Kim Woodburn has called for a “full investigation” into ITV as she claims some of the channel’s shows “thrive on bullying and unkindness”.
The TV personality, 81, infamously clashed with her former Celebrity Big Brother housemate Coleen Nolan during an appearance on Loose Women in August 2018.
Kim has now told how the recent controversy surrounding ITV – which comes on the back of Philip Scofield’s departure from the channel after admitting he had an affair with a much younger colleague – has definitely brought back the feelings she felt after her Loose Women ‘ appearance.
She told New! Magazine: “The recent talk about toxicity on ITV definitely brought those feelings back to me. I’ve said it all along and now I feel like I’ve finally been proven right.
“ITV needs a full investigation – some of their shows thrive on bullying and unkindness.
She continued: “I think Philip should have been released a long time ago but ITV allowed this kind of behaviour.”
Kim clashed with Coleen in the Celebrity Big Brother house weeks before her appearance on Loose Women, which ITV said she agreed to “on the condition that she was in favor of reconciling with Coleen”.
But Kim now insists she was “exploited” by ITV in 2018 and claims the channel should “provide a better duty of care”.
She added: “ITV assured me it wouldn’t be a tough match but it was exactly that. Every time I’ve performed before, there’s always been live coverage of the show in the dressing room – but there wasn’t this time.
“I felt exploited by ITV. They made fun of me. I was laughed at and no one stepped in to stop it.
An ITV spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘As we said five years ago, Kim agreed to appear on the show on the understanding that it was about reconciling with Coleen.
“It was never intended to upset Kim and the committee tried to comfort her. Kim was offered and accepted support from ITV after the program and Ofcom found the program not in breach of the Broadcasting Code.
Kim recently launched another blistering attack on Holly Willoughby, calling for the presenter to be sacked from This Morning.
The former celebrity cleaner discussed the scandal that engulfed the show on GB News yesterday, hours after Holly, 42, returned to ITV after two weeks off air.
When Kim was asked if she believed what Holly said in an emotional monologue about her former co-star at the start of This Morning, she replied: ‘Absolutely not, she’s a little bitch.
“Why did he have to mention to her that he lied? It was done and said, he lost his job. Why is he rubbing it in? She should be fired.
When asked why she has such a problem with Holly, Kim replied: “Look, I’ve worked with Holly, I’ve been on the couch with them three or four times.
“I never liked the way he acted and I never liked the way he gave it all up – I couldn’t stand it.”
Kim – who has launched several attacks on Philip and Holly in recent weeks – previously gave her opinion on whether This Morning should be axed.
She said: “I have very mixed emotions about this. A good morning show with families and mothers sitting there is a good thing…
“This show is so tainted and disgusting. I don’t want to see it go out, but I think it has to.
“I think it should come back in a different format with different people. It was so ruined by Scofield, but let’s not give up and start over.
“It needs to be removed and reviewed and put on a decent show again.”
Kim continued her scathing assessment of Holly when she was told she wanted to resume the show next Monday on her own, replying: “I bet she does that bit of b***h, I bet she does.”
She added: “In all the years she’s been on this show she’s never been on, all we hear is ‘oh Phillip’ hahaha.
“She was aiding and abetting him to get a big payday, to get shot with that little bitch. A skinny, skinny little woman, she will not be missed.
Holly is reportedly determined to fight to keep her place on the sofa despite the chaos of the programme.
She is paid £730,000 a year for the presenting gig, but has a growing business empire estimated at £10million.
Holly told This Morning viewers yesterday “we gave our love and support to someone who wasn’t telling the truth” as she returned to the show for the first time since Philip left.
Philip left the show after admitting to an affair – which he called “inadvisable, not illegal”.
In an interview last week, he said Holly, who was unaware of the affair, had ignored his messages apologizing and begging for forgiveness.
In her full statement, Holly said: “Hello. Good morning. Josie (Gibson), thank you for being here. Okay, deep breathing. First, how are you? It’s really very strange sitting here without Phil.
“And I imagine you may have felt a lot like me – shaken, disturbed, disappointed, concerned for the well-being of people on all sides of what’s going on, and full of questions.
“You, me and all of us at This Morning gave our love and support to someone who wasn’t telling the truth, who was acting in a way that they themselves felt they needed to leave ITV and walk away from the career they are loved. That’s a lot to process.
“And it’s just as hard to see what the toll is on their own mental health.” I think what unites us now is the desire to treat each other for the health and well-being of all.
“I hope that as we begin this new chapter and return to a place of warmth and magic that this show holds for all of us, we can find strength in each other.
“And from the bottom of my heart can I just thank you for all your kind messages. And thanks for being here this morning. Me, Josie (Gibson), Dermot (O’Leary), Alison (Hammond), Craig (Doyle) and every single person who works on this show will continue to work hard every day to bring you this show that we love ‘
Before the show aired, friends of Philip said he wouldn’t be tuning in to watch Holly’s return to the sofa as it would be too “triggering” for him.
In an interview with The Sun, he apologized to Holly for lying to her about his relationship, saying: “I’ve lost my best friend.”
He added: “I let her down. I missed the whole show. I disappointed the viewers. Holly didn’t know, and she was one of the first messages I sent to say, “I’m so, so sorry for lying to you.”
“She didn’t answer and I understand why she didn’t either. So yes, if anyone is somehow associating Holly with this, that is absolutely, completely false.
The duo have presented the show together since 2009 and also co-hosted Dancing On Ice.
Holly’s return comes as the ITV show has been plagued by claims of “toxicity”, including from former This Morning presenter Eamon Holmes, who claimed there was a “complete cover-up” of the Scofield affair.