MP John Nicolson has claimed ITV staff have an offensive nickname for This Morning viewers, which has led disgusted and angry fans to hit back.
ITV‘s chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall, managing director Kevin Lygo and general counsel and company secretary Kyla Mullins were questioned by a government committee on Wednesday (June 14). It followed the fallout from Phillip Schofield’s “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger colleague.
ITV’s nickname for This Morning viewers ‘revealed’ by MP
At one point during the hearing, MP John Nicolson asked: “Can you confirm that daytime production staff on This Morning referred to their audience in production meetings as ‘Tower Block Traceys?'”
Dame Carolyn McCall leaned back in shock, as Kevin Lygo asked for the MP to repeat himself. The managing director said he had never heard that phrase, as did Dame Carolyn McCall.
It’s truly dismissive.
The MP alleged that a “number of people” had told him that this nickname was used, with the ITV bosses once again claiming they had not heard it. MP John Nicolson added: “It’s truly dismissive. If an idea is too high-brow I’m told that people say: ‘Would that really appeal to the Tower Block Traceys?'”
The three bosses were once again seen shaking their heads, with the MP adding it was a “horrible thing to say”. Dame Carolyn McCall said: “It’s not what ITV would be looking at as a target audience,” and added that “we wouldn’t describe our audience that way”. She added the daytime team “really care” about the audience.
Disgusted This Morning viewers hit back over ITV nickname
As the alleged nickname was revealed, many viewers of This Morning hit back. One person wrote: “How are all the ‘Tower Block Traceys’ out there @thismorning? Doing well, I trust? Or are you justifiably insulted? I wouldn’t watch this show any more if they paid me.”
A second viewer also ranted: “What’s this about ITV referring to their audience as ‘tower block Traceys’? What a bunch of snobby [bleeps].” A third disgruntled fan added: “Being a Tower Block Tracy today. I hope they don’t have too many highbrow segments on #ThisMorning because I won’t like it.”
Hey @ITV daytime production team 👇 from all us “Tower Block Traceys” #ThisMorning #ITVThisMorning https://t.co/TTdLOnFS0Z pic.twitter.com/R88JVopujW
— Baroness Beckie (@Beckie_Miller_) June 15, 2023
Another viewer also wrote: “‘Tower Block Traceys’ really??? I’ll never watch another episode of This Morning. What an absolutely disgusting way to refer to the viewers at home! In fact, the whole show should just be scrapped! It’s well past its sell-by-date anyway, as are the producers!”
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