After several turbulent years, This Morning has settled into a line-up that works. Two presenters Monday to Thursday, a different pair on Fridays, and a rotating cast of stand-ins who cover the holidays and quietly audition for the job at the same time. Here is exactly who presents This Morning in 2026, on which days, and who steps in when they are away.
Quick Facts
Image source: pexels.com
| Show | This Morning |
| Broadcaster | ITV |
| Monday to Thursday | Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley |
| Together since | March 2024 |
| Fridays | Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond |
| Alison Hammond | Born 5 February 1975; also co-presents The Great British Bake Off |
| Summer 2026 cover | Rylan Clark, Josie Gibson, Paddy McGuinness, Andi Peters, Rochelle Humes |
| Also covering | Craig Doyle with Angela Scanlon; Sian Welby with Joel Dommett |
| Format | Live, roughly two hours, weekday mornings |
| Content | News, cookery, phone-ins, interviews, competitions |
| Catch-up | ITVX |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Who Presents This Morning Now?
Image source: pexels.com
The weekday pairing is Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley, who present Monday to Thursday and have fronted the programme together since March 2024. On Fridays the show passes to Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond, a pairing that predates the current weekday line-up and has become one of the most reliably enjoyable things on daytime television.
Why The Friday Split Works
Image source: pexels.com
The Friday split is a genuinely smart piece of scheduling. It gives the week a different texture heading into the weekend, lets a second pairing build its own following, and spreads the enormous workload of live daily television across four people rather than two. Plenty of shows have tried rotating presenters badly; this one has made the difference between the days part of the appeal.
Ben Shephard And Cat Deeley
Image source: pexels.com
Shephard came from a long background in live broadcasting and Deeley from a career spanning British and American television, which is a useful combination. Both were experienced enough to steady a programme that had been through a difficult period. Their partnership since March 2024 has been the most stable arrangement the show has had in some time.
Dermot And Alison
Image source: pexels.com
The Friday pair have a chemistry that is impossible to manufacture, built largely on Hammond refusing to take anything seriously and O’Leary trying and failing to keep the show on schedule. Their inability to get through a cookery segment without dissolving has become a format feature rather than a problem. Audiences forgive an enormous amount from people who clearly like each other.
The Stand-In Roster
Image source: pexels.com
Holiday cover is handled by a substantial pool of regulars. Over summer 2026 the duties were split between Rylan Clark, Josie Gibson, Paddy McGuinness, Andi Peters, Rochelle Humes, Craig Doyle, Angela Scanlon, Sian Welby and Joel Dommett, in various pairings. That is a deep bench by any standard, and it reflects how many people can now credibly front the show.
How Stand-In Work Becomes A Job
Image source: pexels.com
Nobody says it out loud, but covering a show is an audition performed in public. Producers watch how a stand-in handles a difficult phone-in, an overrunning segment or a guest who will not stop talking. Most permanent daytime jobs in Britain were won this way, which is why the cover roster matters far more than a scheduling footnote suggests.
What The Show Actually Contains
Image source: pexels.com
A typical edition moves through news, consumer advice, cookery, celebrity interviews, competitions and viewer phone-ins across roughly two hours. That range is the difficult part. A presenter has to shift from a light entertainment interview to a caller describing a serious personal problem within minutes, live, and get the tone right both times.
The Difficult Years
Image source: pexels.com
It is fair to acknowledge the programme went through a genuinely difficult period, with well-documented changes to its line-up and a good deal of public scrutiny. What is notable is how effectively the current arrangement has moved past it, largely by putting experienced, uncontroversial broadcasters in the chairs and letting the format do the work.
Why It Still Matters
Image source: pexels.com
This Morning has been running since 1988 and remains one of the biggest daytime programmes in Britain, reaching an audience that includes a great many people who are not otherwise heavy television watchers. For consumer issues in particular, an item on the show still moves the needle in a way very little else in daytime does.
The Cross-Over Presenters
Image source: pexels.com
One thing you notice building a picture of British television is how much the same faces move between genres. Paddy McGuinness has presented a motoring show and covered daytime. Alison Hammond fronts both daytime and a baking competition. It is a small industry, and the presenters who can move between registers get considerably more work.
Where To Watch And Catch Up
Image source: pexels.com
The programme airs live on ITV on weekday mornings, with episodes available afterwards on ITVX. Because it is entirely episodic there is nothing to catch up on in order. If you want to see the difference between the pairings, watch a Thursday and then a Friday of the same week: same format, noticeably different show.
Line-Ups Change
Image source: pexels.com
One honest caveat. Daytime line-ups change more often than almost any other part of the schedule, through holidays, illness, contract changes and format refreshes. Everything here reflects the position as of October 2026 and we will update it as things move. Broadcaster listings are always the definitive answer for any given day.
The Phone-In Problem
Image source: pexels.com
Nothing tests a presenter like a live phone-in. Callers ring about debt, illness, bereavement and family breakdown, and there is no script and no delay. The presenter has to listen properly, respond humanely, keep the item moving and hand off to an expert, all inside a few minutes. Get the tone wrong and it is genuinely upsetting for the person on the line as well as the audience.
Why The Show Has Lasted Since 1988
Image source: pexels.com
Very few television programmes survive nearly four decades. This Morning has managed it by changing its line-up repeatedly while keeping the format almost untouched: news, advice, cookery, celebrity, phone-in. The presenters change, the sofa changes, the studio changes. The underlying idea, that people want company and useful information in the morning, has not changed at all.
Watching The Pairings Change
Image source: pexels.com
If you want to see how much presenters matter, watch a Thursday and then a Friday of the same week. Same set, same items, same running order shape, noticeably different programme. Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary run looser and laugh more; the weekday pairing runs tighter. Neither is better. That contrast is now deliberately part of the week.
Cookery, Competitions And The Running Order
Image source: pexels.com
A running order has to carry cookery, consumer advice, a celebrity interview, a competition and a phone-in without the transitions feeling absurd. That balancing act is why the presenters matter so much: somebody has to carry the audience from a serious item about debt to a chef frying something, in about four seconds, without whiplash. It is a craft skill that looks like no skill at all.
Final Thoughts
In 2026 This Morning runs on Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley from Monday to Thursday and Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond on Fridays, with a deep bench of stand-ins covering the gaps. After a bumpy few years it is a settled, well-liked arrangement. Check the listings for any given day, because in daytime nothing stays fixed for long.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who presents This Morning Monday to Thursday?
Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley, who have fronted the show together since March 2024.
Who presents This Morning on Fridays?
Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond, a pairing well known for their chemistry and inability to get through cookery segments.
Who covers This Morning in the holidays?
A large pool including Rylan Clark, Josie Gibson, Paddy McGuinness, Andi Peters, Rochelle Humes, Craig Doyle, Angela Scanlon, Sian Welby and Joel Dommett.
How long has This Morning been running?
Since 1988. It remains one of the largest daytime programmes in British television.
Where can I watch This Morning?
Live on ITV on weekday mornings, with catch-up available afterwards on ITVX.
Do the This Morning presenters change often?
Yes. Daytime line-ups change frequently through holidays, contracts and format refreshes, so always check current listings.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the presenting line-up as of October 2026. Daytime schedules change frequently, so check ITV listings for the current day. We do not publish estimated salary figures where no verified source exists.