ITV bosses have singled out Alison Hammond as a possible successor to Holly Willoughby on This Morning.
Chiefs are scrambling to draw up a bumper deal to keep favourite Holly, 42, on the sofa but should she quit they have a plan.
TV sources say popular Alison, 48, who currently fronts the show with Dermot O’Leary on a Friday, tops their replacement list.
One said: “ITV bosses are clear they want Holly to return to This Morning next year. But while a question mark hangs over her future, there have been conversations about who could step in if she decided to go.
“Top of that list is Alison. She has gone from being seen as a safe pair of hands to a real asset to the channel.
“And while her partnership with Dermot is seen as solid, there have also been conversations about other pairings – such as with Josie Gibson, who she was recently filming with in the French Alps.
“If Holly were to leave, it is unlikely she would be replaced by one person – as when Piers Morgan left Good Morning Britain, there would be a series of combinations trialled. Other names mentioned have been Kate Garraway, and even Ed Balls, after his success on GMB.”
Alison, who first appeared on This Morning in 2002, has been a guest host since 2020 – when ITV decided to shake up its presenting roster by parting ways with long-running Friday hosts Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes.
The ex-Big Brother star’s love life recently hit the headlines, when boyfriend Ben Hawkins’s dad Colin claimed they had “proposed” to each other.
But she dismissed the claims.
Last week a spokeswoman for Holly said she had no plans to leave This Morning.
A show source said: “Both Holly and Alison are much-loved, respected and valued members of the This Morning family and have been so for over 14 and 20 years respectively.
"Both women very much enjoy working with each other on the show and are friends.”
An ITV spokesperson said: “We do not comment on speculation about artists' contracts.”
