Former One Show presenter AC Scott (Alison Craig) releases new music this month as June marks Worldwide LAM Awareness Month, raising the profile of a condition that cut short her high-profile career and changed her life. After swapping a glittering broadcasting career for music after being diagnosed with a devastating rare lung disease, she has released a new single, ‘Holding Your Hand’ in a bid to raise awareness of the condition affecting thousands of women across the UK.
Craig, a Sony Award-winning radio host, former One Show presenter, and bestselling novelist, was diagnosed with Lymphangioleiomyomatosis, known as LAM, in 2012, after suffering repeated lung collapses that forced her off the air mid-career.
LAM is a rare, progressive lung disease that affects women almost exclusively. The condition is caused by the abnormal growth of smooth muscle cells in the lungs, lymphatic system, and kidneys, which over time leads to a loss of lung function, fluid accumulation in the chest and abdomen, and the development of benign tumours in the kidneys.
It is estimated that between three and seven women per million are affected, though a 2023 study across four European countries suggests the true figure may be significantly higher, at around 21 cases per million women. Women have been diagnosed with LAM in more than sixty countries, with the average age at diagnosis around 35. Many have lived with symptoms for years before receiving a diagnosis.
There is currently no cure. LAM Awareness Month, led by The LAM Foundation, aims to drive understanding of the disease through educational campaigns, fundraising, patient story sharing, and community events, with many taking to social media throughout June using the hashtag #LAMAwarenessMonth.
For Craig, the diagnosis was a turning point that reshaped every aspect of her life. At the time, she was at the height of a career that had seen her front live chat shows, host prime-time television, anchor radio across Scotland, and interview some of the biggest names in culture and entertainment, from Bryan Ferry to Victoria Beckham.
When her lungs began to fail, she was told she would be lucky to live another ten years.
Unable to continue broadcasting, Craig channelled her energy into writing, producing a bestselling trilogy of novels published by Orion, one of which was later adapted for film by director Jason Connery. But it was music, something she had set aside since her Aberdeen childhood, growing up surrounded by her father’s instruments, that ultimately became her most powerful form of expression.
A weekend songwriting retreat on Scotland’s west coast proved transformative, unlocking a creative outpouring that has since produced hundreds of original songs and a string of international collaborations. Her debut album Out of the Blue, recorded between the Scottish Highlands, London, and Los Angeles, has drawn early critical acclaim, with reviewers praising the maturity and depth of her songwriting.
Holding Your Hand was written as an offering of comfort to anyone facing serious illness or personal hardship. Musically spare and emotionally direct, the track builds over baritone guitars, gentle synths and low, resonant vocals, Craig’s voice carrying both fragility and quiet resolve.
The release is timed deliberately. June’s LAM Awareness Month provides a platform for patients, families, and supporters to share experiences and push for greater public understanding of a condition that remains largely unknown outside those directly affected by it.
Craig hopes the single will go some way toward changing that.