Alison Hammond’s father has died.
The ‘This Morning’ presenter revealed on Instagram that her biological father, Clifford Hammond, passed away in Jamaica last week but she will not be able to attend his funeral due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Alison shared a picture of her father on Instagram and wrote: "This is my real Dad Clifford Hammond who passed away last week in Jamaica. I’m saddened that I won’t be able to make his funeral and saddened that he wasn’t part of my life as much as I would have liked but I still have a sense of loss and emptiness. Sleep well Daddy, love leaves a memory no one can steal. RIP."
Alison’s famous friends shared their condolences with Ruth Langsford writing: "Sad to hear that darling….sending you love & a huge hug", while Holly Willoughby wrote: "Alison… sending you so much love."
Peter Andre also commented, saying: "Sending all our love."
News of Clifford’s death comes just four months after Alison’s mother died following a battle with liver and lung cancer.
Alison announced the sad news on Valentine’s Day (14.02.20) by writing on social media: "Today I dedicate Valentine’s Day to my beautiful, wonderful Mother Maria who passed away from liver and lung cancer. Yesterday my family and I celebrated her amazing life and laid her to rest in a beautiful ceremony she would have been proud of. Thank you mummy for giving me the strength to move forward in the knowledge that your ok and with God in Heaven now. I will always remember you and try and make you proud. I love you mum (sic)"
Meanwhile, Alison was recently 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 the unarmed black man was killed by a white police officer in the US last month.
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 George’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."