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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Gemma Jones

Who presents 'This Morning'? All the regular and guest hosts of the ITV daytime show

This Morning has been a nation's favourite on screens since it first debuted in 1988.

The ITV talk show has seen many famous faces present in pairs creating some of the best partnerships to be seen on TV.

This Morning is broadcast live every weekday from 10am to 12.30pm across the United Kingdom and features a variety of news, showbiz, fashion and lifestyle segments.

READ MORE: Alison Hammond 'honoured' to be working alongside Holly Willoughby on This Morning

This Morning's early years were spent at Albert Dock in Liverpool before moving to its London home in 1996.

Despite This Morning being launched with no publicity, its ratings quickly rose to a daily average of two million viewers.

Expert guests on the show often included Dr Chris Steele, who still contributes now, the late agony aunt Denise Robertson, and the now-disgraced weatherman Fred Talbot.

With so many various presenters appearing on the show, past and present, we take a look at who has held the regular and guest presenting roles from its early days through to its current success.

Regular Presenters

Richard and Judy (1988 - 2001)

Richard and Judy on This Morning (ITV)

For the first 13 years of This Morning being on air, presenting veterans Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan were at the helm.

During their time on the programme, they won four National Television Awards for most popular daytime show.

The husband and wife hosted the Monday to Thursday editions, with regular guest presenters hosting on Fridays.

It was a hugely emotional day for Madeley and Finnigan when they presented their last show in 2001, although they continued to host together on various other shows and Madeley now has a regular role at Good Morning Britain.

Fern Britton and Phillip Schofield (2002 - 2009)

Fern Britton and Phillip Schofield on This Morning (ITV)

When Madeley and Finnigan left the show in 2001, they were originally replaced by Coleen Nolan and Twiggy but poor ratings led to Twiggy being swiftly axed and Nolan staying on until the end of 2001 with Friday presenter John Leslie, before being replaced by Leslie's Friday co-host Fern Britton.

Leslie remained on the show until 2002 and was replaced with host Phillip Schofield who still presents on the show now.

For a good few years, things settled in nicely for Fern and Phillip - who became known for their good friendship and shared sense of humour.

That was until 2009 when the hosts ended up having a very public spat, after Britton left under a cloud of rumours about ITV paying her significantly less than her co-star.

The pair awkwardly reunited in 2018 when Britton appeared on the show via video link to congratulate Schofield and her successor Holly Willoughby on a Bafta recognising the show's 30 years on air.

Britton said: "Congratulations on Bafta. That was absolutely wonderful and brilliant, and I would have loved to have been there, but I didn’t get an invitation..."

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield (2009 - present)

Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby attend the National Television Awards 2021 (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Phillip has now been the longest standing regular presenter on This Morning, with 20 years secured and still going strong.

He now works alongside Fern Britton's replacement Holly Willoughby and the pair have a very close bond and friendship.

The friends often giggle their way through the show and have celebrated many of the shows successes together as it repeatedly bags the best daytime TV show at the National Television Awards.

Willoughby and Schofield host Dancing On Ice together too and have even been known to holiday with each other's families.

There was a key moment both in the show and in their friendship in February 2020, when Holly supported Phillip as he came out as gay.

Live on air, he announced that his wife and daughters had been helping him accept that he was gay.

Friday Presenters

Fern Britton and John Leslie (2001 - 2002)

Fern Britton (Anthony Devlin/PA Wire)

The first regular Friday hosts for one season only were Ross Kelly and the late Caron Keating, who were later replaced by Fern Britton and John Leslie.

When Richard and Judy stepped down from the show, the Friday presenters very quickly became the main presenters.

Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford (2006 - 2020)

Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes presenting This Morning (ITV)

Husband and wife team Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford took the reigns of the Friday shows for a whopping 14 years.

They were a huge hit with viewers, so it came as a move in 2020 when ITV bosses decided to reduce their duties to school holiday presenters.

Holmes has since quit as holiday host after being offered a new job at GB News.

Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary (2021 - present)

Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary on This Morning (ITV)

Eamonn and Ruth encouraged viewers to be welcoming to their replacements Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary as they took their Friday spot on This Morning.

Alison Hammond had been a part of the This Morning family for many years when she was announced as the new Friday host, and Dermot O'Leary was a popular ITV presenter.

The latest pair to present the show have previously admitted that they aren't the best of friends.

Speaking to Lorraine Kelly, Alison said: "We knew each other but we didn't hang out with each other. We still don't hang out with each other.

"We were thrown together on a Friday a bit like an arranged marriage and it took about two months before we became comfortable."

Guest presenters

Josie Gibson on This Morning (ITV)

Sometimes, due to unforeseen circumstances, guest hosts are needed to stand in for the main presenters.

For example, Holly Willoughby had been away attending to other filming commitments and Phillip was hit by coronavirus.

The likes of Ruth Langsford and Alison Hammond have gone on to land more regular work after making the odd guest appearance.

Reality TV stars are always a popular addition to the cast - Rylan Clark, Georgia "Toff" Toffolo, Kem Cetinay and Josie Gibson have all gone down well with viewers and Gibson recently secured a bigger role after filling in for Willoughby while she was off with a stomach bug.

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on on ITV and the ITV Hub

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