Ben Shephard has confirmed that Friday will be his last day on Good Morning Britain before he joins This Morning and pointed out: “It’s literally the other side of the wall so I’m really really not going far.”
The TV star, 49, will be joined by Cat Deeley as regular hosts of ITV’s popular daytime show.
The duo take over in the wake of the exits of long-time sofa hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, who both left last year.
Shephard and Deeley will host This Morning from Monday to Thursday, with Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary continuing to present on Fridays.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain alongside Kate Garraway on Thursday, Shephard joked he was “upgrading from Kate to Cat” as his new co-star is much tidier.
He continued: “Thank you very much for the amazing messages that I have had.
“Obviously, it’s something I considered very, very carefully because these guys have been my family – for the last 10 years for some of them and way, way longer for us (Garraway).
“So, it’s not something that I’ve taken lightly but it feels like quite an exciting opportunity.”
'It's literally the other side of the wall, I'm not going far!'
Tomorrow might be @benshephard's last GMB but he's not going far! pic.twitter.com/b2H3ZLvM6Q
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) February 22, 2024
He also pointed out that both he and Garraway were sporting matching blue outfits in “This Morning teal”.
Garraway replied: “I think subliminally I’m trying to claw on to you, to hold you back. You finally got rid of the lead weights around your ankles.”
Shephard told her: “It’s literally the other side of the wall so I’m really, really not going far.
“Thank you for the amazing messages and tomorrow is going to be my last day on Good Morning Britain.”
Both Deeley and Shephard have previously presented This Morning on separate occasions, with Deeley co-presenting the show alongside Rylan Clark in November last year.
They are expected to start their new hosting roles next month.