ITV This Morning's Cat Deeley 'to be replaced' as viewers 'switch off'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Amanda Holden is being hotly tipped to take over Cat Deeley's presenting baton on This Morning amidst reports that viewers have failed to warm to the latter.

It's reports that fans of the popular daytime TV programme "haven't taken" to Deeley since she began her role in March this year.The show reportedly witnessed a dip in its ratings, with one episode in September seeing fewer than 700,000 viewers tuning in.

This came following a period of change where Deeley and her co-host Ben Shephard replaced Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield after the duo departed the show earlier in 2023 — Schofield following a publicised scandal he termed an "unwise but not illegal" affair with a male crew member.Despite the introduction of Deeley and Shephard to helm the programme, their stint has not been without scrutiny.

Deeley relayed to the Sunday Times how instances such as Shephard's jokes were misconstrued by critics, saying: "Ben will make a joke and it will be, like, 'He snapped at her!".ITV had brought in Deeley purportedly to help “steady the ship”.