'GMA' replaces three main hosts after airing pre-recorded clippings of them on Christmas
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: The December 26 episode of 'Good Morning America' saw 'GMA3' hosts DeMarco Morgan and Eva Pilgrim and weekend anchor Whit Johnson take over hosting duties in place of the three regular hosts, reported The Sun.
Michael Strahan, Robins Roberts, and George Stephanopoulos were last seen on the morning talk show on Christmas day, as a pretaped segment of them was spliced into the show.
According to the publication, the three main hosts happen to be on their respective holiday breaks, as the new ones are brought in to take the reins in the interim.
'GMA' co-hosts started their holiday breaks at different times
Strahan, Roberts, and Stephanopoulos perform their hosting duties on the weekdays.
While Stephanopoulos has been on an extended hiatus from the show, the Friday, December 22 episode also saw Roberts absent from the desk. Their positions were filled in for the day by Whit Johnson and Deborah Roberts, respectively, who joined Strahan on the show.
As a pre-recorded section was played on December 25, Roberts did let audiences know about the anchors being away to celebrate the holidays with their families.
As the holidays continue, with New Year's Day around the corner, it is expected that the regular anchors will be away from the action until after 2024 begins. The co-hosts on December 26 did not reveal when everyone would return to their usual segments.
Pretaped Christmas episode on 'GMA'
Though the three regular weekday hosts last appeared together on the show on Monday, December 25, it was a major break from the norm, as they explained right at the beginning.
"Good morning, America, and Merry Christmas to everyone at home and everyone here in our studio," said Strahan, getting the show on the ground.
Roberts then proceeded to explain the change, "We just wanna let you know that we’re on tape this morning so all of us can celebrate with our loved ones, too. And we hope you’re having a great, great holiday.”
A 'PORTIONS RECORDED' warning was put up in the top-right of the screen to ensure that the audiences were aware of the switch, while correspondent Erielle Reshef was brought on to anchor the live segments for the day.
