No further action in case of man arrested over Alison Hammond blackmail claims

Prosecutors will take no further action after a man was arrested on suspicion of blackmailing TV presenter Alison Hammond.

Reports emerged in March last year that Hammond, who co-presents ITV’s This Morning and The Great British Bake Off, had been blackmailed for large sums of money.

It was alleged that a man had threatened to spread lies about her if she did not cooperate with demands.

A 36-year-old-man from Warwickshire was arrested by West Midlands Police on suspicion of blackmail last year and later released.

In a statement on Saturday, the force said: “We carried out a thorough investigation and submitted files to the Crown Prosecution Service for assessment.

“CPS has concluded that there will be no further action. We have passed on this information to all parties involved.”

Birmingham-born Hammond, who rose to fame on Big Brother in 2002, co-hosts ITV daytime show This Morning with Dermot O’Leary and took over from comedian Matt Lucas in 2023 to co-present Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off alongside comedian Noel Fielding.

The TV personality has also been in reality shows I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, Celebrity Coach Trip, Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity MasterChef, and appeared alongside actor Richard E Grant to host the 2023 Baftas.

Hammond is also set to host Alison Hammond’s Big Weekend, which sees her spend 48 hours with various celebrities in a new BBC interview show, next year.

Hammond’s representatives and the CPS have been contacted for comment.