'I work with a fantastic team'

This Morning chief says 'scores are being settled

- ELLIE IORIZZO and MIKE BEDIGAN

 THIS Morning editor Martin Frizell said "scores are being settled" when asked about claims of a toxic work environment yesterday.

In the wake of Phillip Schofield's resignation over an affair with a younger male colleague he said people should "read between the lines".

Mr Frizell, left, added: "I think there's some scores being settled. I am working with a fantastic team. This Morning's former resident doctor, Dr Ranj Singh, previously hit out at a "toxic" culture on the show.

He claimed he raised concerns about "bullying and discrimination" two years ago when he worked there and felt like he was "managed out" for whistleblowing.

ITV boss Carolyn McCall said in a letter on Wednesday that an external review conducted following a complaint made by Dr Ranj found "no evidence of bullying or discrimination".

She has been called to a parliamentary committee on June 14 to answer questions about ITV's safeguarding and complaint handling following Schofield's exit.

On Wednesday, she confirmed ITV had instructed barrister Jane Mulcahy, of Blackstone Chambers, to carry out an external review of the facts.

Meanwhile, Eamonn Holmes, who presented This Morning on Fridays with wife Ruth Langsford until 2020, accused Schofield of "toxicity" in an interview on GB News earlier this week.

Mr Frizell said: "All I want to say is, I am working with a fantastic team of mainly women, many mums, a lot of them concerned for their jobs, although we've told them not to be." Schofield, 61, said he was "utterly broken and ashamed" but denied he had "groomed" the younger man.