Piers Morgan says daytime TV is ‘infested by a pack of savages’ following Phillip Schofield’s sacking
PIERS Morgan yesterday blasted daytime TV for being “infested by a pack of savages” — as This Morning only gave Phillip Schofield an awkward 30-second send-off.
It came after telly veteran Phil finally quit the show with immediate effect on Saturday following a slew of stories about his fractured friendship with co-host Holly Willoughby.
Appearing on Times Radio, TalkTV host Piers said: “Anyone who thinks daytime telly is full of smiley, nicey, happy clappy people; I think they are beginning to realise it is infested by a pack of savages.
“There is nothing more ruthless than the way talent, as we so laughably get called in TV, get treated when the plug gets pulled.”
At the start of the first show since Phil quit, stand-in This Morning presenters Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond delivered an awkward tribute to him.
During a sombre 30-second opening monologue, Dermot said everyone “on and off screen at ITV wants to say a huge thank you to Phil for what he’s done to make the show such a success over the last 21 years”.
Alison continued: “We all know he’s one of the best live television broadcasters this country has ever had. We wish him all the best for the future.” They then moved on swiftly to that day’s running order.
The tribute was branded insincere by some viewers.
But the decision not to dwell on Phil’s departure was a deliberate move by show bosses desperate to move on.
A TV insider said: “A tribute to Phillip had to be done, it was unavoidable. The sensible thing to do was nip everything in the bud and just get on with the show, as there is a huge desire to return to normal.”
Dermot explained Holly’s absence by confirming she is taking two weeks off for “half term”.
The Sun was the first to reveal the fall out between the pair earlier this month.
Holly was said to be distancing herself having been kept in the dark about Phil’s brother’s child sex abuse court case.
Sun sources say ITV bosses are also distancing themselves from the row to save their own jobs.
Sun columnist Piers, who left ITV’s Good Morning Britain in 2021 in a row over his comments about the Duchess of Sussex, said he had “some sympathy” for Phil.
He added: “I do think, after 20-odd years on This Morning, winning awards every year, whatever has gone on behind the scenes, he was entitled to a better send-off.
“But then, I thought I was too at Good Morning Britain for breaking all the ratings records and making the show the most talked-about show in the country — but that’s showbiz. And showbiz is a shallow pool of shark-infested waters.”
Meanwhile, Phil and Holly were on the receiving end of an extraordinary rant from their former This Morning colleague Eamonn Holmes.
He claimed he has received messages from people in the industry who would be “glad to see the back of the two of them”.
Holmes also mocked Phil’s claim he “stepped down”, saying on GB News: “Just stop this. He was sacked. All this nonsense of, ‘I’ve decided to step down’. I’m sure you did — here’s your P45 now step down.
“And she says, ‘Oh, the couch will not feel the same without him being there’. Well, she wanted him not there. So what is she moaning about?
“They deserve each other I suppose.”
He also ranted: “She says, ‘I thank him for all his knowledge, experience and humour’. All the things that she didn’t have when she came to the show. Well, it’s true!
“I would call that stabbing in the back.”