ITV chiefs could have another little rebellion on their hands this morning after staff at flagging breakfast show Daybreak reacted with fury to the news that programme editor Ian Rumsey had been ditched and much-maligned presenters Adrian Chiles had been kept on.
The news comes just days after senior members of the Coronation Street hit out at the show’s producer for showing favouritism to certain cast members and costing the soap three million viewers through a series of tediously protracted storylines.
But if the stars of Weatherfield were demanding that their leader be knocked-off, then the crew of Daybreak certainly weren’t and are said to be taking their anger out on the show’s charmless presenters. Recent reports suggest the breakfast show’s audience has now fallen to 700,000.
“They are very talented people but are they right for ITV breakfast?” one budding Spartacus told The Sun.
“It doesn’t matter what we think – the viewers are answering that question. The wrong person is going here. It’s like a football team losing and the chairman has to go. But you’ve still got the same two strikers up front.”
Yet this pair of TV Heskey’s are unlikely to be sacked as they are both on large contracts which would need to be paid off should they be shown the door.
Rumsey is not set to leave Daybreak until the end of the year but ITV Studios will wade in during September to try and stem the flow of crap telly before it’s too late.
In an email to staff, Rumsey seemed upbeat about the decision, saying: “The transition to ITV Studios is a logical and exciting step. I also think it’s a suitable time for me to make this move. The past year has been tough sometimes. Tiring, yes. And fun, definitely.”
