This Morning Implodes On-Air—Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard Return Viewers Revolt and One Segment Sparks a Wave of Outrage
It was meant to be light entertainment, but when toe wrestling and puppy identity hit the screen, thousands switched off—and the backlash was louder than the broadcast
Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard made their long-awaited return to This Morning but not all viewers were impressed
ITV’s hit programme This Morning saw presenters Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard make their long-awaited return to screens after taking the summer off. The beloved duo were replaced by a plethora of guest stars, including Andi Peters, Emma Willis, Rochelle Humes, Rylan Clark, Sian Welby, Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle filling in. However, on Monday (September 1), the talk show returned to regular programming as Cat and Ben quickly caught up and shared their summer antics with viewers. Despite the shock announcement of her divorce during the break, the 48-year-old detailed: “What a lovely summer. Lots of sea chats, family, friends, kids, ice creams as big as your head. All that kind of stuff. It’s been really fabulous.”
Meanwhile, Ben shared the news of his wife’s recent milestone: “It was Annie’s 50th birthday on Saturday. I can’t quite believe I’m married to a 50-year-old. She’s a massive Agatha Christie fan. We had a very special weekend, we stayed in Greenway in Dartmouth. You can go visit Agatha Christie’s House, it’s absolutely stunning.” However, as the programme was underway, fans took to social media with fury after the schedule provided a bizarre line-up of guests. One fumed: “If I were Ben or Cat i’d refuse this kind of b******t but no they’re more than happy to encourage this crap as if we want to see it. Get it off my TV!!!” As another stated: “Ok. It’s time to turn the TV off.”
A second added: “They’ve literally ran out of stuff to talk about on #ThisMorning – utter drivel.
Another fumed: “If #ThisMorning really can’t do better content than a girl in the US identifying as a Pomeranian puppy and toe wrestling, they need to just dump the whole program. It’s dire! #TurnedOver.”
“Oh for f*** sake!! Right, TV OFF!!!!!!!!!! @ITV need to take a long hard look at themselves. It’s not even worth calling rubbish,” complained a fourth.
“Oh for f*** sake!! Right, TV OFF!!!!!!!!!! @ITV need to take a long hard look at themselves. It’s not even worth calling rubbish,” complained a fourth.
As one viewer agreed: “Likewise, straight over to BBC1 for 10 mins!”
This fury came after Ben and Cat introduced a 20-year-old American woman named Milk, who became a viral sensation as she identifies as a dog.
Cat and Ben met two toe wrestlers (Image: ITV)
This Morning was then forced to watch a two-wrestling match as Ben and Cat introduced their next guests: Ben “Toe-tal Destruction,” fresh from a win over the weekend, and former 7-time winner Lisa “Twinkle Toes” Shenton.
In addition to watching the match, the presenters learned that the competition is actually a 51-year-old Derbyshire tradition that can cause blisters, bunions, and even breaks.
The renowned Toe Wrestling Championships went ahead at the weekend, and saw contestants flying in from around the world to compete with their feet for the glory of winning the coveted trophy.
The sport was founded in a pub in Wetton, Staffordshire, in 1974 and during a competition, the event requires a foot battle to take place on a specifically built podium where you lock your toes and battle it out in a best-of-three, with matches lasting up to two hours at times.