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FRIZELLED OUT
Real reason This Morning boss Martin Frizell quit ailing daytime show revealed after Phillip Schofield scandal
Martin's departure has sparked multiple theories as to what was behind the move
THIS MORNING boss Martin Frizell is quitting, after going eight months without hitting the golden rating of a million viewers.
That was regularly enjoyed by the ITV daytime show when Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby presented it.
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But it has been achieved on just two days this year under the tenure of current hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley — and not since April 1.
Martin will depart next spring, after ten years at the helm, and theories abound about why.
But an insider said: “The figures don’t lie.
Kidnap plot
“The record through-out much of the year wasn’t good, particularly when you consider how important the programme is to the channel and the huge costs that are involved in making a daily, live magazine show.
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“This Morning has gone through a great deal of turmoil over the past two years, but ultimately the only real yardstick of success is the ratings.
“All TV shows have seen their figures fall as an increasing number watch content online, but not by the rate at which This Morning has diminished.”
In early 2021, they had 1.4million tuning in and even in the month of Phil’s exit — after he had a fling with a much younger runner — he and Holly enjoyed one day of 1.07million viewers.
After Phil left, This Morning was still getting viewing figures of between 700,000 a million — and this was maintained until October last year when Holly also departed, foll-owing an alleged plot to kidnap and murder her.
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After that, with hosts such as Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary featuring on an ever-changing presenting rota, they actually enjoyed a bump in ratings.
Around the Christmas period and into New Year they regularly got between a million and 1.3million viewers each day.
'Devastated' Alison Hammond breaks silence on Martin Frizell quitting This Morning saying 'he has to leave'
But then Cat and Ben were brought in on March 11, and only on the 27th of that month, then on April 1, have they hit the million mark this year.
By September, they had plummeted to a new low of 560,000, and by Mon-day’s show this week had limped back to still just 627,000.
Schofield was all smiles on Tuesday on a family jolly in West London to see musical movie Wicked — rather apt, seeing as he nicknamed former co-host Willoughby “the witch”.
Fingers crossed that whoever takes over from Frizell can figure out how to save the sinking ship that is This Morning.
Fool us, er, four times
MICHELLE KEEGAN helped the Netflix adaptation of Harlan Coben's crime novel Fool Me Once become one of the streaming giant’s most-watched series of 2024.
Now, there’s not just one but TWO more Netflix renditions of the American thriller author’s books to look forward to.
A portrayal of his book Missing You, starring Rosalind Eleazir, will air from New Year’s Day, and now it has been confirmed a portrayal of Coben title I Will Find You is also in the pipeline.
In Missing You, Eleazar’s character finds her ex-fiance on a dating app – 11 years after he supposedly disappeared off the face of the Earth.
I Will Find You follows an innocent dad jailed for supposedly murdering his son. He hears word his child may be alive, but must break out of prison to find the truth.
Jack's Buble is burst
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JACK WHITEHALL’S upcoming festive road trip hit a bump after he tried to get Michael Buble on board – as the singer hates Christmas.
The comic’s film for Prime Video, Jack In Time For Christmas, sees him on an epic trip to get home for the big day with the help of pals.
Jack phoned Michael after the singer said on Zoe Ball’s radio show that he was a fan of the comic. Jack pitched the idea of the festive trip – starting in Lapland, and involving “Christmas hijinks”.
But Michael told him: “Jack I’m so sorry, I love you but f***ing hate Christmas. I want to be seen as something other than the Christmas guy.”
Jack joked: “Then I ended up as his therapist – I’m like, ‘You’re so much more than a Christmas guy’.”
Tune in on December 3 to see what the pair get up to.
FLY-on-the-wall legal docu-series The Firm will return for a second season on BBC iPlayer, as lawyer Aamer Anwar and his staff tackle new cases. He said: “Globally, human rights are under attack.
Our team is on the frontline defending those rights, and this series will shine a light.”
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CHARLIE COOPER’s Myth Country is back on the box next month, with an alternative Christ-mas special.
The show’s debut series on BBC Three was an autumn hit and this time Charlie takes a look at winter festivals, from barrel-burning in Devon to Morris dancing in Gloucestershire.
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