Cat Deeley’s future on This Morning has been confirmed just nine months after her debut.
The presenter, 48, joined the show in February this year, alongside Ben Shephard, 50, following the departures of Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
It’s now reported that Cat has landed a major new deal, keeping her on the show until spring 2026 after landing a big deal.
Cat has signed a new contract which starts in March and is said to be around £600,000 for a period of 12 months.
Her co-host Ben also agreed to extend his time on the This Morning sofa alongside her.
“Cat loves This Morning but has admitted she will be one of the shortest presenters ever,” a source said.
Cat Deeley’s future on This Morning has been confirmed just nine months after her debut.
The presenter, 48, joined the show in February this year, alongside Ben Shephard, 50, following the departures of Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
They continued telling him the sun: ‘They brought Cat in alongside Ben to steady the ship and that’s what she did, the ratings have been tough but the daily drama is finally over.
“Cat signed a one-year contract with Ben last year and agreed to another 12 months.”
The source claimed that Cat had spoken to people close to her and expressed that she was “getting tired” and will focus her energy on another project when her new contract ends in 2026.
Although he has “no desire” to follow Willoughby’s legacy and become a legend of the show, he wants to remain loyal to the show, as well as to viewers at home.
ITV insiders say Cat and Ben have the “full support” of the channel’s director of television, Kevin Lygo, who is said to “adore” Cat.
A source told MailOnline: “Kevin was very behind signing Cat, along with Martin, they did everything they could to get her and there were a lot of obstacles.
‘ITV loves her and they don’t want her to go anywhere. As for Ben, ITV viewers adore him. Martin has known he would be leaving for some time, even when he hired Cat and Ben.
“Everyone at ITV is delighted to see how things have calmed down since they took over, they have steadied the ship and the show is no longer making headlines for the wrong reasons.”
Cat has signed a new contract which starts in March and is said to be around £600,000 for a period of 12 months. Her co-host Ben also agreed to extend his time on the This Morning sofa alongside her.
The duo were locked in talks for months following the departure of Holly Willoughby, 43, and Phillip Schofield, 62.
The duo were locked in talks for months as a host of presenters, including Craig Doyle, Alison Hammond and Josie Gibson, temporarily took over presenting duties following the departure of Holly Willoughby, 43, and Phillip Schofield, 62.
Phillip resigned in disgrace after more than 20 years on the show in May 2023 after lying about an affair with a younger colleague.
ITV bosses were forced to deny “turning a blind eye” to the affair before it came to light, sparking a huge public row between Phillip and his former friend Holly Willoughby, who quit five months later after being informed by the police of a horrible plot to kill her.
Cat left her job across the Atlantic on So You Think You Can Dance, where she was reportedly paid £43k per episode; Instead he opted for the role on This Morning with an annual salary of £550k.
Although high, the salary still paled in comparison to that of former presenters Holly and Phil, who were said to be paid £700,000 a year for their role.
Meanwhile, former Good Morning Britain presenter Ben was hailed by fans as a “safe bet”.
Its debut episode drew an average audience of 806,000 and a peak of one million, among the show’s highest ratings of 2024 so far.
This week, viewers tuning in begged bosses to consider replacing Ben with Dermot O’Leary after he filled in while the former GMB presenter was filming another ITV show.
Viewers seemed to be equally impressed, with many praising the pair for being “so much more refreshing.”
The following week, the number fell to just 692,500, less than Holly and Phillip’s last day, when 767,00 people tuned in.
A This Morning spokesperson told MailOnline at the time: ‘Ben and Cat have recorded the best audience reach of the year so far on This Morning with 4.5 million viewers in one week.
“Viewing figures for January to March 2024 were also up 5 percent compared to 2023.”
But this week, viewers tuning in begged bosses to consider replacing Ben with Dermot O’Leary after he filled in while the former GMB presenter was filming another ITV show.
Viewers wrote on X: ‘Cat and Dermot work VERY well together. Natural, relaxed, energetic and warm. Not at all stiff or uncomfortable #ThisMorning;’
‘Dermot should be the full-time main presenter. He’s great with both Cat and Alison #ThisMorning.’
‘Has anyone noticed that it’s less stressful now that Ben’s gone? #ThisMorning, ‘Cat and Dermot have more chemistry than Ben and Cat #thismorning’ and ‘Cat is so much better with Dermot #ThisMorning’.