This Morning: Richard And Judy Return After 18 Years – And It Sparked Plenty Of Nostalgia

The ITV show's original hosts stood in for Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes on Friday.
|

After 18 years away, Richard and Judy were back at the helm of This Morning on Friday. 

The married couple made a one-off comeback as they stood in for regular Friday presenters Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes

Open Image Modal
Richard and Judy returned to This Morning after 18 years
ITV

The pair originally hosted the ITV daytime show from its inception in 1988 until 2001, and having them back proved to be a real treat for viewers...

The sight of them back on the famous sofa had people wondering if they’d woken up in the past

And the dose of nostalgia was certainly a welcome one

For some, it was a real return to form for the show

There was lots of Richard Madeley being, well, Richard Madeley

And Judy served up a classic moment of her own as she shaded Boris Johnson

However, there was upset at the sheer disrespect show bosses had shown to Ruth and Eamonn compared to Richard and Judy 

And sorry Phil, Holly, Ruth and Eammon, but there were calls for them to return full-time

Prior to returning to This Morning, Richard and Judy insisted it was not a full-scale comeback to daytime telly. 

“We’re doing it purely for fun and because the viewers asked us to,” they said in a joint interview. 

“There’s no agenda here – ITV asked us to do a show, we thought ‘what the hell, why not’ and it’s as simple as that.”

Open Image Modal
Richard and Judy originally presented the show from 1988 to 2001
ITV/Shutterstock

After finishing up on This Morning in 2001, Richard and Judy went on to launch their own teatime show, which ended in 2009. 

Since then, Judy has retreated from TV presenting, forging a career as an author. 

Richard has also penned a number of novels, but remains a regular on telly, frequently standing in for Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain

Most recently, he appeared as a guest contestant on Channel 4 reality show The Circle, in which he had to pretend to be a 27-year-old woman called Judy

This Morning airs weekdays at 10.30am on ITV.