This Morning’s Cat Deeley brands her first six-months hosting the ITV show a ‘rollercoaster’ while Ben Shephard admits making his debut HUNGOVER – as they join Alison and Dermot to film dramatic new promo

Cat Deeley called her first six months as This Morning presenter a “rollercoaster”, while co-host Ben Shephard admitted he made his debut on the show with a hangover.

The duo took over the reins of the much-loved ITV series in March after it was announced they would replace Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.

And to mark the show’s return after the summer break, Cat, 47, and Ben, 49, joined Friday presenters Alison Hammond, 49, and Dermot O’Leary, 50, to film a dramatic new promo involving aerial platforms high above the This Morning studio.

Cat told MailOnline: ‘It was definitely a learning experience because I’ve never done a show quite like this before.’

‘I’ve done more types of entertainment, shiny floor shows. And they weren’t daily and they weren’t full of different topics and themes like this. I’ve done a lot of live TV, but with This Morning I had to get used to the rollercoaster a bit.’

The duo took over the helm of the much-loved ITV series in March after being announced as replacements for Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield (Ben Shephard pictured)

Meanwhile, Ben revealed to MailOnline that he made his debut on the show with a hangover (pictured during their first show)

Reflecting on their debut, she said: ‘I actually can’t believe it’s been almost six months. I mean, I know we started in March, but it was kind of a blur because I had just gotten back from the States and we had seen each other on a zoom call, but we hadn’t really done much else before we started, right?’

As a red-faced Ben revealed: ‘No. We arrived on a Sunday morning and I’d been out the Saturday night before and only had about three hours sleep!’.

Cat exclaimed in shock, “You certainly didn’t tell me that day!”

“No, I behaved myself perfectly and then I had to go to West Ham to do some filming for the show!” Ben admitted.

Before adding: “But yeah, it was just a really surreal period of time that we were talking about and building towards, and then we just got started. It feels like it flew by so quickly. Especially because there’s so much content in each show.”

Cat continued: Some [days] are like a rollercoaster! Earlier this year I remember we went from Rishi Sunak to the cast of Chorus Line, interiors with Kelly Hoppen, singer Natalie Imbruglia and Toadie from Neighbours.

Before the duo revealed that they had given away a whopping £30,000 to viewers in the past six months with their new game Coin Drop.

They then went on to describe the This Morning National Television Award nomination on the Daytime broadcast as a “privilege”, after the show failed to receive a nomination in 2023 for the first time in 12 years.

Cat and Ben joined Friday’s presenters Alison Hammond (pictured) and Dermot O’Leary to film a dramatic new promo

They climbed into cherry pickers and were hoisted high above the show’s London studio (Dermot O’Leary pictured)

This is the first ever time a promo has been filmed on the roof of London’s iconic Television Centre

Cat told MailOnline: ‘It was definitely a learning experience because I’ve never done a show quite like this before’

Cat spit: “I can’t believe it! Are you sure? Were you wearing your glasses when you read that list?”

While Ben joked, “‘My mother really voted too often!’

“But seriously, for us it’s a great privilege to be presenting this show and I’m so happy to be working with this incredibly talented, brilliant woman who makes me better at what I do. We get to share all of this together and that’s a real treat.”

And further: ‘And that the viewers also enjoy it, that is really special’.

Before his co-host added: Absolutely. We love coming to work every day to do this show with the team, and with everyone watching at home and the guests we have on the couch, we couldn’t enjoy it more, so thank you to everyone who voted!

This came after Cat gave fans a glimpse into her family holiday by sharing a slew of Instagram snaps from the South of France during her break from the ITV show.

Reflecting on their debut, she said: ‘I actually can’t believe it’s been almost six months. I mean, I know we started in March, but that was a bit of a blur.’

Cat continued: Some [days] are like a rollercoaster! Earlier this year I remember we went from Rishi Sunak (R) to the cast of Chorus Line, interiors with Kelly Hoppen, singer Natalie Imbruglia and Toadie from Neighbours’

During the summer holidays, a number of guest presenters were hired to host the show in their absence.

Cat showed off her impressive figure in a black bandeau bikini which she paired with a paisley print skirt.

In another sweet photo, the mother of two snuggles up to her husband Patrick Kielty, 53, who kisses her lovingly on the cheek.

The couple have two sons, Milo, eight, and James, five, who accompanied them on the sunny trip, as well as Cat’s parents.

In another photo, Cat is seen in a skimpy khaki bikini as her sons build sandcastles on the beach.

Join Ben and Cat for a new season on This Morning from Monday 2 September, and Alison and Dermot from Friday 6 September at 10am on ITV, ITVX, STV and STV Player

It comes after Cat gave fans a glimpse of her family holiday, when she shared a series of Instagram photos from the South of France during her break from the ITV show