Vanessa Feltz has announced that she is leaving This Morning after 33 years.
The 63-year-old broadcaster has been a regular contributor to the ITV morning show, having presented alongside the likes of Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby in recent years.
But she will now be stepping away because of her commitment to her new Channel 5 show Vanessa, which will launch on March 24 at 12.45pm.
The former Celebrity Big Brother star previously had a talkshow also called Vanessa, which was broadcast on ITV from 1994 to 1998, before she presented The Vanessa Show on BBC One.
She told the Daily Star newspaper: ‘I’ve been on This Morning since 1992. It’s been a long time.
‘But I’m now doing my own show and I can’t do both.’
Vanessa praised the presenters and crew on This Morning for being ‘so lovely’ about her decision.
She added: ‘When I told everyone I wouldn’t be able to do the show anymore, they were lovely about it.
‘I heard from Alison Hammond and Holly Willoughby immediately and the bosses were charming.
‘I’ll miss working with them all.’
The veteran broadcaster, who announced her exit from her TalkTV show nearly a year ago, has learned a lot from her time on the show.
In recent months on This Morning, Vanessa was hailed as ‘so brave’ after undergoing a live mammogram, while elsewhere, she apologised for comments she made about coeliac disease that sparked thousands of Ofcom complaints.
She said: ‘I have learned lots of stuff on This Morning.
‘When I first did it, I had never been on TV before. I didn’t know what was going on. I was bamboozled but they gave me a contract.’
And the Celebs Go Dating star ‘couldn’t be more excited’ about her new talk show.
She gushed: ‘This is a fantastic opportunity and I couldn’t be more excited. It feels marvellous.’
Vanessa – who became a household name with her eponymous ITV daytime show, which ran from 1994 until 1998 before moving to the BBC for a short-lived show for several months the following year – announced her new show earlier this month.
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She said in a statement: ‘I cannot wait to get started on this sparkling adventure with Channel 5.
‘This show is all about YOU – your stories, your opinions, your emotions, and your triumphs.
‘Television’s never been so real, honest, or unpredictable.
‘Life isn’t perfect, so let’s not pretend it is – let’s help each other out, have a giggle, and make every show a conversation worth having so kick off your shoes and come and join me for lunch, relax with a bit of me time and let’s have a ball!’
The programme will cover a wide range of topics including celebrities, gossip, fashion, relationships and parenting.
Metro has approached Vanessa’s reps for comment.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1.
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