Morninggate - Daily Mail; The ITV house of cards: Sack Holly and bring down senior management

Story from Daily Mail:

This Morning cannot sack Holly Willoughby without bringing down the show's entire senior management like a house of cards - insiders claim.

They say the 42-year-old is needed to 'steady the ship' - while her departure would mean ITV bosses are questioned about whether they knew of Phillip Schofield's affair.

It comes as the presenter is flying home from a holiday in Portugal ahead of her return to the sofa on Monday.

Insiders at ITV insist that she is going nowhere because she is needed to 'steady the ship, and keep calm and carry on' — and be at the forefront of any rebrand of This Morning required as the show fights for survival.

And they say that there would be no way she would accept being told to go while head of daytime TV Emma Gormley stayed.

ITV's senior management has come under increasing pressure to admit whether they were aware of Schofield's relationship.

Things are also looking shaky for chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall who has been called before the Government's Select Committee later this month.

She will have to face questions over the broadcaster's approach to safeguarding and complaint handling in the wake of the scandal over her former star on Wednesday, June 14.

On Wednesday she was forced into a humiliating climbdown, when they announced the broadcaster was bringing in a barrister to 'carry out an external review to establish the facts' around the chaos that has engulfed ITV since Schofield admitted to his affair.

It comes after Ms McCall wrote a letter to Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, Ofcom chief Dame Melanie Dawes and Ms Dinenage yesterday regarding ITV's own investigation into rumours of the affair in 'late 2019/early 2020'.

ITV director of television Kevin Lygo is also under pressure.

He claimed no mistakes had been made in the 2020 investigation but declined to comment beyond the channel's statement, when questioned by Sky News.

This Morning editor Martin Frizell - who has been in charge of the flagship show since 2016 - could also be in line for the chop.

He has not commented but is reportedly in favour of Alison Hammond joining Ms Willoughby on the sofa.

He said that 'all will be made public' earlier this week, saying that he would 'stick with' the statement made by Carolyn McCall when questioned by GB News.

Earlier this week he was criticised by Nadine Dorries, the Daily Mail columnist and former culture secretary, who told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg: 'I think the editor of the programme has some questions to answer himself.'

And Emma Gormley - who was appointed in 2013 to run programmes airing between 6am and 6pm - could face questions over how the relationship between Schofield and the young showrunner went seemingly unnoticed.

And ITV chiefs have another problem — their rivals the BBC, as they are aware the broadcaster are looking to scoop Holly up and make her their biggest star should she be booted out of ITV towers.

They have been trying to poach her for several years, and when she last dipped her toe into Beeb waters with her prime-time show Freeze The Fear with Wim Hof, she won plaudits from the most senior management at the Corporation. Few more so than the powerful chief content officer Charlotte Moore.

The two women were seen together at last year's Variety showbusiness awards, something which sent shockwaves through ITV.

Sources at the BBC have gone as far as to divulge that Moore is secretly hoping ITV will decide to part company with Holly.

'Holly will get bums on seats at home,' one BBC insider says. 'She is popular with the very-much-sought-after 16-24 age group, too, which is a huge deal for all broadcasters.'

Another source says they want to make the 42-year-old their Saturday night star for the months Strictly Come Dancing isn't on screen. 'That's the dream,' they said.

Her television executive husband, television executive Dan Baldwin makes programmes for channels across the industry, although his biggest customer is the BBC.

Holly Willoughby will reportedly be joined by two co-hosts as she returns to the sofa on Monday.

It's claimed she will be joined by Craig Doyle, 52, on Wednesday and Thursday's shows, after Josie Gibson, 38, sits alongside her on Monday and Tuesday's instalments.

'Josie's bubbly personality is just what the show needs to bounce back from a nightmare few weeks,' an insider told the Sun.

'She's larger than life and will ease the pressure on Holly, who viewers will be glued to after the loss of her long time telly partner.

'Craig has also been lined up and it's a sign that the permanent role is his for the taking. Viewers have taken to him straight away and, not only is he easy on the eye, but he's a natural in front of camera.'