The chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage, has revealed The X Factor will be the focus of a probe into goings on at ITV. Other shows such as This Morning are also under scrutiny.
Speaking on TalkTV, Dame Caroline said the inquiry will look at a number of shows, with Love Island and Britain’s Got Talent also being named. She is due to grill Dame Carolyn McCall, chief at ITV, this week.
Questions for ITV
“We’ve got a lot of questions,” Dame Caroline told TalkTV, before adding: “I’m not interested in a witch hunt.”
She went on to explain she wasn’t “interested very much in the Phillip Schofield issue”, but was more focused on “the systems and processes at ITV and other public service broadcasters to ensure [they] don’t have undue influence over the careers and lives of young members of staff”.
Rebecca Ferguson hits out at The X Factor
Earlier this week The X Factor runner-up Rebecca Ferguson spoke out against ITV, admitting she was breaking “multiple NDAs” to do so.
Rebecca shot to fame in 2010 when she competed on The X Factor aged 23. She ultimately came in second place behind Matt Cardle. But Rebecca, now 36, has become the latest outspoken critic of ITV in the weeks following Phillip Schofield’s scandal.
Taking to Twitter, Rebecca wrote: “I’m bound by multiple NDAs but I cannot continue to not live in my full truth. Being silent is worse than the hell I’ve lived through for years.” The singer said she “emailed the senior leadership of ITV” in 2021, “asking for an investigation of reality shows including codes of conducts, post-show aftercare and freedom of choice of management.”
Rebecca alleged ITV COO Sarah Clarke “apologised for any personal bad experiences” but “declined to investigate further”. Rebecca said Sarah insisted they follow a Duty of Care charter.
She then contacted MP Caroline Dinenage, the Chair of the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee. Rebecca wrote: “Please ask for an independent inquiry, interview myself and ALL previous staff, and witnesses from 2004 until present. What you’ll uncover is beyond terrifying!”
She also shared emails she sent to ITV in 2021, which alleged she had “a traumatic experience away from the cameras” and “not only experienced but witnessed some terrible foul play from a number of directions”.
Other reality stars such as Kerry Katona and Jodie Marsh have also criticised how they were treated by ITV.
Entertainment Daily has contacted representatives for ITV.
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