Richard Madeley turned back the clock to host This Morning, nine years after quitting - when presenter Eamonn Holmes was late for work.
Madeley had been due to appear as a guest - along with wife Judy Finnigan - on the show which they hosted for 13 years.
But Holmes struggled to make it in to the studio at London's South Bank due to traffic, so the former host filled in.
His stand-in role also made the appearance something of a celebrity wife-swap.
Madeley hosted the start of the show alongside Holmes's wife Ruth, and then, when the late-running regular finally arrived, he took his place on the sofa alongside Finnigan.
Ruth told viewers at the beginning of the programme: "Don't adjust your sets."
And Madeley joked that he had pushed Holmes in the Thames.
Holmes had become stuck in traffic in west London, following his regular morning appearance as the presenter of Sky News' Sunrise programme.
Madeley and Finnigan were appearing as guests to promote their revived Book Club after teaming up with retailer WH Smith.
© Press Association