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\nJoan Lunden was an anchor on Good Morning America from 1980 to 1997As the ABC morning show celebrated its 50th anniversary on Nov. 3 in New York City, Lunden, 75, returned to the show and reflected on the show’s success”The only thing that freaks me out is: I was here almost from the beginning!” she tells PEOPLE<\/p>\n
Joan Lunden<\/a> was reflective as she returned to Good Morning America to celebrate the morning show’s 50th anniversary.\n<\/p>\n On Monday. Nov. 3, the 75-year-old veteran journalist joined current anchors Robin Roberts<\/a>, Michael Strahan<\/a> and George Stephanopolous<\/a>, as well as her former colleagues Diane Sawyer<\/a> and Charlie Gibson, for a special GMA broadcast to mark the milestone.\n<\/p>\n “Fifty years! Of course, the only thing that freaks me out is, I was here almost from the beginning!” Lunden told PEOPLE of how it felt to be on hand to celebrate.\n<\/p>\n “I never dreamed, in 1979 when I was asked to be the host, that I would’ve been there for 20 years,” she said. The journalist anchored the show, alongside David Hartman and then Gibson, until 1997.<\/p>\n Joan Lunden attends Good Morning America’s 50th anniversary celebration on Nov. 03, 2025.<\/p>\n Manoli Figetakis\/Getty<\/p>\n Lunden added, “I look back on it now \u2014 this morning when I woke up, I said, ‘I did this for 20 years? Are you kidding me?’ ”\n<\/p>\n “But I’ll tell you, Charlie and I always said it was the best seat in which to view the world,” she said of her tenure as anchor. “It really was, because whatever was happening in the world, that’s where you are.”\n<\/p>\n Reflecting on how GMA has managed to stick around for so long with such success, Lunden said the show was “really a kind of alternative program in a way” when it first premiered in 1975.\n<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\n<\/p>\n