Eamonn Holmes believes social media trolls plotted to have him axed from ‘This Morning’.
Eamonn Holmes
The 60-year-old television presenter and his wife, Ruth Langsford, were dropped from their weekly Friday hosting slot on the ITV daytime show over the weekend, with the news they will be replaced by Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary first being reported on Saturday (14.11.20).
And the night before the news was announced, Eamonn was speaking to fans on a Belfast Live Facebook chat about how he believes his haters on social media were trying to get him sacked.
He said: “People say it’s water off a duck’s back but people wake up and they know they can get you sacked ... that’s the thing about live TV. It can be very stressful.”
Over the weekend, it was reported Eamonn had been left “furious” by the shake-up.
An insider said: “[Alison and Dermot] have real warmth. It's time for a change and they are perfect. Eamonn is pretty furious and everyone feels for him and Ruth, they are well liked on the team, but sometimes tough decisions have to be made.”
The source also said Eamonn and Ruth will still appear on ‘This Morning’, as they’re set to host the main show for six weeks in the summer when regular hosts - Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby - take a break over the school holidays.
They added: “ITV has been open about wanting to diversify and make the show ‘less white’ but they haven’t tried to find anything else for them.
“Ruth will remain on Loose Women and they will do school holidays. But Eamonn hasn’t been offered a role anywhere else on the channel, which is a real shame for him.”
Alison, 45, has been a roving reporter on ‘This Morning’ for years and is a favourite with fans.
She and ‘X Factor’ host Dermot, 47, have been paired as stand-in presenters previously – most recently last month – and bosses are impressed by their chemistry.
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