'I’m angry, upset and acutely embarrassed' Adrian Chiles slams ITV for Daybreak dumping
- Says he and Bleakley were promised they would leave 'with their dignity intact'
By Paul Revoir and Andrea Magrath
Last updated at 8:32 AM on 20th November 2011
It appears that this morning's headlines revealing Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley's sudden axeing from Daybreak came as just as much a surprise to the hosts as it did to everybody else.
First Bleakley, 32, wrote a sarcastic tweet, posting: 'What a lovely headline to wake up to.'
And now her co-host Chiles, 44, has angrily lashed out at their ITV bosses saying he is 'angry, upset and acutely embarrassed.'
Furious: Adrian Chiles has slammed his bosses at ITV for his sudden axeing from Daybreak
Speaking to the Sunday People newspaper, the presenter reveals that he and Bleakley were informed that their run on the breakfast show would end in the New Year but that 'we were assured we could go with our dignity intact.'
'That’s obviously not happened,' he told the paper. 'We were enjoying the show and we thought things were going well. We didn’t want to go.'
Chiles was pictured looking grim as he watched the Bromwich Albion and Bolton Wanderers game today at The Hawthorns in West Bromwich.
'What a nice surprise': Christine Bleakley tweeted about the news this morning
'It was a bolt out of the blue and has come as a big blow to our careers that we’ve been dumped at this time,' Chiles added. 'Dark forces have leaked it for their own ends and I am mightily unhappy about it.'
His equally miffed co-host Christine wrote on her Twitter page this morning: 'Morning, what a lovely headline to wake up to. My sarcasm comes across in this tweet I hope.'
But the Northern Irish presenter, who dates Chelsea star Frank Lampard, at least knows where her next pay cheque is coming from.
She was last night confirmed to be replacing Holly Willoughby as host of Dancing on Ice.
Sour mood: Chiles looked grim as he watched the Bromwich Albion and Bolton Wanderers game today at The Hawthorns in West Bromwich
Bleakley followed her tweet up with: 'Aside from that, thank you so much for all your Dancing on Ice good luck messages.
'Holly is a legend and she's a tough act to try and follow so feeling really nervous but incredibly excited.'
Bleakley and Chiles, who were heralded as the stars of morning TV when they defected from the BBC last year on £1million-a-year deals, are set to leave ‘within weeks’, it is understood.
Their appearance on Daybreak has failed to capture the public’s imagination.
Surpirse: It emerged this morning that Bleakley and Chiles are to leave Daybreak in a matter of weeks
The programme has struggled to get ratings beyond 700,000 viewers – fewer than its predecessor GMTV.
The move comes after the show recently appointed a new editor and as channel bosses plan for a major revamp in the new year.
It is understood that both Bleakley, 32, who is engaged to footballer Frank Lampard, and Chiles, 44, have been told of the decision. Last night ITV refused to deny the claims that the pair would be leaving the show, which had a £15million launch last September.
A senior source at the commercial broadcaster said: ‘Do we want to be running a show where we are happy being No 2? No, we don’t.’
Moving on: Christine will replace Holly Willoughby as co-host of Dancing on Ice while Adrian will continue to present ITV's football coverage
Daybreak gets about half the number of viewers as its rival, BBC Breakfast.
Another source said: ‘They ran out of time. The advertising numbers had fallen off a cliff because Adrian and Christine were such a turn-off. In today’s climate, that was unacceptable.’
It is not known whether ITV will opt for big names or unknowns as replacement presenters.
According to the report, Chiles, who is also the broadcaster’s main presenter for its football coverage, had accepted that he had been dropped from the show.
Axed: It is understood the presenting pair have been informed of the decision they would both be leaving the show
But co-host Miss Bleakley, whose WAG lifestyle was said to have been a turn-off for viewers, is reportedly asking for it to be presented as if she is leaving for new projects.
It comes as ITV announced that Miss Bleakley would replace Holly Willoughby in co-presenting Dancing On Ice with Phillip Schofield, after the This Morning host signed up to present the BBC’s new singing talent show, The Voice.
Bleakley, seen here with footballer fiancee Frank Lampard, will replace Holly Willoughby as presenter of Dancing On Ice in January
It is hoped a new role for Miss Bleakley will give her a chance to reinvent herself and prove she is a valuable member of ITV’s stable of talent.
ITV bosses have hired former BBC Breakfast editor David Kermode to be the show’s new editor, and it is expected other staff will lose their jobs.
No laughing matter: Daybreak only gets around half the viewers of its breakfast rival on BBC
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