Fans are convinced that the pair are having problems backstage
Alison and Dermot
Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary may come across as close pals on screen, but behind the scenes is all as it seems? This Morning viewers aren’t convinced and instead believe things aren’t quite so cosy backstage.
The presenters, who took over Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford’s Friday slot in 2021, are said to have an increasingly ‘strained’ relationship, something ITV has called ‘absolute nonsense’. But viewers claim to be picking up on a tense atmosphere between the duo, saying the pair have ‘no chemistry’ and are ‘tired of each other’. So what exactly is going on at This Morning?
Tension building
Rumours have been rife for a while – when the cameras are rolling, it’s all laughter and smiles between Alison, 48, and Dermot, 50, but according to insiders, it’s a different story backstage. ‘Alison and Dermot got off to a tricky start,’ one source said. ‘They had very different levels of experience and came from totally different places but they then did start to rub along quite nicely.’ They added, ‘Recently though things have become strained… [bosses] fear that this couple they put together, which they had hoped would carry the show through the tough times it is enduring, may have to present apart a bit more.’
An ITV spokesperson denied the claims, saying, ‘There’s no tension between Alison and Dermot, quite the opposite.’ And while Dermot hasn’t addressed the rumour, Alison seemed to refute the notion of a rift by adding a laughing emoji to a fan’s comment on a video post of her and Dermot dancing. The fan wrote sarcastically, ‘Wow the tension between you two is palpable.’ Though another source has since claimed it’s ‘not all sunshine and rainbows’ between the pair. ‘They’re like siblings in a sense that you can have a minor tiff but you still love one another,’ they said.
And eagle-eyed viewers aren’t sold on ITV’s denials, with one commenting, ‘Alison and Dermot are so tired of each other.’ Another added, ‘Watching Dermot and Alison is like watching paint dry, absolutely no chemistry, they can deny it all they like but there’s tension.’
Time to go?
It’s not only their relationship that fans have something to say about. Viewers of the show have also criticised their presenting abilities, suggesting the pair may have had their day after just two-and-a-half years at the helm.
‘Soo bored of Alison and Dermot,’ one unhappy viewer wrote, while another added, ‘
