Cat that got the cream!
After pursuing her for months, This Morning bosses finally sign Deeley to take Holly’s place on the sofa
Holly Willoughby had barely cleared out her dressing room before ITV began luring in Cat Deeley as her replacement on the coveted This Morning sofa.
The Birmingham- born presenter, unveiled yesterday as Ms Willoughby’s replacement, was considered to be the only star who could bring the same glitz and success.
ITV had hoped to team Ms Deeley up with her husband Patrick Kielty – a ‘Cat and Pat’ brand to recreate the good old days of Richard and Judy.
But with Patrick now earning a substantial salary as the host of Ireland’s prestigious late late Show, channel bosses knew that would be almost impossible.
Half of the dream has become a reality though, as Ms Deeley has agreed to join This Morning. As she was unveiled on air, the new presenter said: ‘This Morning is a national institution. Whenever it’s on, it’s like having your friends over – funny, smart, silly, heartfelt, informative and joyful – like all the greatest friendships!’
Ben Shephard, host of ITV’s Good Morning Britain, will present alongside Ms Deeley. He held off signing his contract until he knew who his leading lady would be.
‘once Patrick was out of the game ITV wanted Ben and Cat, or
Cat and Ben. They couldn’t work out which way round to have the names, they were nicknamed Ben
Cat months ago.’ However, while Shephard, 49, had agreed to switch from Good Morning Britain, which he’s hosted for ten years, getting Ms Deeley’s signature was trickier.
ITV pushed back their relaunch date by months while Ms Deeley, 47, finished work on US reality show So you Think you Can Dance, which she has fronted since 2006.
An insider at ITV revealed: ‘The negotiations were all about Cat’s diary and her commitments to So you Think you Can Dance and fulfilling her contract in the US.
‘She wanted to make sure she was doing the right thing by them. Cat always wanted to do it but it was about logistics.’
Ms Deeley hosted four shows for This Morning last November, and as ITV hunted for the next Ms Willoughby, she told bosses she was keen to take on the role.
However, it was Rylan Clark who she wanted to sit beside rather than Shephard, she confided to friends, after she hosted two episodes with him.
She also had to consider her family. Kielty, with whom she has two young sons, works in Ireland from Tuesday to Friday. Her commitments to So you Think you Can Dance also meant she would not be available for the beginning of 2024, when ITV had wanted to relaunch the show.
During the first week of December, ITV chiefs were ‘gutted’ to go back to the drawing board. one source on This Morning said: ‘There was so much excitement, she was like a breath of fresh air when she arrived. let’s not forget how traumatic it had been for the production staff for months. First Phil left, then Holly, ratings were dropping and to the outside world the programme was toxic.
‘Then Cat and her big smile arrived. There was hope that the good old days, the early days of Phil and Holly, would be back. Then it all came crashing down.’
Ms Deeley was pre-recording So you Think you Can Dance auditions and had given up hope that she would sign to This Morning.
I’m told ITV’s head of daytime Emma Gormley and This Morning editor Martin Frizell were looking at new stars, but chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall and her number two, Kevin lygo, were determined turn the programme around and get Ms Deeley.
Mr lygo felt that there was something special about bringing Ms Deeley back to the channel where she made her name in the late 1990s and early Noughties. like Ms Willoughby, Ms Deeley began her career in children’s television, starting as a co-presenter for SMTV live in 1998, which she won a BAFTA Children’s Award for.
But it was CD:UK which catapulted her to fame. She was offered the job by Ant and Dec and would, for seven years, star alongside them. Men wanted to date Ms Deeley, while women wanted to be her best friend. In 2003, she presented Fame Academy on BBC1 and became presenter of the talent show Stars In Their Eyes, which she hosted until 2005 before she moved to the US.
Some at This Morning were against hiring her. one senior executive said that Ms Deeley
‘She is a breath of fresh air’
‘Holly was seen as too perfect’
might be too ‘Hollywood and polished’ for This Morning’s audience after her years in the States. ‘What if she is too unrelatable?’ one insider asked. ‘ She is literally shiny and Tinseltown and it should not be forgotten that part of Holly’s problem was that she was perceived by viewers to be too perfect.’
Ms Deeley’s new This Morning commitments mean she won’t be able to host the next series of So you Think you Can Dance. It is no coincidence that ITV was hopeful shortly after the US show’s boss Nigel lythgoe stood down following multiple accusations of sexual assault, including one from singer Paula Abdul.
one This Morning insider said: ‘Maybe that’s what swung it, maybe So you Think you Can Dance won’t return.’
This Morning showbusiness correspondent Sian Welby almost landed the role when she was handed the reins alongside Dermot o’leary last month. I’m told viewers will see more of Sian as bosses attempt to ‘ grow’ her to future-proof the programme.
Shephard and Ms Deeley will make their debut next month in return for a reported £550,000 a year each. ITV Bosses will surely be hoping that ‘BenCat’ don’t end up fighting like cat and dog, and falling out as spectacularly – or publicly – as their predecessors.