ITV hoping to keep Shephard, Smith?

ITV is reportedly hoping to keep hold of Ben Shephard and Penny Smith.

Shephard confirmed last week that he will leave GMTV later this year, while Smith announced her departure from the morning show last month.

However, The Mirror claims that ITV executives are desperate to keep the duo at the channel after audience ratings revealed that they are the most popular GMTV presenters.

While Shephard and Smith regularly received an eight out of ten rating, the other hosts were reportedly marked either six or seven. ITV is now allegedly trying to find other jobs for the pair.

A source explained: "ITV are looking at how they can fit Ben and Penny into the schedule as you can't ignore their overwhelming popularity."

Adrian Chiles recently defected from the BBC to become a new anchor on GMTV.