Have viewers had their Phil? ITV bosses despair as 170,000 switch off
PHILLIP Schofield’s position on This Morning has become increasingly untenable after viewing figures dropped by 170,000.
ITV bosses were ‘beside themselves’ upon learning that audience numbers fell by almost an unprecedented 20 per cent from nearly 900,000 last week to 725,000 on Monday.
Presenters Holly Willoughby and Schofield have not addressed their feud on This Morning and yesterday viewers complained they were ‘fake’.
It marked the second time they have presented the show since Schofield, 61, made his extraordinary statement about their friendship, said to have blindsided his co-host.
Their fall out began when the pair were criticised for jumping the queue for the Queen’s lying-in-state in September. And the Daily Mail has been told that chiefs are now throwing around names for potential replacements, with housewives’ favourite Rylan Clark a preferred choice.
When he did holiday cover for Schofield last summer alongside Ruth Langsford, he proved to be a huge hit with viewers.
A source at the network said: ‘There is absolutely no question that viewers have turned on Phil, they don’t want to watch him any more, simple as that.
‘Names are being kicked around, there is a lot of talk about Alison Hammond but Rylan has been thrown into the mix now too. When he and Ruth hosted it was an unquestionable success.
‘The editor, Martin Frizell, has made it no secret that he is over Phil but the ratings drop is going to have exacerbated that.’
Schofield’s PR machine has gone into overdrive in recent days in a bid to make him appear more popular to viewers.
Judging by social media, it has made little difference. We can also reveal that his brother’s child sex abuse trial was initially kept from some ITV chiefs, prompting ill-feeling towards him.
Ms Willoughby, 42, had also been kept in the dark, which caused the most recent tensions between her and Schofield.
Meanwhile, former This Morning presenter Fern Britton took an apparent swipe at Schofield, with whom she hosted the show and later was reported to have fallen out with. She wrote on Twitter that she and fellow ex-This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes – who also fell out with Schofield – had enjoyed a phone call. Ms Britton, 65, wrote: ‘Unexpected calls from old mates are so lovely. Just had the loveliest catch up with @EamonnHolmes. I think we have known each other since the Eighties when we were babies. Shooting the breezes.’
Ms Willoughby was given a supportive hug by ITV co-star Kate Garraway at the The Prince’s Trust Awards yesterday.
She appeared unfazed as she posed for snaps at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, in London, where the likes of George Clooney took to the red carpet. Dressed in a bold red dress, the presenter stopped to share a supportive embrace with Ms Garraway, 56.
Despite being an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust, Schofield did not appear alongside his ITV co-stars as they posed on the red carpet.
Instead, he opted to attend the London Wine Fair to support When In Rome Wine, a sustainable brand he has collaborated with.
‘They don’t want to watch him any more’