Ben Shephard’s great TV career and what he said about This Morning job
Ben Shephard is teaming up with Cat Deeley
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Ben Shephard is on our small screens while presenting ITV’s breakfast show Good Morning Britain but now we will be seeing him on This Morning from March.
Presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary reacted to the This Morning news live on air on Friday. They were absolutely delighted to be welcoming their friends on the show and they told viewers: "The secret is out!"
As the race to find replacements for Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield has finally come to an end, Shephard was named as the new host alongside Cat Deeley. They will be presenting every Monday-Friday on the show.
Shephard's history with This Morning goes back to when he was first a stand-in presenter for Schofield on the daytime TV show in 2005. So we take a look at what has Shephard done up until now? And what has Shephard said about the This Morning job?
What has Ben Shephard said about the This Morning job?
Before Willoughby quit after being at the centre of an alleged kidnap and murder plot, Shephard had responded to the rumours he was replacing Schofield in October. Giving nothing away, the presenter said he would be seen on This Morning more in the weeks before Christmas as he was "helping out".
He told The Mirror at the time: "What I can tell you is I’m doing so more - I’m gonna be doing some more but I’m just helping out really. So I’ve got some days coming up between now and Christmas. So I’m not exactly sure but I’m still very, very much part of the furniture."
Asked about the lie-ins with working on This Morning which starts at 10am compared to Good Morning Britain’s early get up at 6am, he added: "Amazing! You get an amazing lie-in." An ITV spokesperson said: "We don't comment on speculation."
Now the news is out that he will be the new host, Shephard said getting the job was an "honour". He said: "This really feels like a very special moment for Cat and I to be part of the next chapter of This Morning. It’s an honour to be trusted with the reigns, join Alison and Dermot and all the team that work on and off screen and do such a great job."
He added: "For the last ten years I’ve been waking up with our ITV daytime audience on GMB and I now look forward to spending time with Cat, welcoming the viewers home after the school run or from their early morning routines, with a cup of tea and a mix of everything that makes This Morning so loved."
Shephard's TV career
Shephard has been gracing our screens for TV years since his big break on Channel 4 spin-off show The Bigger Breakfast in 1998 with Melanie Sykes and fellow ITV star Dermot O’Leary. His TV portfolio began to build in the same year as he was the first presenter of T4's teen strand on Channel 4. It was the start of an incredible career on TV for Shephard, who has now been on our screens for 25 years.
The presenter would then spend 10 years on the GMTV sofa. And ever since 2014 we have seen the presenter alongside Susanna Reid, Kate Garraway and Charlotte Hawkins on breakfast TV Good Morning Britain.
Shephard has hosted a range of shows including the first three series of ITV2 spin off The Xtra Factor between 2004 and 2006. But one of his TV shows definitely stands out to Shephard as his love of presenting game show Tipping Point, which he has fronted since 2012. Tipping Point returns to our screens for the Christmas special.
Family first
Shephard has been married to his wife Annie Perks since 2004. They raise their two sons together, Jack and Sam. In 2020, Shephard said he wasn't returning to Goals on Sunday after nine years of hosting the Sky sports show because he wanted to put his family first.
He explained his decision at the time to The Mirror: "Now they’re teenagers, Sam is taller than me and Jack is not far behind, which I’m trying to come to terms with. They’re consumed by schoolwork all week, the weekend is the only time I can spend with them."
