Since Holly Willoughby’s shock decision to leave the hit ITV show, This Morning staff have apparently been struggling to cope.
According to some reports, there have been tears backstage as crew deal with the fallout.
But it’s not Holly’s sad goodbye that’s making staff members sob. No, the tears are coming from a real sense of frustration as the crew now scrabble to deal with yet another drama.
A source told MailOnline: “It has been one thing after another. It’s like a soap opera and that’s okay if you’re one of the highly-paid stars getting chauffeured to work and back, but if you’re grafting behind the scenes to keep things afloat, it’s incredibly frustrating.”
This Morning reeling after Holly exit
The insider added: “Holly decides to leave, she puts it on Instagram. Imagine how that makes you feel. There were tears. The team has been through so much in the last year. It has been heartbreaking, and hard, to watch it all happen.”
Holly posted her exit statement on Instagram on Tuesday October 10.
It read: “This is such a difficult goodbye, you are incredible and I forever will be proud of what we’ve done together. Thank you to everyone at ITV for being supportive.
“To every guest who has sat on our sofa, thank you. Most of all, thank you to the wonderful viewers. You’ve been so loyal, so supportive and the very best company every day.
“It’s been an honour to just be a part of its story and I know this story has many chapters left to go. Sadly, however, I now feel I have to make this decision for me and my family. I will miss you all so much.”
The next day, stand-in hosts Craig Doyle and Rochelle Humes paid tribute to Holly, who had worked on This Morning for 14 years.
Now it has also been suggested that editor Martin Frizell was kept out of the loop with Holly’s big decision.
One thing after another
Meanwhile, the rest of This Morning are now trying to rally together once again.
The show has bit hit by a slew of problems of late. There’s the fall-out from Queuegate, when both Holly and former co-presenter Phillip Schofield were accused of jumping the queue to see the late Queen lying in state.
Then, earlier this year, Phillip’s brother Timothy was jailed for 12 years for child abuse.
And in May, Phil quit after admitting to an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a young runner on the show. He was then axed from ITV and This Morning staff were quizzed by an external lawyer over an alleged toxic work culture on the programme.
Holly became increasingly upset by her former best friend, ending up in the now infamous “how are you” speech she gave on her first day back this summer.
So it’s perhaps no wonder that behind the scenes, staff are deeply frustrated by the ongoing turmoil.
Read more: This Morning needs a real life couple to replace Holly and Phil – here are the favourites.
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