After rising to fame as the co-host of SM:TV Live when she was just 21 years old, Cat Deeley has spent more than two decades on our TV screens – and her career is continuing to go from strength to strength as the new host of This Morning.

Following months of waiting, on Monday, 11 March Cat took her seat on the iconic This Morning sofa alongside new co-host Ben Shephard as the pair took over from previous hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.

Ahead of taking on the new role, Cat said : “This Morning is a national institution. Whenever it’s on, it’s like having your friends over – funny, smart, silly, heartfelt, informative and joyful – like all the greatest friendships!

“This Morning is and always will be the viewer’s show. Ben and I both know how much people love it, and with the help of an amazing team of people, we’re going to do our best to take care of it.”

But while Cat’s career may seem picture perfect, the TV personality has previously opened up about the sadder moments too…

Wedding sadness

Cat has been married to The Late Late Show host Patrick Kielty since 2012, though not all of their loved ones could attend their big day. With their nuptials being held in Romen, Cat’s grandfather was unable to attend their big day as he was unwell at the time and though the pair recorded the ceremony, he didn’t get to watch the special occasion.

“He died before he saw it. The good thing is we love it and, after two glasses of wine, Patrick and I put it on like a pair of losers,” she told Grazia in 2017.

“Terrifying” incident

In 2006, the TV presenter moved to LA where she established a successful career in the world of TV. However, after 14 years in the US, she chose to move back to the UK with Patrick and their two sons, Milo and James.

While in the US, Patrick and Milo got caught up in a “terrifying” incident involving a shopping mall shooting.

“They shut down the centre. I got a call from Paddy, saying, ‘They’re taking us out through the fire exits but nobody can get to their car. If we walk to a junction, can you come and get us?’,” she told You magazine in 2020.

“It makes me go funny now. It was terrifying… Paddy was shaken by it, more than Milo, who was hot and cranky but didn’t properly understand.”

Family murder

Cat’s husband Patrick lost his father when he was a teen after his dad was shot by members of the UFF because he refused to pay protection money.

“I remember going to school and like lots of other kids who were 16, putting up your posters for Comic Relief. And being called to the headmaster’s office and thinking ‘I didn’t ask permission to put these posters up, here we go’,” he told the BBC’s Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland.

‘The headmaster said, ‘I think you need to sit down’. There was a slow motion but very quick exchange. He said ‘your father’s been shot’. I said ‘is he dead? ‘ and he said ‘yes’.”

He continued: “Rather than pay protection money to loyalist paramilitaries he decided to go to the police.”