Claudia Anne Hammond (born 23 May 1971) is a British author, TV presenter, and frequent radio presenter on the
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
and
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
.
Early life
Hammond was born in the
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
of
Biggleswade
Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, and its es ...
in
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
on 23 May 1971, and grew up in the county.
Education
Hammond was educated at
Dame Alice Harpur School (a former
independent school
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
for girls in
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
that is now part of
Bedford Girls' School
Bedford Girls' School (BGS) is an independent school for girls which opened in September 2010 located in Bedford, in the English county of Bedfordshire. The school is a result of a merger of Bedford High School and Dame Alice Harpur School, and ...
), which she left in 1989.
[ She then studied applied psychology at the ]University of Sussex
, mottoeng = Be Still and Know
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £14.4 million (2020)
, budget = £319.6 million (2019–20)
, chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar
, vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil
, ...
, moving on to the University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institut ...
, where she gained an MSc in health psychology, carrying out research into doctor–patient communication in a breast cancer unit.
Career
Author
Hammond is the author of four books, including ''Mind Over Money: the psychology of money and how to use it better'', published in May 2016 by Canongate Books
Canongate Books (trading as Canongate) is an independent publishing firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
It is named after the Canongate area of the city. It is most recognised for publishing the Booker Prizewinner ''Life of Pi''. Canongate was n ...
. The ''Telegraph'' newspaper described this as: "Part fascinating psychological exploration, part practical guide - exposing the myriad ways money messes with our heads and suggesting means by which we might get a handle on it".
Her first book, ''Emotional Rollercoaster'', published in 2005, was on the science of emotions. Reviews were positive; one said that although it contained "rare errors" these mistakes are "vastly outweighed by the wealth of fascinating observations", and that "humour, sensitivity and warmth... emanate from every page".
Hammond's second book, ''Time Warped: Unlocking the Mysteries of Time Perception'', was published by Canongate in May 2012. The ''Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' called it "a fascinating and at times mind-boggling book that will change the way you think about time".
In 2019, Canongate published her book ''The Art of Rest''. The book draws on research from "The Rest Test", the largest global survey into rest, which was completed by 18,000 people across 135 different countries.
Radio presenter
Hammond has said that her decision to attempt to work in radio came early in her life and quite suddenly. "I was at a children's book festival and, after I had queued up to get Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
's autograph, he asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up. I'm told I said "I want to work in radio". That was the first my parents knew about it. It was probably the first time I realised." She presents programmes about psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
, including '' All in the Mind''. She also presents ''Health Check'' on BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
Radio. In 2020, she presented ''Inside Health – the Virus'', a version of '' Inside Health'' in the wake of the coronavirus
Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...
2020 pandemic. In October 2020, she presented the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
programme ''The Touch Test'', analysing results of a survey into the sense of touch
In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch (haptic perception), as well as temperature (thermoception), body position (proprioception), and pain. It is ...
. She also presented a 1: 45 programme called ''The Anatomy of Touch''.
In March 2022, she presented the Radio 4 programme ''The Anatomy of Kindness'', dealing with the results of the Kindness Test, a survey in which 60,000 respondents completed a questionnaire asking about human kindness.
TV presenter
In addition to presenting ''Health Check'' on BBC World News every Friday, Hammond has appeared on several other TV programmes (such as ''The One Show
''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...
'' and ''BBC Breakfast
''BBC Breakfast'' is the BBC television Breakfast television, breakfast news programme. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News (TV channel), BBC News channel. The simulcast is presented live, originally from ...
'') commenting on psychological topics. In the past, as a reporter, she covered science and medical issues for Channel 5 News.
Journalistic philosophy
Hammond has said she tries to "give people a better understanding of the role psychology plays. Helping people articulate and get across a seemingly technical piece of good research is central to my approach. I also like bringing different specialists together – it's amazing how often people who are hugely expert in one area of psychology know next to nothing about related work in a slightly different field."
Despite her varied portfolio, Hammond gave 'be choosy' as a piece of careers advice in one interview:
"Popular programmes are fine – "I sometimes go on Richard & Judy to talk about psychological research – but if I think a show is going to dumb it down, I say no. And sometimes what they’re looking for is a qualified therapist, and that’s not me."
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
Claudia Hammond homepage
BBC World Service presenter profile
(including a video).
on ISBNDb
A bibliographic database is a database of bibliographic records, an organized digital collection of references to published literature, including journal and newspaper articles, conference proceedings, reports, government and legal publications, p ...
Review of Emotional Rollercoaster
in ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Claudia
1971 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Surrey
Alumni of the University of Sussex
BBC newsreaders and journalists
BBC Radio 4 presenters
BBC World Service
British journalists
British radio presenters
British women psychologists
British women television journalists
English psychologists
People educated at Dame Alice Harpur School
People from Bedfordshire
People from Biggleswade
Recipients of the President's Medal (British Academy)
British women radio presenters