Mirror: Cat Deeley 'turns down This Morning job' and leaves ITV bosses 'pulling their hair out' with stress

Story from The Mirror:

This Morning has been left in chaos after Cat Deeley reportedly turned down the offer to replace Holly Willoughby as the host of the show.

It comes after ITV bosses made their decision to have Ben Shephard and Cat as replacements for Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. Execs have been hunting for the right combination since Holly followed her former friend out of the door, quitting the show after almost 15 years.

Holly departed the programme months after Schofield sensationally left after admitting to an "unwise, but not illegal" affair with a younger male colleague at the daytime show while he was still married. Ever since then, a rotation of stars fronted the show as ITV bosses search for full-time replacements. Alison Hammond, Josie Gibson, Emma Willis, Christine Lampard, Rylan Clark and Dermot O'Leary were just some of the stars to stand in as bosses figured out who would be replacing the original hosts.

And now, it is understood the ITV show was 'gutted' after Cat chose to return to America to host So You Think You Can Dance instead of hosting This Morning. The presenter was one of the many guest hosts on the programme last month and was a huge hit with viewers.

So You Think You Can Dance was fronted by Cat in 2005. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was put on hold. The programme was revived earlier this month. Speaking to MailOnline, a source claimed ITV bosses were 'pulling their hair out' from the stress.

"The relaunch date was supposed to be in January but that is no way going to happen now," they said. "Cat was the answer. She would have been an absolute triumph but they just couldn't make it work. Now it is a case of back to the drawing board to decide a new plan of action."

The Mirror have contacted ITV for comment. Before it was reported that Cat turned down the role, news of her hefty pay cheque made its rounds. According to reports, Ben and Cat would have earned a cool £555,000 per annum each for the privilege. However, the salary pales into significance somewhat compared to their predecessors, who were said to be £700,000 a year before their departures.

Meanwhile, she earned around £43,000 per episode fronting So You Think You Can Dance in the US. The mother-of-two has hosted the show for 16 years, but remained tight-lipped with regards to her future in Los Angeles.