Amazed Ben Shephard fans say he’s ‘aged like fine wine’ on milestone birthday-Josie Copson-Entertainment – Metro

Ben Shephard is today celebrating a milestone birthday, and fans are full of praise for how he’s handling the ageing process.

The sagittarius has turned 50 but rather than book a day of annual leave to enjoy a lazy morning, perhaps sink a couple of mimosas, he still turned up for work at ITV’s This Morning.

Before the episode got fully underway, his co-host Cat Deeley, 48, took a moment to celebrate Ben and quiz him on how he was feeling with his new age.

When asked his thoughts on hitting the fifth decade, Ben quickly responded: ‘I feel old’. Don’t worry Ben, as the famous saying goes, you’re only as old as the show you’re presenting and This Morning is 36. Okay, maybe we made that up.

Plus, he can be comforted by viewers thinking that Ben, who also said ‘it feels like a lovely day’, is looking better each year.

When the official Instagram account for This Morning shared a special post to mark the occasion with a collection of photos of Ben from through the years, fans took to the comment section to share their praise.

Happy birthday Ben! (Picture: ITV)

June O’Halloran36 wrote: ‘That man is like a fine wine. He just gets better with age and anyway age is only a number.’ Comparing him to the alcohol that’s flavour tends to improve as time goes on was a common theme, with many echoing the sentiment.

Many people have known Ben through the small screen since 1998 on Channel 4’s The Bigger Breakfast, and has remained on TV with gigs on shows including Good Morning Britain and Tipping Point.

‘Theres not many men out there that look gorgeous through all the decades,’ added Maxine Badenhop. ‘Have a great birthday Ben- you silver fox!!’ account fazz_phoebesandlainey weighed in.

Katie Morgan typed: ‘Ageing gracefully🔥😍.’ ‘The older he gets, the more attractive he gets 😍,’ Dawn Kennedy flirtaously chimed in.

Ben in 1998 (Picture: Ken McKay/REX/Shutterstock)

After Ben’s moment of reflection at the top of the episode, a video montage of Ben’s celebrity friends wishing him a happy day began to play.

Dermot O’Leary, Alison Hammond, Gary Barlow, Kate Garraway, John Bishop, Davina McCall, Andi Peters and Susanna Reid all featured to compliment Ben for bringing joy to the world, and shared hopes that he would enjoy this next chapter.

Chris McCausland also sent a quick message and he had an idea of how Ben could mark his 50th year – by partaking in Strictly Come Dancing. He joked that the contract was ready for him to sign, which earned a laugh from Ben.

Ben has grown up on TV (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Ben felt spoilt by the messages and gift (Picture: ITV)

The West Ham fan was also spoilt with an incredible gift. The football team’s ground, London Stadium, has been transformed to display a huge ‘Happy 50th birthday Ben’ digital sign. The message wrapped around the Stratford building, which completly delighted Ben.

Elsewhere, footballer Chris Kamara, 66, turned up with a birthday cake and sparkler and Ben got to sit down with Michael Sheen, with the 55-year-old actor assuring him that the best is yet to come. What a day for Ben!

Cat ensured Ben had a great day (Picture: ITV)

Ben has recently been sharing his life musings as he approached the big day, and his latest lesson has been understanding the beauty of slowing down.

‘As a rule, it’s just not like me, wanting to slow down, but being in New Zealand, having more time, surrounded by this incredible scenery has shifted my thoughts,’ he wrote on Instagram.

‘I’m intrigued as to how that will feel when I’m back home with Christmas coming and life flying at us, but I’m going to try to hold onto what I’ve learnt – rest isn’t wasted time, it’s the foundation that everything else is built on. That feels quite profound – I’m def getting old!’

This Morning airs Monday to Friday at 10am on ITV.

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