25 February 2024 , 21:19
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Susanna Reid has said a big thank you to Ben Shephard for '10 amazing years' as he gets ready to start on This Morning.
Ben is saying goodbye to his pal Susanna because he's going to be the new face of This Morning with Cat Deeley. He did his last show on Friday, 23 February, and he'll be starting his new job on This Morning on Monday, 11 March.
Susanna, 53, shared a lovely message on social media to say bye to Ben, telling him she's going to miss him more than words can say. The TV star posted a happy photo of the pair together and another one with Ben and Kate Garraway, who is also a presenter on Good Morning Britain.
"BEN! Going to miss you @ gmb but I know you'll bring your best Benergy to @thismorning. Thanks for 10 fantastic years from launch to send-off @benshephardofficial", Susanna penned.
Ben's last day was full of feelings, with all the presenters finding it hard to hide how sad they were. Kate Garraway, who has endured an incredibly tough time since the passing of her husband Derek Draper from Covid, started the show by saying: "It's not even a minute past six, I just realised that's the last time we're here Good Morning Britain with Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway. I'm off already, too emotional."
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Ben confessed a few minutes later: "I'm desperately trying to hold this together, we've got three hours!". Their co-star on GMB, Charlotte Hawkins, also chimed in: "I have to say, Ben, we'll be doing our best to keep it together today."
ITV shared the news that they were replacing Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, who both left This Morning last year, with Ben and Cat on their social media. After weeks of rumours that an announcement was coming, they posted a video of Ben in the This Morning hallway, before he put up a picture of his new co-host Cat, 47, on the wall.
Talking about his choice to move from GMB to This Morning, he said: "One of the hardest decisions of course is knowing that my mornings with Kate, my on-screen wife of nearly 20 years, is coming to an end."
"Her journey has been well documented, and I think we would all agree how remarkable she has been over the last four years. I won't miss the mess but I've learned so much from her, as I have from all of the people I've been lucky enough to work alongside."