Carolyn Maccall: Last News

ITV boss Carolyn McCall has said “no evidence” was brought to her and her team during Phillip Schofield’s affair with a much younger runner as she indicated the relationship was “deeply inappropriate.”

ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall has denied there was an "arrogance" in how the broadcaster handled Rebecca Ferguson 's claims of mistreatment of contestants during her time on The X Factor. Last week, the Liverpool-born performer, who was a finalist on the ITV singing competition back in 2010, called for media watchdog Ofcom to conduct an investigation into reality TV shows to "ensure the future safety of contestants".

ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall will appear before a parliamentary committee to answer questions about the broadcaster’s approach to safeguarding and complaint handling after former employee Phillip Schofield’s exit from This Morning.

ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall said the broadcaster does not recognise allegations of a toxic culture at This Morning and reiterated claims "deeply disappoint" her. The chief executive faced questions from MPs alongside ITV managing director Kevin Lygo and general counsel and company secretary Kyla Mullins about former host Phillip Schofield 's shock exit during Wednesday morning's Culture, Media and Sport Committee session in Parliament.

K.J. Yossman ITV boss Carolyn McCall said former “This Morning” anchor Phillip Schofield’s relationship with a young runner on this show was “deeply inappropriate.” McCall was appearing before a U.K. Culture Media and Sport Committee (CMS) parliamentary inquiry on the working culture and duty of care at ITV following the controversy around Schofield and his time on the long-running daytime show. McCall was joined by ITV’s MD for media and entertainment Kevin Lygo and general counsel Kyla Mullins. Mullins detailed the company’s investigation of the affair, telling the CMS committee the runner – who is being referred to during proceedings as “Person X” – was asked by ITV 12 times about his relationship with Schofield and denied it each time. She said Schofield also repeatedly denied the claims until he resigned last month.

The boss of ITV has confirmed that the broadcaster is funding Phillip Schofield's counselling after he requested the help after he resigned from ITV and was dropped by his talent agency YMU after admitting to an "unwise but not illegal" affair with a younger male colleague.

“Imbalances of power are dangerous and we care about them,” BBC Director General Tim Davie said today, as he was questioned on the Phillip Schofield debate and accusations of toxicity on This Morning.

It’s the story that everyone’s talking about, and while it started with Phillip Schofield’s shock departure from This Morning, the focus has now fallen on the ITV network itself, with one disgruntled star after another stepping forward to blast the alleged “toxic” culture. “Shaken” and “worried” were the words used by Holly Willoughby to describe her feelings when she addressed the nation on This Morning last Monday.

K.J. Yossman Embattled daytime show “This Morning” is advertising for a new producer. The job, which pays £40,000 to £50,000 per year, is unrelated to the recent fall-out from the Phillip Schofield scandal. “It’s to replace someone who was promoted and has been live for some weeks,” says a source. ITV is looking for a producer who “thrives on the buzz” of live television and has an “abundance of ideas” to support anchor Holly Willoughby and guest hosts including Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond, according to the job description, which is currently live on LinkedIn. “This Morning” was rocked by the resignation of Willoughby’s longtime co-host Phillip Schofield last month, following tension between the two anchors. Schofield subsequently revealed that he had had an affair with a young runner on the show, whom he’d known since the runner was a teenager.

X Factor runner up, Rebecca Ferguson, has launched a scathing account of initial exploitation, “abuse of power”, and subsequent legal challenges with ITV. Ferguson, who came second in 2010 and went on to release four top 10 albums, claims to have broken NDAs by taking to Twitter to recount the “terrible foul play” at the broadcaster. In an email to Ofcom, Ferguson claimed on Twitter that X Factor contestants were “forced into contracts without independent legal advice .

Carolyn McCall is embroiled in scandal following Phillip Schofield’s exit from This Morning as she faces further questions from public and MPsHolly Willoughby and the crew of This Morning are looking for a new chapter of ‘warmth and magic’ following Phillip Schofield’s scandal; something ITV boss Carolyn McCall can only dream of for herself after she has come under further scrutiny for the broadcaster’s handling of certain situations. In the wake of Phil Schofield leaving the ITV show after more than 20 years when reports came to light about his alleged affair with a younger male colleague, all eyes turned to Dame Carolyn McCall to not only see how much the CEO might have known but also her approach to complaint handling and safeguarding as a result.

Naman Ramachandran A U.K. parliamentary inquiry that convened to gather evidence for the upcoming media bill pulled no punches, with top TV executives being probed on Tuesday. Though the proceedings began with the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee chair Caroline Dinenage stating that the session was not about the “widely reported issues” at ITV show “This Morning,” committee members ploughed on nevertheless. (ITV CEO Carolyn McCall has been called to give evidence to the committee next week over an affair between former ITV anchor Phillip Schofield and a young employee.) Appearing before the committee, Magnus Brooke, group director of strategy, policy and regulation at ITV, was asked about the duty of care that the editorial team and senior managers provide to staff, especially young staff, at “This Morning” and ITV in general. In response, Brooke said: “There’s a very sophisticated and significant system of safeguarding and duty of care at ITV, with a very significant set of policies.”

Disgraced British TV presenter Phillip Schofield has spent another week in the headlines, following his departure from ITV’s flagship daytime show This Morning and his admission that he had a secret relationship with a runner on the show 40 years his junior. 

Martin Frizell, the Editor of embattled ITV daytime show This Morning, has been rebuked by his employer for “extremely ill-judged” remarks about eggplants when questioned over the Phillip Schofield scandal.

K.J. Yossman “This Morning” anchor Holly Willoughby has returned to the show after a two-week absence following the resignation of her long-time co-host Phillip Schofield. She was joined by guest anchor Josie Gibson. Willoughby began the show by addressing the controversy that has been swirling over the last few weeks, ever since Schofield, who is married with two children, admitted he had had an affair with a young “This Morning” employee. “Firstly, are you OK? I hope so,” Willoughby told viewers. “It feels very strange indeed sitting here without Phil. And I imagine you might be feeling a lot like I have: shaken, troubled, let down. Worried for the wellbeing on all sides of what’s been going up. And full of questions. You, me and all of us at ‘This Morning’ gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth, who acted in a way that they themselves felt like they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career that they loved.”

Phillip Schofield has broken his silence and revealed his sadness over the reports and rumours circulating about him after admitting to an affair with a much younger man while still married to his wife. Particularly keen to clarify the timeline of events, he revealed in a new interview that he first met the man when he visited the theatre academy he was a patron of.The man began working as a runner on This Morning in 2016 after receiving career advice from Phil and doing work experience at the show in 2015.

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here bringing you a rundown of all the biggest headlines and analysis from the international film and TV universe. Read on. 

Philip Schofield has slammed accusations of 'toxicity' at This Morning, and strenuously denied he is a bully, following his affair revelations.The show’s former resident doctor, Dr Ranj Singh, hit out at a “toxic” culture at the flagship ITV daytime show, saying he raised concerns about “bullying and discrimination” two years ago when he worked there – and afterwards felt like he was “managed out” for whistleblowing. Former This Morning presenter Eamon Holmes also told GB News this week that "the toxicity is you", referring to Phillip, and criticising his "controlling, coercive behaviour." In a letter on Wednesday, ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall said that an external review conducted following a complaint made by Dr Ranj found “no evidence of bullying or discrimination”.

In a shock tell-all interview just days after resigning from ITV’s This Morning, Phillip Schofield has said he did not “abuse his power” when having an affair with a much younger runner, and that he “sees nothing ahead but blackness.”

ITV boss Carolyn McCall will face a grilling from the UK’s influential Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMS) next week over the Phillip Schofield scandal.

K.J. Yossman ITV CEO Carolyn McCall has been asked to give evidence to the Parliamentary committee for Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) over an affair between former ITV anchor Phillip Schofield and a young employee. The CMS Committee requested McCall’s presence in a letter published today. Read the full letter below: Thank you for your letter of 31 May 2023 setting out ITV’s response to the reports of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and a young employee on the This Morning programme.The Committee regards the media industry’s duty of care towards its staff a matter of the highest importance. Whilst the recent coverage focuses on the Schofield case, it also raises fundamental issues about safeguarding and complaint handling both at ITV and more widely across the media. These issues should, particularly in the case of Public Service Broadcasters, be open to scrutiny.The public must have confidence in the robustness of Public Service Broadcasters’ safeguarding procedures. Whilst these are issues that we want to discuss first with ITV, we will also consider them in our regular scrutiny sessions with other Public Service Broadcasters, including the BBC later this month and Channel 4 later in the year.With this in mind, we look forward to meeting with you at 10am on Wednesday 14th June so that we can raise these issues with you directly. This will enable the session previously scheduled with ITV and other commercial Public Service Broadcasters on 6th June to focus on its intended purpose of scrutinising the Government’s draft Media Bill.It is incumbent upon all media organisations to demonstrate how seriously they take their responsibilities and your appearance before the Committee will enable ITV to do so.