Richard Madeley was replaced at the last minute today on Good Morning Britain.

The presenter usually hosts from Monday to Wednesday but he was noticeably absent from the ITV show this morning. Kate Garraway – who led the show yesterday too – was on hand to explain where her co-star was, as she welcomed another famous face to sit alongside her this morning to present the three hour breakfast show.

As she kicked off the show, she introduced her colleague Sean Fletcher, who is a regular presenter on the show and usually anchors the news segment. She told viewers: “If you’re expecting to see Richard Madeley here, Richard Madeley was expecting to be here aswell. He’s feeling a bit poorly this morning, so we’ve got the lovely Sean which is fantastic. When did you find out Sean?”

Sean stepped in for missing Richard, alongside Kate Garraway
Sean stepped in for missing Richard, alongside Kate Garraway ( 
Image:
ITV)
Sean then went on to send his well wishes to Richard, before revealing he didn’t know he’d be leading the show until he got up to do his usual news shift with them this morning. Explaining how it all came about, he said: “So I get up in the morning and I log on and check the running order at home and I’m looking at the running order and I see my initial by all the stories you would normally have, and I saw my initial over every other story and I was like no that’s a mistake, that’s a typo.

“My initials were over everything. Suddenly I realised I had like 11 missed calls and I realised something was up.”

Richard Madeley has been hit with criticisms for his presenting – but he insists he “doesn’t give a stuff” about the backlash.

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He said last year: “Virtually any day that I do Good Morning Britain, you can go on Twitter an hour later and there will be some Twitter storm kicking off over something I’ve said or done. You have to decide whether it matters, whether it actually is going to have any bearing on what you say or do the next day, or whether you will be offered another contract, or if people will spit on you in the street. I’ve never had a contract withdrawn or altered. It doesn’t cross over into real life. I couldn’t give a stuff!

“I really, genuinely, couldn’t give a stuff because I know that it doesn’t matter. I’m still here and I’m still being asked to work, and nobody spits on me in the street, there is no impact in the real world.”