At first glance, they were the successful duo that helped make breakfast television a staple in family homes across the country.
Since starting in 1983, Selina Scott and Frank Bough have had three successful years together on the BBC’s Breakfast Time, the forerunner of the company’s current morning news programme.
But while they seemed to get along well in front of the cameras, they didn’t get along in person, and Scott revealed earlier this year how he ran a “campaign” to “undermine” her on air.
Her wide-ranging article in the Chron about his antics came after she said working with Bough, whom she called a “misogynist”, was a “nightmare” and that she even boasted about his masculinity at work.
The couple’s working relationship ended in 1986 when Scott took another presenting role, two years before Bough was fired after he was found to have used cocaine with prostitutes at a Mayfair hotel.
Nearly four decades later, the country is rocked by Philip Schofield’s departure from ITV show This Morning following the collapse of his relationship with co-host Holly Willoughby.
ITV today insisted Phil’s exit from the show was “agreed” with them amid speculation he was sacked over a feud with Holly.
At first glance, they were the successful duo that helped make breakfast television a staple in family homes across the country. Since starting in 1983, Selina Scott and Frank Bough have had three successful years together on the BBC’s Breakfast Time, the forerunner of the company’s current morning news programme
Bough and Scott (centre) are seen with the rest of the original lineup of presenters at Breakfast Time, the precursor to BBC Breakfast. Among them was David Icke (back right), who is now a notorious conspiracy theorist
But while it is known that Phil and Holly were once good friends, Scott and Bough never got along.
Ms Scott wrote to explain why she had not accepted the BBC’s invitation to appear as a guest on BBC Breakfast in January to mark the 40th anniversary celebrations, saying that during the time she was on the “disgusting” red leather sofa has often ‘felt like me ‘a combatant in a war zone.’
She told how Bough invited her over to his home shortly after she was “poached” by the BBC.
Afterwards, she said he gave an interview to a national newspaper in which he told readers, “I wanted to see if I liked her.”
“Skilled observers of Frank, a BBC member familiar with his Machiavellian methods, understood that he wanted to ‘audit’ me to see if I was suitably indulgent and not posing a professional threat to him,” Scott wrote.
“If he didn’t like what he saw, he’d signal the suits on the sixth floor and my breakfast television career would be over before it even began.”
“It was the first attempt by Frank’s campaign to undermine me on the air.” When he felt he wasn’t concentrating properly, he would interfere in my interviews, interrupting my guest’s train of thought and letting me awkwardly try to to proceed to the next section in time.
“His tactics left me confused and unhappy until I finally realized his game was to always appear to the viewers as the dominant partner.”
Nearly four decades later, the country is rocked by Philip Schofield’s departure from ITV show This Morning following the collapse of his relationship with co-host Holly Willoughby
The original Breakfast Time presenters, which would later become BBC Breakfast, included Frank Bough (centre), Selina Scott (right) and David Icke (top right). Also pictured: Debbie Rix and weather forecaster Francis Wilson
Scott worked with Bough on BBC Breakfast Time for three years before leaving the show
She added that he made a “denigrating sexual comment” about her after he “went to bed” with then-young presenter Fern Britton, who later hosted ITV’s This Morning.
Scott said she still bristles at the fact that Bough “felt compelled to put his lips on her” every time the couple was photographed.
She also opened up about the time Savile refused to answer any more questions until she kissed him on the air.
“I found Savile repulsive, but to my bosses, ratings were untouchable and Savile was considered TV gold dust.” “He was untouchable,” she added.
Bough was fired from the BBC in 1988, a year after leaving Breakfast Time to become the presenter of the BBC Holiday programme.
He was one of the highest paid broadcasters in the country, reportedly earning £200,000 a year, but a Sunday newspaper revealed he had used cocaine with prostitutes in a Mayfair hotel.
Bough was later photographed exiting a sadomasochistic den of iniquity, where he reportedly spent 50 minutes in a “torture chamber.”
The next day, he went on TV with his wife and said, embarrassed, “I feel extremely stupid.” “I have deep regrets about many things in my life, and if I could only undo them, I would.”
The couple’s working relationship ended in 1986 when Scott took another presenting role, two years before Bough was fired after he was found to have used cocaine with prostitutes at a Mayfair hotel. Above: Scott and Bough with other presenters (left to right)
The star passed away in 2020 at the age of 87, having largely disappeared from public life since his fall.
The original host line-up back in 1983—when the show was called Breakfast Time—in addition to Bough and Scott included Nick Ross and Green Goddess fitness guru Diana Moran.
The 1980s also featured artists such as Kirsty Wark, Jeremy Paxman and the late Jill Dando.
David Icke, a former soccer player, worked as a sports presenter on the show – before he began claiming that the world is controlled by lizard-like creatures posing as world leaders.