[Flux]

After year where fun and personality was injected into what was tired show this feels like a bland and far too safe choice. Ben always fitted well but Cat was nowhere near as good in reality as she should have been on paper. Hopefully though once settled in they find their stride.

Gutting though we'll see less of Alison, Dermot, Craig and Josie as a result though I suspect the only one of the four who perhaps wanted the full time gig would have been Josie.

See, I disagree completely. I’m glad the current rotation is going. It always felt like the kids playing whilst Mum and Dad were away for me. The overly jolly environment and “fun” felt very tryhard and forced to make up for what they were trying to recover from. Whilst I think Alison might have worked full time with another more grounded host (potentially Ben) but her star is on the up (rightly so!) and I find her much more fitting to shows like Bake Off where she can interject and play the clown more freely. That’s not to say I don’t think all four are totally capable presenters who are enjoyable in smaller doses, I just don’t feel any of the four have really stood out or made an obvious claim for the main roles and the show needs an identoty shift after the last year.

I think it’s absolutely the right choice to bring in two new faces, and two experienced and familiar ones at that. The show needs to play relativelt safe to get it back on track, but it didn’t need predictable - and I think Cat (when originally announced anyway) is left field enough to feel fresh and different. She’s hardly appeared on the show, so I don’t feel it’s fair to judge her based on limited screen time with a totally different co-host. She’s a great down to earth host who’s recognised by a whole generation who grew up on SM:TV but also brings an element of glamour and aspiraton from her time in the US. OF course only time will tell if she and Ben work well together, but I’m really glad ITV are being decisive with this choice. I really wasn’t a fan of the idea they’d keep rotating a family of hosts forever a la GMB.

Having said all that, the “standby” four are still in the wings, with Alison and Dermot as the obvious B Pairing. Being in that position and growing their partnership under less spotlight might do them good, and they’ll be in a firmer position to step in further removed from the Phil & Holly days should Ben and Cat not work out, or if they leave in a few years time. Let’s not forget that’s exactly how Fern Britton and John Leslie (who was later replaced by Phillip Schofield) ended up as secure and trusted main hosts after the Colleen and Twiggy misfire.