Trivia / This Morning

• Breaking News Interruption: On 9th April 2021, at about 12:05PM, Eamonn and Ruth stopped their interview with actor Alan Halsall (Tyrone Dobbs from Coronation Street) to make way for ITV News, which announced the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, taking over the rest of ITV's schedule for the day. This also meant that a cooking item with chef Ainsley Harriott, scheduled to close the day's show, was canceled.
• Executive Meddling: Two words - Phillip Schofield. He was practically this trope when it came to the production of the show, wanting everything to go his way and what he wanted.
  • An example of this came from 2018, when Amanda Holden was the favourite from ITV staff to take over Holly's role when she went off to Australia to present with Dec on I'm a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here!^note Normally, the show is presented by Ant and Dec, however following Ant's drink-driving arrest and decision to step out of the TV spotlight for a year, Holly was chosen to replace him as Dec's co-presenter. Holden was originally Holly's relief when she went on maternity leave at the end of 2014 until the summer of 2015, and was well-received by the viewers of the programme. However, Schofield on the other hand, thought elsewise; persuading the show's producers to not hire her again simply as he disliked her. In the end, the producers were forced to back Holden out at the last minute in favour of Schofield's personal relief choice Rochelle Humes, despite the staff saying she wasn't as "experienced". In the words of one producer:
  Phillip actively campaigned for Rochelle Humes to get the job despite Amanda being more experienced — and having been told privately she’d got the gig. She feels Phil unfairly used his powers of persuasion. She was told he’d chosen Rochelle because she was easier to ‘manage’ on air – and understandably that incensed her. Things are increasingly toxic when the cameras stop rolling, and a few ITV people are secretly delighted that things are starting to emerge.”
• Hostility on the Set: To be honest, has Phil gotten along with anyone on the show?
  • Amanda Holden has shown her own dislike for Schofield through various social media posts and on her radio show on Heart FM. In May 2023, a few days after Schofield left the show, she posted on her Instagram a flexing emoji, which fans and the press likely thought was a "victory". She also once said on her radio show that Schofield would be one of three things that would not be welcome at her house.
  • Eamonn Holmes was able to make his true opinions on Schofield on GB News in May 2023, something he wouldn't have even attempted when he was employeed with ITV. In an interview with the Daily Mail, he described Schofield as "snubbing to people" and "passive-aggressive".
  • This trope was the reason why Fern Britton quit the show in 2009, halfway through her contract as well. Although claims were made that she wasn't happy about why Schofield was being paid more than she was, she has disputed that and has said she left the show because he hated working with Schofield. Even to this day, they are still on heated terms, rowing and making jabs at each other. An example was a tweet Britton posted when Schofield celebrated forty years on television:
  Fern: Forty years is an incredible milestone and it’s time for you to stop and look back and see all that you have achieved and be proud of it.
  • It all came crashing down for Phil in May 2023, when it was rumoured by various tabloids and news channels that he was now in a row with Holly following the QueueGate scandal and the arrest of Phillip's brother Timothy for possession of child pornography. It was then heard that Schofield never told anyone at ITV, even Willoughby, about his brother's crimes and trouble, which made Willoughby think that he may have been defending his brother, which soured their friendship significantly. Signs of their falling out were showing on the show itself and eventually on 20 May, Phillip announced he had resigned as presenter effective immediately, without a goodbye or anything. Although he was still committed to continue working for ITV... something worse happened.
• Milestone Celebration
  • The 25th anniversary was commemorated in 2013.
  • The 30th anniversary was commemorated in 2018.
  • Holly and Phil commemorated 10 years presenting together in 2019.
  • Holly and Phil commemorated 11 years presenting together in 2020.
  • Holly's 40th birthday was commemorated on 10th March 2021.
  • Another milestone was recognized with the 1 year anniversary of the UK COVID-19 Pandemic lockdown on 23rd March 2021.
  • The 35th anniversary was commemorated in 2023, although very little was done to celebrate that year.
• The Red Stapler: Ruth Langsford's dresses.
• Role-Ending Misdemeanor:
  • John Leslie's firing was a good example. He presented the show from 1998 with Fern Britton on the Friday editions and later transitioned over with Britton in 2002 to the Monday-Thursday editions, replacing Coleen Nolan and Twiggy. However, after controversy arose on Channel 5's The Wright Stuff where Matthew Wright named him as the person who allegedly raped fellow TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson, it led to ITV firing him from the show.
  • The entirety of the Phillip Schofield scandal.
    • As previously mentioned above, A week after Schofield resigned from the show, it was revealed that he openly admitted to having an affair with a young employee who worked on the show, who was only fifteen years old when they first met. Needless to say, this news took everyone by surprise when it was revealed that Schofield had lied about the affair to just about everyone he knew personally. Needless to say, ITV took quick action by terminating Phillip from the company and announcing they would never do business with him again, which also led to his presenting roles for The British Soap Awards and Dancing on Ice being revoked as well.
    • As the days went on, several companies who previously did business with Schofield also took action. On May 30, The Prince's Trust dropped Schofield as an ambassador, while car dealership business We Buy Any Car (who ended their spokesperson contract with him in September 2022, replacing him with TikTok personality Mufasa) deleted all videos and any mention of him on their YouTube channel and website. His own wine company - When in Rome, dropped their products from their site as well.
    • Just about everyone who supported Schofield on set and elsewhere within ITV was disgusted and displeased by the actions, not just tarnishing the show's brand but ITV as a whole. Despite what several tabloids have said, ITV has said that the show will not be axed despite Schofield's actions.
    • Schofield soon took damage control, reaching to his Instagram, with a post calling out everyone who deemed him as being “Toxic” to work for. Needless to say, his former colleague Eamonn Holmes called him out, criticizing him for creating a work environment where guests and employees would avoid him and try to distance themselves from him, and ITV for "Covering Up" the story.
    • He then had an interview with the BBC, where he told his side of the story and how he is quite scared and worried, and thanked his daughters for helping him through the controversy, by saying that if it weren’t for them he wouldn’t even be living right now, and mentioning about how the publicity and tabloid reports have effected his mental-health. The interview could mean that if Schofield did take his own life, it would be another example of how the tabloids are quite dangerously threatening to the industry following the suicide of Caroline Flack in 2020, which was also due to the tabloids threatening her following an arrest.
• Overshadowed by Controversy: The entirety of QueueGate and how reactions went to be:
  • On 8 September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II passed away, and the UK went into a period of mourning. During the mourning period, her coffin was placed for the public to pay her respects. Although some celebrities were offered a fast-track queue, most decided to enter the regular queue.
  • Then, a photo of Phillip and Holly at the coffin area went viral on social media, which led to complete public backlash against the two, with other presenters and celebrities criticizing them for "jumping the queue" and went as far as for petitions to be made to get them fired from the show.
  • It was soon revealed that they were actually recording for a segment in relation to the coffin, and due to the controversy, pre-recorded narration from Holly was added to the beginning explaining what actually went on, ending with:
  Holly: Please note, we would NEVER jump a queue.
  • Prior to the segment airing, ITV issued an apology on social media sites which also gained backlash for ITV's shady handling of the vendetta. ITV decided to not produce a public apology and rather put theirs on the "Stories" sections of the show's social media pages.
  • Following the scandal, ITV attempted to find every which way to paint them in a positive light, with one example being at the 2022 National Television Awards when they muted the booing of the crowd when the show won "Best Daytime Show".
• Short-Lived, Big Impact: Oh deary me, the show hasn't seen the brightest of nature since 2022...
  • In September 2022, days prior to the QueueGate controversy and many months prior to Schofield's firing from the show, the show's "Spin to Win" phone-in game offered the chance for the winner's household bills to be paid for three months by ITV. This addition gained a lot of controversy due to ITV's attempt to cash in on a serious event: The Cost of Living Crisis. The controversy was deep to the point that the change was reverted just two days later. In all meanings, the addition was quite useless to begin with, as the cash prizes would have done the same exact thing, to begin with.
  • The QueueGate and Schofield controversies say it all.
  • Evern poor Holly Willoughby couldn't catch a break. The 4 October 2023 edition ended up being her unintentional final episode for all the wrong reasons. Later on in the day, a man named Gavin Plumb, from Harlow, Essex, was arrested in charge of plotting a scheme to kidnap and murder her. Holly did not appear within the next few days, and on 10 October, she officially announced her departure from the show, deciding that it was the perfect time to leave the spotlight for a while, deeming that she would prefer to keep her husband, Dan Baldwin, and their children, protected.
  Thank you to the wonderful viewers. You've been so loyal, so supportive, and the very best company every day. I know this story has many chapters to go. Sadly, however, I now feel I have to make this decision for me and my family. I will miss you all so much.

  • It's been deemed that the show's production team was not too happy with her departure, as the following day, the opening credits (which normally highlight what the day's episode offers) read out: "End of an Era", "Family Comes First", "We'll Miss You!" and "Goodbye Holly".
• Troubled Production: This Morning became one of many shows affected by COVID-19 when the pandemic forced the UK into lockdown in March 2020. However, it was fortunate to continue airing from the studio,^note The general feel-good nature of the show made it a priority for ITV to continue for public morale. though a number of distancing measures had to be taken place: Holly and Phil themselves had to sit/stand 2 metres apart^note Eamonn and Ruth were exempt from this rule since they are husband and wife., and of course a great number of guests who would have normally sat on the sofa had to be called from home. These measures stayed in place for well over a year.
• What Could Have Been: As acknowledged in the 1 year lockdown episode, This Morning came very close to having Phil and Holly presenting from their own homes, to the point that they rehearsed for such an event.