This Morning’s Sian Welby brands her hosting debut on the ITV show ‘best week of my life’ but admits there was ‘no chance to wee’ as bosses declare her ‘the next Holly Willoughby’

Sian Welby has shared an insight into her recent This Morning debut, calling it the ‘best week of her life’.

The 37-year-old Capital Breakfast presenter joined Dermot O’Leary to co-present the ITV show amid claims bashed bosses had declared her the ‘next Holly Willoughby’.

Sian was quizzed about the four-day stint on Wednesday by colleague Roman Kemp, 31, as she returned to her regular job in radio.

Listeners say: ‘Honestly, probably the best week of my life! I was on This Morning, I can’t believe they handed me the reins to co-host X Factor, Big Brother with Dermot O’Leary, who I’ve watched most of my life, he’s a legend.

“So for me it was quite nerve-wracking because you’re walking into a show that everyone knows and loves and has their favorites.”

The Capital Breakfast presenter, 37, joined Derrot O’Leary (pictured) to co-present the ITV show amid claims bashed bosses declared her the ‘next Holly Willoughby’

However, Sian did admit there was one downside to the fast-paced show – she didn’t have time for a toilet break.

“They say like a swan is always graceful on the water, but their legs are paddling, it was a bit like that, I was clearly full of adrenaline and nerves,”

‘Because it’s full you generally don’t have time to go and have a pee because it’s this this this, there are so many elements, you go from a kitchen to the couch to a demo room, then you have callers and it’s quite an adrenaline rush all the time’.

Meanwhile, Roman revealed he gave his friend some surprisingly honest advice while criticizing her time on the morning show.

Admitted: ‘I was sending Sian notes every day and I thought, ‘This was great, this was really good, it could have been better, I’m not going to lie’.

It comes after MailOnline’s Katie Hind wrote: Towards the end of the long, hot summer of 2009 I came across Holly Willoughby in a rather unlikely place.

At the time, the future star of daytime television was far from a household name. She was only 28 and still wore her hair in long blonde curls instead of the shorter locks she prefers today. Nor was she dressed from head to toe in her now signature designer dresses.

This more informal style perhaps explains why, when we met in the ladies’ queue at the now-defunct V music festival in Chelmsford, Essex, Holly was surprisingly candid: she revealed that she ‘nearly fainted’ when she was presented with the invitation offered. chance to present Britain’s most talked-about breakfast show alongside experienced broadcaster Phillip Schofield.

Sian was quizzed about the four-day stint on Wednesday by colleague Roman Kemp, 31, as she returned to her regular job in radio

Sian did admit there was one downside to the fast-paced show – she didn’t have time for a toilet break

Meanwhile, Roman revealed he gave his friend some surprisingly honest advice while criticizing her time on the morning show (pictured together in 2023)

She also admitted that she was still “in shock” and that she “didn’t see it coming.”

There’s no doubt it was a huge promotion: apart from an appearance on children’s TV, presenting The X-tra Factor (a spin-off of Simon Cowell’s hit The X Factor) and a few series of Dancing On Ice besides Schofield, she had little broadcasting experience.

Eight days after we met, Holly took her place next to Schofield – and the rest, as they say, is history.

My memory of meeting her all those years ago came flooding back to me on Monday this week, when I turned on my TV – and did a double take.

There on ITV’s flagship daytime show was new presenter Sian Welby, gently stepping into Holly’s LK Bennett shoes for the first episode of a four-day ‘trial’ period at the helm of This Morning.

It comes after Katie Hind reported that ITV bosses were in love with Sian and dubbed her the ‘next Holly Willoughby’ (Holly pictured on the show in 2023)

Dressed in a £120 denim jumpsuit from high street retailer And Other Stories, and smiling from ear to ear, Sian humbly introduced herself – and it was almost as if Holly was back.

In her accessible Midlands accent, Sian – who looks much younger than her 37 years – shared a deeply personal story about her father suffering from dementia, as co-host Dermot O’Leary (a big fan, I’m told) looked on. pride.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, viewers called the rising star “a breath of fresh air” who “makes the show so much fun to watch.”

And behind the scenes, the upper echelons of ITV were just as enthusiastic – Martin Frizell, the editor of This Morning and the Svengali of daytime television, were especially smitten.

A show insider later told me I wasn’t alone, saying: ‘Sian reminds us all of early Holly. She was completely relatable and sweet. No airs and graces.’

This makes her a big relief to ITV bosses, who finally have something to laugh about almost four months after embattled Holly sensationally quit this morning amid an alleged plot to kidnap and murder her.

It has been a torrid year for Martin and his lesser-known boss, ITV Daytime Managing Director Emma Gormley. Last March the show was thrown into turmoil when Holly and Phil, once best friends, had a spectacular row.

After quitting the show in May last year, Schofield admitted to having an “ill-advised but not illegal” affair with a male colleague decades younger than him – and, worse, lying about it.

Ultimately, Holly herself left last October, putting the future of This Morning in jeopardy.

Viewers said Sian was ‘a breath of fresh air’ who ‘makes the show so much fun to watch’

Dressed in a £120 denim jumpsuit from high street retailer And Other Stories, the new host smiled from ear to ear as she introduced herself

I’m told that ITV executives had for a time hoped to tempt Cat Deeley, 47, to the bank, but her commitments in America – she is the star of the popular talent show So You Think You Can Dance – were paid off. that, although some at ITV remain in Deeley’s camp.

Now many at the network have concluded that it would be better to sign Sian and let her make the show her own.

Although ITV bosses rate O’Leary as a seasoned presenter for Friday’s show, I’m told they hope to sign Ben Shephard for the more coveted Monday-Thursday spot once occupied by the disgraced Schofield. If 49-year-old Shephard agrees, it would be like 2009 all over again.

When we met in that row years ago, young Holly said to me breathlessly, “There were so many other talented presenters on the roster, I never thought I’d have a chance!”

Words that Sian would likely echo today – with a bright future awaiting her.

Listen to Capital Breakfast with Roman, Chris and Sian, weekdays from 6am to 10am in the UK and on Global Player

Holly in her early days presenting This Morning in 2011