THIS MORE-NING
BY NICOLA METHVEN THIS Morning hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby will get pay rises of £150,000 to work an extra 30 minutes a day as ITV plugs the hole left by The Jeremy Kyle Show.
Bosses have agreed a plan to extend other daytime hits rather than replace the axed talk show with something new.
Kyle’s controversial series was ditched in May following the suicide of guest Steve Dymond, 63, shortly after he was filmed failing a lie detector test.
It had been ITV’s most popular daytime programme, regularly attracting a million viewers, and production companies were asked to pitch ideas for a replacement. But bosses reportedly decided to “stick with what we know ITV viewers love”.
One insider said: “Nothing will ever rate as well as Jeremy Kyle at that time, it’s just a fact.”
Sources say £300,000 has now been allocated to cover Phil and Holly working an extra 30 minutes on a pro-rata basis, with This Morning starting at 10am rather than 10.30am.
The pair currently earn £600,000 each on the show, after Holly’s pay was brought in line with Phil’s in 2017.
Lorraine, fronted by Scot Lorraine Kelly, will shift by half an hour to the later time of 9am and This Morning will air from 10am to 12.30am. Good Morning Britain will start half an hour later, at 6.30am.
The major shake-up of the daytime schedule comes after Kyle’s slot had been filled temporarily by various shows, including Judge Rinder. The initial proposal – submitted to an ITV focus group – said the “earlier AXED Jeremy Kyle’s show was huge hit helping” of This Morning would feature “funny viewers’ letters and emails”.
It said: “From crying with laughter at naughty pictures kids have drawn to recalling personal funny and relatable anecdotes, nothing is off limits as they talk about the stories of the day.”
The proposal added: “The show would have more interaction between the end of each show and a smoother handover between presenters into the next show.
“For example, Lorraine may chat with Phil and Holly to hand over each day.”
It had been claimed earlier this month that Scots chat show host Craig Ferguson would fill Kyle’s slot.