Vanessa Feltz has hit out at some former This Morning stars, accusing them of having a 'grudge' against the show and making 'malicious' statements about it, in light of the controversy surrounding the programme and its now ex host Phillip Schofield.
It's now been a few weeks since Phillip, after being at the centre of speculation that he and colleague Holly Willoughby were embroiled in a 'feud,' announced he was leaving the daytime series after 21 years, with things then taking a turn when, six days later, the veteran presenter admitted to having an affair with a young This Morning runner, with him being dropped by his agents and leaving ITV with immediate effect.
As controversy continues to surround both Phillip and This Morning, several high profile stars have spoken out against him and the show, with former This Morning host Eamonn Holmes, alleging that senior members of ITV staff 'knew' about Phillip's relationship with the young crew member, taking aim at Phillip and Holly for 'faking' their friendship for cameras and saying that neither of them made an effort to be friendly with any of the team,. or even learn their names.
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While not speaking about Phillip directly, another This Morning regular, Dr Ranj Singh, said he had raised concerns about the show's 'toxic culture,' taking to Twitter to write: "I was on the show for ten years and I genuinely loved and valued working there. However, over time, I grew increasingly worried about how things were behind-the-scenes and how people, including myself were being treated.
"I didn't know the truth about what was going on with Phillip, but I do know the issues with This Morning go far beyond him. It takes more than one person to create a culture."
Others to speak out against Phillip and This Morning, include former guest Kerry Katona and Jodie Marsh and now Vanessa, who still appears on the show, has had her say, to condemn the opinions of some of its critics and to defend the show as it is now.
Speaking on TalkTV, she said: "It has been suggested that quite a lot of the people who are very vocally critical of This Morning and, actually, it’s a handful of people – there are some celebrities, a couple of journalists – and what’s been suggested is quite a lot of them were once on the programme and aren’t on it anymore.”
Vanessa added: “And that is the reason for this aggrieved, kind of grudging malice that is coming out. And if you ask people who are still on the programme and who are on it regularly – who enjoy being on it – they won’t know what they’re talking about.”
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