Ruth Langsford breaks silence on return to This Morning amid ITV shake-up as she arrives in Australia for I’m A Celeb
RUTH Langsford confirmed she could be making a sensational comeback to the This Morning sofa.
As she touched down in Australia to work on the I’m A Celebrity spin-off show Unpacked, Ruth told us: “Never say never.”
The Sun revealed she’s one of three top TV faces that could return, along with Rylan Clark and Amanda Holden.
She told us: “I don’t know, I haven’t been on it for two years.”
Asked if she would fancy returning, she said: “Never say never.”
Ruth previously hosted This Morning with ex-husband Eamonn Holmes for 14 years.
The popular duo weren’t happy when they were replaced in their weekly Thursday and Friday slot in 2020 by current hosts Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond.
Eamonn has taken aim at the show numerous times since, while Ruth, who is still a main presenter on the channel’s Loose Women, has kept considerably quieter.
Frizell’s announcement shocked ITV staff including presenters Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard who could see a presenting “shake-up” with a new team expected to come in and rejuvenate the brand.
Today Cat and Ben’s roles were said to be safe, according to the Mail, with channel chief Kevin Lygo particularly invested in their partnership.
News of his departure comes just two months after former presenter Phillip Schofield described the mercurial journalist as a “s***” – dragging up two years of turbulent This Morning toxicity.
Although ITV will externally advertise the £155,000 a year role, current Associate Editor Vivek Sharma is heavily tipped to land the coveted gig.
Last night a source said: “This really is the end of an era for daytime telly; huge changes are afoot.
“The show has never truly recovered from Holly and Phil’s departure, and this is a chance to move on from the old guard and bring in fresh faces to detoxify the brand once and for all.
“The hope is that a few tweaks here and there can make a huge difference – with presenters added to the roster, and a few exciting new features.
“Martin was mercurial and merciless when he was angry, and a few people were pretty scared of him.
“Martin was old school, but he was also hugely talented, hands-on, hard-working, and dedicated to the running of that ship.
“His strengths, however, were that he was a total maverick and absolutely fearless.
“Whilst officially ITV will open the job up to external candidates, the feeling is Vivek is a shoo-in – he’s brilliant, young, talented and just what the show needs to freshen-up and engage with a TikTok generation. He is bursting with ideas.
“But he knows not to reinvent the wheel, and alienate This Morning core audience of housewives and young mums – but he will do it his way.”
The fiery editor, 65, announced his departure yesterday in an internal email to all staff – minutes before the official announcement from broadcast bosses.
He will use his time away from London’s White City to spend more time – and care for – his wife, former GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips who, heartbreakingly, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2022.
Family man Martin said in a statement yesterday: “Next year I’m expecting my family priorities to change so I need to free up time for them.
“I love my team at ITV and will miss them and the thrill of live telly but it’s an always on, 24 hours a day, seven days a week commitment and I won’t be able to do both.
“It’s been a privilege to lead truly great presenters and producers, between us we’ve turned out more than six thousand hours of live topical telly, that’s around 20,000 items and the gongs are always nice.”
Referencing his pride in campaigns covering subjects such as suicide, menopause and testicular cancer, he added: “This juggernaut is the toughest test for any broadcast journalist.”
A source added: “Editing This Morning is an all-consuming job, and Martin felt he couldn’t give his all both to the show and his family. Something, sadly, had to give.
“As anyone knows who has Alzheimer’s in the family, it’s a truly awful, cruel and progressive disease. Martin adores Fiona and now she must be his priority.
“This was all his decision though, and of course he would like to keep his hand in telly and who knows what the future holds; he’s made a lot of incredible contacts over a hugely successful career.”
Vivek previously produced Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4, a show – based at Leeds dock – which quickly became cult viewing at lunchtime – hosted by former BBC Breakfast star Steph McGovern – and garnered a huge following of loyal viewers.
He was previously poached by Piers Morgan to run his award-winning Uncensored show.