Angela Scanlon has stepped in as a substitute for Alison Hammond on This Morning.
The ITV daytime show has a regular roster of presenters, with Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard co-hosting Monday to Thursday and Alison joining Dermot O’Leary for the Friday slot.
This week, without prior announcement from the network, Angela was taking up Alison’s usual spot. The situation was even more confusing as just the day before, Cat and Ben had shared that Alison and Dermot would be on the sofa with Hollywood star Jason Momoa.
Without addressing The Great British Bake Off host’s absence, Dermot took the swap in stride, saying: ‘Welcome to your Friday’s This Morning, and look who’s here, it’s Angela Scanlon, everyone!”
The studio applauded as Dermot got down on one knee to praise Angela.
‘Thank you very much,’ Angela said at the warm reception with Dermot adding: ‘It’s nice to have you with us’ as he brought her in for a hug.
The episode continued on without much fanfare from that point with Alison also set to be absent next week, Metro can confirm. There is no further details on where Alison is currently.
‘I miss Alison, but I have to say the Dermot & Angela duo is so good. They’re a good mix,’ Miss T wrote on X.
‘Interesting, seems to be a last minute substitution. Haven’t they referenced a few times this week that Jason Momoa would be in the studio with Alison and Dermot,’ Mostlystupid added.
The TV personality is booked and busy when it comes to TV appearances, including filming for the new series of Great British Bake Off which will feature Nigella Lawson as judge Prue Leith’s replacement.
Switching up her morning routine, in May she appeared on Lorraine where she teased the new judges’ onscreen chemistry ‘is unbelievable’.
She added: ‘Honestly, they’re so good together. Because I’ll be honest with you, they don’t always agree, and it’s so good!’
Alongside the Channel 4 baking show, she also recently hosted a new show called Your Song alongside Sam Ryder and Paloma Faith trying to find the best amateur singers in the UK through the medium of live music.
The TV personality was rumoured to be one of the finalists for the Strictly job, telling Metro at the time: ‘I’m not too busy, I’m fitter than I’ve ever been before. I can do Strictly. I can do it all. All these people saying: “I’m too busy, and I can’t do it…”, I could do Strictly. Let’s put that on the record.’
In the end, Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe were picked for the coveted roles with the BBC series set to return in September.
Metro has reached out to Alison Hammond’s representative for comment.