'Chris and Pat have been the real breakout stars of the whole pandemic,' a spokesperson for ITV said. 'They’ve captured the nation’s heart with their ability to deliver absolutely dreadful news and horrifying data but maintain a twinkle in their eye. They are undoubtedly TV’s top double act of the day.'
BBC sources said that Aunty Been was not that concerned about losing two of its biggest stars. 'Very few people have successfully made the switch from BBC to ITV,' one said. 'Besides we still own the copyright to their hugely popular ‘Next slide please’ catchphrase which is basically their entire act. And it was only a matter of time before Boris ditched them to go solo anyway.'