He and co-host Fern Britton struggled to fill Richard and Judy's shoes, however, attracting one million viewers per day - a million less than their predecessors.

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They will be screened on Wednesday 30 May at 2000 BST on ITV1, in a programme hosted by This Morning presenters Fern Britton and Phillip Schofield.

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Speaking to the Fern Britton Meets programme, the former Tory minister said she would "be a liar" if she said the decision "didn't stab a little".

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This year's competition - which also saw Jerry Hall, Lisa Riley and Fern Britton take part - regularly beat ITV rival The X Factor in the ratings.

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