Future looks Bleak for Christine and Adrian Chiles – but ITV can’t afford £4million to axe under fire Daybreak presenters

By Daily Mail Reporter


No one is safe: Job security hangs in the balance for Adrian and Christine


Christine Bleakley and Adrian Chiles are facing the axe from Daybreak, but ITV is struggling to afford the £4million pay-off.

Just ten months into their flagging breakfast television careers, bosses are desperate to sack them as the show is 'horribly underperforming'.

The former BBC One Show presenters have been branded nothing more than 'an expensive headache'.


The co-hosts both signed £3m three-year deals, meaning if they were sacked now ITV would still be forced to paid them £2m each.

A source told the Daily Mirror: 'We got stiffed on the deal. We can’t pay them millions for nothing.'

The show started last September with 900,000 viewers, but by January it had slumped to just 300,000.

While figures are currently sitting at the 700,000 mark, it pales in comparison to GMTV's steady flow of 900,000 and rival BBC Breakfast figures of 1.5 million.

Familiar faces: GMTV hosts John Stapleton and Kate Garraway were a hit


Chiles has been criticised largely for his lack of charisma, while Bleakley has not been as popular as the likes of Kate Garraway and Emma Crosby.

The former Strictly Come Dancing contestant, who hails from Northern Ireland, is thought to be disliked because of her WAG lifestyle with Chelsea and England footballer Frank Lampard.

One source said: 'People have had a look at Christine and Adrian in the mornings and said "no thanks".

'There was too much hype and fanfare about them. The show is horribly underperforming and needs to be fixed.

'We spent £15million on Daybreak and we’ve gone backwards. It needs sorting.

'But Christine and Adrian are an expensive headache.'


Living the high life: It is thought Christine's WAG lifestyle with footballer Frank Lampard was not a hit with viewers during the recession


In addition to poor viewing figures, profits from advertising have halved since the show replaced GMTV last year.

Earlier this year, former GMTV boss Peter McHugh said: 'The audience doesn’t like it. It’s time for a change.'

He said Chiles, 44, was 'not a morning person' and that Bleakley looked 'uncomfortable'.

But last night an ITV spokesman insisted: 'We have no plans to change Daybreak’s presenting team.'


source:dailymail