After nearly a year of turmoil, This Morning producers were hoping to reverse the show’s fortunes with two brand new presenters.
And it seems that enlisting Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard has paid off, as their debut episode drew an average viewership of 806,000 and a peak of one million – the show’s highest ratings of 2024 so far.
ITV have been hoping the duo will provide stability for viewers after months of uncertainty and a revolving door of presenters in the wake of the departure of Holly Willoughby, 43, and Phillip Schofield’s, 61.
The pair seemed to impress fans with many saying they had saved the show.
One person posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, said: ‘Love watching Cat and Ben a breath of fresh air a great duo. A brill revamp this morning needed long overdue.’
It seems that enlisting Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard has paid off, as This Morning’s debut episode drew an average viewership of 806,000 and a peak of one million – the show’s highest ratings of 2024 so far
ITV have been hoping the duo will provide stability for viewers after months of uncertainty and a revolving door of presenters
Another said: ‘Brilliant! I can now look forward to watching the show again. Mornings spent with Ben and Cat, lovely!’
And the proof of the success was in the pudding after the show reeled in a peak of over one million viewers – 200,000 more than the show had previously been getting.
In January this year, the show had a peak of 888,000 viewers and in February, 942,000.
And on Monday March 4, a week before the relaunch, a peak of just 837,000 people tuned in.
Schofield announced his departure from the show in May 2023 after his romance with a younger male colleague was made public.
Shortly after ITV bosses were reportedly forced to ‘act fast’ after ratings plummeted to an average of 726,000.
By contrast, the pair pulled in an average of 1.3 million viewers in 2022 and 1.4 million in 2021.
In October last year Ms Willoughby also announced she was quitting the show after 14 years after a man was charged in relation to an alleged plot to kidnap and murder her.
Cat and Ben have taken over from Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby who both left the show last year
Since their departures, Alison Hammond, 49, and Dermot O’Leary, 50, have regularly stepped in and they continue to host the show on Fridays
Cat and Ben seemed to impress fans with many saying they had saved the show
Since their departures, Alison Hammond, 49, and Dermot O’Leary, 50, have regularly stepped in.
And other guest presenters have included Rylan Clark, 35, Emma Willis, 47, Rochelle Humes, 34, Craig Doyle, 53, and Steve Jones, 46.
Shephard and Ms Deeley are set to present the show from Monday to Thursday whilst Alison and Dermot will continue to present the Friday edition.
