Phillip Schofield resigned from ITV after admitting to an ‘unwise but not illegal’ relationship with a younger male colleague on the show, which has received two award nominations
This Morning insiders have said its NTA nomination is “two fingers” to the shows’ critics in the wake of the Phillip Schofield affair.
The ITV programme made the public-voted shortlist alongside Loose Women, quiz show The Chase and BBC’s The Repair Shop. Sources on the show say they are “surprised and very grateful that our viewers are supporting us.” The insider added: “We’d love to win especially for our fantastic producers and crew who have been making programmes every day despite all the troubles and unfair criticism that was thrown at a show they’re proud to work on.”
Schofield, 61, resigned from ITV in May after admitting to an “unwise but not illegal” relationship with a younger male colleague on the show. MPs have called on ITV bosses to address claims of toxicity and bullying behind the scenes.
A second ITV source said that row had not affected viewing figures. They pointed to the fact that the show has been streamed 28 million times so far this year, compared to the 21 million times at this point last year. It regularly still reaches 4.2million viewers a week. The source added that “positive sentiment” for ITV had remained stable amid the Schofield row, according to YouGov’s BrandIndex data.