Alison Hammond speaking on podcast and Dermot O'Leary looking into the camera
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How This Morning hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary addressed ‘feud’ rumours

The pair now have a close bond

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Alison Hammond previously addressed rumours of a ‘feud’ with her This Morning co-star Dermot O’Leary.

The ITV presenter made a defiant declaration in response to reports that the pair had failed to “hit it off” and even “bickered”.

ITV was forced to issue a statement in 2022 after claims arose of a feud between This Morning presenters Alison and Dermot.

At the time, ITV assured viewers that while the pair faced “the challenges of starting their on-screen partnership during a pandemic” they have now “developed a firm friendship”.

Alison Hammond with his arm around Dermot O'Leary on This Morning
ITV previously denied reports of a “feud” between Alison and Dermot (Credit: ITV)

Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary on This Morning

Later in 2022, Alison herself spoke on the matter. On a podcast released in October of that year, she commented on the alleged “feud” for the first time.

In an interview with TikTok star Grace Keeling – aka GK Barry – on her Saving Grace podcast, Alison told listeners that she found the “beef” rumours “hilarious”.

Honestly I can’t tell you how much I love that man, he’s so funny.

“I can’t tell you how wrong they actually are,” she said in the new podcast.

Alison even joked that she enjoyed fuelling the rumours, saying: “I love the fact that people think that.

“I’m gonna keep that going. Go ‘babes, people think we hate each other, let’s do a couple of things on the telly like stand further apart.'”

Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond smile at NTAs
Dermot and Alison have a close relationship (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Alison and Dermot friendship

The 49-year-old For the Love of Dogs presenter previously described their on-screen partnership as being “a bit like an arranged marriage”.

In an interview with Lorraine in 2021, Alison explained that she and Dermot had little time to warm up to one another.

She said: “We were thrown together on a Friday… It took about two months to feel comfortable.”

Dermot, 50, made similar comments. He told Fabulous magazine in 2021 that any tension between him and Alison could be put down to awkwardness.

He said: “We literally met for the first time in 15 years or so and that morning we presented two-and-a-half hours of live television together.

“The idea that there wouldn’t be a period of getting to know each other is insane.”

However the presenting pair seem to have come a long way since then. Alison shut down feud rumours once and for all with a defiant declaration on the recent podcast.

She told GK Barry in the podcast episode: “Honestly I can’t tell you how much I love that man, he’s so funny.”

Read more: This Morning’s Dermot O’Leary halts show as Alison Hammond struggles to breathe: ‘Take a minute’

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This Morning airs every weekday from 10am on ITV and ITV Hub. 

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