Sarah Ferguson, once hailed a ‘saviour’ of ITV’s daytime schedule, has been dumped by the broadcaster.
After she was pulled into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal that has swirled around her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, for more than a decade, Fergie has seen backers fall away.
Now, after being dropped by a slew of charities and fearing her career as a children’s author is over, ITV bosses have confirmed that the former Duchess of York will no longer appear on their shows.
Sources within the broadcaster say that, when she was brought in, appearing on This Morning and Loose Women, Fergie was ‘adored’ by the upper echelons of the company due to what they describe as a ‘relatable’ nature.
They also thought Ms Ferguson was ‘very likeable’ to viewers.
But her world has come crashing down following more revelations about Andrew’s dealings with convicted paedophile Epstein and after The Mail on Sunday uncovered an email the former duchess wrote to the disgraced financier, apologising profusely for disassociating from him publicly following his conviction in 2008 for procuring a girl under 18 for sex.
One insider told the Daily Mail: ‘Fergie won’t be appearing on ITV again, there is nothing in the pipeline for her.
‘There was once such high hopes for her, she appeared on This Morning as a guest presenter and contributor, as well as Loose Women.
Sarah Ferguson (pictured here on Loose Women), once hailed a ‘saviour’ of ITV ‘s daytime schedule, has been dumped by the broadcaster
After she was pulled into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal that has swirled around her ex-husband, Prince Andrew (pictured with Fergie on June 21, 2019) , for more than a decade, Fergie has seen backers fall away
‘Fergie did a lot with ITV for a time and was always part of the gang. She was very much part of the plans at ITV but no more.
‘There will be no more Fergie on ITV, there are no longer any current plans or anymore anytime in the future. She’s done with the channel now.’
Sarah, 66, was heavily courted by ITV bosses before the truth about her friendship with Epstein emerged. For many years she distanced herself from the late friend of her former husband and that made her far more palatable for companies to work with her.
In fact, sources say that her star was once so high at the channel that the mother of two was hailed as something of a ‘saviour’ when This Morning was in meltdown following the Phillip Schofield scandal and the subsequent departure of Holly Willoughby in 2023.
Just weeks after Ms Willoughby’s exit, when she found out she was at the centre of a bizarre plot by former security guard Gavin Plumb to kidnap, rape and murder her, Ms Ferguson was welcomed by This Morning’s former editor Martin Frizell as a guest presenter.
In November 2023 she joined Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary for the special show, which she also edited alongside Mr Frizell.
As well as sitting on This Morning’s famous sofa, she oversaw the live programme from the gallery and studio floor after ITV bosses were impressed with her previous performances as a contributor.
At the time she said: ‘I have appeared on This Morning before, but this time I am coming back in a very different role. I love live TV and am an enormous fan of the show.’
Prince Andrew with his arm around the waist Ms Virginia Giuffre while Ghislaine Maxwell stands behind them
Ms Ferguson first appeared on Loose Women in April 2023, with a show source adding yesterday: ‘She got on great with the other panellists and brought something different, but no more.’
In November 2024 she had a heated exchange with comic Romesh Ranganathan when he appeared as a guest on the show.
Sitting alongside co-stars Christine Lampard, Brenda Edwards and actress Sally Dynevor, she told him to do some embarrassing dance moves on the programme to which he told her she was ‘out of order’.
Since her Epstein email emerged, Loose Women panellists have lambasted Fergie. Jane Moore said on the show four weeks ago: ‘The deadly cocktail of her naivety and fondness for the high life has always made her something of a loose cannon.
‘And this shameless grovelling to a deeply nasty man isn’t a forgivable human frailty – it shows craven greed and rampant self-preservation that, worst of all, betrays Epstein’s many victims.’
A show source added: ‘It’s safe to say she wouldn’t be given a jovial welcome if she was wanted back.’
In the email, sent in 2011, Fergie appeared to privately apologise for her public rejection of Epstein, saying: ‘You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family.’
That message contradicted her public denunciation of Epstein in an interview from a few weeks earlier, in which she had said her involvement with him, including borrowing money, had been a ‘gigantic error of judgment’ and that: ‘What he did was wrong and for which he was rightly jailed.’
Fergie had said she would ‘have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again’ only for the later email to say she ‘humbly apologised’ to him and ‘know you feel hellaciously let down by me’.
A spokesman for ITV last night declined to comment.
