This Morning viewership has reportedly reached a “landmark low” following the selection of new hosts, Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard.
Since the pair joined as hosts in March, taking over from Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, it has been reported that half a million viewers stopped tuning into the ITV daytime show.
Just over a million viewers watched the new presenting duo Deeley and Shephard on their first day in mid-March, but at the same point two months later in May, the peak fell to 589,000 – with an average of 486,000 switching on the ITV show, according to The Sun.
This dramatic drop could be attributed to the levelling out of average viewers following a natural spike in viewers in the re-launch episode, who were curious to see Deeley and Shephard’s first day together back in March. By comparison, during Schofield and Willoughby’s tenure, itis thought peak viewing figures were between 682,000 and 996,000.
A spokesperson for ITV did not comment on daily ratings but said: “This Morning continues to reach over 4 million viewers a week and remains one of the most streamed programmes on ITVX in 2024.
“The award-winning show has never had a better connection with viewers; with 11 million followers across This Morning social media platforms and almost 130 million video views of This Morning content each month, reaching an average of 62 million unique social media accounts every month.”
The ITV show has been under the spotlight in the past year after it was rocked by scandal when Schofield left the ITV programme unexpectedly in May 2023 after lying about an affair with an employee. His longtime hosting partner Willoughby, who he formerly presented with on Dancing on Ice, left This Morning after 14 years in October 2023, explaining her decision as one made “for me and my family”.
Following Schofield and Willoughby’s departures from the show, there had been a rotating roster of presenters, including Craig Doyle, Rylan Clark, Lisa Snowdon and I’m a Celebrity contestant Josie Gibson. Hosts of the breakfast show’s Friday episodes, Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond, were also given an elevated role in the wake of the departures.
However, in March, Deeley and Shephard – who left his 10-year-long post on Good Morning Britain for the new slot – were announced to be permanent hosts of episodes from Monday to Thursday, with O’Leary and Hammond presenting the Friday episode as usual.
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When Schofield left the show, when it was initially thought that he and Willougby were locked in a growing feud, he admitted to having an affair with a younger colleague with a statement made to The Daily Mail.
He wrote: “I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.
“In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship.
“I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.”
Since then, Schofield’s public appearances have been limited. He was most recently seen on screen during a Paul O’Grady tribute at the National Television Awards in September, and made a return to social media in May 2024 after taking more than a year away from his platforms.
