It was a big night for ITV stars, with Lorraine and AJ Odudu attending the summer celebration, but important This Morning presenters were noticeably absent.
While celebrities such as Vanessa Feltz, 61, and Lisa Snowdon, 51, partied the night away at London’s Mandrake Hotel on Wednesday evening, there were a few no-shows.
This Morning regulars Alison Hammond, 48, Josie Gibson, 38, and Craig Doyle, 52, were all missing, as was Holly Willoughby, 42, who is presently on vacation in Portugal.
Only Dermot O’Leary, 50, represented the long-running daytime show’s core staff.
The lavish event comes just weeks after the repercussions from Phillip Schofield‘s shocking revelation, which came after allegations that Holly and her then co-presenter, Phillip Schofield, had been ‘barely communicating’ and their relationship had deteriorated behind the scenes since 2009.
After confessing to lying about a ‘unwise but not criminal’ romance with a young male runner, Phillip, 61, resigned from This Morning and then from all his ITV undertakings, including presenting the British Soap Awards.
Meanwhile, Holly took a hiatus from the programme, returning shocked, upset, let down, and full of questions, and has since been joined by presenters including Craig until ITV finds a permanent successor for Phillip.
Former performers Dr Ranj Singh and Eamonn Holmes have also accused This Morning of ‘toxicity’ on set, with the former saying he was forced out after raising concerns with ITV managers.
During a parliamentary committee hearing, ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall addressed claims regarding the program’s culture.
‘What I know is that when we talk about culture, it’s extremely important to me, personally, and so it truly disappoints me, right?’ she added, dismissing the charges.
‘However, we do not identify that in This Morning, and the reason for this is that we have actual proof that the great majority of people during the day and on This Morning are engaged.
In a letter sent by McCall after Dr. Ranj made his charges public, ITV asserted it had a “strong duty of care” to its employees.
She addressed Dr. Ranj’s assertions in the lengthy message, saying the network was’sorry’ to read his remarks.
The network has also asked a solicitor to conduct an independent investigation into the circumstances behind Phillip’s resignation.
The investigation’s results will be made public, according to This Morning editor Martin Frizell.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.
