Kym Marsh and Gethin Jones have made such a success of BBC1’s Morning Live that bosses are making it a year-round fixture.
The pair are pulling in an average 1.5million viewers on weekday mornings – beating rival Lorraine with 1.2m.
Former Coronation Street actress Kym and ex-Blue Peter star Gethin were chosen to front what set out to be a pre-lunch version of The One Show.
Its first series, from October to December last year, got ratings of 1.4m.
Returning for a second run in January it went from strength to strength, with its best-performing episode on February 8 pulling in 1.8m viewers.
It ends the Beeb’s long quest for a sofa-based format to compete in the post-breakfast slot.
BBC daytime boss Carla-Maria Lawson said the show provided audiences “topical, relevant and entertaining content as a trusted companion in the mornings”.
From next year the 45-minute show, airing 9.15-10am, will move to a new home in Salford, Greater Manchester, making BBC1 the only UK channel to broadcast all its morning shows from outside London.
Kym, 44, said: “This is an exciting development.”
Gethin, 43, added: “It’s an absolute joy being part of people’s daily lives.”
But it is not all bad news for ITV host Lorraine Kelly – her show is up 35% on last year.
An ITV source said: “Lorraine’s audience continues to grow and has not been diminished. There’s room for all.”
