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Daily Record
Daily Record
Entertainment
Tom Bryant & Sophie Law

Eamonn Holmes fears online trolls plotted to get him sacked before This Morning axe

Sacked Eamonn Holmes claimed online trolls had been trying to get him fired, days after learning he was losing his This Morning slot.

The 60-year-old and wife Ruth Langsford were “furious and upset” after their run on Fridays for the ITV hit was halted.

They will be replaced by Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.

On Friday, speaking to fans on a Facebook chat, Eamonn admitted it was “stressful” knowing social media trolls were plotting to get him sacked, reports The Mirror.

He added: “People say it’s water off a duck’s back but people wake up and they know they can get you sacked... that’s the thing about live TV. It can be very stressful.”

Eamonn confided in recent weeks of fearing he was too “pale, stale and male” for the show – which has drawn criticism for not having enough diversity.

Eamonn and Ruth, 60, will host the main show for six weeks in the summer, when Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby take a break.

An insider said: “ITV has been open about wanting to diversify and make the show ‘less white’ but they haven’t tried to find anything else for them.

“Ruth will remain on Loose Women and they will do school holidays. But Eamonn hasn’t been offered a role anywhere else on the channel.”

Birmingham-born Alison, 45, has been a roving reporter on This Morning for years and is a favourite with fans.

She and former X Factor host Dermot, 47, have been paired as stand-ins before and bosses are impressed by their chemistry.

An insider said: “They have real warmth. It’s time for a change and they are perfect.”

Eamonn infuriated bosses this year when he earned an Ofcom rap for “ill-judged” comments regarding conspiracy theories surrounding 5G phone masts spreading coronavirus.

The watchdog said his remarks, in which he said the media should not just slap down such claims, “risked undermining trust in advice from public authorities and scientific evidence”.

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