GMTV managing editor resigns after drunken lunch leaves him asleep at his desk

Managing editor John Scammell has quit just weeks after his antics were made public by whistleblowers at the company.

GMTV bosses had even imposed a curfew on the TV executive, when he did go out to lunch.

Insiders said 46-year-old Mr Scammell was discovered asleep at his desk following a particularly boozy lunch at the beginning of December.

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He returned to work after a long lunch and stumbled into his glass office at GMTV's headquarters on London's South Bank.

Mr Scammell 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.

But shortly before Christmas, staff were informed that Scammell, who has been in the post since 1994 and is thought to earn a six-figure salary, had resigned.

He sent an email to colleagues claiming it was time for a change and claimed that he hoped that some of the 'fun' he had brought to the company would remain long after he was gone.

The father-of-two, who lives in Battersea, South-West London, made no reference to the embarrassing episode in the run-up to Christmas, which insiders say forced him to leave.

The episode capped an immensely damaging year for GMTV after it was caught up in a massive phone-in scandal.

Millions called 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 it emerged that the Serious Fraud Office may prosecute the company.

GMTV has also asked for voluntary redundancies from other senior staff as the company tries to recover.

In March last year, Mr Scammell was banned from driving for three years and fined £3,000 after admitting being four times over 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.

A GMTV spokesman said: "He has resigned and left with immediate effect."