Holly Willoughby has announced her departure fromThis Morning, leading viewers to question who will replace her on ITV’s daytime show.
Willoughby, 42, joined This Morning in 2009, presenting alongside Phillip Schofield until he left the show earlier this year after he admitted to lying about an affair with a younger colleague.
On Tuesday (10 October), Willoughby shared that she would not be returning to This Morning in a decision made “for me and my family”.
The following day (11 October), This Morning was hosted by regular relief presenters Craig Doyle and Rochelle Humes. However, ITV is yet to announce who will permanently replace Willoughby on the show. With no full-time replacement found for Schofield following his departure too, it seems as though a shake-up will be incoming at the ITV show.
At the top of the list to be given a permanent job on This Morning is Alison Hammond. As the new host of The Great British Bake Off, the former Big Brother star has seen her career go from strength to strength in recent years.
Hugely popular with fans, Hammond has appeared on This Morning since 2002 and permanently took over the Friday afternoon slot from Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford in 2020. Along with Dermot O’Leary, Hammond already stands in for Willoughby during the school holiday, leading many fans to call for the pair to be the show’s new full-time presenting duo.
Willoughby (right) presents her final show with Josie Gibson— (ITV)
Another of TV’s busiest presenters, Rylan Clark, could also be in the running. Clark first appeared on This Morning way back when he was competing on The X Factor in 2012, and soon began presenting segments on the show. Following a major pivot away from music, he went on to present Big Brother’s Bit On the Side and Strictly Come Dancing’s sister show It Takes Two and now can be heard on BBC Radio 2 and popping up all over TV.
Also with a link to Big Brother, which recently moved to ITV for its rebooted series, is potential This Morning host Davina McCall. The reality TV show might be back without her hosting, but it’s still been a busy year for McCall. ollowing her crusade to make “Love Island for grown-ups”, the presenter recently hosted the inaugural series of dating show My Mum, Your Dad, meaning she’s back and working with ITV again.
Hammond (left) with Dermot O’Leary— (ITV)
Another known face to This Morning viewers who could take over from Willoughby is, of course, Humes. The singer-turned-presenter has frequently hosted the ITV daily show both with her husband, JLS musician Marvin, and on her own. The couple, who married in 2012, also present the BBC’s Saturday night music quiz show The Hit List together.
Well known to This Morning fans, former Big Brother winner Josie Gibson is one of the main relief presenters on the daily programme. She first joined the show in 2019 to present competition segments and other outside broadcasts. But Gibson stepped into a presenting role in 2021 while covering for Willoughby at the last minute, and soon took over a role as holiday cover. Most notably, the Bristol native presented alongside Willoughby in the wake of Schofield’s departure, meaning she has experience making sure that the show must go on in difficult times.
