This Morning logo with Holly Willoughb and Carol
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This Morning viewers find Holly Willoughby’s replacement after Carol Smillie’s triumphant presenting comeback

She's been hosting competition segments on ITV Daytime this week

This Morning fans are certain they have found Holly Willoughby’s replacement – and it’s not one of the current raft of presenters.

The ITV show has seen a ton of famous faces step in to host since Holly quit the programme back in October. We’ve had the likes of Cat Deeley and Rylan Clark front the show from the famous studios. And, this week, radio star Sian Welby made her debut as host alongside Dermot O’Leary.

But it seems fans have other thoughts on who they want to be Holly’s full-time replacement.

Holly Willoughby on This Morning
Holly quit the show last year (Credit: ITV)

This Morning presenters: New Holly ‘found’

Sian hasn’t been the only new face on This Morning this week. None other than Carol Smillie was back in front of the camera.

TV presenter and actress Carol shot to fame in the 1990s thanks to her gigs on shows such as Wheel Of Fortune and Changing Rooms. But in 2012, she quit TV and walked away from the showbiz world.

However, this week, Carol made her epic comeback to This Morning. She was there to present the show’s daily competition from all over the UK.

Carol Smillie on This Morning today

Carol took to her Instagram to share a BTS snap of her on This Morning. In the caption, she said: “Bit gusty as I go back to the old job for the next three days with the final week of @itv @thismorning competition to win £50k & your dream holiday on at the bonny banks!”

And fans were more than happy to see Carol back on screens. So much so, that they have called on her to be the full-time replacement for Holly.

One follower mused: “Just watched you on This Morning. You should be Holly’s replacement. Might start a campaign.” Someone else replied: “Yes!” A third quipped: “I agree! Love Carol!” Echoing their thoughts, another wrote: “Your great presenter and TV should have never lost you.” A fifth gushed: “Our main girl’s back on that box… Yay.”

Carol quit TV because of ‘ageist’ attitudes

In 2022, Carol appeared on How To Be 60 With Kaye Adams podcast. When asked if she quit TV at the age of 50 because of ageist attitudes, she said: “Yes, definitely. After 50 it’s very obvious that the opportunities that come up are far less interesting, exciting, well-paid, all of these things.”

The mum-of-three said she understands that “you can’t always be at the top”, but it’s not healthy to “cling on and get angry about it”. She added: “Just think it’s someone else’s turn – time to move to something completely different. Something that’s not going to matter your age so much, or your weight.”

Read more: This Morning viewers fume over Deidre’s advice to caller whose husband cheated ‘multiple times’

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Joey Crutchley
Freelance Writer