It’s been six months since she took over from Holly Willoughby on This Morning and, last week, Cat Deeley raised eyebrows when she spoke out about dealing with backlash on the show amid reports of plummeting viewing figures.
Cat, 47, said, ‘If it gets too much for me, I’m going to quit. I don’t need to do it. I could stop and be a mum for most of the year, and then go and do the shows in America.’
And now insiders say that the star – who co-hosts the ITV programme alongside Ben Shephard – is genuinely considering a move back to the States after previously living there for 15 years. ‘Cat misses parts of the life that she had in America. She never got homesick because being in the States was this massive adventure,’ a source tells Closer.
‘There’s a part of her that misses the freedom that comes with American life. Over in America she can go out, do what she wants and not be bothered. She’s never stopped or pestered. It’s a very normal existence and one that Cat absolutely adored.’
The TV star rose to fame in the ’90s presenting SMTV: Live with Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, and became a hit in the US hosting So You Think You Can Dance?. She previously revealed that she loved the privacy in Los Angeles, where she lived with husband Patrick Kielty, 53, and their sons, Milo, eight, and James, six, admitting, ‘When Tom Cruise lives down the road, no one really cares about me in Whole Foods.’ But she returned to the UK in January 2020 after being caught up in a terrifying shopping mall shooting scare.
Since taking over This Morning earlier this year, Cat and Ben, 49, have faced a string of criticism. It was reported that the show’s viewing figures plummeted by half, reaching a ‘landmark low’ within two months of the duo’s arrival. ITV defiantly hit back, saying, ‘This Morning continues to reach over 4 million viewers a week and remains one of the most streamed programmes on ITVX in 2024.’
Viewers have also scrutinised Cat and Ben’s on-screen chemistry, with some calling them ‘awkward’ and ‘dull’. And our source says that Cat isn’t comfortable with the intense attention that hosting the show has brought.
‘Cat has a thick skin – she’s been around a while and can handle what life in the limelight throws at her. But she’s been a bit shocked and surprised by the backlash to the start she’s made on This Morning. Sometimes she feels like she just can’t face anymore,’ the insider says.
The source adds that while some of the comments ‘haven’t been nice’ for Cat, she won’t be losing any sleep over it, revealing, ‘She still has a lot of friends and contacts back in the States, and would move back there in a heartbeat for work if she needed to.’