Daily Mail: Inside This Morning wrangling between Cat Deeley and ITV

Story from Daily Mail:

Cat Deeley will have to quit her lucrative job as the host of the American reality programme she has hosted for 18 years if she wants to replace Holly Willoughby as This Morning's host, ITV bosses have said.

The star, who has been pursued by the channel's executives since Ms Willoughby quit last October, will not be allowed to take time off to film the next series of So You Think You Can Dance later this year so she faces a dilemma over her future.

Sources at the network say that she will be allowed the standard - and generous - holiday allowance enjoyed by Ms Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, and others before them which is six weeks leave in the summer and a fortnight at both Christmas and Easter.

One told the Mail: 'Cat won't be given any special treatment, if she signs up then she won't be given the time off to go back to America.

'So You think You Can Dance is a huge commitment. She will absolutely not be given time off to film the next series of So You Think You Can Dance.

'So she has to make that decision, it's one or the other, end of.

Like all of those hosts before her she will get the summer holidays, two weeks at Christmas and the same at Easter and that's all.'

The Mail can also reveal that Ms Deeley, 48, also told friends that she wants to host the embattled ITV daytime series with popular Radio 2 host Rylan Clark after she anchored the programme with him for two episodes last November.

However, ITV want her to work with Ben Shephard, who they had initially hoped to team up with Ms Willoughby from last month before she quit after it emerged that there was an alleged plot to kidnap and murder her.

Mr Shephard, who hosts Good Morning Britain twice a week, is understood to not want to put pen to paper on a deal until he knows who he will be working with.

ITV's upper echelons are desperate to sign Ms Deeley but sources there say that there are 'several obstacles' to get through.

They gave up all hope of luring her at the end of last year. Ms Deeley also says that despite wanting the job 'if she could make it work,' say friends of hers, her husband Patrick Kielty's commitments as the presenter of Ireland's Late Late Show make childcare difficult for them.

He has to be in Dublin from Tuesday until Friday, while Ms Deeley would be required to host This Morning from Monday to Thursday.

Waiting in the wings is former Channel 5 weather presenter Sian Welby who impressed the programme's editor Martin Frizell when she stood in two weeks ago alongside Dermot O'Leary.

Insiders on the show say that the daytime television Svengali fell for the starlet 'hook, line and sinker'.

This Morning bosses have had a headache finding a replacement for Ms Willoughby, 42. After they decided they couldn't get Ms Deeley they tried to get Emma Willis to take the job but she could not commit to the four day week.