This Morning ‘in crisis as viewing ratings plummet’ two months after Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard took over

Since Cat Deeley, 47, and Ben Shephard, 49, took over fronting the ITV daytime show from Holly Willoughby, 43, and Phillip Schofield, 62, half a million viewers have switched off.

While a million viewers tuned in for Deeley and Shephard’s big debut, two months later figures currently stand at less than 500,000, it has been reported.

The long-running programme’s viewing woes comes after former host Fern Britton, 66, hinted that she is “in talks to return” 15 years after her departure.

According to The Sun, a source said: “Nobody at This Morning thought viewing figures would dip beneath the landmark low of half a million.

“The arrival of Ben and Cat was supposed to spark a resurgence and hopefully keep the ratings above the million mark. But within a couple of weeks it became apparent they hadn’t done the trick while their nemesis Morning Live stayed strong.

“Now there is a massive question mark lingering over the future of the show as it’s difficult to justify the huge costs of making a live, daily show, especially at a time when ad revenues for linear TV are so low,” they added to the publication.”

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In comparison, This Morning's rival BBC Morning Live is said to be thrashing them in the ratings, taking in between one million to 1.4million views.

The Standard has contacted a representative for This Morning for comment.

Once a ratings and award-winning platform, This Morning has been hit by a number of controversies over the last couple of years.

Last May, Schofield stepped down after more than two decades fronting the show and then quit ITV altogether after admitting to lying to everyone, including best friend and co-host Willoughby, about having had an “unwise, but not illegal” affair with a much younger male colleague.

An investigation into a supposed “toxic work culture” followed, with Willoughby then quitting in October.