06 February 2024 , 10:30
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Since the beginning of 2024, radio host Sian Welby has been tipped as Holly Willoughby’s replacement on This Morning.
And the Capital Radio star, 37, has reportedly been receiving support from Holly, 42, who stepped down from her role on the ITV daytime programme back in October after a horrifying kidnap and murder plot against her was foiled.
The ITV show has been rotating their roster of hosts since Phillip Schofield, 61, quit the show in May last year - and since Holly's decision to step away from the show. In the months since, fans of the long-running daytime magazine show have been left feeling a little at sea as the roster of relief hosts including Josie Gibson, Alison Hammond, Rylan Clark, Emma Willis and more has spun and spun with changing hosting line-ups appearing on screens almost daily.
Sian has quickly become a huge hit with This Morning fans (ITV)ITV bosses have since hinted at a more stable approach to the show - with 50-year-old Dermot O’Leary, who has been co-hosting on a part time basis in 2021, being paired with radio presenter Sian, 37. The duo are expected to host multiple episodes together in the coming weeks after Sian became a huge hit with viewers - and some reports have suggested she will fill in for Holly full time.
Last month, a source told the MailOnline: "Sian has many years of presenting experience under her belt, she is very much ear marked as being a star of the future. She has done really well already on This Morning so the bosses thought it was time to give her the reins to the whole show rather than just segments. Viewers love a new, fresh face on the show so everyone involved in it is really excited."
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Now, it has been reported that Holly has been supporting Sian through her This Morning endeavours as she feels 'overwhelmed' with all the newfound attention. A source told Closer: “Sian is understandably over the moon but has anxiety over what this might mean. She’s had unwanted contact from people in the past and knows that presenting on This Morning brings a whole new level of attention.
“She’s loving doing This Morning so far, but she’s seen how a higher level of fame can affect personal lives too and she’s apprehensive.” However, the insider added that Holly has been happy to offer advice and support to Sian.
Sian, who previously presented the showbiz section of This Morning, recently revealed that she was stalked by a relentless fan on social media before rising to fame. She opened up about the downsides to her career, revealing she had been sent creepy messages over the last decades. Speaking on the Headstrong podcast, she revealed: "Obviously I get a few creeps. I have had somebody for the past ten years who has wanted to gunge me. That is always a scary thing I’m worried about. It is a strange job, the more successful you get in your job is that you lose your normal life."
Sadly, Sian was made redundant from her job at Channel 5 - although she signed a one-year contract to work for the broadcaster. She shared: "It was mad. It was a blur. I will never know legally what should have happened. I think I signed a year’s contract the day before and the next day they changed their mind. The Met Office said they would do the weather and they decided to do it in house. I trusted the universe with it and I thought, ‘Maybe I am supposed to leave this job'."
The Mirror has reached out to Holly and Sian's representatives for comment on this story.