This Morning host Ben Shephard previously recalled his brutal sacking from one of his first jobs on TV.

The TV star, 50, has been a staple on screens for years. From stints on GMB to Ninja Warrio – which is on today (July 13) – Ben has kept busy.

However, it wasn’t always plain sailing for Ben in terms of his career…

Ben is a staple on TV screens (Credit: ITV)

This Morning host Ben Shephard on getting sacked from Channel 4

Ben shot to fame as a TV star in the late 1990s thanks to his appearance on Channel 4 show, The Bigger Breakfast, alongside Josie D’Arby, Melanie Sykes and Dermot O’Leary.

Since then, he’s become one of the UK’s go-to presenters, fronting shows such as Ninja Warrior UK and This Morning.

However, Ben actually ended up getting sacked from Channel 4 – something he said “came out of nowhere”.

Ben was sacked from Channel 4 (Credit: YouTube)

‘It was really hard’

“It was brutal because it came out of nowhere. I was about 25 and thought I was going to be with Channel 4 for a couple of years,” he previously told OK!

“Then all of a sudden it was done and I clearly hadn’t been good enough in that role. It was really hard coming away from that and the reality of suddenly not having an income and not having a job,” Ben added.

However, Ben pointed out that when an “opportunity comes along” after something has gone wrong, it makes you “grab it even harder”.

It’s fair to say the sacking worked out in Ben’s favour, as a few years later he started working at ITV – and has remained there ever since!

Ben and wife Annie

Away from the showbiz and telly world, Ben is married to long-term partner Annie.

The pair tied the knot in 2004 and share two sons: Sam who was born in 2005 and Jack, born in 2007.

Ben and Annie first met at university when they were both in their early 20s. The GMB star studied Dance, Drama and Theatre Arts at the University of Birmingham – while Annie studied Philosophy.

Speaking on Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time he said: “We met at university – so you knew Annie when I just got into the telly – and I was sort of a mere puppy when it came to the world of broadcasting media.

“She has been through all this with me – the highs and the lows of all that experience. And she is still here, somehow is still putting up with me which to this day. I can’t quite believe that I am extraordinarily lucky.”