In This Morning news, a presenter has warned the ITV daytime series “will not survive” unless bosses “take some kind of action”.
Appearing on GB News, former newspaper editor Kelvin Mackenzie was asked about alleged fallout between the show’s two main presenters.
He was quizzed about how he reckons recent intense media scrutiny of Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield could lead to changes.
Tabloid reports over the past week have included speculation over both presenters’ futures on the show. However, the 76-year-old pundit was directed to focus on Phillip’s career prospects. And Mr Mackenzie responding by claiming execs need to make decisions.
This Morning news
Having speculated about the sentencing of Phillip’s brother Timothy Schofield, Mr Mackenzie made a number of claims centring on the veteran co-host.
He suggested presenting partner Holly has tired of Phillip as a colleague. And it was also claimed ITV is “doing badly”, as he suggested the share price has declined and indicated the broadcaster’s alleged performance may be linked to recent headlines.
The reality is that Holly doesn’t want to work with him any more, he wants to hang on.
Mr Mackenzie claimed: “The reality is that Holly doesn’t want to work with him any more, he wants to hang on. But surely there should be leadership at ITV? You wonder why ITV are doing so badly, why their share price is so low, why they can’t hold on to difficult talent like Piers Morgan.”
Continuing to talk about Piers, Mr Mackenzie also put forward his fellow ex editor wouldn’t make it through a similar crisis. “He would’ve been out the door at 200 million miles per hour,” Mr Mackenzie said.
On This Morning ‘surviving’
The talking head also made several claims about audience numbers and how that affects revenues.
Mr Mackenzie speculated further as he banged on: “This Morning will not survive if they don’t take some kind of action. The audience is low, advertising is low. It is an important subject, it is a big audience number for ITV. They want that franchise to continue so they have to do something.”
Mr Mackenzie formerly edited The Sun between 1981 and 1994. He was also a columnist for the news outlet from December 2014 until May 2017. He was suspended the month beforehand for comparing footballer Ross Barkley to a gorilla.
ED! has approached representatives for ITV and This Morning for comment.
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