Helen Skelton lands permanent role on BBC Morning Live after stepping down from her Radio 5 show to spend more time with her children

She recently stepped down from her presenting role on BBC Radio 5 Live to spend more time with her three children.

And just three months later, Helen Skelton has moved into a more family-friendly role as the new regular presenter of BBC One's Morning Live, which will take on This Morning in a new extended timeslot.

Morning Live will now overlap for 45 minutes with the beleaguered This Morning, starting at 10am, making it a direct competitor for the first time. It used to end at 10am, just before This Morning started.

The ITV daytime show will also be revamped with new presenters in January after Holly Willoughby announced her shock departure in October.

Former Countryfile star Skelton, 40, has three children with her ex-husband Richie Myler – Ernie, eight, Louis, six, and Elsie, 20 months – and has been announced as one of the main faces of the revamped mid-morning magazine show. alongside Michelle Ackerley and Gethin Jones.

She will present the show from Monday to Wednesday every week from January as part of the new extended format, which will see the show air for 75 minutes instead of the previous 45 minutes.

This means it will now be on air longer than ITV rival Lorraine, airing every weekday from 9.30am to 10.45am, compared to Lorraine's hour of 9am to 10am.

The BBC show, which also has Sara Cox, Kimberley Walsh, Gaby Roslin and Rav Wilding as regular guest presenters, has been a bull's eye in the ratings and regularly beats its rival.

Skelton announced her shock departure from her Sunday morning radio show in August, saying she couldn't “juggle” being a single parent.

The new role, consisting of weekday mornings, is likely to be more manageable for the presenter as her two eldest children will be at school.

“I'm so excited to become a more permanent member of the Morning Live family and to be in such great company,” she said.

'It's really nice to be part of a program that gives so many people a voice. Everything we talk about on the show is what my friends and family text me about, we're at the heart of what people care about right now.

'But we don't just highlight the problems, we also find solutions and I think it's great that we can help in a small way.

'These are things you need to know, but also things that are nice to know, and even when I'm not presenting, I sit at home with a cup of tea to absorb everything. I can't wait until January.'

Emma Morris, Executive Editor of Morning Live, said: 'Helen and Michelle have been a big hit with audiences as guest co-hosts since September and are both a pleasure to work with, so we're delighted that they will now be a permanent fixture will be from the show. team, next to Gethin.'

Skelton, who shot to fame with Blue Peter and then Countryfile, took part in Strictly Come Dancing last year, just months after announcing her marriage was over.

It was later revealed that her rugby player ex-husband was dating Stephanie Thirkil and they had a baby in April 2023, just a year after his divorce from Ms Skelton.

Myler has since accused Skelton of “dragging her heels in the divorce proceedings” and “preventing him from moving on with his life.”

Just weeks after Skelton announced her departure from BBC Radio 5 Live, Countryfile's Ellie Harrison, 46, announced she was leaving the show to focus on raising her children.

Claudia Winkleman, 51, has now also left her Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2 to spend more time with her children.

She said: 'The truth is that my children are growing up extremely quickly, so I have decided to monitor them at home before they leave for good.'

Skelton and Ackerley will begin their rotations as regular presenters of BBC Morning Live from January 2, alternating appearances with Mr Jones every Monday to Wednesday.

Jones will continue to present four to five shows a week and Kym Marsh will present on Thursdays.