TV presented Eamonn Holmes criticised his former ITV bosses over his axing on This Morning.
The 62-year-old, who has since gone on to join rival GB News, had presented on Fridays and during half-terms alongside wife Ruth Langsford for 15 years to cover for main hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.
In November 2020 it was confirmed the couple would be dropped from their usual slot and replaced by Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary, the Mirror reports.
They were rumoured to have been "hurt" by the change at the time and now Eamonn has claimed ITV bosses wanted to make it look like he had walked away from the role.
Speaking to the Daily Mail's Weekend magazine, he said that "no one explained anything" to him, adding: "They didn't want to announce that I'd been dropped because it would adversely affect audience figures, so they made it look as if I'd walked away from them rather than the other way round."
He went on to claim that bosses had had a chat with his agent and announced that he was going to GB News - despite the channel at the time only asking if he was interested in enjoying.
The Mirror has reached out to ITV for comment.
A spokesperson told the Daily Mail: "This isn't a version of events we recognise and as we have said before we wish Eamonn all the very best.
"We are committed to improving representation both on and off screen and we publicly report on our progress against our commitments and targets."
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