BBC Morning Live confirms Jason Manford in new presenting role

BBC has confirmed that comedian Jason Manford will be joining the Morning Live team for a few weeks. His debut is set for Friday, June 28, where he'll share the screen with Gaby Roslin.

Manford will then return to co-host on Wednesday, July 3 alongside former Strictly star Helen Skelton. The 43-year-old expressed his enthusiasm about joining the BBC show.

He stated: "I'm delighted to have been asked to guest co-host Morning Live this week. I always love supporting a Manchester-based show and every time I've been on as a guest, the team have always been a real pleasure to work with. I'm looking forward to bringing a little chaos to the sofa once we go live! "

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Jason will be joining a line-up of well-known faces who regularly present the show such as Gethin Jones, Michelle Ackerley and Rav Wilding. Morning Live has rapidly become one of Britain's most popular live magazine daytime shows since its launch in 2020 during the pandemic. It draws up to 1.4m viewers a day, with an average of 1.2million people tuning in, reports the Express.

On the topic of Jason joining as a new co-host, Morning Live's Executive Editor Emma Morris emphasised the comedian's popularity with viewers.

She remarked: "We are thrilled to be welcoming Jason to the Morning Live team in the coming weeks."

"He is already a good friend of the show and it goes without saying he's an incredibly entertaining and experienced presenter. I just know our audience is going to love him! ".

Jason has been a familiar face on Morning Live, making various guest appearances and taking on presenting roles.

He's had a hand in several shows, including Children in Need, The National Lottery's New Year's Eve Big Bash, Unbeatable, and Have I Got News for You.

Back in 2010, Jason joined The One Show for a four-month stint, co-hosting with Alex Jones on the BBC. But he chose to step down to focus on his family and other commitments at that time.

Jason has admitted there's one show he's not eager to join: This Morning. With Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield having left, ITV viewers were keen to find out who would step into their shoes before Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley were confirmed as permanent hosts.

When asked by Metro.co.uk about the possibility of him sitting on the iconic blue sofa, he said: "I don't know if I'd be up for getting up early every day to be perfectly honest."

Adding, "I'm quite a night owl. It doesn't quite fit in with stand-up, which involves working in the evenings. Maybe I would have done it 20 years ago when I was a bit younger and could burn the candle at both ends. I definitely need a nice sleep, and not early starts."