This Morning has been forced to speak out and deny a feud between two of its main hosts after claims there was 'bickering' behind the scenes. Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary started their presenting journey together on the show in January 2021.
The pair take the reigns of the ITV daytime show on a Friday while Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield host from Monday through to Thursday. Unless it's a holiday, such as Easter and the summer, when Dermot and Alison are more than often the chosen duo to take over the full-time hosting gig.
However, over the weekend sources claimed Alison, 47, and Dermot, 49, have clashed, bicker and have struggled to ‘hit it off’ on the popular show.
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However, a spokesman for This Morning have confirmed the duo have become firm friends - and even socialise away from work together.
A This Morning spokesman told the Mirror : “Despite the challenges of starting their on screen partnership during a pandemic, Alison and Dermot have developed a firm friendship and their chemistry has proved a ratings success.
"Since the pandemic ended, the pair are now able to enjoy socialising together post the show and have enjoyed spending time with each other's families too."
Last May, a few months into their latest presenting gig, the pair opened up about their relationship. Alison said at the time: "We knew each other but we didn't hang out with each other. We still don't hang out with each other. We were thrown together on a Friday a bit like an arranged marriage and it took about two months before we became comfortable."
Dermot agreed that the first two months together had been tough, commenting: "You know what it's like, when you start a show and you work with someone... you go out for lunch... we were on air in half an hour. When you're co-presenting it takes a while to find those little beats."
He continued: "I'm going to talk now, you're going to talk now, you find out about each other's sense of humour, you find out what you like about each other, what you don't like about each other, and those things take about two months."
Alison also revealed that the pair irnoed out their issues with each other straight away. She told fellow ITV star Lorraine Kelly: "We told each other what we don't like, we were so honest and I think that's why it's worked. We had a few private chats and we said I don't like this about you, well I don't like this when you do this."
Dermot and Alison took over the role as Friday hosts from Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford. The husband-and-wife duo spent years hosting the programme together before they were replaced, with Eamonn permanently leaving This Morning last year to host a breakfast show on GB News.
Wife Ruth hasn't been seen on the show since then but remains a regular panelist on Loose Women. However, the 62-year-old is set to make a big return to the show, with Rylan Clark confirming earlier this month that he and Ruth will spend a week hosting the show together in the summer.
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