Alison Hammond ‘devastated’ as she says, This Morning boss ‘doesn’t want to leave’

Alison Hammond opened on This morning chief The exit of Martin Frizell of the breakfast show.

After joining the ITV show As editor-in-chief in 2014, Frizell announced yesterday (Nov. 27) his plans to step down in spring 2025.

Following the shock news, presenter Hammond said she was “devastated” in an interview with Chris Evans. Virgin radio show.

“I’ve worked with Martin for 10 years. I’ll be honest with you, I’m absolutely devastated. He’s been an absolute rock for the show. But we totally understand why he’s leaving,” she said.

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“You all know his wife (Fiona Phillips). We understand why he’s leaving, it’s very amicable. He doesn’t want to leave but he has to for family reasons. We all understand that.”

The news comes as Frizell’s wife Phillips, whom he married in 1997, revealed she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2023.

Alison continued: “He was the one who got me back into TV. He said, ‘Alison’s really good, why don’t we use her?’

“So without him you wouldn’t see Alison Hammond, so we owe him a lot. We owe Alison Hammond to him. He’s the man that got me back into TV, because there was a time when I ‘was ‘t, around 2007.

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“I started This morning and they weren’t using me, and then Martin came on board and he said, “Why don’t we use Alison Hammond?” He’s the one who made me the girl.

“So I’m really grateful to him. He’s a wonderful man. We’ll miss him a lot. We’re all talking about it. Everyone is gutted, we all got an email yesterday. I sent him a little message. He is upset. It’s an emotional situation. He’s very emotional.

Announcing his departure, Frizell said in a statement (per The Sun): “Next year I expect my family priorities to change, so I need to make time for them.

“I love my team at ITV and will miss them and the thrill of live TV, but it’s a constant commitment, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and I won’t be able to do both.

“It’s been a privilege to manage some truly wonderful presenters and producers. Between us we’ve produced over 6,000 hours of live current affairs TV. That’s around 20,000 stories, and while the gongs are still pleasant, I am most proud of the change we have brought to so many lives, even saving a few through our campaigns against suicide, menopause, testicular cancer and our articles practices.

“This juggernaut constitutes the toughest test for any broadcast journalist.”

This morning broadcast Monday to Friday on ITV1 and ITVX.