Christine Bleakley tipped to replace Holly Willoughby as This Morning co-host during maternity leave

Christine Bleakley who joined Holly earlier this week.

Christine Bleakley could be lined up to replace Holly Willoughby as co-host of This Morning when she goes on maternity leave, the Irish Mirror has reported .

The former Dancing on Ice presenter had a two-day stint on the show earlier this week , stepping into Phillip Schofield’s shoes while he was off filming Mr And Mrs.

And while opinion on the pairing of Christine and Holly was split down the middle on Twitter on Monday, there seemed to be growing support for Christine taking Holly's spot on the sofa.

On internet forums, viewers discussed the possibility that Christine could team up with Phillip during Holly’s maternity leave.

She announced that she was expecting her third child at the weekend.

One said: “I think Christine is as good as any other presenter on TV at the moment. I don’t like the way she and Susannah Reid have been hounded by the media. The sheep will follow and criticise.”

I spoke to an ITV spokesperson, and they said: “At the moment we haven’t decided who will replace Holly. And while we have no immediate plans with Christine, I’m sure she will be back at some stage.”