Tearful Andi Peters struggles to keep it together on Ben Shephard’s final day on GMB
ANDI Peter fought back tears and struggled to hold it together during Ben Shephard's exit from Good Morning Britain.
The pair go back decades, with Andi having given Ben his big break in television at T4 in the 90s.
They've remained good friends and shared endless amounts of banter on air over the years.
And it all got a bit much for Andi today as Ben's departure for the new world of This Morning suddenly dawned on him.
He had to take a deep breath and compose himself as tears filled his eyes while reading through the latest competition.
Prior to that, Ben revealed he visited Andi at his home yesterday.
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Andi then gave Ben a big hug and presented him a bobbing head figurine of himself, a little something for Ben to remember him by.
Explaining the present: "For your new dressing room I have something for you, something I think you will really like. I think this will look fantastic in your new This Morning dressing room."
It was an emotional episode with stars past and present paying tribute to the popular broadcaster.
Richard Arnold announced Ben's This Morning start date is Monday, March 11 before getting up to give Ben a hug and telling him: "I love you, mate."
The likes of Fiona Phillips, John Stapleton and Jenni Falconer all wished Ben luck on his next chapter in video messages from their homes.
Ben's proud wife Annie was watching the action unfold in the studio and Susanna Reid came in on her day off to wave Ben away.
Two of Ben's heroes - meningitis survivor Ella Chadwick and fundraising former Forces veteran Brian Wood - were in attendance too. The latter described Ben as the "perfect human".
Ben's 'work wife' Kate Garraway kept her tribute brief so as not to break down.
She said: "You're an incredible person, an incredible friend. I'm going to miss you. We know you're going to be fantastic and we all know we're going to be in your lives as friends."
Ben was presented with a signed West Ham football, an alarm clock cake and a blanket with his co-stars' faces on.
He admitted to always hating the early wake up calls but said it was a joy to be in such great company over the years, and he promised he would keep their friendships going when he moved to the studio next door.
There were celebrity messages from the likes of football managers Sam Allardyce and Harry Redknapp and Coronation Street star Patti Clare, who plays florist Mary Taylor in the soap and invited Ben to join her on the cobbles if his new gig doesn't work out.
Co-star Lorraine Kelly urged him to "not lose his cheekiness" and told him she "loved him very much".
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Ranvir Singh read out some of Ben's pet hates and things for new co-host Cat Deeley to take note of. These included his dislike of people eating boiled eggs beside him and breathing on him with Marmite breath.
