Philip Schofield, Holly Willoughby, Alison Hammond and more: The stars of This Morning talk ahead of live show at Birmingham NEC

Live and breathe the latest trends, indulge in culinary delights, catch live demos and catwalks with a slew of show experts and shop the biggest high street and boutique brands over four whole days whilst in the company of your favourite This Morning presenters at the four-day NEC event.

Plus, this year after the doors close on This Morning Live, the 2,000 seater purpose built theatre at the NEC will host two new evening events; An Evening with The Speakmans and Loose Women Late with Andrea McLean, Coleen Nolan, Nadia Sawalha and Saira Khan.

Ahead of their road trip north, we had a chat with the This Morning team on their plans and pinned them down for some simple, good advice...

What are you most looking forward to about This Morning Live?

Holly Willoughby: It’s lovely going away en-masse with the whole This Morning family. During the week we’ve got everybody passing through the studio individually but it’s the first time that we’re all together in one place at the same time. It’s a bit like a school trip.

Phillip Schofield: There’s no question; whether it’s on stage or meeting as many people as you can and taking a thousand selfies - all of that is just lovely. But, one evening last year we sat on this hotel roof terrace after a busy day and had a few gin and tonics, and that was really nice. We had the backdrop of the NEC – you wouldn’t swap it for the plains of Africa or a sea view or anything like that.

Ruth Langsford: Meeting the people that actually watch you, because often I go on air and wonder who’s watching this? It’s lovely to get out and meet the people who do watch This Morning when it’s become a part of their routines and lives - it’s a great compliment. And the fact we’ve won an NTA for the last nine years proves there are all these people out there watching and voting for This Morning, it’s really nice for us to look them in the eye and tell them how much we appreciate it. It’s hard to imagine all these people out there who watch the show, living such different lives; living in different towns and cities, doing such different jobs - it’s nice just to say hello and connect.

Eamonn Holmes: And when we have conversations with people and we ask where have you travelled from, it is absolutely amazing the amount of people who have travelled from Ireland, the West County, Scotland, the East of England and the North-West, the South-West and the South East - it’s amazing.

Rylan Clark-Neal: After having some time off it would be seeing everyone, being with everyone and just being at This Morning Live again. I’ve done it for the past two years now and it’s always lovely to actually meet those on the other side of the camera who we never get to hear back from.

Alison Hammond: Mostly looking forward to seeing all our loyal viewers, having a gossip and a selfie. I also love the shopping.

Dr Ranj: The best part of This Morning Live is going out on the road with the whole family and getting to meet fans that watch the show. We don’t experience that usually as we’re in the studio and everyone is at home, but seeing people’s reactions in real life is so special.

Rochelle Humes: Meeting lots of people. I love a live environment, which is why I love hosting This Morning in the studio. It’s not often you get the chance to meet your viewers, so I’m really looking forward to that. I’ve always been a fan of a live crowd and love meeting new people and getting to see who watches the show.

Lisa Snowdon: It’s such a brilliant atmosphere and it’s so exciting to meet the people that tune in every day. We get to have a chat and take photos and hear what they love about the show. There is also an amazing selection of great brands that come down, so the shopping is fantastic. Last year I bought everything from natural deodorant to delicious cheese.

John Torode: It’s the people – the people are just great. The people that turn up are just fantastic. It’s good fun, lots of smiles, lots of things to do. You know, a couple of days out with Phil and Holly is always a joy.

Bryony Blake: I love doing This Morning Live, it’s such a fun few days. I love meeting everyone one who comes to the show, it so nice when people have contacted you via social media and then you get to actually meet them, that’s what I always look forward to.

Nik and Eva Speakman: It’s brilliant to be able to meet and chat with our extended This Morning family who watch the show. The shopping experience is immense, and of course we’re super excited about our Thursday evening show, and sharing lots of information about what we do and tips to feel happy and less stressed.

What did you enjoy most about last year’s show?

Holly: We’re not like Loose Women, we don’t have a live studio audience, so it’s really the only time we get to see our audience. We hear from them on Twitter and there’s always comments on Facebook - we’re much more interactive than we used to be, but actually seeing faces and families is lovely. You suddenly realise that it’s their hen do or there’s a nan with her daughter and grand-daughter and it’s the generations of people that watch This Morning who have come to see you, and that’s really nice.

Phillip: I think it has to be meeting everyone. They’re all so lovely – even the lady who ran over my foot in her motorised wheelchair last year. Well, actually she parked on my foot - and had her picture taken. It was easier and quicker for her to have her picture taken and drive off than to say 'you’re on my foot'. She left tyre tracks on my shoe and my toenail.

Ruth: I think walking on to the stage for the first time each year we do This Morning Live. Obviously we do the programme without an audience so we don’t see all these people when we’re looking down the camera lens. So, the very first moment when you walk out on to the stage and there are hundreds and hundreds of happy people there who all seem very pleased to see you.

Eamonn: Yes, it’s a big responsibility on your shoulders because what if nobody turns up to see you - to see what you actually do? We try and spread ourselves around as much as we can and you feel mean that you can’t stop for everybody but you do your best to stop and say hello to as many people as we can.

Rylan: Going rogue. I’m supposed to do certain hits throughout the day and I just end up doing my own thing – like if Alice Beer is doing an item on wine, I’m there. The best bit is because I’m not on the TV doing it, I can get away with more.

Alison: Best memory from last year was definitely gate-crashing Rylan’s book signing. He had no idea I was coming but you know me, I love to create a bit of drama.

Dr Ranj: Last year I ended up doing a cake decorating item for fun. I wasn’t supposed to be there, but thought I’d give it a go and it was so much fun. My cake decorating skills left a little to be desired though.

John: I think what we really got right and stuck in to last year was going back to some of the basics – you know, doing things like how to cook a steak. The stuff that people really want to know and can take home. The response to that was just great. As much as people want to watch fancy food, I think people really want to walk away having learnt something, with a tip – whether that’s a tip on make- up, a tip on hair, a tip on fashion or if it’s a tip on food, these things need to be accessible and achievable but aspirational.

What makes This Morning so much fun for you?

Holly: I think the fact that no day is ever the same. Although we’re sat on the same sofa, in the same studio, you never know who is going to be sat across from you. It’s live television and with live, anything can happen! We have a lot of giggles and fun and it’s all quite light hearted.

Phillip: I think what’s lovely is that you can hear a lot in television, ‘oh it’s a lovely team’ and you know that on occasion it can be a little bit strained. But we are really lucky. If you sit in any of our offices all you can hear is laughter. The whole team are brilliant, our studio team is superb. And I love working with Holly - it’s like working with your best mate and your sister at the same time. It’s a happy place.

Holly: Sometimes we’ll have guests in the studio who may have won tickets or bought them at a charity auction and they’ll always comment on how relaxed it is. For a two hour live show where everything is changing constantly, it is actually very relaxed. You go along with what’s thrown at you and see what happens - half the time the show that airs is completely different to what it started off at in the morning, but there’s something really nice about that. I think that can only happen when everyone trusts each other and works together really well, otherwise, it has the potential to be quite a stressful place to work, but it’s not at all.

Phillip: Also, the good thing is – providing, obviously, that it’s not something that’s either distasteful or upsetting - if something goes wrong you just point the camera on it. If something goes wrong you point it out and it’s much more fun. Everybody loves something going wrong and that’s quite nice.

Who is your celebrity idol and why?

Ruth: Idol is a funny word because I’m not sure I Idolise anyone. Favourites of mine are people who make me laugh - like my husband, that’s why we’re married. People who can literally make me laugh until I cry just by looking at them - Barry Humphries is one of those people and he knows it, so he’s very cheeky! He knows he can get me into trouble because it’s live and it’s daytime television and he’ll sail very close to the wind - as does Peter Kay. Those two are definitely favourite guests of mine!

Eamonn: Idols for me would be John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Elvis, Jonny Cash, Peter Kay, Dame Edna. It’s amazing to be in the company of genius and when Barry Humphries will come in as himself or Dame Edna, you realise you are in such company. I will always savour that and think how privileged I am to experience that up close and personal.

Rylan: Those old-school Saturday Night personalities who I watched when I was younger; people like Bruce [Forsyth], Dale Winton, Michael Barrymore, Ant and Dec in today’s generation. They are the ones I grew up watching and they all made everything look so effortless. Those TV idols who could toe the line with a little bit of cheekiness.

Alison: I don’t idolise anyone, but I do like Madonna and Rihanna.

Dr Ranj: I don’t really have idols to be honest. I have people that I think are amazing. Faye Tozer is one of them. Not only is she an awesome and fun person, but she was in Steps.

Rochelle: I’ve always loved Beyoncé, she’s such a strong woman and I just love Oprah, the work she does is so inspiring.

Who would you most like to interview?

Phillip: Dame Judy Dench. And I say that every single year and it never happens. She would be great. I was disappointed when Hilary Clinton came in and it wasn’t our day - I would like to have interviewed her. I would love, now, to talk to Oscar winner, Olivia Coleman. She’s been on the sofa so many times, but to have her back as an Oscar winner would be a real treat. I think anybody that has ever interviewed anybody would all probably put the Queen at the top of the list. It would never ever happen though, and the restrictions would be enormous. That would be the goal.

Holly: I’d probably say someone like Kate Middleton or Meghan Markle, purely because they were both normal girls who have married their prince. Just for that little girl in me that would like to know about the fairy tale that came true and what the reality is actually like. They are so under the spotlight, I think it would just be fascinating to just have a chat about all of those things.

Rochelle: Oprah - I would just love to be in the same room as her although I’d probably get a restraining order.