Eamonn Holmes has claimed he’s yet to be given a reason by ITV why he was dropped from his regular slot on This Morning.
Last year, it was confirmed that Eamonn and his wife Ruth Langsford would no longer be covering for Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on Fridays, with the gig instead going to new presenting duo Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
While he and Ruth were kept on to present during school holidays, Eamonn has since quit the ITV show altogether, and taken over the daily breakfast show on GB News.
In a new interview with The Times (£), the presenter insisted he didn’t have “any issues” with the decision to reduce his role, but said he was not happy about the way the matter was handled.
“I just have issues with why they can’t tell you your time is up,” he claimed. “Just have a conversation, any conversation. I was given no reason why I was blocked.”
HuffPost UK has contacted ITV for comment.
While Eamonn has moved on to a new broadcaster, Ruth remains part of the ITV daytime family, both at This Morning – where it’s expected she’ll be given a new co-host when she returns to the sofa – and as an anchor on Loose Women.
Announcing Eamonn’s exit earlier this year, ITV said in a statement: “We would like to wish Eamonn all of the very best in his new role.
“As a duo, Eamonn and Ruth have been part of the This Morning presenting team for the last 15 years and we thank Eamonn for all of his hard work and contribution to the show.
“Ruth remains an important part of ITV Daytime both as a continuing member of the This Morning family and as an anchor presenter on Loose Women.”
Eamonn previously said of the move shortly before his GB News debut: “Put it this way, I’m looking forward to a move somewhere new where they’re pleased to have me. But I wish everyone well at ITV.”
He also said that despite receiving messages of good wishes from some of his breakfast show rivals, he hadn’t heard from former co-stars Phil and Holly.
In recent history, Eamonn had come under fire on several occasions due to remarks he’d made during This Morning’s live broadcasts.
This included when he repeatedly interrupted Femi Oluwole during a debate about the use of the word “slaves” in the song Rule Britannia and when he compared Dr Zoe Williams’ hair to an alpaca, for which he later apologised.
Prior to this, he was criticised for branding the Duchess of Sussex “uppity” on This Morning, and while a spokesperson for the show said this had been a “point of learning” for the presenter, Eamonn later insisted that he “hadn’t learnt anything” from the incident.
Early in the pandemic, Eamonn also sparked a response from Ofcom when his comments about a debunked 5G conspiracy theory incited hundreds of complaints to the TV watchdog.