Why This Morning needs to end NOW before the Phillip Schofield drama engulfs ITV

Half an hour before the show, Phillip Schofield released a statement on his Instagram Stories where he said: “Now I no longer work on @thismorning I am free to say this. I hope you have noticed that it’s the same handful of people with a grudge against me or the show who seem to have the loudest voice.”

Phillip Schofield then went on to say that “This morning IS the best show to work one with the best people. In all the years I worked there there was no toxicity. You can listen to those persistently loud voices if you like. But the thousands of guests over the years, thousands of staff and crew, hundreds of presenters and contributors all know, it IS a family of wonderful, talented, kind, hard working people.”

Following Phillip Schofield’s statement, Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary came on This Morning and of course could not fail to address this. “We all know we happen to be in the news at the moment and of course we appreciate that,” said Dermot O’Leary. “But just from both of us, the crew and the whole team downstairs, we love making this show for you.”

When I heard Dermot O’Leary say these words, I couldn’t help but feel how both he and Alison Hammond were almost like monkeys on a string, and I could almost hear the producers in their ear pieces urging the presenters to muster all the enthusiasm they could. Unfortunately, it didn’t work and the words looked incredibly forced.

According to reports both Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary were said to have been ‘livid’ at the 35-second long tribute they made to Phillip Schofield following his departure from the show. The Mirror reported that “Behind-the-scenes the This Morning duo are said to be fuming at having to make a toe-curling statement in front of millions of ITV viewers.

Regardless whether they were ‘fuming’ or not, they both still made the statement, and although at the time, the revelations of Phillip Schofield’s affair had not been revealed, it still has without question, in my opinion, impacted negatively on them both. You can read a full piece of ITV's This Morning scandal here.

Last night, Eamonn Holmes revealed more shocking revelations about Phillip Schofield in an interview with his GB News presenter colleague, Dan Wootton. He not only launched into a scathing attack on Phillip Schofield, but also on Holly Willoughby too. “He (Phillip Schofield) created an atmosphere where people hated him, that people would avoid them in the corridor, he didn’t look at anybody, he didn’t know anybody’s names," Eamonn revealed. "Holly doesn’t know people’s names either. This is legendary within the production team, how distant they are, and how they just don’t care.”

At the time of writing, Holly Willoughby is due back on This Morning on June 5, but as the last week has shown us, 24 hours is a long time when it comes to this TV show at present! In a poll conducted on PeopleWorld’s Twitter, we asked the following question: “Do you think This Morning should be replaced with a new daytime show?” 79% said it should be whilst 21% said it shouldn’t be.

I 100% wholeheartedly believe This Morning needs to be taken off the air immediately. Not only will all the presenters, producers and everyone involved in the making of the programme be unable to resurrect their careers, but it is in danger of undermining ITV as a whole. 

It would seem that I am not alone in my views. I spoke to Kieran Elsby of Media PR Global who said: “I feel ITV have no choice but to cancel This Morning, the TV show is not just about the presenter; it represents a brand that viewers have loved for years.

The news and revelations about Philip Schofield have not only damaged the show's reputation it will have long-lasting effects on their brand image.

Kieran then goes on to say that “Make no mistake the allegations of cover-ups, ignorance go right to the top. Not only will the show be cancelled, senior executives will have to step down, there will be independent investigations and more allegations may come to light .The effect will be far reaching, many employees, presenters are now speaking up about what they knew, yet their original silence is an issue that will embroil them. There was no excuse to stay silent, yet many did. This is a scandal that will get bigger and bigger.

I feel for the other presenters and producers but in truth their association with the show will taint their careers. It will be hard to come back from this. Even when the show is cancelled it will be replaced by a new format (after a little break), they will need a new roster of presenters, otherwise it could be seen as This Morning 2.

ITV must put viewers' sentiment first, Television is wholly driven by viewer sentiment. By cancelling the show, the network demonstrates its responsiveness to public sentiment and acknowledges the impact of the presenter's actions on the audience.”