Bosses have reportedly urged the 92-year-old to rebrand the channel as The Sun TV, with presenter Jeremy Kyle filming test promotional links.

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One insider said TalkTV bosses were planning to shake up the schedule later this year in a further effort to boost viewing figures.

TalkTV suffered a £34 million ($65 million) loss during its first year on air, according to company accounts filed in April. The station is drawing on a £20 million overdraft facility guaranteed by parent company News Corp.

News UK last year brought in Richard Wallace, a former editor of the Daily Mirror, to lead output on TalkTV.

But the channel has since been rocked by a number of internal changes, fuelling speculation about dissatisfaction among staff.

Tom Newton Dunn, who presents the evening First Edition show, has been on an unexplained leave of absence for the past month. He was previously moved from the primetime 7pm slot to 10pm amid low ratings.

Last week, political editor Kate McCann left TalkTV to join Times Radio, which is also part of Murdoch’s stable of outlets.

In a further blow, senior TalkTV executive Erron Gordon was this week poached by GB News. Piers Morgan’s top editor Ben Briscoe also defected to the rival channel earlier this year. Despite the turmoil, News UK boss Rebekah Brooks was upbeat about TalkTV’s prospects in a recent update to staff, with one executive emphasising its success in the US.

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