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This Morning fans delighted as Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan return to the show

ITV
ITV

This Morning fans were thrilled as Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan returned to present the show today.

The veteran presenters, who hosted This Morning from 1988 until 2001, filled in on Friday morning for Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, who have replaced Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield all this week.

Viewers were delighted as the married couple "picked up where we left off" on the show 30 years after they first fronted it.

Richard opened the show by saying: "We did warn you, we said we'd come back".

Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan on This Morning (ITV)
Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan on This Morning (ITV)

When Judy started to read from her script, Richard stopped her and said they needed to have a chat first, to which Judy joked: "Do we have to? I chat to you all the time, I can't think of anything fresh to say."

Richard remarked: "When we did this two or three months ago for the first time in 20 odd years, I opened by saying, off the top of my head, that it felt really, really weird.

"I never had time to explain it. What I meant was, it felt weird because it didn't feel weird.

"It's like they put us in the freezer, 22 years ago. We've been in the freezer like cryogenics for two decades and we've come out and picked up where we left off."

Thrilled fans took to Twitter to share their love for Richard and Judy, with one saying: "Thought I was back in 1999 with Richard and Judy back on This Morning.

"Forgot how funny they are together! Bring them back!"

"A rare day week day off and how lovely to see Richard and Judy back on This Morning," wrote another.

A third commented: "How wonderful to see Richard and Judy back on #ThisMorning - brings back lovely memories."

Richard and Judy won praise last October when they returned to the show for the first time in 18 years.

After This Morning, Richard and Judy hosted their own show - titled Richard & Judy - from 2001 until 2009.

The couple also work as newspaper columnists, and have two children, Jack and Chloe Madeley.

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