Are you still watching? I am. Only out of a grotesque sense of curiosity, though.
Only because I’m rubbernecking at the twisted wreckage of a car crash that was once one of the most trusted daytime shows on British television.
Only because I’m hooked on the speed of the cold, sterile statements from protagonists Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, once as thick as thieves, now in full damage limitation mode, seemingly trying to protect themselves from each other.
I’m gripped by the gamut of celebrities we all thought were their mates, now emerging from the shadows to spill the beans on the secrets and lies behind the scenes. This Morning has turned into Goodfellas.
I’m impressed by the strength of character shown by their erstwhile TV doctor Ranj Singh who didn’t just nod, wink and leak stories when he suspected something was amiss.
He went to the bosses with his concerns of a “bullying and discrimination” culture. He put his money where his mouth is. He fulfilled his duty of care – only to find himself, he claims, managed out of the show. ITV deny this. The truth will come out in the wash.
In the meantime, This Morning is finished.
The show has been my guilty pleasure for years but the idea that it can simply go on in its current guise is delusional.
Not when the central allegation remains that Schofield conducted an inappropriate relationship with a younger man he first met when he was 15. Not when it is claimed that some colleagues were well aware of it. They deny this.
Not with Schofield having admitted, last week, to lying to his colleagues, his agent, to his friends and the media. Not when one of the country’s biggest broadcasters has become radioactive almost overnight.
Not when Schofield’s agency of more than 25 years has brutally dropped him like a stone.
Not when sponsors and guests are weighing up whether to have their brands tainted by the toxicity of
the show.
Not when Schofield hasn’t just quit This Morning, he has quit ITV.
He maintains his relationship with the individual in question was “unwise but not illegal”. He also claims he is the victim of a “handful of people” with a grudge against him.
Judge for yourselves whether his assessment warrants the moves he has made and the professional reaction towards him.
And yes, there are more important things going on in the world right now. The cost-of-living crisis, our overworked and underpaid doctors and nurses, spiralling energy bills and lying -politicians.
But there are important issues around safeguarding involved in this crisis too. Also around the importance of being able to speak out when any part of a workplace culture makes you uncomfortable.
So yes, I did watch. I suspect you did too. There are so many – too many – questions for which we need answers.
