This Morning has allegedly lost 100,000 viewers in a week due to suspicions of a feud between Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.
Reports recently emerged alleging the Dancing On Ice hosts were ‘barely communicating’ behind-the-scenes and that their relationship had ‘cooled’.
While they have maintained a unified front while presenting the ITV daily show, and Phil, 61, has stated that the duo are “still the best of friends,” there has been widespread speculation that the show may undergo a big revamp.
In the midst of all the suspicions of a ‘fallout,’ it has been claimed that This Morning has been losing thousands of viewers, with Monday’s broadcast plummeting by 20% to 724,000 viewers compared to the same day last week.
As the week progressed, with Holly leaving early to visit Buckingham Palace and an uncomfortable hug between the duo and a, um, robot, it’s been alleged that even more people have tuned out.
Phil has insisted the pair are ‘still best friends’ although Holly has yet to address the situation (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
According to the Daily Mail, while Tuesday’s episode picked up an average of 663,000, Wednesday’s instalment dropped by more than 100,000 from 647,000 to 551,000 compared to last week.
According to the magazine, the top viewership dropped from 905,000 to 683,000 in a week.
It comes following reports that Phil is refusing to resign from This Morning due to pressure from ITV executives.
A source told the Daily Mail: ‘Phil doesn’t see why he should go. It’s his job, he has steered the show for more than 20 years.’
According to reports, Phil has grown ‘increasingly reclusive’ as a result of the rumours.
A source told the Mirror: ‘[He is] almost a shell of himself. He seems down and spends a lot of time in his dressing room. We’re worried about him.’
Holly and Phil have been hosting This Morning together for 14 years.
They first fronted the popular show together in 2009 and have gone on to become one of British TV’s most loved duos.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.
Source My Celebrity Life.