Rebecca Ferguson had accused the show of ‘bullying’ (Picture: Talkback Thames/Shutterstock)
Rebecca Ferguson has hit back at ITV after the broadcaster was grilled over her claims of ‘bullying’ on The X Factor in parliament.
Last week, the Liverpool-born performer, who was a finalist on the ITV singing competition in 2010, called for media watchdog Ofcom to conduct an investigation into reality TV shows to ‘ensure the future safety of contestants.’
Ferguson posted on her Twitter account a screenshot of an email that she said she sent to ITV and Ofcom in 2021 making a ‘formal complaint’ in relation to the treatment of contestants on reality shows, but said ‘my concerns appeared to be fobbed off.’
In the letter, the singer cited reasons for her complaint relating to contestants being ‘mentally manipulated and abused whilst having mental health problems’ and being ‘reduced to tears due to pressure/bullying.’
On Wednesday, ITV bosses, chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall, company secretary Kyla Mullins and managing director Kevin Lygo, addressed a Culture, Media and Sport Committee.
They had been called to speak to MPs over the circumstances of Phillip Schofield’s departure from ITV after he confessed to an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a This Morning runner and accusations of ‘toxicity’ behind the scenes, including the one made by Ferguson.
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Addressing her claims, Dame Carolyn said they take the allegations ‘seriously’ as the broadcaster of the show, but noted that the production company behind it, Fremantle, was who she felt should have met directly with Ferguson.
Mullins, who said that when Ferguson raised the issues in 2021 they passed the concerns along to Fremantle, continued: ‘There was confirmation on, I think, every point that she raised that actually things had moved on and moved on quite significantly, and that they took duty of care very seriously and there had been changes in the industry.’
She added that when Ferguson responded by asking if there was going to be an investigation into her concerns, ITV believed there was ‘nothing really for us as the broadcaster to investigate’ as they felt there had been ‘improvements’ in the areas she raised.
She has called for better care for reality TV contestants (Picture: Rex)
Ferguson has since hit out at the ITV executive’s response, writing on Twitter: ‘No, you are liable – it was your channel that commissioned it, paid the production company to make it, broadcast it to millions of people and took huge revenue from sponsors! It’s your platform and it ALL happened under your watch!
She continued: ‘I ask to be released immediately from all contracts and all NDA agreements that I was pressured to sign without independent legal advice as a participant on an ITV show! I would like to be free from what you bound me to.’
During the committee, ITV had been asked by chair Dame Caroline Dinenage if there was an ‘arrogance in dismissing her concerns and saying, “We’ve dealt with this”.’
The trio of ITV executives appeared before a commitee(Picture: PA)
Dame Carolyn replied: ‘I honestly don’t think that’s our attitude to this.
‘We worked with Fremantle, we asked the producer to deal with it, just as we would deal with it as a producer on behalf of the broadcaster.
‘The broadcaster is broadcasting the show. We now particularly have very strict requirements on duty of care.
MPs were also grilled about Schofield’s exit(Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
‘In 2010/2011, Fremantle would have been dealing with the day-to-day and so (ITV’s chief operations officer) Sarah Clarke put that through to Fremantle because they’re the producer, and said: “Actually, if Rebecca was going to meet with anybody, it should have been Fremantle.” They’re still alive and well.’
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Other stars including Dr Ranj Singh and Eamonn Holmes have also accused ITV of fostering a ‘toxic culture’, with the former saying he was ‘managed out’ when he raised concerns with bosses.
Responding to the claims at the committee, Dame Carolyn said: ‘It deeply disappoints me but we do not recognise that at This Morning, we have tangible evidence to tell you where the vast majority of people at daytime at This Morning are extremely engaged and very motivated.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted ITV and Fremantle for comment.
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MORE : ITV executives deny runner involved in Phillip Schofield affair received ‘pay-off’
ITV had been branded ‘arrogant’ by dismissing her claims by an MP.