ITV clears up This Morning ‘rumours’ of Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley’s replacements

ITV has cleared up rumours that longtime This Morning hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley are set to be replaced by Tess Daly and Vernon Kay.

Reports began circulating that the show was looking to replace Cat and Ben, who have been fronting the daytime programme together since March 2024, with a married duo similar to former hosts Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan.

After Vernon and Tess stepped in to host The One Show last week, speculation arose that they could be brought in. 

However, ITV has cleared up the confusion by backing its current presenters, which also include Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.

What did ITV say?

“We are very happy with Cat, Ben, Alison, and Dermot as This Morning’s lead presenters and there are no plans for that to change,” ITV said in a statement.

© Getty Images for the NTA’s

“2026 has got off to a great start for the show with viewing up year on year and a weekly reach of 3.7 million viewers.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Vernon told Metro: “There’s no truth to any rumours. Vernon is very happy and committed to his BBC Radio 2 show.”

What are Vernon and Tess doing?

Vernon’s schedule is pretty jam-packed, as he hosts his own BBC Radio 2 show and appears on the panel for Loose Men.

Meanwhile, after leaving her 21-year gig on Strictly Come Dancing, Tess teased what could be next when she spoke exclusively to HELLO!.

© BBC/Guy Levy

“I’m looking forward to doing other TV projects and there are a couple in the pipeline,” she said. “I love working in television because I genuinely love people. As a viewer, I love anything authentically emotive that brings a tear to the eye.” Alongside her TV work, Tess also runs her fitnesswear brand, NAIA.

Other ITV scheduling changes 

ITV’s response comes after a big change for the scheduling of Lorraine, which is fronted by Lorraine Kelly. After falling ill last week, which prompted Ben Shepherd and Christine Lampard to step in, Lorraine announced that she’d be spending a period of time away due to cuts made to the show. 

After thanking fans for their support with her “bad lurgy”, she added: “I will be off for a good few weeks. Not because I am not well, but because of course the changes to the show.

“We now do 30 weeks a year. So I won’t see you for a wee while, but I want to thank you for sticking with me through all the changes. I hope to see you when I am back on air. I never take it for granted and I really, really, really appreciate you tuning in. Thanks so so much.”