A lady who helped start ITV’s This Morning believes it is time for the show to stop.
Dianne Nelmes was part of the team that launched the main daytime show, which is presently in disarray after former host Phillip Schofield admitted to lying about an affair with a considerably younger man who worked as a runner on the show.
Nelmes stated that the show is ‘weary’ and that producers should let This Morning ‘leave with dignity,’ before adding that she does not want her view to be a ‘hammer blow’ to those presently working on the show.
‘I don’t think there’s any question that ITV should axe This Morning now, and certainly not because of any of these events around Phillip’ she told BBC Radio 4’s PM.
‘The basic law of factual programming is the presenter is never bigger than the show and this show will survive.
‘But I think that the tumultuous run of events around Phillip have formed a lightning rod.
‘And I think the lightning rod goes much deeper, that it’s time This Morning, in a very dignified way, just moved off and gave way to another new show.’
She added that in her opinion the show should run until July, and in September should return ‘with a completely new presenting team.’
Nelmes went on to say that she would ‘get rid’ of Holly Willoughby and ‘all’ of the existing presenters because ‘they’ll continue to attract the wrong type of tabloid interest.’
Since Schofield’s resignation and Willoughby’s early departure, Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond have taken over, with fans stating they ‘feel terrible’ for the duo in their difficult predicament.
The couple debuted the programme on Monday, the first episode since Schofield admitted on This Morning to a ‘unwise but not criminal’ affair with a young male show runner while still married to Stephanie Lowe, something he had previously denied.
They first met when the anonymous production assistant was 15 years old, when Schofield delivered a presentation at his school, and their relationship began after he turned 18 and began working on This Morning, while Schofield was in his mid-50s.
O’Leary opened the show by vaguely addressing the controversy, saying: ”We all know we happen to be in the news at the moment, and of course we appreciate that.
‘But just from both of us, the whole team here, the crew, the guys downstairs, we love making this show for all of you.’
Co-host Hammond then added: ‘We really do and that’s exactly what we are going to do, we are going to continue to do that.’
