Not all loud and mouthy presenters were kept: Claire Cummins was let go, and she had a voice made for silent movies. I don't think she needed a microphone.
She was a freelancer - so she was only brought in 'as and when' they needed cover.
As regards shouty presenters v those who have left, I guess it depends on their sales stats and what the audiences at certain times of the day want.
I can't say how I know this, because it might give away my identity - and I'd rather not have my buying account blocked simply because I like to refer back to the app now and again to remind myself what I've bought in the past and look at the details of the items.
However, I've heard from two sources (one ex-employee and one current employee), that sales stats don't really come into it - it's more to do with their 'face fitting' at Gemporia and also how 'flexible' / 'helpful' they are. I was told that there is a 'clique' - an if you're part of that 'clique', you're basically safe. If you're not part of the 'clique', and your 'face doesn't fit', you're not so safe. I've no idea how true it is - however, both sources have said similar things and I have no reason not to believe what I've been told.
From what I was told, Jim Brooman is VERY popular with viewers - but his sales stats are lower than most presenters.
Adina divides opinion - but her sales stats are one of the highest, if not the highest, out of all the presenters.
Vicki Carr was, allegedly, disliked by quite a few of the other presenters (past and current).
We know from the ITV documentary years ago that Scott Worsfold and Adina Stubbs had the highest sales figures at the time - yet their presenting style is fairly calm, knowledgeable and FAR FAR away from the constant shouting and faux surprise that we see from presenters now (Scott in particular was very genuine, honest, calm and likeable, without any hard sell) - so if that documentary is true, it would appear that it's actually the calmer presenting styles that get more sales.
I would be amazed if Jess Foley gets high sales figures. She's completely out of her depth as a presenter, she tells us NOTHING about the gemstones she's selling, and every sale is described using the same old tired lines - "I've just gotta let you know", "Absolutely", "Good luck to each and every one of you, well done".
The same applies to Cheralene. Zero knowledge shared - just constant repetition of "It's big, it's bold", "The light is dancing out of this", "In this design we can see here" and "we've taken every penny and every pound out of this". Awful presenter.
However, I've noticed that Jess Foley and Cheralene are ALWAYS covering for presenters that are on annual leave or sick. Cheralene always seemed to be daily on either Lifestyle, Jewellery Maker or Hobby Maker. So maybe this is why they were retained? (which perhaps backs-up what I was told about 'face fitting' and 'flexible' / 'helpful' presenters are 'safe' from redundancy).
Amelia rarely covered for other presenters - yet she was one of those to go, despite being popular with viewers, knowledgeable and one of the more tolerable presenters to watch. Not 'flexible' enough or not part of the alleged 'clique' perhaps?
I think getting ‘getting rid of’ may be more like taking voluntary redundancy. I’m sure this would have been offered well before the drama of the last few months. I remember being shocked at the departure of Hayleygig and her Wheel of Wonders to be a Dog Groomer. On reflection that may have been helped be a redundancy payout. Lots of the more popular staff had other jobs, ie Jeff and Derek so were probably quite happy to go. I think how it is now is the new business model going forward, the Presenters are those who’ve kept their jobs, and no amount of complaining on this Forum will change things.
I suspect you're right about voluntary redundancy because Alex McKay always used to say how much he loved doing Gem Collector and was still talking about the long-term fairly recently - but then suddenly, he announced that he was leaving (by choice), which came completely out of the blue. After ten years of service, he would have been entitled to a decent redundancy - so I suspect he took that to start his new business venture that he's in the process of setting up.
Hayley also left and set up her own business, as you say, and I'm fairly sure there was someone else that left and started a business around the same time too.
Some of the redundancies and presenters leaving were quite sensible choices. Derek for example hasn't been there long as a permanent presenter - and under UK employment law, employees with less than two years service are not entitled to redundancy payments - so Derek would have made sense from a financial perspective because they could take him off the payroll without needing to pay him off. He may have even offered to go because he does a lot of freelance work on other channels too. I suspect that this is why Todd the Cameraman also appears to have vanished too. He's fairly new - so wouldn't have been entitled to redundancy.
Some redundancies didn't make sense though. Jeff for example. He's been with Gemporia for years in various roles - he would have been entitled to a hefty redundancy payout. Satnam the cameraman - he's also been there for years and would have been entitled to a hefty redundancy.
Steph the channel manager (ex presenter) - again, been there for years and would have been entitled to a decent redundancy - whereas Cherry Cavill, who has only been there for 3 or 4 years (but I believe is also channel manager), remains - despite her being relatively 'cheap' to pay off compared to Steph.
Perhaps the alleged 'clique' played a part in that decision too? Who knows.
