This Morning hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard were sent a message by former stars Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield after they replaced them.

Phil and Holly fronted the popular ITV show together between 2009 and 2023. But Phil quit the show last year after he revealed he had an affair with a younger colleague.

The 62-year-old described the relationship as “unwise but not illegal”. Holly returned to the show but left in October, saying the decision was for “me and my family”.

Cat and Ben took over the presenting duties earlier this year, and are set to return from their summer break next month. The pair have now revealed their predecessors sent them messages ahead of their debuts on the show.


Phil and Holly presented This Morning together from 2009 until 2023

Speaking to The Telegraph, Ben said: “I know Holly very well and I’ve been in touch with her. She sent us both flowers when we started, and I got a message from Phil as well. They said it’s a special, precious show and you’re going to love it, just make the most of it.”

Cat meanwhile added: “It was the most beautiful surprise to get a gorgeous bunch of flowers and a handwritten note in my dressing room from Holly. So we’ve been texting, and we’re a bit like, ‘When the dust settles we’ll have a glass of champagne’.”

Cat and Ben’s This Morning return will be followed shortly by Friday presenters Allison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary who will return on September 6. The foursome celebrated their return with a photoshoot atop the Television Centre building for the first time in the show’s history.

The building Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard scaled
The stars of This Morning were filmed on top of ITV’s headquarters. ( 
Image:
(Image: ITV))

They flew a drone off the building while smiling at each other. A social media post about the moment was accompanied by ‘Talk About It’ from the band Jungle.

To film the moment, the group had scale heights of over 45ft, but made TV history in the process. Martin Frizell, editor at This Morning, shared, “Full credit to our promo team for this idea and execution. I know that it was no mean feat getting a rather large sofa and four hosts up on the roof during one of the hottest days this summer!”