This Morning star Dr Ranj has claimed he was “managed” out after taking his concerns about the ITV show’s “toxic culture” to the “top”.
The long-running show is currently engulfed by the controversy surrounding Phillip Schofield’s “unwise, but not illegal” affair with a young male colleague on the show. The showbiz world was left reeling over the news of Phillip’s fling at ITV – who have said they found “no evidence” when investigating claims in 2020.
Everyone from Eamonn Holmes to Kim Woodburn have shared their thoughts on the shocking scandal. And now, Phillip’s former co-star Dr Ranj has chimed in to have his say on the show’s “toxic” culture.
Former This Morning star hits out at ‘toxic’ culture at ITV
Dr. Ranj, whose real name is Ranjit Singh, had worked on This Morning show for 10 years – but in 2022 the TV doctor left.
Now, in the wake of the whole Schofe drama, he has revealed he was once “increasingly worried” about the things that were taking place on the programme. As well as the way people were being treated.
What’s more, he then alleged how after he raised these concerns with top ITV bosses he was “managed out”. And since then, he has not appeared on the ITV show since.
In a lengthy post on Twitter, Dr Ranj Singh said: “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 continued.
“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.”
I found myself being used less and less, says This Morning star
The TV star then revealed that he did what he thought was right. So he made a complaint to a member of staff “especially given that my job is to look after people’s wellbeing and I had been heavily involved in diversity, anti-bullying and mental health projects across the channel”.
“I then found myself being used less and less,” he claimed. Dr Ranj went on: “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.
“But as history and experience have taught us, things like bullying and discrimination are very hard to prove. Particularly in hindsight and when the “people in power” control the narrative. As we’ve seen, no review of investigation is foolproof.”
‘That was two years ago and, frankly, it still hurts’
Ranj noted that he was told things would change behind the scenes but he hasn’t worked on the show since. He also claimed that he wasn’t the only one who spoke up about the work environment on the show.
“That was two years ago and, frankly, it still hurts. The whole process was pretty heart-breaking and even affected my mental health. But I’m happy to say I’ve found my feet again, know my worth and have found my tribe,” Singh wrote.
He finished by writing: “There are some good people in TV. But we need to be brave and stand up to those who aren’t. Even if it’s scary as hell, we have to do the right thing otherwise nothing will change. I sincerely hope something good comes from all this.”
An ITV spokesperson told ED!: “We are sorry to read Dr Ranj’s post. At ITV we are fully committed to providing every opportunity for anyone who works with us to raise any concern or comments they may have. Following a complaint made by Dr Ranj, we appointed an external and independent advisor to carry out a review. This external review found no evidence of bullying or discrimination.”
Read more: Schofe hits back in shock new statement
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