Dr Hilary Leaves ITV — Years After Peddling False COVID Claims on Air
He claimed 90% of COVID patients were unvaccinated — the real figure was 36%. Now, years later, he’s off air as viewers switch off too.
The end of an era
Dr Hilary Jones has announced he is stepping down from ITV’s Lorraine after more than three decades as one of television’s most recognisable medical voices.
ITV says the move is part of a major daytime restructure that will see Lorraine shortened to 30 minutes and more than 200 staff cut.
But his departure marks more than a scheduling change. For those who lived through the COVID years — and watched the daytime doctor become a daily voice of pandemic certainty — it feels like the quiet end of an era.
Because for millions of viewers, Dr Hilary didn’t just offer advice. He shaped a narrative. And on more than one occasion, that narrative turned out to be wrong.
The claim that started it all
In December 2021, live on Lorraine, Dr Hilary told viewers:
“Ninety per cent of people in hospital have not been vaccinated.”
It was a striking line — and entirely false. NHS England data at the time showed that around 36 % of COVID patients were unvaccinated, not 90 %.
Within hours, I published the fact-check on X (then Twitter), pointing directly to the NHS numbers.
You can see many of those original call-outs and fact-checks from the time here.
Only after 3,800 public complaints did Ofcom look into the broadcast. The regulator declined to launch a formal investigation, saying ITV had “clarified” the mistake two days later and merely warned the broadcaster to take greater care in future.
In short, a false claim broadcast to millions was brushed off as a minor slip.
Strike two — January 2022
Just weeks later, on Good Morning Britain, Dr Hilary warned that hospitals were full and that “so many people [were] on ventilators.”
Again, the data told a different story:
Ventilator use was at its lowest since the previous summer.
There were more empty critical-care beds than those with COVID patients.
Around half of those in hospital with COVID were there for other reasons.
The pattern was clear — dramatic claims on air, followed by data that told a calmer truth.
Misinformation from the mainstream
During the pandemic, social media was vilified as the home of “disinformation.”
Yet the most widely amplified inaccuracies came from mainstream television studios — where “experts” spoke without scrutiny and dissenting analysts were dismissed as cranks.
Ofcom’s lenient response reinforced a double standard: independent commentators faced bans for questioning official figures, while broadcast errors were waved away as harmless slips.
When regulators lower the bar for those with the biggest platforms, accountability becomes selective — and trust begins to rot.
The collapse of trust
Three years on, polls show record-low confidence in both UK media and public-health institutions. The reason isn’t mysterious. Viewers remember being told to “follow the science,” only to learn later that even basic numbers were wrong.
“Trust the science” morphed into “trust our narrative.”
And once that line blurred, trust was never coming back.
The media reset
Dr Hilary’s departure also coincides with ITV’s biggest daytime shake-up in years.
From 2026, Lorraine will shrink from an hour-long daily show to just 30 minutes, airing for 30 weeks a year.
More than 220 daytime staff are being cut, with profits down 30 %.
ITV says the changes are about “refreshing” daytime television — but they’re also a response to dwindling audiences.
Viewers are switching off from mainstream broadcasters and turning instead to alternative outlets, online shows, and independent creators — places they now go for both entertainment and facts.
Dr Jones has described leaving as “liberating from the constraints of a news programme.” Perhaps it is.
But symbolically, it also closes the chapter of unquestioned TV experts — those who once dictated the national mood but are now quietly stepping off set.
Never forget
“Never forget” isn’t about score-settling. It’s about standards.
When public-health figures make sweeping claims on national television, they owe the audience the same rigour expected of anyone else.
Facts must come before fear — and before television theatrics.
We were told to trust the experts.
Perhaps next time, the experts should start by trusting the data.
✍️ Jamie Jenkins
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Totally agree with Jamie - never forget. I won't. I saw the worst of COVID with my mum, she went in hospital 20th April 2020 and didn't return home until mid September. 9 weeks in ICU, 5 of which on a ventilator. But I will never ever forget nor forgive the government for their Draconian response or their blatant scaremongering and lies which were given further fuel by a weak and in- step media. Jamie was my go to throughout lockdown for his sensible analysis and cutting through the blatant lies and mistruths.
Thank you for your work Jamie. Good to see the back at long last of the dreadful Dr Hilary. He won't be missed.