This Morning viewers beg for more Alison Hammond and Dermott O’Leary airtime as they admit they ‘would have made great main hosts’

It’s been a rollercoaster of a year for the This Morning team after both Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield resigned from the show in 2023.

Although new presenters Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard have settled into the role since their debut in March, it seems fans aren’t entirely convinced.

Cat, 47, and Ben, 49, headline the show from Monday to Thursday, but viewers will still be treated to an episode of Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary every Friday.

And it seems some viewers would have preferred the latter duo to take over full time, as they begged for the pair to be given more airtime after Friday’s busy episode, which even saw Alison debut her secret piano talent.

On Twitter, fans shared their love for the pair as they said ‘Fridays are the best days’ and argued that they have the edge over Cat and Ben.

They wrote: ‘How lovely to see Dermot and Alison on @thismorning today. Good presenters’; ‘Friday is the best day. I love Alison and Dermot! ‘

‘I love Alison and Dermot. They make me laugh so much. They are so relaxed. I love Ben & Cat, but not quite the same energy, the early days.’; ‘Wow, Alison, what a beautiful game. Love it. You and Dermot are brilliant.’

‘I can’t believe I’m about to say this, I prefer Alison and Dermot to Cat and Ben, just so much more fun and lively’; ‘@thismorning great to see Alison and Dermot this morning. Brilliant team!!!’

Elsewhere on Instagram, fans agreed as they commented on Alison’s recent post of her and Dermot laughing while co-hosting the show.

They wrote: ‘Why on earth these two didn’t get TM Monday through Friday is beyond me’; ‘I’ve always loved Cat, but I only watch TM on Fridays, no one beats the Dermot and Alison combination!’

‘I wish you were there every day!’; ‘Alison is an absolute gem. A National Treasure’; ‘My two favorites…can they please be on every day…kat and Ben are a no for me’.

‘I loved watching Alison play the piano and Dermot do the commentary this morning, it was absolutely hilarious, they are such a funny couple, thank goodness Alison is always so cheerful no matter what.

‘I imagine she won’t let anything hold her back, it’s always a joy to have them both hosting the show and I feel like I speak for a lot of people who agree with me, long may they stay with us cheer up and lift our feelings. ghosts in this gloomy world’.

And it’s not the first time fans have shared this sentiment; other viewers also claimed the same thing earlier this week.

‘No thanks! never again as long as Cat Deeley is present. Sorry, but she just doesn’t fit the show. I now only watch when Alison & Dermot are on. I’ve been watching This Morning since 1997 when my son was born, but it’s just not like that. It’s not the same anymore.’

“I just look at the item on makeup bags. Cat chatting non-stop and repeating what Pauline explains, so annoying. #shutofftime. Why did #ITV change it? Bring Alison, Dermot and Josie back, PLEASE’; “Bring back Alison and Dermot Fast.”

Fans were also impressed after Alison wowed viewers with her secret piano talent when she opened the ITV program with a song.

Sitting on a grand piano, Alison played a beautiful tune as Dermot chimed in: ‘Welcome to the show today!’

Dermot joked that Alison’s song was called ‘Le ode de Birmingham’ and temporarily broke her concentration as she burst out laughing.

Fans at home were equally impressed as they shared their praise on social media: ‘There’s something very beautiful about the piano which was beautiful’; ‘She’s brilliant’; “This is just beautiful, I could cry.”

“Good job Alison. I listen to Richard Clayderman every night when I go to sleep. I have a pillow speaker and have set my phone to turn off the music after a certain amount of time’; ‘ALISON HAMMOND, you were brilliant!!!!!! I watched it four times!!’; ‘Lovely to hear Alison perform her rendition of ‘au de Birmingham’

‘Wow, Alison, what a beautiful game. Love it. You and Dermot are brilliant.’; ‘Dermot sings, I love it, Alison is so talented.’

Meanwhile, ITV bosses are celebrating after Cat and Ben surpassed last year’s viewing figures by 5 percent.

During their three-week broadcast of the daytime show, viewing figures have increased compared to the year-to-date average and during this time have achieved their highest three performances of the year to date.

They attracted 4.5 million viewers in just a week and have also proven popular on digital platforms, with 27.7 million video views of the show on social media.

An ITV insider told the Mail: ‘The truth is that Ben and Cat have made a strong start in just three weeks and everyone is delighted.

“They’ve already had the three best performances of the year over the three weeks so far, and viewership is up over those three weeks compared to the year-to-date average.

‘The bosses are delighted, it’s been a very long year for them… so to see figures that prove everything is going so well is a huge boost for everyone involved. They are clearly very popular with viewers.

‘Holly and Phil had been together for 14 years, so it’s been a long time since a new start has taken place. The overall picture is that this has been a huge success, it’s great news.”

Cat and Ben attracted 1.02 million viewers for their first show and have kept their audience steady ever since.