison Hammond shamed over weight in 'embarrassing' plane incident
The TV star said she was left feeling 'uncomfortable' after a fellow plane passenger asked her to move
Watch Alison Hammond share her experience of being shamed over weight in 'embarrassing' plane incident
What did you miss?
This Morning’s Alison Hammond has told how she started buying herself an extra plane seat after a fellow passenger shamed her over her weight.
The presenter revealed she was sitting next to a man on a flight and he asked her to move because she was very slightly in his seat. Opening up on Friday’s instalment of the ITV show (6 September), she said the incident was “embarrassing” and made her feel “uncomfortable”, so afterwards she started buying an extra space when she travelled. However, the star noted that not everyone was in a position to do that and called for airlines to make bigger seats.
She also shared that what happened on the plane was one of the reasons she lost weight, telling viewers that she had been "morbidly obese" at 28 stone but was now 17 stone.
What, how and why?
Hammond told her story during a discussion about air travel and the size of seats, and whether overweight people should buy two. “I was made to feel uncomfortable on one occasion where I was literally about this much in their seat and they asked to move,” she said, using her hand to show what a small space she was talking about.
“What they actually did in the end was they actually moved me to first class because the guy was being so rude. So they actually moved me to first class because it was embarrassing, the whole thing.
“But from that moment I just started buying two seats. I don’t do it anymore because I’ve lost a bit of timber, as you do. But not everybody can afford to do that.”
Hammond said she would also take her own seat belt extender on flights so that she didn't have to ask for one. “It was uncomfortable,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons why I lost weight, in order to not go through that…”
Alison Hammond says 'I had to lose weight otherwise I was dying'
Calling for seats to be made larger, she said: “Do you not think maybe airlines should make bigger seats… we are a nation of bigger people? They are making seats smaller to make more money right? If you go back to 1970 the seats were not that small.”
“A lot of people are going to say, 'No Alison no, you should lose some weight' but what if you’ve got obesity and you can’t?” asked the TV star.
This Morning regular Gyles Brandreth asked Hammond if she lost weight because she was made to feel uncomfortable, and she replied: “I was in a situation where I was morbidly obese. I had to lose weight otherwise I was dying… I was dying.
"I mean I’m still big now, people can still see I’m big but now I’m 17 stone rather than being 28 stone.”
