Emma Willis has overtaken Alison Hammond and Kate Garraway as the new favourite to replace Holly Willoughby on This Morning after her guest presenter stint was praised by viewers.
The British presenter, 47, reunited with Rylan Clark to host ITV’sThis Morning on Monday (4 December) as show bosses continue their search for Willoughby’s replacement following her sudden exit in October.
Willoughby’s departure followed Phillip Schofield’s resignation from This Morning after he admitted lying about an affair with a colleague on the show, effectively ending their 14-year partnership as the show’s once-beloved co-hosts.
Since she resigned from her role at the morning show, ITV has brought in several guest presenters including Hammond, Josie Gibson, Deeley, Kate Garraway and Abbey Clancy, pairing them opposite hosts such as Dermot O’Leary and Craig Doyle.
However, it appears Willis’ pairing with Clark for Monday’s episode struck a chord with viewers, as several X/Twitter users called on the broadcaster to make them the show’s new permanent presenters,
The surge in positive viewer sentiment sent Willis’s odds to replace Willoughby skyrocketing, with Ladbrokes declaring her the “new favourite” to host This Morning, according to MailOnline.
While Willis’s odds to replace Willoughby are 11/10, Hammond’s are 2/1, Humes is 6/1 and Garraway is at 10/1, the newspaper reported.
“Emma Willis made a major impact on This Morning today and after instantly sparking a flurry of bets, she is the new favorite to replace Holly Willoughby,” an executive at Ladbrokes told MailOnline.
Viewers hailed Clark and Willis, who previously hosted This Morning together five years ago, as the “perfect duo” to succeed Willoughby and Schofield after Monday’s episode.
“No more changing presenters, you have THE perfect duo here!” one person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“The presenters make this show,” another comment read. “Rylan Clark and Emma Willis are [the] perfect combo. So enjoyable, naturally funny & easy to watch.”
A third person commented: “Rylan and Emma Willis presenting This Morning is the best duo they’ve had a in a good length of time!”
Clark began Monday’s show by welcoming “the one and only” Willis back, before they hugged each other.
“It’s been a minute, hasn’t it?” Willis noted, before her co-host replied: “It has been a minute. It’s been...we can’t get out of each other’s pockets, can we?”
“Five years it has been,” Willis continued. “I was thinking about it the other day and I thought, ‘It’s been a couple of years since I last did it’, five years.”
Monday’s show featured an interview with former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell-Horner as well as a segment with British author and chef Gok Wan, cooking up a storm in the This Morning kitchen.
