The Philip Schofield saga shows no sign of slowing down, with fresh claims of toxic working environments, accusations of scores being settled by disgruntled former stars, and bombshell sit down interviews.
But according to one well-placed source, this is only a fraction of the drama being played out by the team who make the ITV Daytime favourite.
One insider told the Mirror's Laura Armstrong: “You can’t underestimate the impact this scandal has had on the team behind the show. It has been absolutely seismic.”
One of the main concerns faced by the production team - other than reports that Dame Carolyn McCall had considered axing the show entirely, putting all of their jobs at risk - is that Holly Willoughby, 42, could be poached by rivals at the BBC amid the chaos.
Holly – who co-hosted Freeze the Fear with Lee Mack – was on holiday in the Algarve as the ITV crisis reached fever pitch last week.
She has close ties with a number of BBC execs. Chief content officer Charlotte Moore is a friend and they were pictured socialising together at last year’s Variety showbusiness awards.
Holly and TV executive husband Dan Baldwin have also become close to Kalpna Patel-Knight, who was given a new BBC role of head of entertainment commissioning last year.
It was Kalpna who offered Holly the job of hosting the BBC’s revamp of Survivor earlier this year – which she turned down after it clashed with her This Morning schedule. The role went to another ITV talent, The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett.
But the dialogue between Holly and Kalpna has continued. And they are understood to have had multiple conversations since This Morning was plunged into chaos.
Holly is expected back on the sofa at This Morning tomorrow, alongside Josie Gibson. But her return comes as the future of the show – and that of executives McCall, Kevin Lygo, Emma Gormley and Martin Frizell – hangs in the balance, amid claims of a “culture of toxicity”. Denying the claims, Frizell said "scores are being settled" when quizzed on the This Morning culture.
Philip sensationally quit This Morning two weeks ago after presenting the show for 21 years. A week later, he quit ITV after admitting he had lied about having a sexual relationship with a junior member of the production team.
When questioned about rumours of a relationship, Schofield later admitted that he lied to his bosses, agent, presenting partner Holly, and his family.
