‘Take Kate with you’: Good Morning Britain viewers despair over Ben Shephard’s departure

Good Morning Britain viewers have been asking outgoing presenter Ben Shephard to bring his longtime co-host Kate Garraway with him as he moves to This Morning.

ITV announced on Friday (16 February) that Shephard would be leaving GMB and, along with presenter Cat Deeley, would replace former This Morning hosting duo Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, who both dramatically left the show last year.

Shephard has been presenting GMB since 2014 alongside his co-host and friend Garraway, and his departure from the show means that viewers will not get to see the hosting duo on screens each morning.

The pair met when they both joined GMTV in 2003 and moved to GMB together when it was launched.

While viewers have been expressing their well-wishes for Shephard in his new role, others have been asking that his presenting partner of 20 years, Garraway, joins him on This Morning.

“Please take Kate with you,” wrote one person in response to Shephard’s Instagram post announcing his move.

“Best of luck…just wish Kate was going with you! Best pairing on tv!” chimed one viewer.

“Great news for This Morning but sad @benshephardofficial will not be with his lovely friend @kategarraway. Ben and Kate together on This Morning would be amazing, they work so well together as well as being best friends,” added another.

Some viewers remarked that Shephard has earnt a “well-deserved” lie-in, since This Morning begins on ITV four hours later than GMB.

Shephard and Garraway photographed in 2015 (PA)

“Congratulations Ben…blimey you deserve those lie ins,” wrote one viewer.

Speaking about his departure from the show, Shepherd said that “one of the hardest decisions” to make was to leave his “on-screen wife” Garraway.

“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.”

Posting on Instagram, Shephard said: “Ten years has flown by at GMB. I’ve loved every minute, (well not those minutes immediately after the alarm goes off at 3.30am) but all the others have been incredible.

“I will miss working with them and the whole team – and I’m very grateful that they are just next door so that whenever I get nostalgic I know they aren’t too far away.”

In a statement about his new appointment, Shephard said: “This really feels like a very special moment for Cat and I to be part of the next chapter of This Morning. It’s an honour to be trusted with the reigns, join Alison and Dermot and all the team that work on and off screen and do such a great job.

Following the news, Garraway shared a post on Instagram congratulating Shephard and Deeley on the appointment.

“Massive congrats to @benshephardofficial on the @itv @thismorning gig,” she wrote.

“You’ll be SOOOOO missed by EVERYONE @gmb viewers and the team alike & of course especially me. BUT after 24 years hard labour by my side no one will begrudge you time off for good behaviour!!!”

Incoming ‘This Morning’ hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard (ITV)

“Good luck swapping early starts for (abit) of a lie in and a Kate for a Cat! @catdeeley can’t wait to see you – you’ll have a ball,” she added.

Deeley, who called the daytime show “a national institution”, said of her new role: “This Morning is and always will be the viewer’s show. Ben and I both know how much people love it, and with the help of an amazing team of people, we’re going to do our best to take care of it.”

Shephard and Deeley will host episodes from Monday to Thursday, and Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond will present the Friday episode as usual.