Dermot O'Leary addresses rumours he's replacing Ruth and Eamonn on This Morning

Dermot O'Leary has addressed the rumours that he could be replacing Ruth Langsford and husband Eamonn Holmes on the ITV This Morning sofa every Friday.

Last week it was announced that the married couple had been axed from the show and instead Dermot and Alison Hammond, who presented the show in the summer, would replace them.

Dermot spoke about the rumours while he appeared on Irish Morning TV show Ireland AM last week, when the presenter asked if he would be appearing on the popular morning show more.

Dermot, who also presents the BBC 2 Radio breakfast show, said he would love to appear on the ITV show more, by saying: "Of course - I hope so." 

However, he said it wasn't as straightforward as that, referencing his friendship with Ruth and Eamonn: "But like you said it is always tricky when there are colleagues and friends involved."

He went on to say that no plans are set in stone yet: "There’s nothing confirmed yet, but you know, we enjoyed doing the summer, so we’d like to do more."

"But at the same time, you don’t want to tread on anyone’s toes or treat anyone badly," he went on to say. "So you’re always sort of caught between a rock and a hard place on that sort of stuff."

The news comes after other rumours circulated that the BBC are willing to offer Eamonn and Ruth their very own show to front. "Eamonn and Ruth have a huge fanbase and are very experienced," an insider told The Sun on Sunday.

ITV also denied the rumours last week saying: "We have a stellar presenting line up on This Morning in Holly and Phillip and Eamonn and Ruth. Any additions to this line up will be announced in due course."