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Alison Hammond reportedly called in police after she was targeted as part of a dark blackmail and extortion plot.
This Morning host Alison, 48, allegedly handed over thousands of pounds in cash to a man who threatened to make public false details of her private life if she did not give in to his demands.
It is claimed he threatened to try and end her career with the made up information if she did not also buy him a £5,000 BMW car.
According to The Sun, Alison told a friend: ‘I’ve been so naive and feel so stupid.’
After plucking up the courage to report the unidentified man, Alison showed police detectives the messages she had received from him.
Traumatic: Alison Hammond, 48, reportedly called in police after she was targeted as part of a dark blackmail and extortion plot
Great British Bake Off host Alison is said to have fought back tears as she told her pal today: ‘I trusted this guy who, it turns out, was only interested in my money.
‘I thought he valued our friendship. I now know he only wanted me to fund his life of luxury.’
It is claimed the man took advantage of Alison’s kind nature and they forged an unlikely friendship despite his issues with drugs.
Alison reportedly told her pal that he sprung the demands on her out of the blue after she had been happy to try and help him and spend money on him.
It is claimed Alison attempted to cut ties with him a number of times but he managed to make his way back into her life.
Things reached boiling point for Alison when she is said to have told a colleague last week: ‘He sent me a message stating that if I didn’t give him £3,500 he would ruin me.
‘I was flabbergasted. I’m still in shock. To have a friend seeking to blackmail and extort me is just heartbreaking.
‘I had to realise I’d reached the end and go to the police.’
Demands: This Morning host Alison allegedly handed over thousands of pounds in cash to a man who threatened to make public false details of her private life
Alison reported the situation to West Midlands Police on Tuesday this week.
However, Alison is said to be ‘genuinely scared’ of any retaliation from the man now she has stopped giving him money and gone to the authorities.
MailOnline has contacted a representative for Alison for comment.
It comes after Alison revealed the heartbreaking reason she broke down in tears after landing her new role on the Great British Bake Off.
The presenter said the moment was ‘bittersweet’ as the Channel 4 show was one of her mother’s favourite programmes.
Alison’s mum Maria, who was from Guyana, tragically died in January 2020 from lung and liver cancer.
She explained how she felt ‘devastated’ that her mother would never get to see her on the programme and how thinking about it made her emotional.
In an interview with The Sun, Alison said: ‘It was one of her favourite programmes. It makes me really emotional even saying it.’
Alison continued: ‘It’s a really big thing and the fact that she doesn’t get to see it. I’m devastated – it’s bittersweet.’
Adding of the announcement, she detailed: ‘It was so exciting, I knew the news about three weeks before announcing it. When it was leaked, guess who’s birthday it was? My mum’s.’
‘Bittersweet’: It comes after Alison revealed the heartbreaking reason she broke down in tears after landing her new role on the Great British Bake Off
Announcing the sad news her mum had passed away, the former Big Brother star shared a series of photos of her mum – one of which showed her smiling wearing a yellow top while sitting on a hospital bed.
Alison wrote: ‘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.’
Tragically, Alison’s dad died four months later and Alison shared on social media that she didn’t get to spend as much time with him as she would’ve liked.
Upset: The presenter said the moment was ‘bittersweet’ as the Channel 4 show was one of her mum’s favourite programmes – her mum Maria tragically died in January 2020 from cancer
Tragic: She explained how she felt ‘devastated’ that her mother would never get to see her on the programme and how thinking about it made her emotional
Alison confirmed that she’s the new host of The Great British Bake Off – replacing departing comic Matt Lucas, earlier this month.
The This Morning presenter will join comedian Noel Fielding when the Channel 4 show starts filming this summer.
‘Alison is a great choice. She will bring warmth and humour to the tent in spades. We’re laughing just thinking about it,’ a source told The Mirror.
Alison will make history as the first non-white host or judge in the programme’s 14-year history.
Matt co-hosted the Channel 4 show alongside Noel Fielding since 2020, but he decided his time on the programme had come to an end.
New Great British Bake Off co-host Alison revealed that not a single slice of cake was involved in her audition for the role.
To see whether she was good enough for the job, Alison was asked by producers to chat with strangers at a garden centre, with no sweet treats in sight.
Shedding light on her audition, she shared: ‘They made me interview random strangers, to obviously see if I’m good with different people. It was a weird audition.’
After securing the role, Alison was told to keep the exciting news to herself for three weeks, but she couldn’t help but let her son Aiden, 18, in on the secret.
Replacement secured: Matt Lucas quit Great British Bake Off in December with Alison taking over his role
Last week, Alison confirmed her exciting new position on Great British Bake Off in a video of a cake which was shaped like the show’s iconic white tent and featured a model of her, Noel and judges Paul Hollywood and Dame Prue Leith.
In a voiceover, the presenter said: ‘This is breaking news, Alison Hammond is joining the team of The Great British Bake Off.’
Alongside the post, she wrote: ‘It’s Official!! It’s happening The Great British Bake off! let’s have it – The cake that is so excited @BritishBakeOff @Channel4 @PrueLeith @PaulHollywood @noelfielding11 #GBBO’
Existing co-host Noel was more than thrilled to welcome Alison to the Great British Bake Off family.
