This Morning guest had unlikely encounter with Cat Deeley years before working together

Cat Deeley has been in the spotlight for many years before she landed a role on This Morning. 

The ITV host signed up officially with fellow co-star Ben Shephard earlier this year after stepping in to replace Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.

Both Cat and Ben did some screen tests separately as viewers saw each of them on the show prior to their permanent placement.

And now, one of their regular guests Ashley James exclusively told Express.co.uk at the Carmex Summer Party of an encounter they’d had years prior.

As she praised the two for stepping in to fill some big boots from the previous This Morning hosts, she stated she’s known Ben for a long time who she always felt was “genuinely nice”.

However, she did have one encounter with Cat when she was a child. Ashley added: “I never knew Cat, but years ago on CDUK I was in the crowd as a young child watching her!”

Cat presented CDUK for many years and also worked on SMTV alongside it, making her another TV presenter in a long line of famous faces who started their career by working on kids TV.

Elsewhere Cat also hosted So You Think You Can Dance? And Fame Academy.

Former host Holly Willoughby also started her career working with children, and it’s paved the way for multiple TV presenters to find their footing in the industry.

Cat has now found her footing in the UK as the primary This Morning host alongside Ben, after toying between the ITV gig or remaining in the US.

She ultimately opted for the popular daytime TV show, and while it’s been a tricky start with multiple complaints over on-air mishaps, her co-star Ashley was quick to praise the pairing.

She said: “I love This Morning, Ben and Cat are amazing. You can just tell they are so genuinely nice. You can tell when people are paid to do it and when they’re genuinely nice people.”