He is leaving Good Morning Britain to become a main presenter of This Morning, taking over with Cat Deeley.
Ben Shephard has given an emotional goodbye to the Good Morning Britain (GMB) team.
He is leaving to become a main presenter of This Morning, taking over the daytime programme with Cat Deeley in the wake of the exits of long-time sofa hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
Signing off for the last time on Friday, Shephard said: “As soon as I get in here, (I know) I’m going to be surrounded by you brilliant, incredible, gorgeous, talented, challenging, chaotic, annoying, fabulous people, that make me better at what I do.
We love you Ben! 🧡@benshephard pic.twitter.com/M8Chppf2oj
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) February 23, 2024
“It’s not lost on me I wouldn’t be able to do it if you weren’t amazing and hadn’t been such fabulous friends, and colleagues, the extended family here at GMB.
“It’s not just us, we just get to do the glorious bit, when it goes right but the team behind the cameras and everybody, thank you to them and thank you to the viewers as well for trusting me to wake you up in the morning.
“I can only cope with this, and I know I’m going over a bit, because I’m not going very far, these guys are going to carry on doing an incredible job. I’m going to get a lie in … but in a couple of weeks I will be able to welcome you back from the school run … with a cup of tea and Cat next door.
“And I know this lot are going to be doing the best show they can for you as well, so thank you, thank you for making this so special.”
Videos were sent in from a host of famous faces on his last day.
Former footballer Chris Kamara, who Shephard worked with on ITV game show Ninja Warrior UK, said his Thursdays and Fridays watching GMB would “never be the same again” and called him “one of the nicest fellas”.
“Without your help and patience I couldn’t have gotten through the podcast that we did together last year,” he said.
“We’ve also had some great times on GMB. How can I forget when you caught me without my pants on when we did a zoom call?”
The programme also featured messages from Shephard’s former GMTV colleagues John Stapleton and Fiona Phillips along with former football manager Harry Redknapp.
“Ben, just wishing you all the very best for your new job,” Phillips, who is married to This Morning editor Martin Frizell said. “So excited for you.”
Stapleton said: “It’s 24 years since you walked into that GMTV newsroom and I remember several people saying to me, ‘watch that lad, he’ll go far’.
“Well, how right they were but not only that, you turned out to be one of the nicest guys we’ve ever worked with. Congratulations, mate.”
GMB stars Susanna Reid and Charlotte Hawkins also wished him goodbye on social media.
