Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is in hospital

I think people under estimate Alison and Dermot’s abilities somewhat. Presenters are their to handle a variety stories, especially right now. This Morning does some human interest COVID stories and a news review, so it’s certainly not all frivolity. Yes neither Dermot or Alison are of a journalistic background but that’s not what is required for the show they’re doing and that doesn’t immediately excuse them from covering something serious or using a toned down presentation. Eamonn and Ruth and Holly and Phil were not employed for journalistic background reasons either, despite some of them having done so. All six, at various time points, were employed to be good ‘personalities’ on a magazine programme.

If a story is major enough, ITN will have a journalist to go on air from their studios with special updates/programming. The only time I can see a This Morning presenter being replaced because of a news event would be for a ITN person to co-present, someone such as Julie Etchingham or perhaps even a Susanna Reid or Charlotte Hawkins type. It could well be sometime before This Morning airs in the event The Queen dies, as pointed out there’s a whole host of succeeding events that will potentially favour an ITN/ITV Breakfast produced programme.

After that, it’s worth mentioning a more human reaction from Alison and Dermot or Phillip and Holly might also be fitting in the situation and be alternative to the ITV News updates/programmes. And potentially an alternative to what the BBC are doing too as the news is going to be, naturally, very serious and quite formal.

Some people on here seem to think if you're not a journalist or from a journalistic background then you're unworthy or not capable of being a good presenter.

They would die of shock if they knew of some of the news presenters who don't have a journalism degree, or a degree of any kind for that matter, and instead worked their way up to the very top of national and international news bulletins/channels based solely on years of hard work and the experience that came with it.

I know what you mean.

So if you’re moving house and get appointed a conveyancer you don’t ask whether they are a solicitor, conveyancer or even have a law degree but god forbid a non journalist delivers the news on This Morning.

I don't think this has been claimed on this forum, ever. However, suggesting someone with journalistic experience might be better at handling a news story or moderating a current affairs debate is perfectly reasonable.

I think Alison and Dermot will be fine, it's just that there'll be an expectation that it's given to ITN because it's a Cat 1 news story. Nothing more to it than that.

Of course there are good presenters who aren't journalists. 
However, journalists usually have strong interviewing and debating skills, on top of a genuine interest and knowledge of news stories. You don't have to be a journalist to be able to host a topical magazine programme, but it is certainly an advantage when it comes to certain items.


If I had to choose a This Morning presenter who I'd rather watch break royal death news during the programme, I would prefer Eamonn rather than Dermot. That's nothing against Dermot, but Eamonn's biggest strength is his journalistic experience - and the same would go for Richard, Judy, Fern and Ruth.

But upon the Queen's death they would probably hand over sharpish to ITN anyway, I'd imagine.

As others have said Alison and Dermot would be fine - although I think it is unlikely they'd host the first show in the event anyway as if news broke in the morning they'd probably air ITV News through till lunchtime, and if it broke the day before I think most shows and bulletins would bring in their main presenters over the Friday stand-ins.

Reflecting on what is being said online is perfectly acceptable IMO. The interactive nature of the show means audience views tend to feature quite heavily!



After seeing various snippets from their current stint, as well as audience reaction, I just don't think Alison & Dermot have the gravitas to hold down a live 150 minute programme like TM. Obviously, my original point was in relation to the subject of this thread and I appreciate how unlikely it would be that they'd remain on air for such an announcement, but my wider point is that TM does feature its fair share of hard news and I have yet to see evidence of either presenter having a solid ability to handle such things - and why would they quite frankly? It's not what they specialise in and, as such, the show's bosses are at fault, not Alison or Dermot. They are excellent at what they do, in terms of celebrity interviews and primetime hosting respectively, but taking on this gig just isn't it.



Not at all - I think Rylan, for instance, is someone who can handle just about anything on the programme...although the success of that did sometimes depend on who he was presenting with. And that's another issue - the pairing of Alison and Dermot is extremely random. Having at least one person with experience of journalism would help.

What a load of rubbish. Dermot is an experienced broadcaster, not just a "primetime presenter" and has been hosting 2-3 hour radio shows weekly since 2004. This Morning didn't just pick a couple of people from last years Love Island to host the show, they picked one of the best live broadcasters in the country with nearly 25 years experience and someone who has had a successful role on the show for almost 20 years.

And nobody starts in a role fully experienced in that role. Phil has nearly 20 years under his belt at This Morning now - but didn't in 2002. However had he been dismissed then as just an ex-Saturday morning presenter he'd never had got the chance to get all that experience.

Not to mention he's hosted things like the Royal Wedding and also did a Young Person's Question Time a few years back.

Look at Ben Shephard, he's not a journalist and yet he's presents Good Morning Britain and previously GMTV and no one would say he's incapable.

In the context of presenting a news-based story on This Morning they'd be perfectly fine. It's not Newsnight. Anything really big or requiring in-depth coverage would be handled at ITN.