This time last year, the show was in a right state (yes worse than it is at the minute). Holly Willoughby had just stepped down after the FBI uncovered a plot had been made to kidnap and murder her. All this happened whilst the show was still trying to rise back up from the ashes of Phillip Schofield’s demise and queue-gate.
The show’s mask had well and truly slipped, it was no longer a marker for comfort or a morning friend to have a cuppa with. Mainly because it lacked stability, it was relying on a rotation of guest presenters- one of which was former ‘CD:UK’ and ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ presenter Cat Deeley.
It was also this time last year that I wrote an article, hailing Deeley as a saint, praising her for saving the show and ranking her in the highest calibre of contemporary presenting talent that this country has. So, have my opinions changed since Deeley took the reins of the show permanently alongside ‘Good Morning Britain’ host Ben Shephard?
Slightly. Deeley is, in my opinion, one of the best TV presenters we will ever have. Natural warmth, charisma and can read an autocue without any difficulty (always refreshing). However, her and Shephard are not the perfect fit and certainly do not complement each other. They feel like long lost cousins who have been reunited at a family wedding and forced to become a double-act.
Deeley is, in my opinion, one of the best TV presenters we will ever have.
They don’t have the friendship that helped cement Holly and Phil as king and queen of day time telly and they certainly don’t have the chemistry of other presenting duos such as Emma Willis and Rylan.
So, what does the new Editor need to do. Well first of all, keep Deeley in the hot seat. She is a wonderful presenter who with the right co-anchor would flourish. So, unfortunately Shephard has to go. He was great on ‘GMB’ with Kate Garraway and that is where he should have stayed and where he should return.
So, who should Deeley be paired with? Former telly husband and Friday’s ‘This Morning’ presenter Dermot O’Leary (Yes, Yes, Yes) or her actual husband Patrick Kielty. Either one would be a more natural fit for both Deeley and the show.
I truly believe ‘This Morning’ can survive some more change. It has gone through enough already the past few years and is still standing. It is a British staple and the editorial team haven’t quite got this transition period right. But that’s ok!
The new editor has a lot of work on their hands but if they make the right changes, ‘This Morning’ can go back to being the jewel in the Daytime TV Crown that it once was.
