In recent days, This Morning presenter Cat Deeley had to issue an apology on the ITV programme for her insensitive joke about “having a seizure”.
The 47-year-old was hit with a wave of complaints after she began dancing on Monday’s show and told co-host Ben Shephard: “I’m fine, I’m just having a seizure.”
A celebrity PR specialist has now claimed to Express.co.uk that Cat and Ben were destined to fail at their This Morning gig.
Speaking on behalf of Betfred, Celebrity PR Specialist Kayley Cornelius, said the pair were “set up to fail” due to the state of the show when they joined following Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield‘s departures.
Phillip stepped down from his commitments at ITV last May after admitting to having an “unwise but not illegal” fair with a younger male colleague.
Holly, meanwhile, left This Morning last October but returned to ITV alongside Stephen Mulhern to host Dancing on Ice in January.
Reflecting on This Morning’s longevity, Kayley said: “Whoever took over from Holly and Phil was set up to fail. The timeline from when the Phil controversy unfolded to Holly stepping down had already left the show in a dire state, with ratings suffering a significant hit. With trust broken among viewers, it was going to be a tough job for anyone to come in and redeem that.
“While the departure of both Holly and Phil was unforeseen and undeniably put the show bosses in crisis mode, the major mistake with Cat and Ben was that ITV focused too much on hiring two good presenters without considering whether they were compatible enough to engage and entertain the audience together.”
She continued: “Like new co-workers in any environment, it takes time to break the ice, get to know each other, and build a genuine relationship.”
The expert claimed Holly and Phillip “set the bar and tone for This Morning as the pair built their ‘package deal’ brand over the course of their 17-year friendship”.
“So ITV made a massive blunder when casting Cat and Ben, knowing they were completely new not just to the show, but to each other too,” she lamented.
Kayley added: “Although Ben and Cat are becoming more comfortable with each other and starting to gel, they still seem to be moving at different paces.
“As Ben has come out of his shell, he now looks like a natural in the role, whereas Cat still seems to be finding her feet and appears a bit out of her depth.
“Her recent attempts at being witty have unintentionally caused upset, and it looks like she’s struggling to find the right balance between hosting and entertaining, which is likely due to the overhanging pressure to improve the show’s ratings.”
This Morning airs on weekdays from 10am on ITV and ITVX.