Ben Shephard has bid farewell to his "wonderful" Good Morning Britain colleague, Nick Rylance, who is the head of film at ITV Studios.
Taking to his Instagram Stories on Thursday, the 49-year-old shared his good luck wishes to Nick, who previously worked as a film producer for ITV Daytime and is leaving the network for PR & Social Media agency, Organic.
Sharing a selfie from Nick's leaving party which shows the presenter and his co-star Susanna Reid posing alongside Nick, Ben penned: "Fond farewell to our wonderful film guru @nickrylance."
© @benshephardofficial/InstagramIn another photo, which featured Lorraine Kelly, Ben continued: "Lovely morning, lots of smiles and memories. Good luck Nick, we'll miss you!"
Lorraine also shared a sweet tribute to Nick on social media. Posting a photo of the pair at Nick's leaving-do, the Scottish star penned: "A lovely send-off for our @nickrylance - the best in the biz. Worked with him for over 20 years interviewing more stars than there are in heaven. A beautiful speech by our @vejk100 - we will miss you lovely Nick! Good luck with your new adventure #friendship #love."
© @benshephardofficial/InstagramResponding to the heartfelt post, Nick wrote in the comments section: "It's all been so overwhelming, I have enjoyed today so much. Thank you for being you and thank you @vejk100 for that deeply moving and entertaining speech. Love you loads."
Ben's leaving message comes just a week after the journalist paid tribute to his co-star Kate Garraway's late husband Derek Draper, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 56.
Derek's death came after several serious health complications inflicted by coronavirus. The former political adviser had been critically ill following a heart attack in early December.
Taking to Instagram with a photo of Derek and Kate, which saw the doting husband planting a kiss on his wife's cheek, Ben wrote in the caption: "On what has been the saddest of days @kategarraway I've been reminding myself of the wonderful times and memories we have all shared together. This is how I'll always think of Derek - bringing you so much joy, your smile says it all, the size of which is matched only by his love for you, Darcey and Bill. Sending all our love Kate to you and all the family."
He added: "Also thank you to everyone who has reached out to me, I promise I will pass on your messages, I know they will bring Kate so much comfort as they have for the last few years."
© James Gourley/ITV/ShutterstockAfter Derek's death, Kate shared a message with Good Morning Britain viewers which was read aloud by Susanna on the programme. See what she had to say in the video below.
