Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley announce new This Morning presenter

Daily Mirror

6 hours ago

This Morning has welcomed a new presenter to the ITV daytime show.
This Morning's Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley have announced the arrival of a fresh face on the ITV daytime show.
Amidst several alterations, including tweaks to Lorraine Kelly's 9am show and Loose Women, the network is stirring excitement with some shake-ups.
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None other than ex-Love Island contestant Olivia Attwood, who has been a familiar face on Loose Women for two years, is stepping onto the This Morning stage.
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The 34-year-old, whose journey to stardom began in the 2017 edition of Love Island alongside Chris Hughes, has witnessed a remarkable evolution in her career, venturing from reality TV onto shows like The Only Way Is Essex and even dipping into I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! not to mention fronting documentaries, reports Wales Online.
On Monday's episode, while discussing her latest series Olivia Attwood: The Price of Perfection, Olivia spilled the beans that she'd be gracing the iconic blue sofa regularly.
Ben kicked off the discussion, teasing: "We've got some big news about This Morning and you in the summer."
Olivia couldn't hide her enthusiasm, declaring: "It's very exciting! I will be joining you guys on the hosting team."
Then, taking her position next to Cat on the presenter's side, she confessed: "This feels more surreal now."
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Expressing her joy, she revealed: "It's a huge honour, I've grown up watching this show, and being a part of the daytime team with Loose Women has been the best experience and this feels very natural."
She will join ranks with names like Alison Hammond, Josie Gibson, and Dermot O'Leary, who step in to present when regulars Cat and Ben are away.
Last year, Cat and Ben stepped into the roles held by Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield after Schofield exited amid a scandal involving an "unwise but not illegal" affair with a younger colleague, followed by Holly's departure for personal reasons.
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Olivia's move to This Morning comes after ITV announced a series of shake-ups to morning programming.
ITV revealed changes to their morning TV schedule which will include a trimmed-down version of Lorraine, now set to run from 9.30am to 10am, but only for 30 weeks per year on a seasonal rotation.
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As a result, Good Morning Britain will extend its airtime to three and a half hours, widening to four during the periods Lorraine isn't broadcasting.
Furthermore, Loose Women is returning to a 30-week annual schedule, resembling its pre-2016 routine, with these alterations taking effect from January 2026.
Kevin Lygo, the Head of ITV's Media and Entertainment said: "Daytime is a really important part of what we do, and these scheduling and production changes will enable us to continue to deliver a schedule providing viewers with the news, debate and discussion they love from the presenters they know and trust as well generating savings which will allow us to reinvest across the programme budget in other genres."
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He added: "These changes also allow us to consolidate our news operations and expand our national, international and regional news output and to build upon our proud history of trusted journalism at a time when our viewers need accurate, unbiased news coverage more than ever."
The popular daytime show This Morning is set to stick with its regular slot of 10am to 12.30pm on weekdays, but it's all change for the location as the programme moves to a swanky new studio in the heart of London.
Lygo remarked: "I recognise that our plans will have an impact on staff off screen in our Daytime production teams, and we will work with ITV Studios and ITN as they manage these changes to produce the shows differently from next year, and support them through this transition."
He also reflected on the station's longstanding tradition, noting: "Daytime has been a core element of ITV's schedule for over 40 years and these changes will set ITV up to continue to bring viewers award winning news, views and discussion as we enter our eighth decade."
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.