She’s a breath of fresh air... could Sian be the new Holly?
THEy have been struggling to find the perfect replacement for Holly Willoughby since she quit last year.
But now This Morning bosses think they have finally found the star to take the reins of the ITV daytime programme – former weather presenter and Holly lookalike Sian Welby.
Editor Martin Frizell and his boss, head of daytime Emma Gormley, are said to ‘adore’ the host after her four-day trial this week and are now lining her up as a permanent star on the show.
Sources at the channel say that they think they might have found their star after she presented with Dermot O’Leary.
One told the Mail: ‘Sian has done a fantastic job and everyone totally loves her. She is a massive breath of fresh air, she has come along and just wowed everyone.
‘She has been a joy to watch for the viewers but also for Martin and other executives on the show, and they think she has the ability to grow and grow on the show and become the next Holly.
‘It mustn’t be forgotten that Holly was like her once and look what happened to her, she was the host for 14 years.
‘Martin and Emma are both agreed that she has got what it takes to be a star. It is really exciting and she is very much in a pole position for the job now.
‘Sian is seen to be by far better than some of the presenters who have hosted the show in recent months.’
Nottingham-born Ms Welby, 37, had previously appeared on This Morning as their showbusiness reporter and was viewed as a ‘rising star’.
But when Mr Frizell and Ms Gormley decided to give her a chance at co-hosting, she wasn’t expected to have the huge impact that she did.
Her appearance comes as some senior executives at ITV are still hoping to pull out all the stops to hire Cat Deeley to replace Ms Willoughby, who quit in October after an alleged plot to kidnap and murder her.
Ms Deeley presented the programme for three days in November but then went back to the US to host So you Think you Can Dance and is committed to it until later in the year.
She is also understood to have told ITV bosses that she wanted to be paired with rylan Clark rather than Ben Shephard, who bosses were hoping to move from Good Morning Britain into the This Morning role previously held by Phillip Schofield. Mr Clark is said not to want to take the job full-time.
A source said: ‘There are some at ITV who are still determined to make it work with Cat but it is going to be much more difficult to accommodate her as she has so many more needs.’
Ms Welby hosts Capital Breakfast alongside roman Kemp and is also a regular reporter for This Morning. She made her name as the Channel 5 News weather presenter after being spotted while working in high street fashion chain, New Look.
Last August she got engaged to her radio producer fiance Jake Beckett.
Bosses also had their eye on The Voice presenter Emma Willis to replace Ms Willoughby but she is understood to have turned down the job because she cannot commit to the four-day week.
I’m A Celebrity star Josie Gibson has been hosting the show for most of January after returning home from the jungle.
‘Got what it takes to be a star’