This Morning’s Alison Hammond breaks down in tears during touching 46th birthday tribute

This Morning’s Alison Hammond broke down in tears on Friday, when she received a touching birthday tribute from the show’s medic Dr. Zoe Williams.

Alison, who turned 46, got emotional as pregnant pal Zoe, 40, read out a birthday card to her, in which she told her the ‘best bits’ of her life are ‘just getting started’.

And the gestures didn’t end there, as the bubbly Brummie’s co-host Dermot O’Leary, 47, surprised her with a giant screen tribute at Birmingham’s New Street station.

When Zoe appeared on the show, she said: ‘Happy birthday, Ali. Here’s your card, I’ll open it for you. It’s got a pink flamingo on it, it’s a bit soppy.’

‘I love, I like a soppy card, read it to me,’ responded Alison, who had already been surprised with a birthday cake from Lorraine Kelly. 

Complying with the request, Zoe read: ‘Alison, happy birthday to you. Have the best day and weekend – as much as you can.

‘Some years bring the best and the worst. We’re almost through with the worst bits. The best bits are just getting started.’

Alison was seen wiping tears away from her eyes as she said in response: ‘That’s just lovely, that was lovely. Thank you.’

The episode served as something of a big celebration for Alison’s birthday, with the studio decked out with balloons as the birthday messages rolled in. 

She also revealed that Friday marked her son Aiden’s birthday, as he celebrated turning 16 on his mother’s big day. 

Alison’s birthday celebrations come as it was reported that she and Dermot have boosted This Morning’s Friday viewing figures by 44 per cent.

It’s claimed that the former Big Brother star and X-Factor host Dermot have averaged 1.3 million viewers during their debut month at the helm, after replacing show stalwarts Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes after 14 years. 

The news comes as ITV reportedly came under fire for having no women hosts fronting game shows or quizzes, despite airing 20 episodes of the genres between this Saturday and next Friday.

According to The Mirror, the new presenting duo who took over on January 8 have pulled in 44 per cent more viewers than Fridays in January 2020.

The publication claims that Alison and Dermot’s episodes have averaged 1.3million viewers and pulled in 21 per cent of the available TV audience.

However, according to reports from The Sun last month, Ruth and Eamonn had a bigger audience share of 23 per cent compared to their successors’ 21 per cent.

MailOnline has contacted ITV representatives for comment. 

Alison and Dermot’s debut show left viewers split as many claims the gaffe-ridden show was ‘like a kids’ programme’, with one even comparing their ‘stilted’ chemistry to the 2001 pairing of Coleen Nolan and Twiggy. 

Eamonn and Ruth appeared on screen for their last show in December, during which he made a dig about bosses ‘getting rid’ of them during a chat about discounted trees, before the pair both grew emotional while saying goodbye. 

The husband and wife presenting duo will remain with ITV to host This Morning from Monday to Thursday during the schools’ six-week summer holiday. 

News about the success of Alison and Dermot on Fridays comes as ITV was reportedly criticised over the lack of women presenters fronting game shows and quizzes.

The men fronting such genres for the channel, includes The Chase’s Bradley Walsh, Tipping Point’s Ben Shephard, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’s Jeremy Clarkson, Lingo’s Adil Ray, Catchphrase’s Stephen Mulhern and Paul Sinha’s TV Showdown.

Last week, Michael Kelpie, managing director of TV production company Potato which makes The Chase, was asked about the lack of women hosting game shows on British television. 

Loose Women presenter Charlene White pointed out: ‘Women do like game shows too and there’s not many women.’ 

Mr Kelpie insisted: ‘We have been trying to find a combination of a female host and the right format for about two years. And we are going to keep going until we get it, and I know other producers are doing this as well.’

While a BBC source told The Mirror: ‘We are pushing towards a 50-50 split which is a far cry from ITV who have got a long way to go. It’s crazy that in this day and age, they have such a male-dominated schedule.’ 

But a source at ITV told the publication: ‘We do have female presenters on daytime and entertainment shows outside of quizzes and we have been piloting some quizzes that have female hosts.

‘We are always looking for new quiz ideas and we are actively looking to have a range of strong hosts.’ 

Pilots supposedly being considered are thought to include Alison Hammond hosting an ITV reboot of Wheel of Fortune.