Martin Frizell is stepping down as editor of ITV’s This Morning after ten years in charge, it emerged today.
Frizell, who is married to former GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips, joined the broadcaster in 2014 as editor of Loose Women before taking over at This Morning. Phillips, 63, revealed in July 2023 that she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s the previous year.
The move comes after more than a year of scandal at This Morning which saw Phillip Schofield resign in disgrace after more than 20 years on the programme after lying about an affair with a younger colleague.
ITV bosses have been forced to deny ‘turning a blind eye’ to the affair before it came out in public, prompting a huge public spat between Schofield and his former friend Holly Willoughby – who herself resigned after being informed by police of a horrific plot to kill her.
This Morning has also been buffeted by claims from former presenter Dr Ranj of a ‘toxic work culture’ behind the scenes, although ITV said in response that a review it conducted had found ‘no evidence of bullying or discrimination’.
The successor of 65-year-old Frizell – who is This Morning’s longest serving editor – will be announced ‘in due course’, ITV announced today.
A source at the channel said: ‘It is the 24/7 nature of the role which isn’t conducive to Fiona’s illness and next year he thinks that he is going to have to be around so much more for her. His family commitments are about to change and he needs a job that can blend into that rather than a job which takes over his entire life.’
ITV today said Frizell would be leaving his role in spring next year.
The executive said in a statement this afternoon: ‘Next year I’m expecting my family priorities to change so I need to free up time for them.
‘I love my team at ITV and will miss them and the thrill of live telly but it’s an always on, 24 hours a day, seven days a week commitment and I won’t be able to do both.’
An ITV source said: ‘Martin has been talking about this for a while.
‘He and Emma Gormley, the head of daytime, have been regularly discussing when might be the time he decides to leave This Morning.
‘It has been ten years and the last few have been very difficult what with Holly and Phil going and the fall out from that and now it’s time.
‘Martin micro manages everything on This Morning, from the colours to the lighting to the scripts, he is over every bit of detail and he can’t do that with Fiona’s condition deteriorating. It is very sad.’
Frizell added in today’s statement: ‘It’s been a privilege to lead truly great presenters and producers, between us we’ve turned out more than six thousand hours of live topical telly, that’s around 20,000 items and the gongs are always nice.’
He described his pride in campaigns covering subjects such as suicide, menopause and testicular cancer, adding: ‘This juggernaut is the toughest test for any broadcast journalist.’
Kevin Lygo, ITV’s managing director for media and entertainment, paid tribute to him, saying: ‘This Morning is an iconic show in ITV’s schedule, and heading the team for a decade, producing more than ten hours of original, topical, live television every week is an amazing achievement.
‘As a programme and a brand, Martin has made sure the show continues to be a household name, an award-winning staple of the schedule with a growing successful presence in digital and social.
‘On behalf of the ITV Network, we thank Martin and wish him the very best for his future ventures.’
Emma Gormley, managing director for ITV Studios Daytime, added: ‘Martin has brought so much success to This Morning over the last decade which has seen an evolving landscape of changing and diversifying viewing habits.
‘Under Martin, This Morning is now one of the nation’s most engaged formats, on both ITV and social platforms, hitting an amazing 1billion views across this year alone; an incredible legacy.
‘I am proud of the brilliance and energy that he has brought to his role as custodian of this iconic brand.
‘Martin’s decade-long contribution to the longevity and good health of our flagship show has been remarkable, and he leaves it in a place where it can continue to thrive into the next decade and beyond.’
Frizell and Phillips first met when Fiona was working on GMTV as a presenter and Martin was its chief correspondent.
He later popped the question after they had been dating for just four weeks, before they went to Las Vegas to tie the knot in 1997.
She later recalled: ‘We stayed at Caesars Palace with two bathrooms, a steam-room, Jacuzzi, the works. It was all so tacky, but that’s the fun of it.
‘Vegas is not the most romantic place in the world to marry. But I’d always said I didn’t want a traditional white wedding because I hate being the centre of attention. So we decided to keep the moment just for us.
‘We got married at 8.30 at night because we wanted plenty of time to have a meal and – you know – get drunk!’
They now have two children together, Nathaniel and Mackenzie, who are both in their 20s.
In an email to ITV staff announcing his departure, Frizell said: ‘Hello friends, hopefully you have not heard on the grapevine and maybe you weren’t in planning today so this could be a surprise for you – but I am leaving.
‘This will be my last Christmas at a programme that I have loved working on and the best bit was working with you.
‘As you probably know, I have stuff going on in my personal life which quite rightly takes up some time and sadly a show like This Morning is a seven day, always-on job – which I love but I do need to free up even just a few hours for others.
‘I plan to carry on working and I’ll let you know more later but I will be around for a while yet, I have been in talks with Kevin and Emma and they have asked me to stay until spring so it’s business as usual for now and luckily more of my really fun humour, which I know you appreciate!’
According to The Sun, the announcement came as a ‘real shock’ to everyone on the show.
This Morning has suffered a turbulent few years, with the scandal over Phillip Schofield’s affair with a younger colleague causing months of negative headlines.
Last May, former This Morning TV doctor Dr Ranj criticised the ‘toxic’ culture at the show and claimed he was ‘managed out’ after taking his concerns to ‘the top’ of ITV.
Dr Ranj – who is now the resident doctor on the BBC’s Morning Live – said he thought ‘long and hard’ before weighing in on the scandal currently engulfing ITV but decided to speak out ‘in light of recent events’.
Frizell would later be reprimanded for making a bizarre comment about aubergines when a reporter quizzed him about Dr Ranj’s claims.
Asked by a journalist if there is a ‘toxic’ work environment at This Morning, the executive replied: ‘I’ll tell you what’s toxic and I’ve always found it toxic. Aubergine. Do you like aubergine? Do you? Do you like aubergine because I don’t like aubergine. It’s just a personal thing.’
Sitting before a Department of Culture, Media and Sport select committee in June last year, the broadcaster’s head of strategy, policy and regulation Magnus Brooke said that Frizell’s response to the Sky News journalist was ‘ill-judged.’
Schofield himself has made claims about the show and used an appearance on Channel 5’s Cast Away to criticise who he referred to as the ‘three s**ts’ of showbiz, who were later revealed as allegedly being Frizell, Willoughby and Emma Gormley, ITV’s managing director of daytime.
Schofield reportedly believes Frizell ran an ‘organised coup’ to get him sacked after Schofield’s paedophile brother Tim was jailed.
The star is also claimed to feel Ms Gormley treated him ‘unfairly’ before he left ITV last year over an affair with a young producer.
MailOnline asked ITV for comment at the time the reports first surfaced.
Over the past decade, This Morning has been awarded a Bafta and won seven National Television Awards, seven TV Choice Awards and seven Cannes Lions, including two golds.
Frizell is a producer and editor with a particularly distinguished record in the news industry. He is originally from Glasgow, and was born on December 9, 1958.
He qualified as a journalist from Edinburgh Napier University, and got his first job afterwards as a researcher for the BBC.
Between starting his professional career at the BBC, and now producing This Morning, Frizell has taken on a number of roles for a variety of publishers.
His journalism has seen him appear in The Sun, the Daily Mail, and The Mirror, having previously been a correspondent for Thomson Reuters news agency.
Frizell then became Scotland correspondent for GMTV, before going on to edit the channel for ten years.
When GMTV was bought by ITV in 2009, Frizell left, but he come back to work for the new buyers after a brief spell working for Australian breakfast programme Channel 7 Sunrise.
He then edited Loose Women, before getting the big job editing This Morning in 2016, a role he still holds.
Frizell felt the heat of the Schofield scandal in May and June 2023, which led to the ITV boss being quizzed by MPs on the topic, and calls for an inquiry into the affair. In particular, he raised eyebrows with his aubergines comment.This came on the eve of Holly Willoughby’s return to the programme after two weeks off amid Schofield’s departure.
Phillips, who had a range of presenting roles with the channel from 1993 to 2008, has also filled in for Lorraine Kelly on her self-titled programme in the years since ITV took it over.