It took just minutes of Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary being back on This Morning for viewers to demand bosses ring the changes on the ITV show, while others reached out to offer support to their under fire colleagues Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
This week hasn't been a great one for the award-winning daytime show, as its main presenters Phillip and Holly found themselves at the centre of a social media storm after being accused of 'queue jumping' to access Westminster Hall, where the Queen was lying in state.
Pictures of the hosts in the Hall went viral on Twitter, before a video of them and This Morning editor Martin Frizzell walking past scores of people who'd waited hours in the queue, was posted on TikTok. This Morning denied any wrongdoing on Phillip and Holly's behalf on Saturday, before Holly gave a statement at the start of Tuesday's episode to say they were in the hall as media for 'the sole purposes of reporting.'
As the 'queue jump' row rumbles on, Holly and Phillip got a break from the spotlight and from scrutiny as they made way to allow Alison and Dermot to return to their usual Friday slot, after six weeks away.
The ex Big Brother star and former X Factor host have been known to divide opinion since taking over the Friday hosting gig from Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford at the start of 2021, but many viewers were united in their approval of them as Friday's episode began.
Within minutes of cameras rolling, a Twitter account called UK TV Forever posted: "petition for Alison & Dermot to stay as Presenters," with another obvious Alison and Dermot fan tweeting: "Only 5 minutes into todays #ThisMorning and it’s already better than all the other shows this week. We need Alison and Dermot to replace those other two!"
During their first Friday back, Alison and Dermot got very, very excited about being joined by country superstar Shania Twain, as well as being joined by a dreams expert as viewers rang in with some rather alarming nightmares they wanted deciphering.
Among the many other tweets in support of Alison and Dermot, was a third which read: "Keep Alison and Dermot on #ThisMorning or the lovely Josie Gibson. Totally different vibe. The other pair have had their day. And a fourth commented: "Loving Dermot and Alison today, lighting up the TV screen. Now Only watch when Philip & Holly are Not on."
However, for all the calls for This Morning to have different hosts, others reached out to Phillip and Holly with messages of support, with some setting up a petition to KEEP them on the show. One tweeted: "Holly I just wanted to reach out to let you know that I support you 100%, love you and Phillip and the show, and I'm not listening to any of the nonsense. I hope you are ok. Please know there are still so many people who love you & don't feel alone."
A second tweeted: "Holly and Phillip hold your head high we support you."
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