This Morning war erupts as hosts threaten to quit amid toxic fallout from Phillip Schofield’s affair revelation
SOFA wars erupted on This Morning as some hosts threatened to quit amid the toxic fallout from Phillip Schofield’s affair revelations.
The show itself faced the axe as ITV chiefs feared the brand is forever tainted - and needs replacing with a new format and name.
The Sun on Sunday can reveal one household name has drafted a resignation statement in the wake of Schofield’s admission that he lied about an affair with a much younger male employee.
Senior producers now fear an exodus of regular presenters from the roster, which includes Rochelle Humes and Alison Hammond.
It came on a dramatic day that saw ITV defend its handling of the Schofield affair and admit to secretly investigating rumours three years ago.
Former colleagues have been left reeling from shock at Schofield’s deceit and the potential damage to the show, and are contemplating their own futures on it.
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A source said: “The future of the show is hanging by a thread and the presenting talent are unsure of their next move - they’re deciding whether to leap from a sinking ship.
“The whole This Morning senior team is in complete damage-limitation mode worrying about the presenters who might walk away.
“Phillip no doubt thinks he has tried to do the right thing but the overwhelming feeling on set is that procedures need to be put in place to ensure the same mistakes never happen again.
“Some presenters feel the saga has left too much toxicity around the show, it can’t survive and they’re considering their future”
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The fate of the popular, long-running show was being considered in senior circles, as rumours had been rife for years about Schofield’s affair.
The insider added: “ITV bosses also believe the programme could now be too toxic to continue - with viewers threatening to boycott it. The entire scandal is monumentally damaging for ITV.
“Rumours have been swirling for years. And yet bosses seemed to put their fingers in their ears and studiously ignored - or, crucially, not been asking enough questions.
“Why did ITV ignore the plethora of online allegations and insider intelligence? Sadly, the brand is forever tainted.
"There is lots of talk behind the scenes that they are consider axing This Morning altogether, and replacing it with a new look format and a new name for the show.”
Many This Morning stars have lucrative advertising deals and their own brands, the source added, “so this could be disastrous for their commercial image”.
The show’s host Holly Willoughby, is worth about £30million, landing deals with brands including Garnier, Diet Coke, Oral B and Marks & Spencer. She has also penned 15 parenting and children’s books generating an estimated £2.5million.
In 2021, she followed Gwyneth Paltrow by launching her own lifestyle brand Wylde Moon, selling candles and jewellery.
Rochelle launched children’s haircare brand My Little Coco three years ago and it has been rolled out in Boots’ stores.
The mother of three, married to JLS singer Marvin Humes, has also written a series of children’s books.
Meanwhile, Alison Hammond has been landing more high-brow presenting gigs, including Bake Off and the Baftas. She also has a range of books with Penguin.
It is feared other regulars on the show — in addition to the presenters — could also quit.
The Sun on Sunday can also reveal former regular contributor Dr Ranj complained of bullying when he left last year.
It is not clear who he was accusing, but ITV bosses admitted looking into them.
A spokeswoman said: “Following a complaint made by Dr Ranj, we appointed someone to carry out an external review and the review found no evidence to support the complaint of bullying.”
ITV yesterday insisted This Morning would be back on air tomorrow, hosted by Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
It comes after Schofield confessed on Friday evening to lying to ITV bosses, his family, friends and his management about the fling with the TV aide, several decades his junior.
As the pressure grew yesterday, ITV insisted it did investigate rumours — but claimed both parties repeatedly denied it when questioned.
The channel said: “ITV can confirm that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in early 2020 ITV investigated.
“Both parties were questioned and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours as did Phillip’s then-agency YMU. In addition, ITV spoke to a number of people who worked on
"This Morning and were not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour.
"Phillip’s statement yesterday reveals he lied to people at ITV, from senior management to fellow presenters, to YMU, to the media and to others over this relationship.”
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An ITV spokesperson also said: "This Morning is not under review.”
Rochelle, Alison and Holly’s agents were asked to comment.