Ben Shephard has announced a break from This Morning – as he and Cat Deeley are temporarily replaced in a hosting shake-up.

The presenter, 50, shared the news on his Instagram on Thursday that he would be taking some time off from the ITV show over half term, alongside his co-star Cat, 48.

He posted: ‘Ahhh lovely end of the week for me and @catdeeley. Thanks for all your messages.

‘I hope everyone is ready for some hardcore Valentine’s/Palentine’s/Galentine’s (delete where appropriate) action!! We’ll be back in the studio after half term!!’

Some fans commented their well-wishes on Ben’s social media post, with one saying, ‘Have a super weekend off.’; ‘Enjoy your break , happy Valentine’s Day from sunny NZ.’

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The presenter, 50, shared the news on his Instagram on Thursday that he would be taking some time off from the ITV show over half term, alongside his co-star Cat, 48

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Ben Shephard has announced a break from This Morning – as he and Cat Deeley are temporarily replaced in hosting shake-up

Others said: ‘Have a nice week off.’; ‘Always nice to see you on Ben, enjoy your half term.’

It is yet to be confirmed who will be taking over the show during their break, but Dermot O’Leary, 51, and Alison Hammond, 50, replaced them for a short time back in October.

Ben and Cat were first confirmed as the show’s new permanent presenters back in February last year after the departures of Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. They made their debut on the show on March 11.

Sources at the channel said that they were ‘thrilled’ at the signing of the pair after ‘so many obstacles had to be negotiated to get there’.

The Mail first revealed that the duo were top of the list but in December Cat turned down the role because she wasn’t able to commit the time to the programme.

However, after further negotiations and the offer of more money, she agreed. One source said: ‘Cat was the one they wanted all along and finally they have her. It is incredible news for them.’

Holly left the show last October ‘for the sake of her family’ after discovering she was the target of a foiled kidnap and murder plot.

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It is yet to be confirmed who will be taking over the show during their break, but Dermot O’Leary, 51, and Alison Hammond, 50, replaced Cat and Ben for a short time back in October

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Ben and Cat were first confirmed as the show’s new permanent presenters back in February last year after Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield left

Her departure came five months after Phillip’s, when his affair with a young male showrunner was made public, followed by claims of an increasingly strained relationship with his co-host.

Ben and Cat took a seven-week break from screens just four months after landing the job as part of the show’s annual summer break, which saw a rotation of guest presenters brought in to front the show in their absence.

Alison and Dermot kicked off the summer before a mix of familiar faces returned to the sofa too.

The break saw Josie Gibson, Craig Doyle, Rylan Clark, Rochelle Humes and Joel Dommett, Sian Welby hit the screens.

This Morning airs on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.