Bullying and Eggplants on the Agenda as Top ITV, Channel 4 Executives Grilled at U.K. Parliamentary Inquiry
Naman Ramachandran A U.K. parliamentary inquiry that convened to gather evidence for the upcoming media bill pulled no punches, with top TV executives being probed on Tuesday.
Though the proceedings began with the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee chair Caroline Dinenage stating that the session was not about the “widely reported issues” at ITV show “This Morning,” committee members ploughed on nevertheless. (ITV CEO Carolyn McCall has been called to give evidence to the committee next week over an affair between former ITV anchor Phillip Schofield and a young employee.) Appearing before the committee, Magnus Brooke, group director of strategy, policy and regulation at ITV, was asked about the duty of care that the editorial team and senior managers provide to staff, especially young staff, at “This Morning” and ITV in general.
In response, Brooke said: “There’s a very sophisticated and significant system of safeguarding and duty of care at ITV, with a very significant set of policies.” When asked about allegations of bullying at ITV, Brooke replied: “Bullying is absolutely in breach of our code of conduct, it is very clearly set out – we have a set of policies around bullying and harassment at work.
And clearly, bullying is unacceptable.” The committee also referred to a recent incident involving “This Morning” editor Martin Frizell, who said in response to a question from Sky News about a possible “toxic work environment” at “This Morning”: “I’ll tell you what’s toxic and I’ve always found it toxic.
