Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard‘s jobs as This Morning hosts will remain safe after the show’s editor of 10 years, Martin Frizell, announced he was stepping down.
Martin, 65, will be leaving his role in spring next year, with his replacement still to be announced.
With a new boss in charge, speculation grew whether the show would have a huge shake-up after Cat, 48, and Ben, 48, took over following a turbulent year.
But the duo, who were were announced as the new hosts of This Morning back in February after more than a year of scandal, will remain fronting the daytime programme.
ITV insiders say the pair have the ‘full support’ of the channel’s director of television Kevin Lygo, who is said to ‘adore’ Cat.
A source told MailOnline: ‘Kevin was very much behind hiring Cat, along with Martin, they pulled out the stops to get her and there were lots of obstacles.
Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard ‘s jobs as This Morning hosts will remain safe after the show’s editor of 10 years, Martin Frizell, announced he was stepping down
Martin, 65, who is married to Fiona Phillips, will be leaving his role in spring next year, with his replacement still to be announced (pictured together in 2016)
‘She is loved at ITV and they don’t want her to go anywhere. As for Ben, he is loved by ITV’s viewers. Martin has known that he would be going for some time now, even when he hired Cat and Ben.
‘Everyone at ITV is thrilled with how things have calmed down since they have taken over, they have steadied the ship and the show is no longer making headlines for the wrong reasons.’
The duo were locked in talks for months while a whole host of presenters including Craig Doyle, Alison Hammond and Josie Gibson temporarily took over hosting duties following the exit of Holly Willoughby, 43, and Phillip Schofield, 62.
Phillip resigned in disgrace after more than 20 years on the programme in May 2023 after lying about an affair with a younger colleague.
ITV bosses were forced to deny ‘turning a blind eye’ to the affair before it came out in public, prompting a huge public spat between Phillip and his former friend Holly Willoughby – who herself resigned five months later after being informed by police of a horrific plot to kill her.
Cat stepped away from her job across the Atlantic on So You Think You Can Dance where she was reportedly paid £43k an episode – instead opting for the role on This Morning with a reported £550k annual salary.
While hefty, the salary still paled in comparison to former hosts Holly and Phil, who were said to have been paid £700,000 annually for their role.
The duo were locked in talks for months following the exit of Holly Willoughby, 43, and Phillip Schofield, 62
ITV insiders say have the ‘full support’ of the channel’s director of television Kevin Lygo (pictured) who is said to ‘adore’ Cat
Meanwhile, former Good Morning Britain presenter Ben was hailed as a ‘safe bet’ by fans.
Their debut episode drawing an average viewership of 806,000 and a peak of one million – among the show’s highest ratings of 2024 so far.
Viewers seemed to be similarly impressed, with many praising the pair as being ‘much more refreshing’.
The following week saw the figure plunge to as low as 692,500, lower than both Holly and Phillip’s last day, which saw 767,00 people tune in.
A spokesperson for This Morning told MailOnline at the time: ‘Ben and Cat have recorded the best audience reach of the year so far on This Morning with 4.5 million viewers across one week.
‘Viewing figures for January – March 2024 are also up 5 percent compared to 2023.’
But this week, viewers tuning in begged bosses to consider replacing Ben with Dermot O’Leary after he filled in while the former GMB presenter is away filming another ITV show.
Viewers wrote on X: ‘Cat and Dermot work VERY well together. Natural, relaxed, energetic and warm. Not at all stiff or awkward #ThisMorning;’
‘Dermot should be the main full time presenter. He’s great with both Cat and Alison #ThisMorning.’
‘Anyone noticing it’s less stressful now Ben’s not around? #ThisMorning, ‘Cat and Dermot have more chemistry than Ben and Cat #thismorning’ and ‘Cat is much better with Dermot #ThisMorning.’
This week, viewers tuning in begged bosses to consider replacing Ben with Dermot O’Leary after he filled in while the former GMB presenter is away filming another ITV show
Viewers took to X to write: ‘Cat and Dermot work VERY well together. Natural, relaxed, energetic and warm. Not at all stiff or awkward #ThisMorning’
It comes after Monday and Tuesday’s instalment saw Cat presenting alongside Andi Peters, 54. But Cat was left red-faced after a string of blunders forced Bob Geldof to step in
It comes after Monday and Tuesday’s instalment saw Cat presenting alongside Andi Peters, 54, who usually delivers the latest competition details.
But Cat was left red-faced after a string of blunders forced Bob Geldof to step in and correct her.
As the hosts spoke to Bob and Midge Ure about Band Aid, Cat made a slew of factual mistakes.
When Cat told viewers Band Aid had raised almost £2million, Bob quickly corrected her it was actually £480million.
He joked: ‘You’ve never done this before?’
Cat said: ‘Never, I’m a spring chicken!’ If that weren’t awkward enough, Bob was forced to correct Cat for a second time, swiping: ‘Are you doing your research?’
As Cat plugged the upcoming Band Aid documentary which explores the footage from the first ever single, Do They Know It’s Christmas, she told viewers the wrong channel.
When Bob told viewers the documentary would be out later this week, Cat interrupted ‘On Channel 4’.
But Bob said: ‘No, not Channel 4, BBC Four.’
He fumed: ‘Who briefs you? Who does your research?! Deeley. It’s BBC Four for god’s sake.’
As become red-faced, Cat held up her script notes to hide her face with embarrassment.
Despite Cat’s mistakes, the hosts and Bob laughed off the blunders.
Martin announced his departure on Wednesday.
The editor, who is married to former GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips, joined the broadcaster in 2014 as editor of Loose Women before taking over at This Morning.
Fiona, 63, revealed in July 2023 that she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s the previous year.
Martin is seen here with former This Morning presenters Holly and Phillip at the TV Choice Awards in September 2019
Martin edited GMTV for 10 years before it was bought by ITV in 2009
The executive said in a statement: ‘Next year I’m expecting my family priorities to change so I need to free up time for them.
‘I love my team at ITV and will miss them and the thrill of live telly but it’s an always on, 24 hours a day, seven days a week commitment and I won’t be able to do both.’
A source at the channel said: ‘It is the 24/7 nature of the role which isn’t conducive to Fiona’s illness and next year he thinks that he is going to have to be around so much more for her. His family commitments are about to change and he needs a job that can blend into that rather than a job which takes over his entire life.
‘Martin has been talking about this for a while.
‘He and Emma Gormley, the head of daytime, have been regularly discussing when might be the time he decides to leave This Morning.
‘It has been ten years and the last few have been very difficult what with Holly and Phil going and the fall out from that and now it’s time.
‘Martin micro manages everything on This Morning, from the colours to the lighting to the scripts, he is over every bit of detail and he can’t do that with Fiona’s condition deteriorating. It is very sad.’
Kevin, ITV’s managing director for media and entertainment, paid tribute to him, saying: ‘This Morning is an iconic show in ITV’s schedule, and heading the team for a decade, producing more than ten hours of original, topical, live television every week is an amazing achievement.
‘As a programme and a brand, Martin has made sure the show continues to be a household name, an award-winning staple of the schedule with a growing successful presence in digital and social.
‘On behalf of the ITV Network, we thank Martin and wish him the very best for his future ventures.’