Alison Hammond knew it was time for a gastric band after a chair broke beneath her

Alison Hammond has revealed she decided to undergo gastric band surgery after a chair broke underneath her while she was interviewing Matt Damon for his film The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007. 

The television presenter, 46, wrote about the incident in her upcoming Memoir You’ve Got To Laugh, obtained by The Sun, saying: ‘He was incredible. I was so pleased to meet him. But halfway through the interview, something awful and embarrassing happened. 

‘My size and weight went against me and suddenly the side of the chair broke. It was a horrible, shameful moment. My girth had broken the chair while I was interviewing Matt Damon, one of my idols! I was mortified. I wanted the world to swallow me.’  

Revelation: Alison Hammond, 46, has revealed that she knew it was time for gastric band surgery after a chair broke underneath her while she was interviewing Matt Damon; pictured September 2021 

She went on to admit that rather than bursting into tears like she wanted to, her and Matt laughed it off while the interview carried on. 

After that moment, Alison revealed that she was adamant on getting the stomach surgery, but the operation proved to not work as she was not mentally ready to diet even though her stomach had shrunk. 

She penned: ‘It didn’t feel right to be eating so little, and although having a gastric band is supposed to make you feel full quicker, I was eating salad and still feeling hungry afterwards.’ 

Mortified: The television presenter wrote in a story for The Sun : ‘He was incredible. I was so pleased to meet him. But halfway through the interview, something awful and embarrassing happened’; pictured September 2021 

Alison harked back to her childhood in the story for the publication, attributing her eating habits to a moment when her dad threatened to punish her if she didn’t eat all her food on her plate.   

She kept the gastric band for two years before getting it removed, but admitted that she did not lose more than two stone when she had it in.   

Despite having mixed feelings about her weight and appearance in the past, Alison has now come to terms with the way she looks and accepts herself more. 

Determined: After that moment, Alison revealed that she was adamant on getting the stomach surgery, but the operation proved to not work as she was not mentally ready to diet even though her stomach had shrunk

She said that she looks in the mirror every morning and tells herself that she is beautiful, but admitted that lockdown caused her to not be in control of her eating, and she is upset that she can no longer run. 

At the end of the second lockdown last year, Alison was diagnosed as pre diabetic but her doctor assured her it was not her fault she couldn’t lose weight as her metabolism is naturally slower than what is considered normal. 

She disclosed that she has now come to terms with her body, and lives comfortably in it.  

Baseless: She kept the gastric band for two years before getting it removed, but admitted that she did not lose more than two stone when she had it in (pictured last month)