Alison Hammond was reduced to tears as she discussed George Floyd’s death on ‘This Morning’.
The 45-year-old presenter – who has a 15-year-old son called Aiden – struggled to contain her emotions as she talked about the Black Lives Matter movement after Floyd died on the streets of Minneapolis last week.
Appearing on the show on Tuesday (02.06.20), an emotional Alison said: "Firstly, I am a mother of a 15-year-old black boy. When I saw that image of George Floyd, I saw, my brothers, my father and I saw my son, and I was disgusted to my core.
"It hurt me to the pit of my stomach to think this is 2020 and we are seeing that and let’s be honest, this has been going on forever. My whole life, my mum’s life, my father’s life, everyone’s life."
Since Floyd’s death, anti-racism protests have been staged in various cities around the world.
Alison feels proud to see people come together to campaign for equality, after Derek Chauvin, an ex-policeman in Minneapolis, was charged with murder.
She continued: "I believe this movement, Black Lives Matter, is so very important and so wonderful. When I see my white, my Asian brother and sisters standing by Black Lives Matter, it means they understand, they can’t understand fully, but they understand what we are going through as black people.
"And don’t get offended, I am not trying to offend white people, it’s basic goodness, it’s about the fact that if black lives mattered then we wouldn’t be in this situation."
‘Coronation Street’ star Sally Dynevor later appeared on the show and praised Alison for her "heart-breaking" words.
She said: "Can I just say Alison Hammond has touched my heart this morning.
"I thought her words were perfect and we all love her so much. It was really heart-breaking listening to her this morning."
‘This Morning’ co-star Phillip Schofield also praised Alison, adding that he and Holly Willoughby rang her privately to check on her following her appearance.
Phillip said: "The response online has been absolutely incredible for her today. We gave her a call afterwards and told her how amazing we thought she was. She’s very emotional."