This Morning viewers were complaining just minutes into the penultimate show of the week over what they found to be a 'disrespectful' start. Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were back fronting the ITV daytime show on Thursday (March 31) and had spent the morning before the show celebrating ahead of Schofe's milestone birthday on Friday, which also happens to be April Fools Day.
But viewers were left unimpressed when the show got underway and there was no mention of Tom Parker who tragically died on Wednesday (March 30) after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in 2020. The Wanted star revealed the news of his diagnosis to fans in October 2020 when his wife, Kelsey, was pregnant with their second child.
Their son, Bhodi, arrived the same month. The couple, who married in 2019, also shared a daughter, Aurelia, who they welcomed in July 2019.
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It was Kelsey who confirmed Tom's passing, aged just 33, on Wednesday with a statement posted on Instagram alongside a grey and white picture of the singer, from Bolton. "Our hearts are broken, Tom was the centre of our world and we can't imagine life without his infectious smile and energetic presence," she said.
"We are truly thankful for the outpouring of love and support and ask that we all unite to ensure Tom’s light continues to shine for his beautiful children. Thank you to everyone who has supported in his care throughout, he fought until the very end. I’m forever proud of you."
Tributes have since been flooding in from fans, fellow music stars, and those who got to know Tom, whether that be personally or through his continued openness throughout his cancer journey.
And taking to social media, This Morning fans were unimpressed by the lack of mention of the news in the first hour of the programme. The show instead began with Netflix's latest news that it is on the look out for two actors to portray Prince William and Prince Harry for season six of The Crown.
@missohlola tweeted: "Why the hell has Tom Parker not been mentioned please??? You actually had him on your show, and his poor wife, but not a single thing said so far @thismorning #ThisMorning Disrespectful!"
"Shall we get a wee mention for Tom Parker? #ThisMorning," @CD13092 asked.
@doralynn89 added: "Hope they do a wee tribute to tom parker such sad news #TomParker #ThisMorning."
The programme did mention Tom's passing later in the show while discussing the latest news headlines in 'This Morning's View' with Vanessa Feltz and Tom Swarbrick.
Phillip read out the statement by Tom's wife Kelsey, before Holly commented that it was "so sad" and Phillip described it as "utterly heartbreaking".
Vanessa Feltz then said: "It's just the saddest of all stories, and just the deepest condolences to his family, and his friends, and his fans, and really I would say, people all over the world who came to have the absolute maximum respect for him.
"Because he was so young, so brave, so positive wasn't he? And he said this was all about living, this was not about focusing on the illness, but about how he could maximise every single moment of every single day," Vanessa added.
"It’s so sad and completely heartbreaking…" Holly, 41, added. "There’s no right time to go, but 33 is so young."
Phillip, 59, then said: "If there is any good to come out of this, it's that he was such an inspiration and such a positive force. He was a friend of the show and had been on here a number of times and there are people up and down the country going through exactly the same thing… he was so incredibly positive."
Holly commented before they moved on: "On behalf of the show and all us here, we send our love to Kelsey and the whole family, we’re thinking of you lots."
And fans were pleased to hear Tom's tribute. Responding to an earlier tweet @Lady_Boss_Lisa said: "I agree with you. Very strange, at least they’ve spoken about him now."
"There you go tom parker fans they finally mentioned it #ThisMorning," @clsyoshimoo tweeted.
Tom shot to fame as part of The Wanted alongside Max George, Nathan Sykes, Siva Kaneswaran, and Jay McGuinness. The pop group scored two number one singles and a string of top 10 hits and albums after forming in 2009.
They took an indefinite hiatus in 2014 but delighted fans by announcing in September that they were reforming. They performed together for the first time in seven years at London's Royal Albert Hall for Stand Up To Cancer and The National Brain Appeal.
Tom recently had an extended stay at a specialist clinic in Spain and after returning to the UK, Tom joined his The Wanted bandmates Max George, Nathan Sykes, Siva Kaneswaran, and Jay McGuinness on stage, sitting on a throne, at the end of a string of their arena shows including at Machester's AO Arena just a matter of weeks ago.
