RUTH & EAMONN AXED
Pair to lose Friday This Morning slot
Holmes and Ruth Langsford are being ditched from presenting This Morning each Friday, and replaced by Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
The husband and wife duo were said to be “furious and upset” and will instead host the show for six weeks in the summer holidays when main hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby take a break.
Hammond, 45, has been part of the This Morning team for years as a roving reporter and is a firm favourite with fans.
She and former X Factor host O’Leary, 47, had been paired as stand-in presenters – most recently last month – and bosses were impressed by their chemistry. An insider said: “They have real warmth. Eamonn is pretty furious and everyone feels for him and Ruth, they are well liked on the team, but tough decisions have to be made.”
It was claimed Holmes, 60, had recently said he feared being too “pale, stale and male” for the award-winning ITV show after 14 years of presenting it with Langsford.
And this summer ITV chief executive
Carolyn McCall announced a Diversity Acceleration Plan after the channel went an entire day with only one non-white face.
Holmes also left bosses fuming when he was rapped by Ofcom for “ill- judged” comments regarding conspiracy theories about 5G masts spreading coronavirus.
Langsford, 60, is expected to stay on Loose Women, where internal research has shown she is hugely popular with viewers.
Hammond is known for her fun approach, and O’Leary has been at a loose end since his job on The X Factor ended last year.
They are expected to take over the Friday slot in the New Year.