Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley to take over as co-hosts of This Morning – reports

Naomi Clarke, PA Entertainment Reporter

Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley will become the new co-hosts of This Morning, replacing Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, it has been reported.

Schofield left the popular ITV daytime show in May after he admitted to an “unwise but not illegal” past relationship with a younger male former colleague, with Willoughby leaving in October after 14 years.

Since then the show has had a rotation of presenters, including Deeley and Shephard on separate occasions.

Alison Hammond, Dermot O’Leary, Josie Gibson, Craig Doyle, Rylan Clark and Emma Willis have also all stepped in to front the show.

According to The Sun, ITV bosses have settled on Deeley (47) and Shephard (49).

An ITV spokesman said “we don’t comment on speculation” and a representative for Deeley also declined to comment.

Shephard has become a familiar face for ITV viewers as he has been co-hosting the breakfast show Good Morning Britain since 2014.

He has previously worked across various iterations of the show including GMTV and Daybreak.

Shephard has appeared as a guest presenter on This Morning and fronts the ITV quiz show Tipping Point.

Last month, Deeley presented This Morning for three days alongside Clark and Doyle.

She has previously hosted ITV’s Stars In Their Eyes and the BBC’s Fame Academy, and hosted American competition show So You Think You Can Dance for more than a decade.

Deeley’s husband, Patrick Kielty, took the helm of The Late Late Show earlier this year, replacing Ryan Tubridy.

Last week, ITV released the findings of the external review conducted into their handling of Schofield’s relationship with a runner on This Morning in 2019.

It found that the broadcaster had made “considerable efforts” to find out the truth about an alleged relationship but was “unable to uncover the relevant evidence” until the presenter’s own admission in late May 2023.

Jane Mulcahy KC interviewed 48 people for the review but Schofield “reluctantly declined” to take part because of “the risk to his health”, the report says.

“I am informed that PS’s mental health has since deteriorated,” the report said.

The runner, who has not been named, also declined to participate.