‘Large number’ of This Morning staff warn of ‘toxic working culture’ after Phillip Schofield scandal
Current and former employees tell MPs of bullying, discrimination and harassment
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A “large number” of ITV’s This Morning employees past and present have raised claims of “toxic working cultures”, bullying, discrimination and harassment to parliament.
The damning allegations were revealed by a cross-party group of senior MPs scrutinising the under-fire programme following former host Phillip Schofield’s high-profile exit from the show.
In correspondence published on Wednesday, Tory chair of the committee Caroline Dinenage told ITV boss Dame Carolyn they had been inundated with complaints from current or former staff from on This Morning and “the wider ITV daytime team”.
The senior Tory said: “These individuals speak with great pride about working at ITV and are hugely positive about many of their colleagues. However, they also raise claims of toxic working cultures, bullying, discrimination and harassment.”
Ms Dinenage also said some ITV staff members claimed to have been “further bullied” after raising their concerns with the channel.
“Some of those individuals who have contacted us have described how their decision to raise concerns within ITV has led to further bullying and discrimination, and in some cases having to leave the organisation with a settlement agreement,” said the committee chief.
In damning remarks, Ms Dinenage said it is now “easy to understand” why the individuals left ITV and “do not wish to relive their traumatic experiences”, as well as believing ITV will not take them seriously.
In June, ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall, managing director Kevin Lygo and general counsel Kyla Mullins were grilled by MPs on the culture, media and sport select committee.
In a response to the senior Tory’s letter, the ITV chief executive asked the committee to “encourage individuals to contact ITV via our reporting line SafeCall” through which reports can be made confidentially or anonymously.
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Alternatively, individuals can contact Jane Mulcahy KC who is leading an external review of the facts after Mr Schofield’s exit, which is expected to be completed in September, Dame Carolyn said.
She continued: “As we made clear to you and the committee, we are absolutely committed to enabling people to raise any issues or complaints they may have about working at ITV.
“We always take these seriously and will investigate and take whatever action is appropriate. However, we are unable to do so if we cannot engage with those people.”
The group of top MPs also accused ITV managing director, Mr Lygo, of being “inconsistent” in his explanation about who decided Mr Schofield should leave This Morning, after he admitted to an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague on the show.
In evidence to MPs in June, Mr Lygo suggested Mr Schofield wanted to step down – but a statement on 20 May from the presenter said: “I understand ITV has decided the current situation can’t go on.”
In her response, Dame Carolyn insisted there was “no inconsistency”. The ITV boss wrote: “As made clear, Mr Schofield expressed a desire to leave This Morning but Kevin Lygo was the ultimate arbiter of such issues – following discussions with everyone involved.”
Mr Schofield admitted in May that that he lied to his employers, friends and family about the affair, which took place while he was still married.
He confirmed he met the man, who has not been named, when the younger man was 15 years old during a school visit, but said the affair only began when he was in his early twenties and working on This Morning.
Following his admission, the 61-year-old was dropped by his longtime agent, having previously stepped down as This Morning co-host following reports of a feud with co-host Holly Willoughby.
The scandal sparked allegations from ex-ITV employees, including ex-This Morning host Eamonn Holmes and Dr Ranj Singh, of a “toxic” workplace, along with questions over how much ITV bosses were aware of Mr Schofield’s relationship with his colleague.
Ms McCall told MPs in June she had been “deeply disappointed” by the claims and said there was “tangible evidence” to suggest the majority of employees felt “extremely engaged and very motivated”.
She also pushed back strongly against allegations that the relationship was an open secret at ITV as people including Piers Morgan had suggested.
“We were repeatedly told nothing was happening”, she said and both men denied it “both formally and informally”, with the younger employee, referred to as Person X, being questioned 12 times.