Showbiz I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice . This Morning is facing a new crisis with “viewing figures plummeting by half”, according to reports.
Since Cat Deeley , 47, and Ben Shephard , 49, took over fronting the ITV daytime show from Holly Willoughby, 43, and Phillip Schofield, 62, half a million viewers have switched off. While a million viewers tuned in for Deeley and Shephard’s big debut, two months later figures currently stand at less than 500,000, it has been reported. The long-running programme’s viewing woes comes after former host Fern Britton, 66, hinted that she is “in talks to return” 15 years after her departure.
According to The Sun, a source said: “Nobody at This Morning thought viewing figures would dip beneath the landmark low of half a million. “The arrival of Ben and Cat was supposed to spark a resurgence and hopefully keep the ratings above the million mark. But within a couple of weeks it became apparent they hadn’t done the trick while their nemesis Morning Live stayed strong.
“Now there is a massive question mark lingering over the future of the show as it’s difficult to justify the huge costs of making a live, daily show, especially at a time when ad revenues for linear TV are so low,” they added to the publication. In comparison, This Morning's rival BBC Morning Live is said to be thrashing them in the rating be taking in between one million to 1.4million.
