Once again, Alison Hammond has proven why she’s the nation’s sweetheart and why we’ll never tire of seeing her on our TV screens.
After Cliff Richard claimed during an interview on This Morning that he had turned down the opportunity to meet Elvis Presley due to the fact that he had put on some weight, Alison Hammond was quick to say, 'You should never have put it off just because they’re a little bit heavier'.
Not seemingly noticing that he’d said something offensive, Cliff Richard responded, 'If anybody is a fan of somebody and you get the chance to meet them, meet them. Even if they’ve put on weight.'
Naturally Queen Alison Hammond had the final word saying, 'Is that why you don’t want me at your house? Anyway…' before swiftly continuing the interview like the professional that she is.
And just like that Cliff Richard was perfectly put in his place.
Obviously what Cliff Richard said is hugely problematic. It’s bad enough that he essentially claimed that Elvis Presley had lost his value because he had put on weight, but to do that in front of Alison Hammond – who last year broke down about her own weight-related struggles on the show saying, 'I just think people look down on people because they’re so big and they can’t help it when you have a disease' – is awful.
Alison Hammond didn’t raise her voice and she didn’t get emotional – despite being well within her right to do both – and handled the whole situation with some serious class. She called him out but didn’t overly dwell on it, and for that we applaud her.
However, she shouldn’t have had to. How have we got to a point where Cliff Richard felt that it was acceptable to weight shame on television?
There’s also the added issue that Cliff Richard has actually told this story before, ironically on ITV, during an appearance on Loose Women last year.
Luckily, viewers had proved that they’re behind Alison Hammond calling him out, taking to Twitter to slam the 83-year-old singer’s comments.
She shouldn’t have had to do it, but hopefully Alison Hammond’s response to Cliff Richard’s weight shaming comments will mean that Cliff thinks about how he talks about weight in the future, and if nothing else perhaps he’ll stop telling that story.
Elvis Presley was an icon. Imagine not accepting an invite to meet him for such a bizarre reason.
Daisy Hall is a news and entertainment writer for Grazia, specialising in TV and film, meaning you can always count on Daisy for the latest (and best) viewing recommendations.