MORNING GLORY
‘Ben and Cat will save the show’ says Alison Hammond as she breaks silence on This Morning ‘snub’ and Phillip Schofield
We revealed the terrifying reason new This Morning host Cat Deeley's decided to return to the UK
ALISON Hammond has claimed new This Morning co-stars Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard will save the troubled ITV Daytime show.
The 49-year-old was thought to be among the front-runners for the full-time presenting role, however, she has now revealed she never wanted the gig.
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Instead, she is remaining as the Friday edition host alongside Dermot O'Leary.
Speaking to , she said: "I live in Birmingham and do Bake Off and For the Love of Dogs. I never wanted that job. Last year we did extra because we were going through issues, but Cat and Ben will save that show.";
Former Good Morning Britain Host Ben and So You Think You Can Dance star Cat will make their debut tomorrow.
The pair are on £550,000 contracts and are the first permanent hosts of the show since Phillip Schofield departed under a cloud last year and Holly Willoughby followed months later after police foiled a plot to kidnap her.
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Schofield hasn't been seen on screen since he admitted to having an affair with a much younger male show runner.
Holly returned to screen in January for Dancing on Ice having kept a low profile for three months.
Alison said of her former friend and co-star Schofe: "As for said 'issues'... Listen. I don't want to get into salacious gossip. All I need to say is I personally wish Phillip Schofield all the best. I loved Phillip Schofield. Full stop. But that's the last thing I would want to speak about."
Yesterday The Sun revealed the terrifying reason behind Cat's relocation to the UK.
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In 2019 Cat, husband Patrick, 53, and Milo, then three, were enjoying a burger in a Shake Shack fast food restaurant in Century City, Los Angeles, when emergency sirens started to wail.
In a 2020 interview Cat revealed: “Everyone was told to lie behind the counter or pushed into the loos. People were screaming and crying.
Huge BBC star to host This Morning alongside Alison Hammond today - 10 years after first presenting the ITV hit
“Then, as they were all hiding, the FBI turned up with guns.
“Paddy kept Milo calm — he didn’t really know what was going on.
“As I was driving, I began to see helicopters, news vans, firemen and armed police response squads.
“It makes me go funny now. It was terrifying. Paddy was shaken by it, more than Milo, who didn’t properly understand.
"The gun laws in America are crazy.”
The Sun on Sunday found the gun scare was caused by disgruntled ex-Amazon employee Nicholas Oates — angry at poor pay and conditions.
Oates, then 26, set fire to books in a shop then pointed a gun at a member of staff before fleeing.
He was arrested the following day and sentenced to seven years and four months in a state prison after pleading no contest to arson and assault with a firearm.
He is now out of jail and declined to comment on the shock incident when approached by our reporter but still moaned: “Jeff Bezos and Amazon do whatever they want regardless of how anyone feels about it.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"Worrying about that now is a futile waste of time."
The ordeal is said to have been a major factor in the family's decision to quit the States.
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