ITV face 'continuing nightmare' over Alison Hammond as BBC 'keen to poach her'

Alison Hammond has been an ITV favourite for years - but that could all be about to change, if she accepts a major offer reportedly handed to her by the BBC. The 49-year-old This Morning host has already signed up with the channel for the celebrity interview series Alison Hammond's Big Weekend, where each episode will see her spend two days immersing herself in the world of a high-profile figure.

However, the BBC is said to be eyeing her up for more projects, too - including a travel show titled Florida Unpacked. The idea is likely to be a huge hit with Alison, as she was a travel rep for a living in her early days, before finding reality TV fame in 2002 via Big Brother.

A source told The Sun of the project: "This is a continuing nightmare for ITV as Alison is seen by them as one of their biggest stars — but she’s increasingly working for their rivals. The travel show is the latest tempting offer she’s taken up and BBC execs will be revelling in the fact they can put it head-to-head with This Morning."

They added: "It could lead to the situation where Alison can be seen hosting the daytime magazine show on ITV while simultaneously being seen on BBC One.” She's certainly in high demand - and she also co-hosts the Great British Bake Off for Channel 4.

Express.co.uk has contacted ITV and the BBC for comment.

Then there's her latest ITV show, For The Love Of Dogs, which has seen fans warm up to her after an awkward start. Initially, some were unhappy about her replacing the much-loved Paul O'Grady, following his death last year.

Alison was nonplussed, admitting she'd known it would be a tall order to step into his shoes.

There was also a scandal over claims that Alison had a fear of dogs, following a terrifying incident with one as a child, and therefore had "no affinity" with them.

Other critics pointed out that she didn't have a dog of her own, whereas Paul had several and frequently found himself holding back over his urge to adopt more.

However, Alison fired back to the criticism in a conversation with The Sun's TV magazine, referring to the backlash she'd been slapped with before the show had even begun.

"I was actually surprised with how much [backlash] I got for doing the show," she lamented.

"I could understand in the sense that Paul was so loved, and people were saying: ‘How can she do Love Of Dogs when she doesn’t have a dog? How does she love dogs when she doesn’t have a dog?’" she admitted.

However, she then described it as a "flawed argument", adding: " I would say to those trolls: ‘Don’t watch it then. If you don’t want to help Battersea, don’t watch it.'"

Since then, an army of loyal supporters have stood up in favour of Alison presenting the show.