Martin Frizell has quit This Morning amid his wife Fiona Phillips’s battle with Alzheimer’s. (Image: Getty)
will reportedly face a “major overhaul” following the exit of editor Martin Frizell after 10 years. In his announcement on Wednesday, Martin said he was leaving his role as he is and needed to free up time for them.
A source said that Martin’s exit marks “the end of an era for daytime TV” and “huge changes are afoot”.
They told : “The show has never truly recovered from Holly and Phil’s departure, and this is a chance to move on from the old guard and bring in fresh faces to detoxify the brand once and for all…
“The hope is that a few tweaks here and there can make a huge difference – with presenters added to the roster, and a few exciting new features.”
The insider also said that while ITV will advertise the £155,000 a year role, This Morning’s current Associate Editor Vivek Sharma is tipped to get the job.
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Martin is leaving This Morning after 10 years. (Image: Getty)
Speaking about his departure, Martin said in a statement: “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 continued: “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 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.”
Martin joined ITV in 2014 as the editor of and will leave This Morning in spring 2025.
He is married to former GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips. The 63-year-old revealed last year that she had been
This Morning presenter spoke out about Martin’s exit in an emotional interview with Chris Evans on his Virgin Radio show.
She said: “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. You all know about his wife. We get why he’s leaving, it’s very amicable. He doesn’t want to leave but he has to for family reasons.”