Alison Hammond has opened up on This Morning boss Martin Frizell’s exit from the breakfast show.
After joining the ITV show as editor in 2014, Frizell announced his plans to step down in spring 2025 yesterday (November 27).
Following the shock news, presenter Hammond has said she is “devastated” in an interview on Chris Evans’ Virgin Radio show.
“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,” she said.
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“You all know about his wife [Fiona Phillips]. We get why he’s leaving, it’s very amicable. He doesn’t want to leave but he has to for family reasons. We all understand that.”
The news comes as Frizell’s wife Phillips, whom he wed in 1997, revealed she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2023.
Alison continued: “He’s the one who got me back on TV. He said, ‘Alison’s really good, why don’t we use her?’.
“So if it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t see Alison Hammond, so we owe him a lot. We owe him Alison Hammond. He is the man who got me back on TV, because there was a time that I wasn’t, in about 2007.
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“I started on This Morning and they weren’t using me then Martin came on board and he was like, ‘Why are we not using Alison Hammond?’. 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. We are all talking about it. Everyone is gutted, we all received an email yesterday. I’ve sent him a little message. He’s upset. It’s an emotional situation. He is very emotional.”
Announcing his exit, Frizell said in a statement (per The Sun): “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.
“It’s been a privilege to lead truly great presenters and producers. Between us, we’ve turned out more than 6,000 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.”
This Morning airs Mondays through Fridays on ITV1 and ITVX.
Freelance Reporter, Digital Spy
Rebecca is a freelance journalist who specialises in TV and film. After beginning her career as a digital entertainment journalist for the Express & Star and Shropshire Star, she embarked on a freelance career in 2021 contributing to the likes of Metro UK, The Sun, WhatCulture, Screen Rant, FilmHounds Magazine and more.
Her particular field of interest is horror cinema and she has written for genre publications such as Ghouls Magazine and Moving Pictures Film Club.