Alison Hammond has shared a sweet message to Eamonn Holmes and his wife Ruth Langsford after their final Friday show on This Morning.
Eamonn, 61, and Ruth, 60, who fill in for Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on Fridays, have been cut from their weekly slot to be replaced with Alison, 45, and Dermot O’Leary.
After the married presenting duo fought back tears during their final Friday show on This Morning, Alison took to Twitter to share a sweet message.
Sweet: Alison Hammond has shared a sweet message to Eamonn Holmes and his wife Ruth Langsford after their final Friday show on This Morning (pictured with new co-host Dermot O’Leary in October)
The presenter tweeted: ‘A class above the rest @EamonnHolmes @RuthieeL,’ followed by a heart emoji.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Alison is in duty of care meetings after racist trolling over her replacing Eamonn and Ruth on This Morning.
The TV presenter is said to be struggling to cope with the ‘vitriol’ she has been receiving online and it has prompted the channel to step in to ensure she is ‘staying positive’.
The meetings come after previous criticism of ITV over its after-care, after cases involving the Love Island and Jeremy Kyle shows.
Last show: Eamonn, 61, and Ruth, 60, who fill in for Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on Fridays, have been cut from their weekly slot to be replaced with Alison, 45, and Dermot O’Leary
‘A class above the rest!’ After the married presenting duo fought back tears during their final Friday show on This Morning, Alison took to Twitter to share a sweet message
ITV is extremely cautious about mental health matters following a slew of tragedies of guests or hosts of some of its most popular shows.
Former Love Island contestants Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis and host Caroline Flack all died of suicide.
The channel’s former hit The Jeremy Kyle Show was also taken off air permanently after a guest on the show is believed to have taken his own life.
It is understood duty of care meetings – like the one Alison had – are not unusual for the broadcaster’s slate of programmes. It is not known if Dermot, Eamonn or Ruth were offered them.
Insiders told The Sun: ‘Alison is a tough cookie, but the vitriol from some so-called fans of This Morning has been impossible for her to ignore.
Duty of care: Earlier this month, it was reported that Alison is in duty of care meetings after racist trolling over her replacing Eamonn and Ruth on This Morning (pictured in October)
‘As a result of Love Island and Jeremy Kyle tragedies, ITV are very serious about duty of care and arranged to sit down with Alison to see how she was. Alison confided that while the Friday gig is a dream come true, staying positive is a battle.
‘She was given advice on how to stay strong mentally and prepared for what to expect after the announcement was confirmed. Now Alison is determined to move on from the drama and prove to everyone why she deserved this job.’
MailOnline contacted representatives for ITV and Alison for comment at the time.
It comes after Eamonn and his wife Ruth fought back tears during their final Friday show on This Morning, after being axed from the slot.
Teary: It comes after Eamonn and his wife Ruth fought back tears during their final Friday show on This Morning, after being axed from the slot
It was revealed on 30 November that the presenters, both 60, who fill in for Holly and Phillip on Fridays, had been cut from their weekly slot to be replaced with Alison and Dermot.
The duo appeared on screens on Friday for their last show, during which Eamonn made a dig about bosses ‘getting rid’ of them during a chat about discounted trees, before the pair both grew emotional while saying goodbye.
Ruth swiftly shot down the comment and continued the show, while Eamonn took to Instagram to mark their final day with an emotional post, in which he penned: ‘Thanks for the memories, hope we made some for you too.’
He also tweeted: ‘Bye bye to you all on a Friday folks …. Hopefully see u next February for half-term This Morning. Thanks for having us and please have a safe and Merry Christmas.’
Farewell! During their sign off, Eamonn said: ‘You won’t be watching us anymore on a Friday, Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary will be here on Fridays here on in’
During their sign off, Eamonn said: ‘You won’t be watching us anymore on a Friday, Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary will be here on Fridays here on in….
‘Please we would ask you to be as nice and lovely to them, friends of ours as they are, we’re very close to Alison and she has been to us for the past 15 years…
‘We appreciate all of the love you have sent to us today, we send it all back to you, have a very merry Christmas, it’s been lovely having you and I think we will see everybody again.’
Ruth added: ‘We will see everybody again in February, you’ve haven’t got rid of us, we’re back for the half term. So it’s a tricky year for everybody and we hope we helped you a little bit and thank you, have a merry Christmas see you in February’.
Eamonn, who has been demoted with his wife to hosting during school holidays, said: ‘Do you know what I saw yesterday? Outside the opticians was a man selling Christmas trees, discounting them by half price.’
As Ruth responded: ‘They’re struggling to get rid of them, I suppose’, Eamonn responded: ‘I would say so darling. That’s the obvious conclusion. Which is why they’re getting rid of us on a Friday after all this time.’
Shooting him down in jest, Ruth simply said: ‘Oh stop!’
Prior to the show, Eamonn gave a nod to their final day in his Instagram post which saw him and Ruth on-stage at the National Television Awards.
With the picture, he penned a caption reading: ‘We bow out of 15 years of our Friday slot on This Morning today. Thanks for the memories hope we made some for you too. Until February May it be a Happy Christmas to you all.’
In with the new: It was revealed on 30 November that the presenters, both 60, who fill in for Holly and Phillip on Fridays, had been axed from their weekly slot to be replaced with Alison and Dermot (pictured in August)
Beneath the picture, Dermot penned: ‘Masterclass. Humbled to be in your wake.’
During the show, Stephen Mulhern said: ‘I’m really going to miss you two on Fridays I’m really going to miss you’, to which Ruth thanked him.
After it was confirmed that Alison, 45, and Dermot, 47, would be replacing the couple, a media storm exploded with talk of rage behind-the-scenes.
When the news was announced, both Eamonn and his wife Ruth shared a sweet message to This Morning’s new Friday hosts Alison and Dermot amid rift rumours.
Shocker: Eamonn, who has been demoted with his wife to hosting the ITV favourite during holidays, said: ‘Do you know what I saw yesterday? Outside the opticians was a man selling Christmas trees, discounting them by half price’
The two stars both sent out an identical statement which read: ‘It’s a changing of the guard on Fridays from January. We hope you make Alison and Dermot as welcome as you’ve made us over the years. ‘Have a Ball you two!…
‘It’s not Goodbye from us, it’s simply Au Revoir until the next half term.’
The incoming presenters will begin their new coveted jobs on January 8, joining a lineup that also includes main hosts Phillip, 58, and Holly, 39.
Breaking her silence on the shake-up following weeks of speculation, Alison, 45, said in a statement: ‘I never dreamt that when I first joined This Morning – initially for a few months – that I would still be there 19 years later.
A tribute: Prior to the show, Eamonn gave nod to their final day in his Instagram post which saw him on stage at the National Television Awards
Sweet: While Eamonn wrote an impassioned message, Dermot penned a touching response in which he stated he would be ‘humbled’ to take over
‘I genuinely care about the show and the viewers who watch, so it’s a huge privilege and honour to be hosting a show I adore so much. I’m just really excited to be doing even more of what I love alongside the lovely Dermot.’
Sharing his own statement, co-host Dermot said: ‘I’m deeply thrilled and honoured to be joining the This Morning team next year. We have huge shoes to fill and we are well aware what a privilege it is to be stepping into them.
‘Above all, we want to have fun and for you to be able to kick your weekend off with a smile, especially given the year we’ve all had.
‘So I’m delighted to be co-hosting with the living embodiment of sunshine on a rainy day. I can’t wait to get started.’
The news comes after Alison revealed that presenters on This Morning aren’t the best of friends, amid claims she’s locked in a feud with Ruth and Eamonn.
New year, new hosts: The incoming presenters will begin their new coveted jobs on January 8, joining a lineup that also includes main hosts Phillip, 58, and Holly, 39
In an interview conducted before the shakeup was revealed, Alison claimed that only main hosts Holly and Phillip are off-camera pals.
The TV personality, who attended Ruth and Eamonn’s 2010 wedding, told The Sun: ‘We’re not on top of each other, do you know what I mean?
‘Phillip and Holly, they go on holiday together. They genuinely love each other, in a brother and sister way.
‘But literally when we finish everyone wants to go home to their families and see them. We’ve got it just right I think. But no they all go and do their own thing.’
It came after Alison shared a cryptic message, as she took to her Instagram account to tell her followers that ‘strong people don’t tear down others’.
The happy couple: The married duo have been on the show for 15 years
Days earlier, Ruth was forced to deny she was making a dig at Alison, after it was revealed the former Big Brother star will replace her on the flagship daytime show.
Amid the ongoing drama, Alison posted a cartoon picture of a girl and a dolphin rising to the surface of the ocean together, with the words: ‘Strong people don’t put others down. They lift them up.’
The post received an outpouring of love from Alison’s followers and her celebrity pals, with Martine McCutcheon commenting: ‘Yes. 100 percent.’
This Morning’s resident medic, Dr. Zoe Williams commented with a heart and 100% emojis. Ruth previously denied that her comments were ‘directed at anyone in particular’ after criticising reality stars and their rise to fame in a resurfaced interview
Elsewhere on the show, Eamonn approached Matthew Wright to see if his mullet was real before Ruth scolded him due to corona restrictions.
Having been told off, he swiftly said: ‘Oh I’ve been told I can’t, social distancing. I just wanted to see if it was clipped on’.
Starring role: Holly and Phil host the show from Monday to Thursday