Laura Whitmore and Oti Mabuse are to host two new weekend talk shows, ITV has announced. They will lead separate unnamed series, which will cover lifestyle and entertainment, with each show featuring a compelling combination of celebrity guests and topical chats, when they air on ITV1 and ITVX this year.
Former Love Island host Whitmore, who ended her run during the last series of the reality dating show and has since been replaced by Maya Jama, will host her show on Sunday mornings. In July, she also announced that she would step down from her BBC Radio 5 Live show, which aired weekly on Sunday mornings.
The 37-year-old is currently filming an investigative documentary programme called Laura Whitmore Investigates for ITV and recently took to the West End stage in the play 2:22 A Ghost Story. Mabuse, a judge on ITV’s Dancing On Ice since 2022 and panellist on The Masked Dancer, will debut her chat show on Saturday mornings.
The 32-year-old South African dancer made history by winning Strictly Come Dancing twice, consecutively. She lifted the glitterball trophy in 2019 and 2020 with Emmerdale actor Kelvin Fletcher and comedian Bill Bailey respectively, and then announced she would leave the BBC show in 2022.
Meanwhile, ITV said it is also renewing Katie Piper’s Breakfast Show following its 2022 success with viewers. The TV presenter was recognised with an OBE for services to charity and victims of burns and other disfigurement injuries in the 2021 New Year Honours list after founding the Katie Piper Foundation.
The 39-year-old activist and former model suffered life-changing burns in an acid attack in March 2008 when she was 24, and explored her story the following year in Katie: My Beautiful Face on Channel 4. She also hosts a podcast, Katie Piper’s Extraordinary People, in which she chats with inspirational people who have turned adversity into positivity, and is a panellist on ITV’s Loose Women.
Katie Rawcliffe, head of entertainment commissioning for ITV and ITVX, said “In Katie, Oti and Laura we have three dynamic, engaging broadcasters who bring energy and flair to our weekend schedules. Each of their shows will give viewers that perfect weekend wake-up call."
Executive producer, Cactus TV chief executive Amanda Ross said: “We are looking forward to a summer of fun with these three wonderful women driving weekend mornings. Their very different personalities give each series a unique flavour, a treat for the viewers and the team."
The three shows will air on ITV1 and ITVX later in 2023.
