ITV This Morning boss Martin Frizell's real reason for quitting and 'it doesn't lie'

The real reason This Morning boss Martin Frizell quit the ailing daytime show revealed after the Phillip Schofield scandal has been revealed. ITV boss Martin will depart next spring, after ten years at the helm, with an insider telling the Sun newspaper: “The figures don’t lie.

“The record through-out much of the year wasn’t good, particularly when you consider how important the programme is to the channel and the huge costs that are 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 figures fall as an increasing number watch content online, but not by the rate at which This Morning has diminished.” Viewing figures have collapsed from highs of 1.4 million to around just 700,000 an episode.

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In September, one episode managed just 500,000. Frizell confirmed his departure was linked to his responsibilities at home as he 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 thanked the team he worked with as he said, “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.”

“This juggernaut is the toughest test for any broadcast journalist,” he said. Kevin Lygo, ITV’s managing director for media and entertainment, said: “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.”