Boozy TV chief is banned from parties after drunken collapse at desk

If managing editor John Scammell does go out to lunch he must observe a curfew imposed by bosses at the breakfast TV station.

Insiders say the restrictions have been imposed after 46-year-old Mr Scammell was discovered asleep at his desk following a particularly boozy lunch.

They claim he returned to work after a long lunch on Monday of last week and stumbled into his glass office at GMTV's headquarters on London's South Bank.

Mr Scammell, who has been in the post since 1994 and is thought to earn a six-figure salary, was found slumped over his computer keyboard.

Colleagues claim he was so drunk that despite several attempts, they were unable to wake him.

As his secretary tried to rouse him, staff gathered to have a look at their sleeping managing editor.

Some of them even started singing the song Ring My Bell after one called his phone in an attempt to wake him.

According to insiders, it was not the first time Mr Scammell had returned to the office after having too much to drink.

The father-of-two, who lives in Battersea, South-West London, was banned from attending any company Christmas lunches and bosses have imposed a curfew if he does go out for lunch.

They have told Mr Scammell they will be monitoring his behaviour. He is currently at home.

An insider said: "People are just really fed up with him. The feeling is he has become a liability and an embarrassment."

The episode comes after a difficult year for the TV station in which it was caught up in a phone-in scandal.

Millions of viewers were lured into calling premium rate competition lines when they had no chance of winning.

Regulator Ofcom imposed a record £2million fine on the station and bosses were forced to issue a grovelling apology.

Then, as it emerged that the Serious Fraud Office may prosecute the company, the staff Christmas party was cancelled.

In March, Mr Scammell was banned from driving for three years and fined £3,000 after admitting being four times the drink-drive limit.

He was stopped by police last Christmas Eve after being spotted doing only 40mph in a 70mph zone and swerving across the A11 in Suffolk.

In 1996, he hit the headlines when he was photographed flashing his bottom at singer Kim Wilde's hen do.

Yesterday, at his £750,000 Georgian semi-detached home, Mr Scammell told the Daily Mail: "I have absolutely no comment to make on the matter."

A GMTV spokesman said: "This issue has been raised and is being dealt with."