ITV hit back at claims Tess Daly and Vernon Kay are joining This Morning
Rumours were rife they were going to replace Ben and Cat
After co-hosting an episode of The One Show last month, rumours have been rife in recent days that married couple Tess Daly and Vernon Kay were being lined-up by ITV/STV bosses to replace current This Morning hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard.
Cat and Ben, who joined the show in March 2024, have received mixed reviews from viewers since they took over Monday-Thursday hosting duties from Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.
However, This Morning bosses have now seemingly shut down the rumours, with a source telling Mail Online: "We are very happy with Cat, Ben, Alison, and Dermot as This Morning's lead presenters and there are no plans for that to change.
"2026 has got off to a great start for the show with viewing up year on year and a weekly reach of 3.7 million viewers."
Following Tess and Vernon's presenting stint on The One Show last month, a TV source claimed to The Sun that bosses were keen to find 'the next Richard and Judy', with execs thinking the pair had the same charm.
A source said at the time: "It was a total no-brainer the second they saw them on The One Show sofa. Execs have been sweet on Vernon for ages, but the pair's natural husband-and-wife banter made them realise exactly what This Morning has been missing.
"They are obsessed with finding the next Richard and Judy, and Tess and Vernon have that exact same effortless magic. Audiences are notoriously tough on new faces, but they completely fell in love with their northern charm."
Tess and Vernon's appearance on The One Show was the first time they'd worked together in nearly 20 years, and they certainly didn't disappint fans.
Viewers were quick to express their love for the couple's presenting skills, with one saying: 'Great to see @vernonkay and his missus @TessDaly hosting tonight 👏👏👏 These could be the next #RichardandJudy 🤞 More please 🙏'. (sic)
Another wrote: 'What a lovely surprise! Great to see Tess again ❤️', with a third adding: 'Need more of these two on screen together'. (sic)
The rumours arrive after Tess revealed she would be leaving her role on Strictly Come Dancing, alongside co-host and close friend Claudia Winkleman.
After a huge 21 years presenting the show, Tess said in an Instagram post in October 2025: 'After 21 unforgettable years, the time has come to say goodbye to Strictly Come Dancing. It's hard to put into words what this show has meant to me, so here it goes...
'Strictly has always been about joy, celebration and bringing people together - and I'm so proud to have played a small part in something that continues to mean so much to so many'.
In a joint video alongside Claudia, the pair added: "We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream.
"We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time.
"We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show. They’re the most brilliant team and we’ll miss them every day.
"We will cry when we say the last “keep dancing” but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza."
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