Judi Love says she is ‘constantly’ mistaken for fellow IT...

Culture
TV & Radio
News

Judi Love says she is ‘constantly’ mistaken for fellow ITV star Alison Hammond

‘It doesn’t matter how rich or successful I am,’ said Love

Annabel NugentMonday 01 December 2025 10:31 GMTComments

CloseSean Paul dances with Loose Women's Judi Love IndependentCulture

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email

Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter

Email*SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice

Judi Love has spoken about being constantly mistaken for fellow TV presenter Alison Hammond.

The comedian and Loose Women star, 45, said that no matter how “successful” she becomes, people continue to confuse her for another Black woman.

Love made the comments during an interview with The Guardian when discussing the UK’s TV industry.

“I’m also constantly called the wrong name,” she said. “Confused for another Black woman. It doesn’t matter how rich or successful I am: bitch, you’re Alison Hammond today.”

Hammond, 50, is also a well-known TV regular, having rose to fame in 2002 as a contestant on Big Brother and is now a presenter on ITV’s This Morning.

Speaking about other challenges she faces as a woman working in television, Love said that being a single parent can make scheduling tricky.

“If I’m filming or performing away even if it’s a 2am finish and four hours of travelling after, I’ve got to get me home so my kids wake up with me there,” she said.

“If I’m not, nobody else is. The hardest thing is managing guilt … When they’re 30, will they turn around and say: it was great, but you missed everything?”

open image in galleryJudi Love, pictured in November (Getty Images)

Before beginning her career on screen, Love worked in social care. “I could empathise,” she said. “Having a complex family with complex lives myself. There’s a lack of funding, and a high proportion of Black and working-class women in there.

“Seeing women who look like me, but just had a different path. It was a constant reminder of how easy it is for things to happen.”

Love had been raised in east London by “women who came over in the Windrush era: nurses, social workers, cleaners or social carers.

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day

New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.

Try for free

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day

New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.

Try for free

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

open image in galleryAlison Hammond, pictured in March (Getty Images)

“Those were the jobs they were allowed to have when they came… For me, that always seemed the natural thing.”

She was exposed to social services as a child due to her mother’s dementia diagnosis. “A social worker came round and looked at what we needed. I learnt about these people out there who could help,” she said.

In addition to her regular role as panellist on Loose Women, Love has earned fans with her 2020 stint on MasterChef, in which she finished in third place, the 2021 series of Strictly Come Dancing, and the 2022 series of Taskmaster.

In 2024, she became the first Black British female comedian to sell out the London Palladium. She is due to go on tour next year from 12 February to 24 May with her new show Judi Love: All About the Love.