Eamonn Holmes dismisses claims ITV viewers don't like him

Eamonn Holmes' representative have dismissed claims that he was replaced on This Morning because ITV viewers don't like him.

The Mail On Sunday published a report claiming executives had carried out extensive analysis which found that Holmes was no longer popular with the audience of the daytime TV show.

Holmes' agent Jonathan Shalit said: "I don’t believe a ‘source’ said anything that was official as ITV have always behaved with great respect to InterTalent.

Read more: Eamonn Holmes blasts 'sly' ITV for the way it handled his 'This Morning' departure

"The facts are simple. Eamonn is one of the most loved broadcasters in UK. His GB News show now often beats his Sky News rival and the BBC have recommissioned his show Farm to Feast."

ITV said: "Eamonn was a key part of the This Morning family for 15 years and we wish him all the very best."

The 62-year-old TV presenter had recently criticised ITV for its "sly" handling of his exit from This Morning.

He told he Daily Mail: "I'm all for TV companies being able to choose who works for them, but it would be nice if you were told why you were going.

"They're sly. They didn't want to announce that I'd been dropped because it would adversely affect audience figures, so they made it look as if I'd walked away from them rather than the other way round."

Holmes — who has guest hosted the ITV daytime show on and off since 2006 — recently joined GB News after it was revealed he and wife Ruth Langsford would no longer fill in for This Morning regular presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on Fridays.

Fans were upset at the end of last year when Holmes and Langsford were dropped as Friday presenters on the show in favour of Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond.

But the married couple returned to present every episode of This Morning over the summer, while Willoughby and Schofield took their break between July and September.

Holmes' wife Langsford, 61, recently said: "I'm still at ITV, with This Morning and Loose Women."

Former GMTV presenter Holmes has now moved to present Breakfast with Eamonn and Isabel alongside Isabel Webster on GB News.

Read more: Eamonn Holmes 'clarifies' comments over 5G after hundreds of complaints

In January he said of his departure from ITV: “I don’t have any issues with that at all.

“I just have issues with why they can’t tell you your time is up. Just have a conversation, any conversation. I was given no reason why I was blocked."

In 2020 Holmes' comments on 5G technology and coronavirus sparked over 400 complaints to broadcasting regulator Ofcom.

Watch: Eamonn Holmes' debut on GB News