The Phillip Schofield affair scandal has left This Morning staff “petrified of telling the truth”, it has been reported.
The affair scandal comes amid claims that the environment on This Morning is “toxic”.
This Morning branded ‘toxic’ in wake of Phillip Schofield affair scandal
In the wake of the Phillip affair scandal, a number of former This Morning stars have come out and slammed the show.
Amongst those speaking out is Dr. Ranj Singh. In a statement, Dr. Ranj branded the environment on the hit ITV show as “toxic”.
“I was on the show for 10 years and I genuinely loved and valued working there. However, over time I grew increasingly worried about how things were behind-the-scenes. And how people, including myself, were being treated,” he said.
“I didn’t know the truth about what was going on with Philip [sic], but I do know the issues with This Morning go far beyond him. It takes more than one person to create a culture,” he then said.
However, he then alleged: “I even took my concerns directly to the top of ITV. The culture at This Morning has become toxic, no longer aligned with ITV values, and I felt like because I whistle-blew I was managed out.”
This Morning staff ‘petrified’ after Phillip Schofield affair scandal
Now, it has been reported that This Morning staff are “petrified” of “telling the truth” after the Phillip Schofield scandal.
On Monday (June 5), This Morning editor Martin Frizell then hit back at questions about a toxic environment on This Morning with a bizarre rant.
“I’ll tell you what’s toxic and I’ve always found it toxic. Aubergine. Do you like aubergine? Do you?” he asked. He then continued, asking: “Do you like aubergine because I don’t like aubergine. It’s just a personal thing.”
Yesterday, at a Commons hearing, head of strategy, policy and regulation at ITV, Magnus Brooke was slammed over Frizell’s comments.
John Nicolson described Frizell at the hearing as a ‘person responsible for safeguarding young staff’ and that he had been “outrageously dismissive and flippant on camera about an immensely serious issue”.
He then added that he wouldn’t like to be a young This Morning employee raising bullying with the editor.
ED! contacted ITV for comment.
ITV statement
In a statement, an ITV spokesperson said: “ITV and the This Morning team are incredibly proud of the twelve and a half hours of award-winning live television they produce five days a week.
“It takes a huge team of people to all pull together to make the award-winning, much-loved programme which each week reaches 4.4 million loyal viewers,” they then continued.
“It’s a fast-paced environment turning around a daily show that covers live and ever-changing issues. We have robust mechanisms in place for complaints to be raised and those that are, are appropriately investigated,” they then said.
“What we’re hearing from the This Morning team is that they just don’t recognise the picture that some are painting about the show.”
Phil to return?
In other This Morning-related news, it was revealed yesterday (Tuesday, June 6) that Phillip Schofield could make a dramatic return to This Morning – just weeks after his equally as dramatic exit.
According to bookmakers BettingSites.co.uk, Phillip is currently at 6/1 to return to This Morning by 2025. Meanwhile, he is at 6/4 to return to TV in general by 2025.
Meanwhile, Holly has been tipped to leave This Morning by the end of 2023. The 42-year-old is currently at 6/4 to leave the show by the end of the year. However, she’s at 1/2 to remain on the show she’s been on since 2009.
This Morning airs on weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.
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