Rylan confronts snake fear live on 'This Morning' as he strokes albino python

Watch: Rylan confronts fear of snakes by touching python on live TV

Rylan has confronted his fear of snakes by stroking an albino python live in the This Morning studio.

The TV presenter- who is co-hosting the ITV daytime show with Ruth Langsford during the summer break - last week shared his terror with his Instagram followers when he found a grass snake in his home.

Rylan and Langsford talked to snake expert Professor Mark O'Shea about why the serpent may have come inside the reality star's home.

Read more: Rylan worries fans after revealing he has been in hospital

O'Shea told him the grass snake would have been lost and had likely laid some eggs close by in Rylan's garden.

The Strictly: It Takes Two presenter - formerly known as Rylan Clark-Neal - squealed: "What do you mean eggs? No hang on, sorry, I thought this was gonna calm me down!"

Langsford then introduced an animal handler into the studio carrying an albino python.

Rylan exclaimed: "Oh go away! This is real! Noooo! What are you doing? I've not been on daytime for years and I'm gonna swear!"

Referring to Britney Spears' I'm A Slave 4 U video he quipped: "I feel like Britney."

He then agreed to touch the snake, stroking it cautiously with the back of his hand.

He said: "I don't mind this one actually. She's actually very smooth. She seems quite calm."

Rylan added that he preferred the large python to the small grass snake he had found in front of his patio doors, laughing: "The bigger they are the better. It feels quite nice actually!"

Last week the Radio 2 DJ revealed he spent a terrified, sleepless night after discovering a snake in his Essex home.

Watch: Rylan shares video of snake in his home

Rylan shared a video on Instagram of a small black snake with a white throat in front of his patio doors after dark.

The 33-year-old screamed: "A f***ing snake in my house! What do you do?! What do you do?!

"Can someone tell me what do I do, I think this is why I shouldn't live alone. I tried to touch it and now it's moving! Oh my God what is this creature? Will it attack? I don't know, I can't deal with it."

Grass snakes are native to Britain. They do not bite and are harmless to humans.

Rylan lives alone since he split from his husband Dan Neal in June 2021 following six years of marriage.

At the time the TV presenter — known for fronting revivals of Supermarket Sweep and Ready Steady Cook — stepped away from the spotlight to focus on his mental health.

He took a 10-week break from presenting his BBC Radio 2 Saturday afternoon radio show and pulled out of presenting the BBC's Eurovision live semi-final coverage in May.

Rylan — who found fame on The X Factor under the name Rylan Clark — married ex-police officer Dan Neal in November 2015 after being engaged for a year, and took on his husband's surname.

Read more: Rylan apologises for ‘scaring’ people as he admits pain of break-up

Rylan met Neal when he was a contestant on Big Brother in 2013. Rylan became the host of Big Brother's Bit On The Side on Channel 5 that series, having won Celebrity Big Brother at the beginning of the year.