On paper, Twiggy was a very good choice, but being on paper and being on screen are two different things

John Leslie

The show suffered a dramatic drop in popularity when Coleen Nolan and Twiggy were drafted in as presenters at the shows relaunch last September.

Both were eventually axed, although Nolan does still do some reports.

Britton told OK! Magazine that their early days were "grim" for the show.

Twiggy and Coleen Nolan proved to be a ratings turn-off

She said: "We were underdogs, we still are. I like being Wycombe Wanderers versus Manchester United - it's more challenging.

"It was grim, but spring is coming, we're on the way, the sap is rising. Now I'm looking forward to coming to work."

Leslie admitted that Twiggy was wrong for the show.

He said: "On paper, Twiggy was a very good choice, but being on paper and being on screen are two different things.

"We could see things weren't right but we knew we had to get through it."

Britton added that she felt sorry for Madeley and Finnigan after they announced they were leaving.

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"They were suddenly being treated very badly," she said. "It was all very political and I felt very sorry for them."

Madeley and Finnigan went on to host their own show on Channel 4, but their ratings have also suffered.

They recently admitted that the show had a tough start and the Independent Television Commission said the programme had "failed to live up to its expectations" in its annual report.

But Madeley went on to defend the programme in a Heat magazine interview.

"It is the third most-watched programme on Channel 4 by share, which is all you can go by," Madeley said, who denied the programme was a ratings flop.

"And I'd ask anyone who cares about our ratings to just check if our show is getting more viewers than we did on ITV, and they'll tell you that we're getting a lot more viewers than we did on This Morning."