Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley make This Morning debut as new hosts

Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley made their debut as the brand new hosts of ITV's This Morning on Monday, replacing Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield following their departures last year.

After the credits rolled, Ben welcomed viewers to the show. "It's Monday, March 11th. Welcome to a brand new week on This Morning," he said.

Chiming in, Cat said: "We are so excited to be here. This show has been a huge part of our lives for so long to be standing here, with you, it's good."

"It is very special," Ben said. "We are thrilled to be here and we've got a packed show and line-up coming your way. Everyone has been so kind, thank you to everyone who's sent us lovely messages of support."

The former Good Morning Britain presenter went on to say that he'd been given "a word of warning" from Cat's former co-stars about working alongside the presenter, prompting a prerecorded video of Ant and Dec to appear on the screen.

"Cat, Ben! Good luck!" said Ant. "A little word of advice for Ben about Cat, she might be all sweetness and light but that girl can party. Don't think she can't!"

"Keep the lock on the drinks cabinet," joked Dec.

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Cat also received a message from one of Ben's co-stars, Chris Kamara, who he works with on Ninja Warrior UK. "Let me tell you, Cat. He is like a bear with a sorehead when West Ham get beat and the rest of the time he's just miserable!" quipped the former footballer, before adding: "Only kidding. Let me tell you Cat, he's one of the best things that ever happened to me and I'm sure you'll see that and vice versa, of course. Good luck to you both. I think you're going to smash it."

The duo's debut on the programme comes just weeks after Ben hosted his final Good Morning Britain show.

The 49-year-old became emotional as he delivered his final send-off alongside co-host and longtime friend, Kate Garraway. "The alarm going off has never been anything I've enjoyed but what I have known is as soon as I get in here, I'll be surrounded by you brilliant, incredible, challenging, chaotic, fabulous people that make me better at what I do," said Ben, who was joined by fellow presenters Susanna Reid, Alex Beresford and Charlotte Hawkins.

"It's not lost on me that I wouldn't be able to do it if you lot weren't amazing and been fabulous friends and brilliant colleagues."

He continued: "I can only cope with this because I'm not going far, these guys will carry on doing an incredible job, I'll get a lie-in and in a couple of weeks I'll be able to welcome you back from the school run with a cup of tea with Cat next door. I know that this lot will still be doing the best show they can for you."

Opening up about his decision to leave Good Morning Britain in a previous episode, Ben said it's something he "considered very carefully".

"So, it's not something that I've taken lightly but it feels like quite an exciting opportunity," he said.