Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley are taking a seven-week break from This Morning, just four months after landing the job.
The new presenters have been guests on ITV’s daytime programme since March 11 and are said to receive an annual salary of £555,000.
Now they are gone for almost two months because of the show’s annual summer break, during which time guest presenters are hired to lead the show.
Friday favourites Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary open the summer shows from Monday 15 July, with a number of familiar faces returning to the sofa.
Josie Gibson, Craig Doyle, Rylan Clark, Rochelle Humes and Joel Dommett will also be presenters, while new mother Sian Welby is also returning to the broadcaster after having daughter Ruby last month.
Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley are taking a seven-week break from This Morning, just four months after landing the job
As they leave, a rotation of guest presenters will be brought in to lead the show in their absence, with fans particularly excited about Craig Doyle, who will co-host with Josie Gibson
Ben and Cat return to ITV’s flagship daytime programme on 2 September, while Alison and Dermot will be back on the Friday night show from 6 September.
Martin Frizell, editor of This Morning, said of the summer programme: ‘Viewers won’t want to miss a moment this summer!’
‘The shows will be packed and regardless of the weather, the team in front of and behind the cameras will deliver enough content to make the nation smile.
‘I’m absolutely thrilled that Alison and Dermot are kicking things off and that they will join our fantastic family of presenters, made up of some of the biggest names in TV, to deliver some really exciting content for Britain’s biggest daytime programme.’
However, viewers were left stunned when the early departure was announced on the show on Thursday.
On X, formerly Twitter, they shared: ‘Ben and Cat have only been on #ThisMorning since April this year’; ‘In September?? It’s July 11th… IT’S ONLY July 11th, part-timers were supposed to get TWO months off work, what a joke!’; ‘Let’s see if they’re back in September. Their ratings might not suggest #thismorning.’
However, other viewers were pleased with the change and said they were happy to see Irish presenter Craig back on their screens.
Ben and Cat’s summer vacation falls a few weeks after they took Easter off.
The duo enjoyed a two-week hiatus from the show in April, with Alison and Dermot on duty Monday through Friday for two weeks.
Friday favourites Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary open the summer shows from Monday 15 July, before a mix of familiar faces return to the sofa
Dermot will also present a number of shows with Rochelle Humes at his side
New mother Sian Welby also makes her return to the broadcaster after having daughter Ruby last month
Ben and Cat were officially announced as the new presenters of This Morning in February, after months of rumours.
Sources at the broadcaster said they were “excited” about the pair’s arrival after “overcoming so many obstacles to get there”.
The Mail first reported that the duo were top of the list, but in December Cat turned down the role because she couldn’t make enough time for the programme.
However, after further negotiations and the offer of more money, she agreed. A source said: ‘Cat was the one they wanted all along and now they’ve finally got her. It’s incredible news for them.’
It is possible that the sudden turnaround had a financial reason, as Cat would earn a significant sum of money as the new presenter.
When reports of her joining the show first emerged last year, it was claimed she and Ben would be paid an annual salary of £555,000.
Although the salary was quite high, it still paled in comparison to that of former presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, who reportedly earned £700,000-a-year for their roles.
Holly left the show last October ‘for her family’ after discovering she was the target of a foiled kidnapping and murder plot, and she has not been permanently replaced since.
Her departure came five months after Phillips’ departure, when his affair with a young male showrunner was made public, followed by claims of an increasingly strained relationship with his co-host.
Viewers were stunned when the early departure was announced on Thursday’s show
However, other viewers were pleased with the change and said they were happy to see Irish presenter Craig back on their screens.
Ben and Cat were officially announced as the new presenters of This Morning in February, after months of rumours
Phillip retreated from the spotlight following his affair scandal in May, which led to his departure from This Morning after more than 20 years on the show.
After much speculation about his private life, his affair finally became public and he admitted he was “heartbroken and ashamed” but insisted he was not a groomer.
He said the affair “never came across” as an abuse of power because he and his lover were “comrades”. He told The Sun: “I was unprofessional, once, in a 41-year career. There is no excuse. Nobody did anything wrong but me.”
In his first interview since leaving the broadcaster and This Morning, the 61-year-old presenter said: ‘I haven’t, I haven’t [groom him].
‘All sorts of things are being accused. It never came across that way, because we were supposed to be buddies. I don’t know. But of course I understand that there will be a huge verdict, but I never did that.’
Phillip apologized several times at the time, including to Holly, his co-host of 14 years, and Stephanie Lowe, his wife of 30 years.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV, ITVX, STV and STV Player
Holly Willoughby left the show in October last year after discovering she had been the target of a foiled kidnap and murder plot, five months after Phillip Schofield stepped down.