When Ben Shephard lived round the corner from Kate Garraway, he would pop round for a cup of tea and a natter.
The Good Morning Britain presenters were practically neighbours and would often meet up as friends after working together on breakfast TV.
"I'd invited myself over for a cup of tea like I often did as she wasn't usually keen as she had to tidy up," explained Ben on GMB on September last year.
However, on one such fateful occasion there was a mortifying incident that Ben kept secret from anyone for 20 years.
Just thinking about what happened during that eventful lunchtime gives Ben the "shivers" to this very day.
Ben was an avid cycler at the time, so rocked up at Kate's town house and started to chain his bike up t to the railings.
Kate's kitchen was down in her basement, which meant he could see inside from above while locking up his bike.
Suddenly, a naked person walked into the kitchen - and horrified Ben quickly realised it was his pal Kate.
"Kate had obviously gone home and had a sleep. Suddenly someone nude walked into the kitchen and I looked up and it was Kate. And she was topless," explained the red-faced presenter.
"I kind of stopped. I was transfixed."
While Ben’s eyes nearly popped out he was almost paralysed to the spot and did not want to move in case she saw him.
Thinking it would be too embarrassing to explain what happened, Ben slowly undid his bike chain then cycled off in a "hot sweat".
“I sort of froze, panicked... walked away really embarrassed,” he told the Sunday Mirror last year. “It became a thing in my head... I couldn’t tell her.”
When confused Kate asked when he was coming over, nervous Ben claimed he had "just got a bit tied up".
So he kept the memory to himself for nearly 20 years, until he made the mistake of letting it slip.
Ben confessed all to Chris Moyles on a podcast after having a few drinks, which he admitted he regretted.
This meant he was obviously forced to come clean to Kate after nearly two decades in case she discovered it from somebody else.
Red-faced Kate admitted she was "flabbergasted" when Ben sat her down to finally reveal what he had seen.
"He was sweating buckets," revealed Kate. "The idea he’s seen me naked all this time and I never knew...we’re like brother and sister. I’m so glad it was before I had kids."
As well as telling Kate alone, Ben fessed up to the entire nation and his colleagues on Good Morning Britain.
Giggling Kate joked that he was "paralysed" when he saw her semi-dressed, while Susanna told him: "I think what you mean to say is 'I looked away to preserve her dignity'."
Stuttering Ben tried to claim he did not want to move, but Susanna started making mocking faces as he spoke.
The presenters, who have been happily married to their partners for years, definitely saw the funny side.
The embarrassing incident is not the only hilariously risqué moment that the close friends have shared.
They started working together on GMTV when Ben hosted the Entertainment Today segment, while Kate was a main presenter on the breakfast TV show.
Live on air in 2016, Ben inadvertently flashed mum-of-two Kate’s “huge” high-waisted knickers to the nation after pretending to throw her into an ice bath.
Referring to her bestselling book The Joy of Big Knickers, he joked: “I showed the world your pants. You got a book deal off the back of that – and I’ve not had my cut yet!”
Kate shot back: “You kept saying no one saw – everyone saw! I was getting tweets about it. My mum was furious. She said, ‘Why were you wearing nude pants? You could have at least worn something nice and silky.’”
The pair have supported one another through many of the major events in their own lives – weddings, moving house, having children – as well as handling tough news stories and light-hearted topics on screen.
Kate tells Ben, who has been married to Annie since 2004 and also has two children: “It’s a weird one. You were single when I met you and I was married to someone else.
“We went through all the heartbreak of that, the dating disasters, meeting Derek and getting married, having babies. You’ve been really calm throughout.”
Most recently, Ben has been a constant source of support on and off camera during some of the worst few months of Kate's life.
Kate's husband Derek Draper, who Ben is also close friends with, was hospitalised in March after contracting coronavirus and put in an induced coma.
After 13 weeks Derek woke up, but Kate warned celebrations may be premature as he still has a long road to recovery.
While Kate took time off work, Ben gave updates on Derek as well as how Kate and their kids, Darcey and Billy, were doing.
Discussing Kate's first TV interview about her husband's ordeal, Ben said: "It was really great to see Kate - it was in the studio - smiling, talking very honestly about the situation Derek is in.
He then explained her return to the studio, saying: "It's a big step, a really important step as she was talking about yesterday, openly, particularly for her and for Darcey and Billy and Derek's ongoing condition.
"And I think the other thing that was really key from Kate's perspective yesterday was that [...] there are families who are going through similar things up and down the country and her thoughts and concerns are with them as well."
Obviously Ben was in the studio when Kate made her much-anticipated return to work on Good Morning Britain.
Addressing her return, Kate wanted to "have fun" as they replaced Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid.
Ben confessed it was a "big day" for them, and that he couldn't wipe the smile off of his face all morning.
"It's lovely to see you, to have you here," exclaimed Ben.
It was Kate that dropped Wednesday's bombshell news that Ben would be taking a break from GMB.
So it came as a shock on Wednesday morning when Kate announced it was Ben's last day presenting on the show.
Confirming he was having some time off after a hectic few months amid the coronavirus pandemic, Ben explained exactly why he was heading off.
But he made it clear this would be no holiday, with no sunbathing on the beach, as Ben is getting stuck into another TV project.
"We're about to hit peak Tipping Point! Tipping Point series 11 and we're all back in the studio, back socially distanced," said Ben.
"I think I might do it with Andi [Peters] because he's doing Lorraine in a couple of weeks. But the set's had to change in order to get everybody up and running.
"I'm not going to be here but I'm going to be working, Kate Garraway! I know you think I've got my feet up and trotters up down in the south of France! "
*Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV at 6am
