In the wake of the MasterChef scandal, the head of content at ITV has spotlighted the difficulty of handling “historic” misconduct complaints.

Responding to a question from Deadline at today’s ITV half-year results press briefing, Kevin Lygo said “it’s much better for everyone if when people have a complaint they do it as soon as they feel they can.”

“Some complaints are historic and it becomes very difficult to come to a conclusion when people can’t remember what happened or someone else has a different view,” he added. “I would encourage anyone who feels belittled or troubled in any way to raise a complaint as soon as they feel they have been badly treated and we can deal with it quickly.”

Lygo was addressing the MasterChef scandal, which has seen the firing of lead presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode following a report commissioned by the show’s producer Banijay. The vast majority of the 45 substantiated allegations against Wallace were alleged to have taken place many years ago. Torode, meanwhile, has said he does not believe the incident of racial language which was substantiated against him took place, an incident that is also alleged to have happened a number of years back. Despite his MasterChef sacking, Torode is remaining on ITV with his John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen show. Both presenters have apologized.

Lygo said ITV’s principle with these issues is to “sort it immediately, and sort it out ourselves, not necessarily in the public glare.”

He set out how ITV – not short of its own share of scandals involving shows like Love Island and This Morning – has improved duty of care over the years.

“We have strict guidelines and a charter for on-screen talent, and are satisfied that is working well,” he added. “We have set up a complaints handling unit dealing with any serious complaints of any kind. Our duty of care board meets monthly to discuss these issues.”

Lygo was joined by ITV boss Carolyn McCall as the network unveiled a set of half-year results that saw profits slashed by 30%, which the broadcaster mainly put down to a stronger six months in 2024 when the men’s Euros soccer tournament was on. ITV Studios profits were also down 20%. The studio’s MD Julian Bellamy was in L.A. on business so missed the results call, but his production division saw turnover in the U.S. shoot up 37% with shows like The Better Sister and Love Island USA delivering big numbers.

‘Love Island’ AI

During today’s results call, McCall set out how AI is being “integrated into everything we do” including on the production of Love Island.

She said a smart editing assistant tool is being used for the Love Island casting process and has doubled output from senior editors from four to eight clips per session. “That productivity gain means they can go and do other things,” she added.

Having made around 200 layoffs last year, McCall denied AI would cause more staffers to lose their jobs but said it is instead a creativity enhancer.

ITV Studios COO David McGraynor said there is a “huge amount of [AI] trialing and testing” taking place across the studios business, totalling around 200 “use cases.” He pointed to money-saving improvements in areas like subbing, dubbing and transcriptions.

The pair were speaking in the hours after Donald Trump addressed the controversial issue of AI and copyright.

ITV recently struck a landmark show-swapping deal with Disney and McCall said she wouldn’t shy away from more of these tie-ups in future.

“PSB partnerships are important but they are not the only ones we will do,” she added. “We would expect in future to do more content partnerships as we think it is a good way forward.”

When evaluating partnerships, McCall said ITV examines “what they bring to us aroIund reach and monetization of content.”

ITV has been reported for several months to be eying a sale, with the likes of Banijay and RedBird IMI connected with a potential deal. Unsurprisingly, McCall declined comment on sale rumors beyond saying “we keep all options under review.”

“We are focused on driving strategy and are keeping shareholders in mind in terms of long-term returns and short-term returns,” she added.

ITV’s share price nudged up slightly this morning to around 85.8p per share.