A former This Morning boss has revealed she quit the ITV show after just three months after being subjected to 'toxic bullying' in the workplace.
Emily Maddick originally joined This Morning as Head of News in October 2019 but left before the end of the year due to finding the work environment so negative.
Emily is now the assistant editor of Glamour Magazine and revealed her experience of working at the ITV daytime show in a first-person feature.
Her insider experience is not the first comment of 'toxicity' at This Morning with others as well as previous employees including Dr Ranj Singh and Eamonn Holmes revealing they experienced 'abuse of power' via ITV.
In her article, Emily said: "Did I experience a toxic atmosphere? Yes. Sexism? Yes. Bullying? Yes. Homophobia? Yes."
The senior journalist also included extracts from her exit interview with HR including where she detailed that one producer in particular was creating a "climate of fear" for employees. She explained: "I witnessed a number of incidents where I felt XX was unreasonable and unkind to a female producer and it created a climate of fear. I also overheard what I found to be sexist comments."
She also revealed that many working on ITV were well aware of Phillip Schofield's affair with a younger coworker, which many have denied when the news broke in recent weeks. Emily explained: "Did I hear about the rumours about Schofield and his young male lover? Yes, it was an open secret amongst the production team. Did I think that those in power knew about Schofield and his lover? Yes, I believe they were complicit."
Emily also reveals the extent of the 'toxicity' working alongside Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby as she details how different the pair are once the cameras stop rolling. She highlights how Schofield would "complain" about segments or details he didn't like with Holly reportedly failing to engage with anyone and instead "just sit scrolling through her phone".
Emily's testimony is not alone, as others from the daytime programme have revealed there were issues at the programme and particularly with Phillip Schofield having "too much power".
Speaking to the Mirror, a source on the show said: "He had too much power at This Morning and those on set were getting sick of it...
"A source that works there said he doesn't even talk or know the names of the crew and workers behind the scenes. It became a toxic atmosphere."
They went on to add: "They aren't allowed back on as guests (if they speak out), it's similar to what happened with Amanda Holden. If you cheese him off, you are not back on the show."
Schofield was also thought to have been so intimidating at the ITV studio that many of his colleagues and production team feared working with him.
The source continued: "People that worked on This Morning from the crew, and cameraman to the people that made cups of tea were scared to even speak to him.
"He would keep his head in his phone and he looked up, they were allowed to speak with him. He was given way too much control and felt he was invincible."
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