They’re often the first people we see in the morning; relaxed, beaming and glossy. Yet for all the smiles, the competition between the ever-increasing number of breakfast television anchors is brutal.
From interview styles to appearance, these TV presenters are desperate to be the best. But what do viewers really think of them?
To find out, the Daily Mail asked polling experts Survation to quiz more than 1,000 people, asking in-depth questions on their feelings about the current crop – analysing everything from who’s the most attractive to who makes their blood boil.
The results were then analysed in granular detail to gauge the mood of viewers across ages, genders and locations around the country. It makes for fascinating, sometimes surprising, reading.
So who’s riding high in viewers’ affections? And who should be heading for the exit door? As TV’s breakfast stars prepare to return to their sofas on Monday after their summer break, KATIE HIND reveals all…
THE NATION’S FAVOURITE
Perhaps it’s his cosy familiarity that endears him to viewers. After all, Ben Shephard has been a stalwart of morning TV since the 1990s, when he started as GMTV’s entertainment presenter, before moving to the main sofa beside Fiona Phillips when Eamonn Holmes left.
Now, after replacing Phillip Schofield on This Morning last year, he’s been rewarded with the top spot in our poll as the nation’s favourite breakfast TV presenter.
This Morning’s Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley are the nation’s favourites
We worked out who wins the overall crown from an average of total scores across eight categories, from truthfulness to attractiveness. And it’s clear to see why Ben, 50, ticks every box.
Happily married to his university sweetheart Annie, they have two sons. Reportedly earning more than £500,000 for his This Morning role alone, Ben is as solid as they come, running marathons and doing good deeds for charity.
Headline-chasing just isn’t his bag. As my ITV source says: ‘Ben is loved by everyone. All right, he’s a bit boring but he’s exactly what This Morning needed.’
In second place is his fellow This Morning star, Dermot O’Leary, 52, followed by GMTV’s Kate Garraway. Kate, 58, endeared herself to the public with her battle to care for her husband Derek Draper, who died last year aged 56 after a Covid infection ravaged his health.
Good Morning Britain’s queen Susanna Reid, comes fourth, followed by BBC Morning Live’s Helen Skelton and Gethin Jones, ranked fifth and sixth overall. Ben’s other co-host Cat Deeley, who took over Holly Willoughby’s role on This Morning last March, is next. ITV bosses will no doubt be thrilled at Ben and Cat being placed so high as much is riding on their success.
Revealingly, there’s no one from BBC Breakfast until number ten, where we find Charlie Stayt. His co-host Naga Munchetty, doesn’t show up until 14th place.
Languishing in last place is GB News anchor Eamonn Holmes, 65. Sources there believe he is merely ‘hanging on by a thread’.
MOST ATTRACTIVE
Two brunettes and a blonde tie in top spot: Susanna Reid, Christine Lampard and Cat Deeley each take 22 per cent of the vote.
But the battle of looks between the Croydon girl (Susanna), Brummie (Cat) and the Northern Irish presenter (Christine) shows intriguing regional variations.
Cat, 48, was ahead in the attractiveness stakes in Yorkshire and the Humber where 29 per cent gave her the highest score for looks, while Susanna, 54, has her fan base firmly in the South-West, where 29 per cent gave her the highest score for looks.
Christine, 46, is the clear favourite in the West Midlands where
33 per cent voted her the most attractive. Next was Ben Shephard, winning the most attractive man accolade, while Morning Live duo Helen Skelton, 42, and Gethin Jones, 47, were joint fourth with 18 per cent. The latter pair are rumoured to be enjoying a romance. (Those who know them say they are a ‘proper match in every way, including their looks’.)
GMB’s Richard Madeley, 69, made it to sixth place. But one wonders how silver fox Charlie Stayt, 63, will feel to be alongside the rather ravaged-looking Eamonn Holmes.
Good Morning Britain’s queen Susanna Reid, pictured, finds herself in both the nation’s favourite and most attractive list
MOST BIASED
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the top three spots all go to outspoken, opinionated men; Eamonn Holmes, Richard Madeley and Ed Balls. But our results won’t be helpful for Eamonn, as I hear his fellow breakfast presenter at GB News, Stephen Dixon, is trying to oust him. Meanwhile, former Labour minister Balls, 58, has already prompted many crisis meetings at ITV for his inevitably pro-Labour stance – so his numbers in our poll will worry TV bosses even more.
Those in the 18-24 age bracket were particularly sceptical, with
27 per cent giving Balls the highest score for bias. He also fared badly in this category from Reform UK and Tory voters (27 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively).
Despite the BBC’s pledge of impartiality, Munchetty, 50 – who has received much flak for her no-nonsense presenting style – came next, though this may not surprise BBC bosses who have long been lukewarm about her.
Deeley, Skelton, Jones and Kaye Adams, 62, tied for being the least biased, with just nine per cent of the vote each.
MOST TRUTHFUL
If Gethin Jones thought he was more respected in Wales he should think again. He was deemed more truthful in the North-West with 27 per cent of the vote, while just 12 per cent thought the same in his homeland. Ouch!
He may have a jovial twinkle in his eye, but Dermot O’Leary also has an earnest air about him, according to viewers who voted him most truthful, with 27 per cent.
That genuine quality has proved lucrative, too, with some estimating he’s worth £12 million. Unsurprisingly, the married father-of-one is protective of his brand.
Selected advertising voiceovers, children’s books and charity work complement his TV roles. A practising Catholic, growing up in Colchester he was a member of The Boys’ Brigade, a Christian youth organisation. All this, combined with an affable manner, saw ITV select him to co-present This Morning with Alison Hammond.
Next for truthfulness are jointly placed Ben Shephard and Lorraine Kelly – surprising for ITV bosses who I’m told receive complaints about Lorraine from viewers who say ‘they can’t stand her’.
Again, though, all top spots are taken by ITV presenters. The BBC’s Stayt and Munchetty don’t appear till number five, in joint position with 21 per cent, which will concern BBC bosses obsessed with maintaining viewers’ trust.
More bad news for Madeley who’s considered least truthful in our poll – voted joint last with the ever-calm Ruth Langsford, 65, who’s currently divorcing Holmes.
Meanwhile, if Gethin Jones thought he was more respected in Wales he should think again. He was deemed more truthful in the North-West with 27 per cent of the vote, while just 12 per cent thought the same in his homeland. Ouch!
MOST FUN
Coming top again is former Big Brother’s Little Brother star O’Leary with 25 per cent: vitally for him, he rates highly for fun by both women and men. (Perhaps the latter find his fanatical support of Arsenal endearing.)
Surprisingly, Lorraine Kelly, 65, is third. But I wonder if her colleagues find her fun? I’m constantly hearing anecdotes of her diva behaviour from those who’ve worked with her. ‘What Lorraine wants, she gets,’ according to one former colleague. ‘She has a reputation across ITV of ruling with an iron fist. It has to be her way or the highway.’
Meanwhile, I’m shocked to see Christine Lampard down in seventh place. I’ve always found her great company and very unpretentious. We’ve known each other for more than 15 years and even during one sweaty CrossFit gym session managed to have a laugh, as she ticked me off for always writing in my gossip column how handsome her husband Frank Lampard was.
Gethin Jones has been voted joint fifth. But in reality, for all his niceness, he is extremely dull. I once spent the day in LA with him when he was hosting Dancing With The Stars, the US version of Strictly. He may be lovely to look at, but I was stifling a yawn while he tried to entertain me with stories about his life in California.
Munchetty took bottom place in this category with just 12 per cent of the vote.
MOST IRRITATING
Naga Munchetty comes in fourth for the most irritating list, but it’s peculiar as there’s so much about her that should be admirable, says Katie Hind
He’ll hate this, but top of the pile for most irritating is Eamonn Holmes. I know this is also the view of his many colleagues who tell me they find him ‘pretty damn annoying’. His ex, Ruth Langsford, will be nodding sagely at the news Eamonn gets on the nerves of more women than men, with 31 per cent of females finding him irritating compared to 20 per cent of males.
Naga comes fourth: 19 per cent of those polled think she’s most irritating, with 26 per cent of those over 65. It’s peculiar as there’s so much about Naga that should be admirable. Born in Streatham, south London, she worked incredibly hard to succeed, and does everything from campaign on women’s health rights to being a governor at her local school. Yet she still grates.
While Cat wasn’t at the bottom of the poll – she was ninth – her bubbly, Brummie presenting style was found to be more irritating by those in the South-East where
20 per cent thought she was most irritating, compared to the North-East where the number was only eight per cent. Ben Shephard and Gethin Jones were found to be jointly the least irritating.
MOST LIKEABLE
It’s smiley Dermot O’Leary who tops the poll again with 28 per cent – and he’s particularly popular with women, with 33 per cent giving him top score. Next is Ben Shephard, closely followed by Lorraine Kelly. Interestingly, she scored higher in the South-West with 42 per cent, compared to 39 per cent in her native Scotland.
Smiley Dermot O’Leary tops the poll with 28 per cent in this the most likeable category – and he’s particularly popular with women
Eamonn Holmes yet again appears near the bottom of the list, coming joint tenth along with Naga Munchetty, Charlie Stayt and Richard Madeley. Even worse news for Eamonn is that his target audience, the retired, don’t find him likeable: just 14 per cent, compared to 25 per cent of those aged 25 to 34.
MOST KNOWLEDGEABLE
Not only is Ben Shephard the overall favourite, but he’s seen to be the cleverest, too. Educated at independent Chigwell School, he gained a BA in Dance Drama and Theatre Arts at Birmingham uni.
Next are journalists Kate Garraway and Lorraine Kelly, both of whom have been at ITV for almost all of their careers – Kate beat Lorraine by 2 per cent. Interestingly, Lorraine turned down a university place to read English and Russian in favour of a job on her local paper, the East Kilbride News. The decision clearly paid off.
Journalist Kate Garraway, who has been at ITV for almost all of her career – came in second in the most knowledgable list and beat Lorraine Kelly by 2 per cent
Naga Munchetty got her highest score in this category, with 23 per cent, alongside Susanna Reid and Dermot O’Leary. Susanna’s placing won’t surprise her ITV colleagues, many of whom nickname her ‘head girl’, while those who work with Naga tell me she’s a ‘brilliant journalist with amazing instinct’.
MOST FUN COMPANY
Surprisingly for me, Ed Balls came bottom here with 13 per cent, yet I have always found him amusing.
During the 2010 Labour leadership contest he regaled me with stories about wooing his now wife Yvette Cooper in his Renault 5 while playing his Elvis: As Recorded At Madison Square Garden CD. And he had me in fits of giggles about his love of karaoke, describing himself and Yvette as Westminster’s answer to Sonny and Cher.
Sweetly, the two who are besties off screen – Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway – are also the two we would most like to socialise with: 22 per cent of viewers said they’d like to hang out with them.
Staggeringly, next down the list is Lorraine Kelly with 21 per cent. I can’t imagine anything worse.
I once interviewed Lorraine to promote a BBC wedding show that she was hosting and she was absolutely terrifying and mocked the questions I asked her.
Maybe patriotism is at play, as 44 per cent of those who said they would most love to spend time with Lorraine were Scottish.
Reflecting on the overall results of our survey, you won’t meet a more pleasant man in TV than Ben Shephard so it is heartening that viewers feel the same. But the results of the poll are sure to be crushing for others vying to keep hold of those top sofa spots.
