{"id":429894,"date":"2026-02-17T05:35:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T05:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/429894\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T05:35:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T05:35:08","slug":"inside-ben-shephards-midlife-crisis-that-has-left-tv-presenter-having-sleepless-nights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/429894\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Ben Shephard&#8217;s &#8216;midlife crisis&#8217; that has left TV presenter having sleepless nights"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Known for presenting This Morning, dad-of-two Ben Shephard has told how his latest project \u2014 an appearance on popular show The Masked Singer \u2014 left him gripped with nerves<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Ben Shephard\" loading=\"eager\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1_This-Morning-TV-show-London-UK-28-Jan-2026.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"Ben Shephard is pictured on the This Morning sofa\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Ben Shephard is pictured on the This Morning sofa(Image: Ken McKay\/ITV\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">This Morning host <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/all-about\/ben-shephard\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Ben Shephard<\/a> has joked he was &#8220;slap bang in the middle of a midlife crisis&#8221; when he filmed <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/all-about\/the-masked-singer\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">The Masked Singer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The TV presenter, 51, narrowly missed out on being crowned winner of the popular programme on Saturday, <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/tv\/tv-news\/masked-singer-2026-winner-moth-36723348\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">losing to former Sugababes star Keisha Buchanan, who performed as Moth<\/a>. Ben, who was Conkers in the final, said the experience was &#8220;so traumatic&#8221; to the point where he had sleepless nights.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Ben, who has been the face of <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/all-about\/this-morning\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">This Morning<\/a> with Kate Deeley since March 2024, said: &#8220;Ah man, it was so traumatic, I had no sleep, it was relentless and brilliant at the same time. It was this crazy juxtaposition of this incredible rush when it was done and the trauma of doing even more tomorrow because we filmed every other day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;I had so many flipping songs and lyrics to learn, I would wake up in the middle of the night, and I would try and go for a wee, and I would have to sing the song three times in my head before I could go.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" data-tmdatatrack=\"read-more\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36726489\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"editorial\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/3am\/celebrity-news\/masked-singer-keisha-buchanans-life-36726489\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Masked Singer Keisha Buchanan&#8217;s life now from horror crash to Sugababes reunion<\/a>READ MORE: <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" data-tmdatatrack=\"read-more\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36724459\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"editorial\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/tv\/tv-news\/ben-shephard-masked-singer-apology-36724459\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ben Shephard apologises over The Masked Singer as fans rush to defend him<\/a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Ben Shephard on The Masked Singer\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2_The-Masked-Singer-final.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"Ben Shephard was unmasked beneath the Conker costume\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Ben Shephard was unmasked beneath the Conker costume(Image: ITV)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Ben typically had to wake up at 3.30am when he hosted <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/all-about\/good-morning-britain\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">Good Morning Britain<\/a> on Thursdays and Fridays for 10 years. However, the father of two was anxiously waking in the middle of the night during his time recording The Masked Singer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He told the <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/tvshowbiz\/article-15564333\/ben-shephard-reveals-career-decision-left-traumatised.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Daily Mail<\/a>: &#8220;Basically, doing The Masked Singer, I was slap bang in the middle of a midlife crisis but what was much better than getting a fast car, was to surround myself in a beautiful Conkers costume&#8230; There is certainly the sense of anticipation before every show \u2014 but the only time I get nervous is when I feel I&#8217;m out of my depth like The Masked Singer, when I really question my life choices.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The judging panel of <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/all-about\/maya-jama\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">Maya Jama<\/a>, Jonathan Ross, Mo Gilligan, <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/all-about\/davina-mccall\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">Davina McCall<\/a>, and last year\u2019s winner Samantha Barks unmasked Ben, <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/tv\/tv-news\/ben-shephard-masked-singer-apology-36724459\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">who posted a grovelling apology on social media after Saturday&#8217;s final aired<\/a>. The presenter, born in Epping, Essex, said: &#8220;For everyone whose songs I destroyed I\u2019m so so sorry. For everyone who listened I\u2019m even more apologetic. For the amazing team who created Conkers you are the real stars &#8211; I can\u2019t thank you enough he was very special.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Ben had belted out his own version of JLS hit Everybody In Love despite <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/all-about\/marvin-humes\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">Marvin Humes<\/a> being in the very same line-up as Can of Worms. The journalist, though, found it difficult to keep his identity hidden from the judges and host Joel Dommett, who is his friend and podcast co-host.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Known for presenting This Morning, dad-of-two Ben Shephard has told how his latest project \u2014 an appearance on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":429895,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[46589,6491,96,126574,1471,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-429894","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-ben-shephard","9":"tag-celebrities","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-the-masked-singer","12":"tag-this-morning","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/429895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}