A “large number” of staff working on ITV’s This Morning and its wider Daytime team have raised claims of “bullying, discrimination and harassment”.
Back in June, ITV’s chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall faced questions from Parliament about Phillip Schofield’s exit from This Morning, amid claims of a “toxic” environment behind the scenes.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, chairwoman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, has since revealed a group of past and present employees have raised further concerns about the show’s working culture.
In a letter to McCall on July 24th, Dame Caroline wrote: “In the month that has passed since your appearance before the committee, we have been contacted by a large number of individuals who have identified themselves as currently working or previously having worked on This Morning or as part of the wider ITV Daytime team.
“These individuals speak with great pride about working at ITV and are hugely positive about many of their colleagues.
“However, they also raise claims of toxic working cultures, bullying, discrimination and harassment.
“Some of those individuals who have contacted us have described how their decision to raise concerns within ITV has led to further bullying and discrimination, and in some cases having to leave the organisation with a settlement agreement.”
Dame Caroline said it was “easy to understand” why the individuals left ITV and “do not wish to relive their traumatic experiences” again.
In her response, McCall said: “As we made clear to you and the committee, we are absolutely committed to enabling people to raise any issues or complaints they may have about working at ITV.
“We always take these seriously and will investigate and take whatever action is appropriate. However, we are unable to do so if we cannot engage with those people.”
The ITV boss encouraged anyone with complaints to submit a confidential report through the SafeCall service, or directly to barrister Jane Mulcahy KC, who is leading an external review into Schofield’s exit.
