CLACTON-ON-SEA, ENGLAND - JULY 5: Reform UK leader Nigel Farage reacts after winning the Clacton and Harwich constituency on July 5, 2024 in Clacton-on-Sea, England. Nigel Farage wins Clacton and Harwich for Reform UK with 21,225 votes. Clacton 2024 is Nigel Farage's eighth attempt at a seat in the UK parliament. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
ITV boss Kevin Lygo has defended Reform UK leader Nigel Farage competing on the channel’s reality series I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
The MP for Clacton has been accused of making a “deeply irresponsible and dangerous” intervention on the riots in recent weeks.
Mr Farage made remarks on a social media video in which he questioned “whether the truth is being withheld from us” following the killings of three girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
During the reality show, he also found himself in confrontation with First Dates star Fred Sirieix over their views on Brexit and immigration.
Mr Lygo told the Edinburgh TV Festival: “I think it’s a very industry-focused judgmental attitude… it’s a very broad show… and people can make up their own minds, audiences are sophisticated now, they’re clever.
“They can see what’s going on most of the time.”
He added that they will see if it is “a good idea” to have others politicians on the show.
He also said he is “an elected MP”, when asked about his views on the riots.
“The audience is smart enough to make up their own mind,” he added.
“Honestly, it wasn’t meant to offend anyone.”
Mr Lygo also spoke about the job cuts at ITV, saying “all companies need to look at efficiencies all the time, even for BBC, that’s been going everywhere”.
He said: “It’s horrible where you have to let people go. But remember, some 4,000 people suddenly worked with ITV, and I think about 250 left this year, some of them voluntarily, sadly, but it’s just part of the ongoing process of running an efficient, commercially driven enterprise.
“The cost of programming never goes down. It always goes up. And we want to find things properly. We don’t squeeze it to the pips and all that. So we have to watch other expenditure.”
When asked about what the BBC needs to do, Mr Lygo said: “I did see a hilarious statistic… so our commissioning team is 21 people, do you know how many it at the BBC? 99. God, bless them all. So I think it is much more rigorous, it’s much more lean.”
He was also questioned about ITV presenters going to other channels following Holly Willoughby going to do a Netflix show called Bear Hunt with Bear Grylls.
Mr Lygo says the channel develops talent as that means more interest in their programmes.
He says: “Who can we get to bring this to the public, who will be good, but is now loved? And so (The 1% Club presenter) Lee Mack comes into the mix, and we go, ‘Yes, great’.
“I think they give that someone you’ve never heard of, there would be a danger, but it’d be needlessly risky on… that poor presenter is a bit screwed because ‘you did that thing, it flopped’. So I think we’re very mindful of that and cautious.”
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