This Morning

[Ash101]

I have to say it's actually a pleasure to watch Alison grow as a presenter - she seems much more relaxed and in her comfort zone this week compared to when she first started as a main presenter.

Kudos to ITV/This Morning on recognising underlying talent and spending time to bring it out.

Totally agree with you. I'm really enjoying watching her and Dermot on the show this week.

It is actually quite refreshing that ITV promoted her from within the This Morning family instead of parachuting someone in from the outside. Because you can't say she hasn't grafted away on ITV for what, 15 years, since Big Brother.

Do we know if there's a specific reason why Eamonn & Ruth aren't on this week? I was under the impression from the original statements about the presenting line up that they'd be doing all of Holly & Phil's holiday and the summer. Kind of makes a bit of a farce of the whole situation & they should maybe just have get rid of them completely...

It seems that they were only scheduled for one week. He tweeted a fan - can't find the tweet - but found the reason on an Entertainment Daily! article that he and Ruth were only doing scheduled to do the one week.

The tweet said: "It’s only the one week from April 5th this year but really looking forward to it."
https://www.entertainmentdaily.co.uk/tv/...this-week/

Thanks for that. Interesting. I suppose it does actually work in Dermot & Alison's favour because it gives them a whole week to grow and focus instead of just doing it weekly - which might just explain the reasoning.

I wonder how it'll work over the summer, because usually Friday's are a free for all & it's full of random pairings. Presumably we might just see Dermot & Alison remaining in post.

[HarveyB]

Totally agree with you. I'm really enjoying watching her and Dermot on the show this week.

It is actually quite refreshing that ITV promoted her from within the This Morning family instead of parachuting someone in from the outside. Because you can't say she hasn't grafted away on ITV for what, 15 years, since Big Brother.

Do we know if there's a specific reason why Eamonn & Ruth aren't on this week? I was under the impression from the original statements about the presenting line up that they'd be doing all of Holly & Phil's holiday and the summer. Kind of makes a bit of a farce of the whole situation & they should maybe just have get rid of them completely...

It seems that they were only scheduled for one week. He tweeted a fan - can't find the tweet - but found the reason on an Entertainment Daily! article that he and Ruth were only doing scheduled to do the one week.

The tweet said: "It’s only the one week from April 5th this year but really looking forward to it."
https://www.entertainmentdaily.co.uk/tv/...this-week/

Thanks for that. Interesting. I suppose it does actually work in Dermot & Alison's favour because it gives them a whole week to grow and focus instead of just doing it weekly - which might just explain the reasoning.

I wonder how it'll work over the summer, because usually Friday's are a free for all & it's full of random pairings. Presumably we might just see Dermot & Alison remaining in post.

It'll be interesting to see how "This Morning Summer" works this year. IIRC There's usually a 1-2 week period in the middle of the Summer where Eamonn and Ruth don't host at all and they're covered by guest presenters.

My Hunch is that Eamonn and Ruth will do Monday to Thursday for the first few weeks (with Guest presenters on Fridays), then there might be 1 or 2 weeks done by guest presenters and then Allison and Dermot take over Monday to Thursday (with Eamonn and Ruth on Fridays) for the rest of summer. (Or Vice Versa: Alison and Dermot start the first few weeks, Guest Presenters for 2 weeks & Eamonn and Ruth for the remainder of the Summer).

I do think that it was a shame that the guys at This Morning couldn't find a way to split the week between Phil & Holly, Allison & Dermot & Eamonn and Ruth. I think that splitting the week between all 6 of them would have been better than axing Eamonn and Ruth from the main weekday schedule and relegating them to only Holiday cover. In My Opinion, It does seem like they have been all but officially axed and I fear that they could get axed for good at the end of the year

[Brekkie]

I've loved what I've seen of Alison and Dermot and they've had chance to prove they can do the serious stuff as well, and I think giving them a week is a chance for them to show a bit more of what they can do than the more relaxed Friday shows do though. Ruth & Eamonn have served the show well, but phasing them out is the right thing to do. I fully expect this summer to be their last, and wouldn't be surprised to see a week or two knocked off their run as has happened at Easter.

Would be nice to see Dermot and Holly presenting at some point.

[Jamie]

I've loved what I've seen of Alison and Dermot and they've had chance to prove they can do the serious stuff as well, and I think giving them a week is a chance for them to show a bit more of what they can do than the more relaxed Friday shows do though. Ruth & Eamonn have served the show well, but phasing the out is the right thing to do. I fully expect this summer to be their last, and wouldn't be surprised to see a week or two knocked off their run as has happened at Easter.

Would be nice to see Dermot and Holly presenting at some point.

They've done it before for a week in January 2014. I'd be interested to see that happen again if Phil ever had the day off.

[AlexJac0788]

Ruth & Eamonn have served the show well, but phasing them out is the right thing to do. I fully expect this summer to be their last, and wouldn't be surprised to see a week or two knocked off their run as has happened at Easter.

Sorry, according to who is phasing them out 'the right thing to do'? Eamonn & Ruth have a long-established fanbase on the show, so fully axing them would upset - and most likely turn away - a lot of viewers. Just reading TM's social media comments shows how upset people are at the fact that E&R are practically being sidelined as it is.

There's absolutely no reason for Eamonn & Ruth to leave the show. They attract audiences that Phillip & Holly don't (and vice versa), which is what has made the show so successful; everyone is catered for. Even better if you like both pairings!

As much as I'm not a fan of the Alison & Dermot pairing, there can still be space for them whilst retaining Eamonn & Ruth.

[RDJ]

Allison is garnering a lot of criticism on the gossip websites for her insensitive comments about Prince Philip.
I caught this myself and she said we were “expecting him to die” and also claimed it to be Prince William’s funeral too. I just think it was a case of unfortunate wording used by Allison there.
What I found worse was how Dermot treated the phone in segment yesterday about rowing families. He started it off by saying “he had a bad feeling about this phone-in” and in doing so seemingly tried to rush them and showed little or no interest in the callers story by just saying “Hello caller what’s the problem?”.
He then proceeded to interrupt her just 15 seconds to cut to Deirdre in which then had to cause Deirdre to ask her to continue to get the full story from the woman.

Don’t get me wrong I actually really enjoyed Allison and Dermot during the lighter chattier moments of the show which they seem to relish in. But if there’s a part of the show they don’t seem as interested in or not as fun - they seem to make it quite obvious to the viewer, whether unintentionally or not.

[Meridian MR]

Ruth & Eamonn have served the show well, but phasing them out is the right thing to do. I fully expect this summer to be their last, and wouldn't be surprised to see a week or two knocked off their run as has happened at Easter.

Sorry, according to who is phasing them out 'the right thing to do'? Eamonn & Ruth have a long-established fanbase on the show, so fully axing them would upset - and most likely turn away - a lot of viewers. Just reading TM's social media comments shows how upset people are at the fact that E&R are practically being sidelined as it is.

There's absolutely no reason for Eamonn & Ruth to leave the show. They attract audiences that Phillip & Holly don't (and vice versa), which is what has made the show so successful; everyone is catered for. Even better if you like both pairings!

As much as I'm not a fan of the Alison & Dermot pairing, there can still be space for them whilst retaining Eamonn & Ruth.

There is no reason whatsoever why "phasing them out is the right thing to do"! Eamonn and Ruth are well established and very popular.
Alison and Dermot have been receiving mainly awful feedback on social media and other forums. They aren't relatable, don't have the warm chemistry together that is required for this programme and have no emotional attachment to the items. Alison has already made headlines this week for insensitive and badly worded questioning (such as "we were expecting him to die and everything like that"). Doing the pre-recorded celebrity interviews she used to do is a world away from the type of live interviews on a range of topics that the programme does every day. I'm sure she's a nice fun lady, and would be great on other programmes, but presenting this show she is out of her depth. Even Dermot's body language and script delivery comes across as if he doesn't want to be there. The presenters of this programme need the experience and versatility to be able to keep viewers drawn in, no matter how bizarre some of the items are - Eamonn, Ruth, Phillip, Holly, Fern, Richard and Judy do or did this well.

[Brekkie]

Allison is garnering a lot of criticism on the gossip websites for her insensitive comments about Prince Philip.
I caught this myself and she said we were “expecting him to die” and also claimed it to be Prince William’s funeral too. I just think it was a case of unfortunate wording used by Allison there.

William clearly a mistake (they happen) but if she is getting flack for saying his death was expected and others are not when virtually all commentators have said that over the last few days then that is yet another example of our racist, bullying, clickbaiting, tabloids I'm afraid.

[HarveyB]

Sorry, according to who is phasing them out 'the right thing to do'? Eamonn & Ruth have a long-established fanbase on the show, so fully axing them would upset - and most likely turn away - a lot of viewers. Just reading TM's social media comments shows how upset people are at the fact that E&R are practically being sidelined as it is.

There's absolutely no reason for Eamonn & Ruth to leave the show. They attract audiences that Phillip & Holly don't (and vice versa), which is what has made the show so successful; everyone is catered for. Even better if you like both pairings!

As much as I'm not a fan of the Alison & Dermot pairing, there can still be space for them whilst retaining Eamonn & Ruth.

As I've said before, they could have cut Phil and Holly's days down with Alison & Dermot doing Thursday and Eamonn & Ruth staying put on Fridays. I think that would have been a much better thing to do rather than completely axe them from non Half Term weeks.

As much as I don't want Eamonn and Ruth to completely leave This Morning, I do have a feeling that they'll be gone by the end of the year. Axing them from non-Half Term weeks just seems to me that they want to completely axe them in the near future.

There is no reason whatsoever why "phasing them out is the right thing to do"! Eamonn and Ruth are well established and very popular.
Alison and Dermot have been receiving mainly awful feedback on social media and other forums. They aren't relatable, don't have the warm chemistry together that is required for this programme and have no emotional attachment to the items. Alison has already made headlines this week for insensitive and badly worded questioning (such as "we were expecting him to die and everything like that"). Doing the pre-recorded celebrity interviews she used to do is a world away from the type of live interviews on a range of topics that the programme does every day. I'm sure she's a nice fun lady, and would be great on other programmes, but presenting this show she is out of her depth. Even Dermot's body language and script delivery comes across as if he doesn't want to be there. The presenters of this programme need the experience and versatility to be able to keep viewers drawn in, no matter how bizarre some of the items are - Eamonn, Ruth, Phillip, Holly, Fern, Richard and Judy do or did this well.

I agree, I don't think Allison and Dermot have Much Chemistry together and it's clear that they don't work together. I get this is probably about diversity, etc but I feel like Rochelle Humes would have been a much better choice than Alison Hammond. I honestly doubt Alison and Dermot will last and I can see at least one of them gone by the end of the year

[Brekkie]

Sorry, according to who is phasing them out 'the right thing to do'? Eamonn & Ruth have a long-established fanbase on the show, so fully axing them would upset - and most likely turn away - a lot of viewers. Just reading TM's social media comments shows how upset people are at the fact that E&R are practically being sidelined as it is.

There's absolutely no reason for Eamonn & Ruth to leave the show. They attract audiences that Phillip & Holly don't (and vice versa), which is what has made the show so successful; everyone is catered for. Even better if you like both pairings!

As much as I'm not a fan of the Alison & Dermot pairing, there can still be space for them whilst retaining Eamonn & Ruth.

As I've said before, they could have cut Phil and Holly's days down with Alison & Dermot doing Thursday and Eamonn & Ruth staying put on Fridays. I think that would have been a much better thing to do rather than completely axe them from non Half Term weeks.

You don't sacrifice your A-team to appease your B-team or create a C-team. The only justification may have been giving them Mondays whilst Dancing on Ice was on if Covid procedures required such a move.

[JamesWorldNews]

It's hard to believe that Eamonn and Ruth have been doing This Morning together for the best part of 20 years! Their first joint appearance was back in 2002 during the Phil and Fern era. Granted, they haven't been on every single week for 20 years, but still a fair old stretch!

The show will miss them if they leave. Viewers love them. Why change a good formula?

One of our correspondents above mentioned Dermot's body language and a "don't want to be here" vibe. I couldn't agree more. Dermot and Allison are both great broadcasters. However, they don't work well together. (Personal opinion, of course).

[HarveyB]

It's hard to believe that Eamonn and Ruth have been doing This Morning together for the best part of 20 years! Their first joint appearance was back in 2002 during the Phil and Fern era. Granted, they haven't been on every single week for 20 years, but still a fair old stretch!

The show will miss them if they leave. Viewers love them. Why change a good formula?

One of our correspondents above mentioned Dermot's body language and a "don't want to be here" vibe. I couldn't agree more. Dermot and Allison are both great broadcasters. However, they don't work well together. (Personal opinion, of course).

Dermot's okay as an occasional stand in but not as a main Friday Presenter/Main Half Term presenter and I can see him replaced at the end of this year by someone who's got alot more chemistry

[XIII]

I think if Ben Shephard didn't have GMB and Tipping Point commitments, he'd be perfect for This Morning. Whenever he was paired with Holly, Ruth or Rochelle, he was quite good.

[Meridian MR]

I think if Ben Shephard didn't have GMB and Tipping Point commitments, he'd be perfect for This Morning. Whenever he was paired with Holly, Ruth or Rochelle, he was quite good.

Yes, Ben is more suited to TM than Dermot is. He was good with Ruth and Holly.
Just looking at social media and there is a lot of criticism again today for Alison and Dermot. It seems there have been quite a few slip-ups this week.

[jsnbts]

I think if Ben Shephard didn't have GMB and Tipping Point commitments, he'd be perfect for This Morning. Whenever he was paired with Holly, Ruth or Rochelle, he was quite good.

Yes, Ben is more suited to TM than Dermot is. He was good with Ruth and Holly.
Just looking at social media and there is a lot of criticism again today for Alison and Dermot. It seems there have been quite a few slip-ups this week.

Is there anything but criticism on social media these days?

I find it rather amusing that when the 'slip-ups' are made by Phil and Holly they're paraded around the internet like they've just discovered comedy but when it's Alison and Dermot they should be axed immediately. Funny that..

I also presumed in the background that Eamonn and Ruth were part of the decision to step back a little, it certainly seems Eamonn's health isn't what it used to be, but I stand corrected if they've actually publicly said something to the contrary, rather than tabloid sensationalism.