This Morning has a “toxic culture,” the show’s former GP said, amid calls for an investigation into the programme.
Dr. Ranj, who had been a regular on This Morning for a decade until last year, revealed on Sunday that he left the show after making allegations about the treatment of his employees.
He claimed that executives chose to use him less frequently as a guest after his comments.
Phillip Schofield, 61, resigned from the broadcaster on Friday and was sacked by his talent agency after he confessed to an “ill-advised, but not illegal” relationship with a younger male colleague who worked on the programme.
Nadine Dorries, the former culture minister, has called on ITV to answer questions about issues raised by Schofield’s statement and it has been suggested that the controversy has cast doubt on the future of the show.
However, an ITV spokesperson said: “This Morning is not being rated and there are no plans to stop the show. This Morning will return as normal (Monday).”
Dr. Ranj said he told Emma Gormley, daytime managing director of ITV Studios, about the issues, including the behavior of This Morning editor Martin Frizell.
Frizell’s behavior
In a statement posted to Instagram on Sunday evening, Dr Ranj said: “I have raised my concerns about Martin Frizell’s behavior (and the environment at TM) with Emma Gormley – especially given that my job is to look after the taking care of people’s wellbeing and I’ve been heavily involved in diversity, anti-bullying and mental health projects across the channel.
“I even took my concerns straight to the top of ITV: the culture at This Morning has become toxic, no longer in line with ITV values, and I felt that because I whistled I was being led out.”
Dr. Ranj, 43, added: “However, as history and experience have taught us, things like bullying and discrimination are very difficult to prove, especially in hindsight and when the ‘those in power’ dictate the narrative. As we have seen, no assessment or research is infallible.”
His comments came as Kevin Lygo, ITV’s Director of Television, insisted there were no mistakes in the original 2020 investigation into Schofield’s behaviour.
Mr Lygo told Sky News reporters: “We made a statement today, yesterday. I think it’s all clear.”
When asked if there were any mistakes in the 2020 survey, he replied, “No.”
