This Morning presenter Alison Hammond has reacted to the show’s boss Martin Frizell’s decision to step down
Image: ITV)
This Morning presenter Alison Hammond has shared her devastation at her co-worker leaving the show.
The show’s editor Martin Frizell confirmed on Wednesday that he has decided to step down from his role after 10 years. Martin, 65, joined ITV in 2014 as Editor of Loose Women before switching to This Morning, which he will leave in Spring 2025. She said: “I’ve worked with Martin for 10 years.
“I’ll be honest with you I’m absolutely devastated. He’s been a real rock for the show. But it’s totally understandable why he’s leaving. You all know about his wife (Fiona Phillip’s). We get why he’s leaving, it’s very amicable. He doesn’t want to leave but he has to for family reasons.”
Speaking on Chris Evans’ Virgin Radio show, Alison continued: ” He’s the one who got me back on TV. He said ‘Alison’s really good why don’t we use it’. So if it wasn’t for him you wouldn’t see Alison Hammond so we owe him a lot. He is the man who got be back on TV in about 2007.
“I started on This Morning and they weren’t using me then Martin came on board and he was the guy who made me the girl. So I’m really thankful to him. He’s a wonderful man. He’ll be sadly missed. Everyone is gutted, we all received an email yesterday. I’ve sent him a message. He’s upset. It’s an emotional situation.”
Announcing his exit, Martin said: “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.”
He added: “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 whilst the gongs are always nice. I’m most proud of the change we made to so many lives, even saving a fair few with our campaigns on anti suicide, menopause, testicular cancer and ‘how – to’ items. This juggernaut is the toughest test for any broadcast journalist.”
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