Susanna Reid recalls ‘amusing’ moment Ben Shephard was on strong painkillers live on GMB

Susanna Reid has told how her workaholic co-host Ben Shephard presented live on air in a painkiller haze.

Instead of asking for time off, the Good Morning Britain presenter fronted the show while suffering from a back injury caused when a mate gave him a drunken bear hug.

Speaking to OK!, Susanna revealed: “Ben had done himself a serious injury but instead of saying ‘give me the week off’, he took some extra strong painkillers and came back on air.

“He’s such a consummate pro. It only lasted for one programme but Kate [Garraway] and I found that highly amusing – you weren’t ever entirely sure where his conversation was going.

“There were moments where you could sort of see the extra strong painkillers oozing from his pores.”

Ben, 47, who joins Susanna, 51, as ambassadors of the show’saward-winning 1 Million Minutes campaign , which aims to eradicate loneliness in the UK, previously opened up about the “middle-aged injury”, which he sustained in 2018.

He said: “It was shocking. I had literally been to the pub with a friend and said goodbye to him and walked away – and my back just went. I think I was overly affectionate with my hug goodbye maybe."

He is currently recovering from an agonising triple leg injury that left him needing surgery and months of gruelling rehab following a horror football injury last year.

It’s been eight years since the broadcasting duo were recruited to launch ITV’s Good Morning Britain and 8 months since their former co-presenter Piers Morgan, 57, quit after dramatically walking off set during a row over comments he made about Meghan Markle. Some predicted GMB would be “finished” without the divisive presenter, but it’s flourishing.

Susanna told OK!: “We still text each other regularly and he’s doing what he does best."

So has Piers tried to poach her for Talk TV? "That was never on the cards," she said. "But in terms of how the dynamic’s changed on GMB, I think we have maintained a very lively programme. I’m so lucky because I get to work with somebody different all the time and it means they don’t get tired of me.”

Ben added: “You’ve got to bear in mind, I was never in work when Piers was at work so I’m still calm!”

Watch 1 Million Minutes weekdays in Dec on GMB from 6am on ITV1 & ITV Hub

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