Alison Hammond hit out at a guest who refuses to work with overweight people, during Wednesday’s This Morning.
The bubbly presenter, 45, took issue with fitness guru and writer Samantha Yardly after hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford introduced an upcoming segment with Samantha who told how she wouldn’t hire a bigger person regardless of their ability to do the job.
Calling out Samantha, an unimpressed Alison challenged her to spend the day with her, with the defiant TV star ranting: ‘I’ll run rings around you!’
Not impressed: Alison Hammond hit out at a guest who refuses to work with overweight people, during Wednesday’s This Morning
The awkward moment came as Eamonn and Ruth, both 60, introduced Samantha, who was due to reveal why she refused to work with overweight people, whom she declared were ‘lazy’.
Ruth said: ‘We are going to be talking to a woman. She is a fitness instructor who says she will refuse to work with somebody because of their weight.’
The northern Irish broadcaster then chimed in: ‘What? So she wouldn’t work with me?’
With Ruth replying: ‘Well I don’t know cause I don’t know her criteria yet.’
Views: The bubbly presenter, 45, took issue with fitness guru and writer Samantha Yardly after hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford introduced an upcoming segment with Samantha who told how she wouldn’t hire a bigger person regardless of their ability to do the job
Eamonn then said: ‘She’s a fitness writer and her name’s Samantha Yardly and she’s got some views that will be hard for a lot of people to digest but does the truth hurt or is she bang out of order?
‘She has some views that may be hard for a lot of people to digest. She will be telling us her views, what she thinks about people who are too heavy.’
As the camera then panned to Alison, Eamonn snapped: ‘I didn’t mention you, I didn’t say a word about you, I didn’t bring you into it!’
He added: ‘But seriously this is going to be very controversial. Talking to this woman, it might be hurtful.’
Hitting out: Calling out Samantha, an unimpressed Alison challenged her to spend the day with her, with the defiant TV star ranting: ‘I’ll run rings around you!’
Controversial guest: The awkward moment came as Eamonn and Ruth, both 60, introduced Samantha, who was due to reveal why she refused to work with overweight people, whom she declared were ‘lazy’
But Alison, who is an ambassador for Weight Watchers, was quick to defend herself and have her say as she quickly called out Samantha on her views.
She said: ‘So what’s she saying, because I’m big she doesn’t want to work with me?
With Ruth saying: ‘She thinks if you’re overweight, you’re lazy.’
Former Big Brother star Alison then exclaimed: ‘I’m not being funny, come and train me babes let’s have a laugh, we’ll have fun and I’m not lazy, I’m up for it.
Speaking out: Eamonn then said: ‘She’s a fitness writer and her name’s Samantha Yardly and she’s got some views that will be hard for a lot of people to digest but does the truth hurt or is she bang out of order?
Awkward: As the camera then panned to Alison, Eamonn snapped: ‘I didn’t mention you, I didn’t say a word about you, I didn’t bring you into it!’
‘I’ll probably run rings around you!
‘Come and train me, I’m up for it, how about that?’
Samantha later appeared via video link from her home in Coventry, where she backed up her controversial comments that ‘life should be made as difficult as possible for people who are obese’.
Defence: But Alison, who is an ambassador for Weight Watchers, was quick to defend herself and have her say as she quickly called out Samantha on her views
You go girl: Former Big Brother star Alison then exclaimed: ‘I’m not being funny, come and train me babes let’s have a laugh, we’ll have fun and I’m not lazy, I’m up for it. I’ll probably run rings around you!’
As she spoke about her stance that she wouldn’t employ larger people, Eamonn said: ‘There will be a lot of people mortally offended by this and hurt as well.’
While Samantha argued: ‘There are certain things that we do have the ability to change that we should take responsibility for and I think that weight is one of them.’
She also claimed that bigger people take more time off work and encouraged people to ‘eat a little less and move a little more’.
This Morning continues weekdays from 10am on ITV.
Shock: Samantha later appeared via video link from her home in Coventry, where she backed up her controversial comments that ‘life should be made as difficult as possible for people who are obese’