THE boss of This Morning, Martin Frizell, left the show after going eight months without ever reaching the golden one million ratings mark.
It was one that was regularly enjoyed in the days when it was fronted by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
But was only achieved TWICE during the tenure of current hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley.
Martin this week announced he was departing ITV’s flagship daytime show after a decade, sparking multiple theories as to what was behind the move.
An insider said: “The figures don’t lie – the record throughout much of the year wasn’t good, particularly when you consider how important the programme is to the channel and the huge costs involved in making a daily, live magazine show.
“This Morning has gone through a great deal of turmoil over the past two years, but ultimately the only real yardstick of success is the ratings.
“All TV shows have seen their viewing figures fall as an increasing number of people watch content online but not at the staggering rate which this morning diminished.”
In early 2021, they had 1.4m tuning in and even in the month of Phil’s departure, when he had a fling with a much younger runner, he and Holly enjoyed a day where they had 1.07m watching.
After that This Morning was still getting viewing figures of between 700,000 and the million mark. They were levels which were maintained up to October last year, when Holly left following an alleged plot to kidnap and murder her.
After that, with presenters such as Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary featuring on an ever-changing rota of stars, they actually enjoyed a bump in ratings.
Around the Christmas period and into the New Year they were regularly getting between a million and 1.3 million viewers each day.
But then Cat and Ben were brought in on March 11,and on only two days this year did they get over a million.
By September they reached a new low of 560,000, and by Monday’s show this week it had only bounced back to a meagre 627,000.
Fingers crossed that whomever takes over from Frizell can figure out how to turn the sinking ship around.
MICHELLE KEEGAN helped the Netflix adaptation of Harlan Coben’s crime novel Fool Me Once become one of the streaming giant’s most-watched series of 2024.
Now, there’s not just one but TWO more Netflix renditions of the American thriller author’s books to look forward to.
A portrayal of his book Missing You, starring Rosalind Eleazir, will air from New Year’s Day, and now it has been confirmed a portrayal of Coben title I Will Find You is also in the pipeline.
In Missing You, Eleazar’s character finds her ex-fiance on a dating app – 11 years after he supposedly disappeared off the face of the Earth.
I Will Find You follows an innocent dad jailed for supposedly murdering his son. He hears word his child may be alive, but must break out of prison to find the truth.
JACK WHITEHALL’S upcoming festive road trip hit a bump after he tried to get Michael Buble on board – as the singer hates Christmas.
The comic’s film for Prime Video, Jack In Time For Christmas, sees him on an epic trip to get home for the big day with the help of pals.
Jack phoned Michael after the singer said on Zoe Ball’s radio show that he was a fan of the comic. Jack pitched the idea of the festive trip – starting in Lapland, and involving “Christmas hijinks”.
But Michael told him: “Jack I’m so sorry, I love you but f***ing hate Christmas. I want to be seen as something other than the Christmas guy.”
Jack joked: “Then I ended up as his therapist – I’m like, ‘You’re so much more than a Christmas guy’.”
Tune in on December 3 to see what the pair get up to.
FLY-on-the-wall legal docu-series The Firm will return for a second season on BBC iPlayer, as lawyer Aamer Anwar and his staff tackle new cases. He said: “Globally, human rights are under attack.
Our team is on the frontline defending those rights, and this series will shine a light.”
CHARLIE COOPER’s Myth Country is back on the box next month, with an alternative Christ-mas special.
The show’s debut series on BBC Three was an autumn hit and this time Charlie takes a look at winter festivals, from barrel-burning in Devon to Morris dancing in Gloucestershire.
