This Morning staff ‘remain furious at not receiving invitations to the National Television Awards in favor of stars Holly Willoughby and Alison Hammond’
The National Television Awards are just around the corner, but This Morning staff have reportedly not received an invite to the annual event.
The ITV morning show allows only talents and senior executives to enjoy the evening on screen, while the backroom workers stay at home.
Those working behind the scenes will be watching from their TVs as Holly Willoughby, 42, Alison Hammond, 48, and Dermot O’Leary, 50, attend London’s O2 Arena.
That has been revealed by a TV source The sun that the show is reportedly “slimming” attendance due to the cost-of-living crisis, but it appears they’re “splashing the money elsewhere.”
They said, “People are upset about the slimming down because the show is such a group effort and the awards are usually a big night out for the whole team.”
Angry: This Morning staff reportedly furious as only the on-screen stars received invitations to the National Television Awards on Tuesday
Unfair: A TV source revealed that the show is reportedly “slimming” attendance due to the cost-of-living crisis, but it appears they’re “splashing the money elsewhere”
It wasn’t a good year for the show after the Philip Schofield scandal earlier in May threw the program into turmoil.
Sources believe the bosses have cut back because they fear the scandal will negatively affect their chance of winning Best Day Show for the 13th year in a row.
The morning TV show takes on ITV sister program Loose Women, quiz favorite The Chase and BBC’s The Repair Shop for the prestigious award.
After 21 years of presenting the show, Philip resigned from This Morning in May before admitting that he had been dating a much younger man who worked with him on the show, and later lied about it.
In a bombshell statement to the Daily Mail, the veteran TV presenter admitted that he and the man began a relationship that was more than just a friendship. The ex-TV presenter describes this as ‘unwise but not illegal’.
Schofield further confessed to lying to his employer ITV, his colleagues, his friends and his agents at the management firm YMU.
The scandal left the show in a state of disarray, leading to ongoing accusations of a toxic culture behind the scenes of the show.
The TV source continued, “It doesn’t help with rumors of a toxic atmosphere.
Drama: It wasn’t a good year for the show after the Philip Schofield scandal earlier in May threw the program into turmoil (pictured in January on Dancing On Ice)
Not so happy family: Toxic accusations have surrounded the show in recent months, suggesting the show won’t take home best daytime show at this year’s NTAs (The cast of This Morning pictured at the 2020 awards)
“Some people suspect bosses know it’s not going to be a great year for This Morning after all the scandal, and they know they might not win.”
An ITV source said: ‘We have reduced staff this year due to budget cuts.’
MailOnline reached out to This Morning representatives, who declined to comment.
The claims come after it was revealed that Holly is finally the undisputed queen of ITV after the show unveiled their new trailer.
After the summer holidays, the new clip shows Holly smiling for the cameras as she gets ready to head to the famous This Morning couch.
The choice to feature the presenter on her own sends a clear message that she is ‘Queen Bee’, ITV insiders say.
One told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Holly is the future and ITV wanted to make that clear. It is a clear sign that she is at the helm and that the other presenters will join her.
It’s a brand new start for This Morning, the scandal could have wrecked it, but it managed to keep going. There’s a lot of excitement.’
Holly appears twice in the trailer, which also advertises Good Morning Britain, Lorraine and Loose Women.
Her solo appearance in the trailer is a stark contrast to promotional material from previous years, which featured her alongside Schofield as the joint stars of This Morning.