This Morning viewing figures have dipped since Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard began helming the show, according to a new report.
Following the departure of Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, the ITV show was thrown into chaos as producers scrambled to find permanent replacements.
Cat, 47, and Ben, 49, were finally unveiled as the show’s new host’s last month, with their debut episode drawing an average viewership of 806,000 and a peak of one million – among the show’s highest ratings of 2024 so far.
But the following week saw the figure plunge to as low as 692,500, lower than both Holly and Phillip’s last day, which saw 767,00 people tune in.
A source told The Sun: ‘The hope was that the new duo would bring back an air of stability and familiarity back to This Morning. It’s still relatively early days, but the signs are not good.’
This Morning viewing figures have dipped since Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard began helming the show, according to a new report (pictured last week)
Following the departure of Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, the ITV show was throw into chaos as producers scrambled to find permanent replacements (pictured in June 2018)
They added: ‘After the initial flurry of interest on their first day in the job, the viewing figures almost immediately dipped back into six figures.
‘ITV bosses will be hoping they can turn things around before the next big milestone date as they’ve so much riding on Ben and Cat being a success.’
MailOnline has contacted ITV for comment.
After nearly a year of turmoil, This Morning producers were hoping to reverse the show’s fortunes with two brand new presenters.
And it seemed that enlisting Cat and Ben had paid off, as their debut episode drew an average viewership of 806,000 and a peak of one million.
ITV have been hoping the duo will provide stability for viewers after months of uncertainty and a revolving door of presenters in the wake of the departure of Holly and Phillip.
The pair seemed to impress fans with many saying they had saved the show.
One person posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, said: ‘Love watching Cat and Ben a breath of fresh air a great duo. A brill revamp this morning needed long overdue.’
Another said: ‘Brilliant! I can now look forward to watching the show again. Mornings spent with Ben and Cat, lovely!’
Cat, 47, and Ben, 49, were finally unveiled as the show’s new host’s last month, with their debut episode drawing an average viewership of 806,000 and a peak of one million
But the following week saw the figure plunge to as low as 692,500, lower than both Holly and Phillip’s last day, which saw 767,00 people tune in
And the proof of the success was in the pudding after the show reeled in a peak of over one million viewers – 200,000 more than the show had previously been getting.
In January this year, the show had a peak of 888,000 viewers and in February, 942,000.
And on Monday March 4, a week before the relaunch, a peak of just 837,000 people tuned in.
Schofield announced his departure from the show in May 2023 after his romance with a younger male colleague was made public.
Shortly after ITV bosses were reportedly forced to ‘act fast’ after ratings plummeted to an average of 726,000.
By contrast, the pair pulled in an average of 1.3 million viewers in 2022 and 1.4 million in 2021.
In October last year Ms Willoughby also announced she was quitting the show after 14 years after a man was charged in relation to an alleged plot to kidnap and murder her.
Since Holly and Phillip’s departures, Alison Hammond, 49, and Dermot O’Leary, 50, have regularly stepped in and they continue to host the show on Fridays
Cat and Ben seemed to impress fans with many saying they had saved the show after their debut
Since their departures, Alison Hammond, 49, and Dermot O’Leary, 50, have regularly stepped in.
And other guest presenters have included Rylan Clark, 35, Emma Willis, 47, Rochelle Humes, 34, Craig Doyle, 53, and Steve Jones, 46.
Shephard and Ms Deeley are set to present the show from Monday to Thursday whilst Alison and Dermot will continue to present the Friday edition.
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