Friday got off to a rocky start on This Morning, when Ruth Langsford nearly had to present the entire show by herself.
Introducing the show – with a conspicuously empty seat next to her where Eamonn should have been – Ruth explained where he was.
She said: “They’re dropping like flies in my house.
“Jack was off all week with the lurgy, and this morning Eamonn woke up with no voice. He was literally having to write notes.”
Eamonn himself took to Twitter to lament his situation, writing: “Things not good today folks…. Got an impossibly sore throat. Don’t need this – sooo much to do – but unfortunately Talking is my business. Bloomin Heck it hurts”.
Fortunately for Ruth, reinforcements were on the way – in the shape of Alison Hammond!
Read more: Ann Widdecombe branded VINDICTIVE in nominations shake-up
She’d dashed down from Birmingham as soon as she’d heard that Eamonn was under the weather, and ITV needed a hero.
She said: “I woke up, I was getting my son ready for school, was going to go to the gym as you do and then I get a message saying: ‘Al, can you do the show?’
“And I thought about ignoring it, and then I thought about Ruth on her own and I couldn’t!”
It wasn’t a fluffy Friday for Alison either, who was dropped into a series of serious debates.
First they were talking with someone whose partner had uploaded intimate photos of them to the internet.
And after that, they had a guest who’d been beaten by her mother – which was also the topic of the day’s phone in.
Fans were delighted to see the emergency stand-in, taking to Twitter to share their happiness.
One said: “Well done @AlisonHammond2… prob little or no time to be prepped… on air and gets on with it… hats off to you, professional attitude”.
Another wrote: “Loving that @AlisonHammond2 is stepping up on #ThisMorning today. She just promotes good vibes”.
Read more: EastEnders reveals Tiffany Butcher’s dark secret and fans are horrified
There’s no sign of how long Eamonn’s going to be laid up, so who knows – we might see Alison again next Friday.
Better keep your phone on loud just in case, Al!