The editor of This Morning has described aubergines as “toxic” during a bizarre encounter with journalists, as he batted away questions about the show’s culture in the wake of the Phillip Schofield scandal.

Martin Frizell refused to answer questions by reporters who doorstepped his home on Monday to question him over the work environment on ITV’s flagship daytime show.

It came just hours before Holly Willoughby returned to presenting duties on the programme after spending time in Portugal on holiday. 

Willoughby said she was left “shaken, troubled, and let down” by her co-host’s affair with a younger colleague, a scandal which led to his resignation on May 26.

Asked if a toxic work environment was prevalent at the ITV show, Mr Frizell refused to directly answer the question and instead attempted to shift the focus to aubergines in a bizarre response.