Dr. Zoe Williams thinks everything is back to "normal" at 'This Morning'.
This Moring star Dr. Zoe thinks everything is back to normal on the daytime show after Schofield scandal
The ITV daytime show was at the centre of a scandal earlier this year when longtime host Phillip Schofield, 61, admitted to previously having an extramarital affair with a younger male colleague but now that the show is being fronted by his former co-star Holly Willoughby in rotation with the likes of Craig Doyle, Josie Gibson, Dermot O'Leary, and Alison Hammond, Dr. Zoe - who has given medical advice to viewers for a number of years - thinks that everything is "business as normal" after staff had initially worried about their jobs amid the controversy
She told HELLO Magazine: "It feels like everything's back to business as normal now. More than anything, I've really felt for the staff and the people in the production office. It's a big team and we all get on. There was a point where I think everybody felt that their jobs were in jeopardy, and there are people who've worked on the show for decades. It's been a really emotional and difficult time, but I think we're out the other end."
After former 'Dancing on Ice' host Phillip - who has who has daughters Molly, 30, and 27-year-old Ruby with wife Stephanie Lowe - left the broadcaster after almost 20 years, some stars had claimed there is a "toxic" culture at ITV, but chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall insisted there have only been two complaints of such an "issue" in five years, and both were "taken very seriously".
When asked what she makes of allegations of there being a "toxic culture at 'This Morning'", Carolyn told a government committee: "What I would say is that it’s not something that we take that seriously.
"What I know is that when we talk about culture it’s incredibly important to me, personally and so it deeply disappoints me, right?
"But we do not recognise that in 'This Morning' and the reason for that is that we have tangible evidence to tell you that the vast majority of people at daytime and at 'This Morning' are extremely engaged and very motivated.
"That’s not to say we don’t take complaints about it seriously. We’ve had two complaints in five years about that issue. Both of them taken very seriously."
In his first interview since the story came to light, Phillip - who had been a mainstay on British television since the 1980s and had fronted 'This Morning' since 2002 - apologised to his former colleague and claimed he will "never forgive" himself for getting involved with the young man.
He told the BBC: "To him [the young man in question], I am the most sorry. By getting involved with me, I have caused you so much pain, and I...I will never forgive myself. I made a bad judgement call. And that if only you knew, in one moment, if I'd had the judgment I'd had for 41 years, if I'd used it in that moment, things would be very different for everybody."
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