This Morning presenter Alison Hammond has opened up about how she tried to be funny at school to 'protect' herself from bullies.
And the fun-loving host, 47, says she's the last person her family would have predicted could go on to front a major daytime TV show as at school she struggled with reading and also she didn't look like a 'typical celebrity''.
Speaking to Capital XTRA Breakfast Show with Yinka and Shayna Marie Ali was asked about her school days as she explained how her comedy came out as a coping strategy to cover up her insecurities.
She explained: "You know what, I was still quite funny, but it was actually quite… maybe a little bit quieter, always trying to… just not knowing really where I fitted in really and who were my people at the time.
"So, if anything, I probably used my comedy and the fact that I was quite funny and quick off the cuff to kind of protect myself."
She added how her appearance as a 'big girl' fuelled playground teasing but her witty ways were her 'protection' as they knew they would 'get cussed down'.
Alison who shot to fame when she won the hearts of telly lovers on Big Brother set her on a new path with ITV — a career even she herself couldn't have predicted.
She added: “I’m not your thin looking, most beautiful person you've ever come across” but “people realise no matter how big you are, what colour you are, what race you are, whether you're a woman, or a man, you can be seen, you can be heard."
The TV fave credited a drama teacher for giving her tips on practising her reading aloud which fuelled her to love reading and give her confidence for her future career.
And Alison's since branched into penning her own children's book 'Black in Time’ which she says is a massive step from where she started struggling to read.
Still struggling to get her head around her achievement, she gushed: "I am a published author! It feels insane and especially as a girl who really struggled with reading."
Alison joined up with children’s author Emma Norry, to write the book which is a T combination of fact files, narrative stories and interviews that highlights the immense contribution Black people have and continue to make to British society.
*Capital XTRA Breakfast with Yinka & Shayna Marie airs Monday - Friday from 6:30am - 10am.
