A 'large number' of current and former ITV employees have made allegations of a toxic working culture on daytime programmes including This Morning, according to Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the House of Commons media committee.
The committee has received claims of harassment, bullying and discrimination since ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall faced questions from MPs in June following the fallout from Phillip Schofield's affair with a younger colleague. Dr Ranj Singh, a former regular presenter on This Morning, was among those who spoke out about a wider toxic culture.
In a letter published on Wednesday, Dame Caroline said some individuals described how raising concerns internally led to further bullying and discrimination, and in some cases they left the organisation with a settlement agreement. She also questioned ITV's earlier assertion that only two complaints about This Morning had been received in five years, noting that the committee had since been contacted by people 'personally aware of multiple cases'.
Dame Carolyn McCall responded by urging staff to use ITV's confidential reporting line SafeCall or contact barrister Jane Mulcahy KC, who is conducting an external review into the handling of the Schofield affair. She stressed that ITV takes complaints seriously but cannot act unless directly contacted. The review is expected to conclude in September.
