Phillip Schofield's replacement for This Morning has reportedly been decided by ITV bosses.
The former presenter of the daytime show, 61, stepped down from his role before resigning from all ITV presenting duties after admitting to having an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a younger male former colleague. Since his exit earlier this year, producers have been looking for his replacement to work alongside Holly Willoughby on the sofa.
It has been reported that ITV bosses have made a decision on who should take over Phil's role and have reportedly gone with fan favourite and Good Morning Britain star Ben Shephard. The presenter is no stranger to This Morning having previously stood in on a number of occasions.
Ben reportedly "impressed" directors years ago when he covered for Phil between 2005 and 2011. It has now been said by a source that he is a "frontrunner" to officially take over the role and become Holly's permanent co-host.
"Ben did really well and the bosses loved his partnership with Holly and there was great feedback from many avenues,"insiders told MailOnline. "Ben is known throughout ITV as being very popular with the audiences of whatever shows he hosts.
"He is also trusted by the public and is much loved within ITV. He has hosted so many shows for the channel. He and Holly go back years too – he presented on This Morning some years ago and they have a great rapport."
A spokesperson for ITV told OK! "Ben is a much loved and popular presenter on ITV but no such decisions have been made."
It comes following news that Phillip’s affair with a younger colleague will be turned into a TV drama. The rumoured show, which is said to have a working title of The Runner and will allegedly detail the fallout of Phillip’s affair and his departure, won’t be music to Holly’s ears, an expert claimed.
Dermot McNamara, founder of Candid Publicity, told us: “Nobody wants bad things constantly being brought up about them. I don’t think either Holly or Phil will come out of this looking particularly great.
“Especially in Holly’s case. There’s still a lot of questions hanging over her about what she knew and what she didn’t know. I think Phillip is just wanting to avoid any kind of negativity or any mention of it at all.”
Reports suggest a production company has already started work on the series, which it believes would be “the perfect fit” for Channel 4. It will reportedly give insights into what occurred behind closed doors and how Phil lied to Holly and his former management company YMU about the “unwise but not illegal” affair with the male runner.
But Dermot claimed it could be a long time before the show hits the screens, as ITV’s external investigation is still ongoing.
Source: Read Full Article
