ITV This Morning's Cat Deeley issues six-word response over falling viewing figures

Following intense criticism over her role as co-anchor of ITV's flagship daytime show, This Morning, Cat Deeley has a terse response to questions about the programme's viewing figures.

The long-running show's estimated audience dipped to less than 700,000 for one recent episode, but Cat remains tight-lipped on questions about This Morning's popularity: "I haven't really thought about it," she states.

Cat, alongside Ben Shephard, is the new face of the daytime TV behemoth, This Morning, stepping into the shoes of screen couples Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan and Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford. Controversy shrouded the departure of Phillip Schofield, who left in May 2023, after more than two decades on the show, and his screen partner Holly Willoughby also departed from This Morning a few months later – leading to the arrival of Cat and screen partner Ben.

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The show has been riddled with claims of a "toxic culture" from some former guests with ex-guests such as Kerry Katona and Kim Woodburn criticising the hosts' interview style and Eamonn Holmes describing Phillip Schofield as the "narcissist and a bully at the centre of the toxicity."

Despite a complete overhaul in This Morning's presenting team, critics are still poised to pounce on any minor issue, Cat says. She told the Sunday Times that, after a coughing fit forced her to briefly leave the set, there were reports that she had "fled," the set. Every interaction between Cat and her on-screen partner Ben is meticulously analysed, she explains: "Ben will make a joke and it will be, like, 'He snapped at her!, reports the Express.

'"Cat's light-hearted comment about her