breaches were extremely serious as they involved longstanding and systematic failures in the conduct of broadcast competitions.' GMTV pledged to refund a total of £35 million to all viewers affected. A month later, the Serious Fraud Office took the decision to review the evidence from Ofcom into the phone-in scandal. An SFO spokeswoman said: 'Following media reports and some complaints received from the general public about GMTV's use of premium rate telephone services, we are in touch with Ofcom although no SFO investigation is under way...furthermore, the SFO will await the outcome of Ofcom's investigation into ITV's use of premium rate telephone services as highlighted in the Deloitte report.' On 10 March 2008, the Serious Fraud Office decided not to investigate the phone-in scandal, stating it did not meet its criteria for an investigation. 2008–09 A major overhaul of GMTV output took place during the summer of 2008 - resulting in part from the loss of viewers to new competition from other digital channels, and to counter criticism that its output had become too lightweight. Red Bee Media was brought in as a consultant, with a view to refreshing the station's on-screen look, which had changed very little since 1993. ITV and Disney agreed a £4.5 million investment to modernise the production of the programme, including new equipment such as Avid editing suites. This then led to the relaunch of GMTV on 5 January 2009, introducing Emma Crosby and Kirsty McCabe, who themselves replaced Fiona Phillips and Andrea McLean. In July 2008, it was announced that McLean would quit working on GMTV to focus on her role on Loose Women, to share the permanent host job with Jackie Brambles. On 31 December that year, McLean left GMTV after 11 years as a weather presenter. Phillips left GMTV on 18 December that same year, after 12 years as its main presenter. She told viewers that leaving was 'one of the hardest decisions I've ever made'. ITV plc ownership ITV plc attempted to buy out Disney's stake in GMTV, following its gaining of 75% control, in order to secure 24-hours control of Channel 3 in England and Wales; it eventually paid £18m for the remaining 25% on 25 November 2009. As a result, many changes were made shortly after: The editor of GMTV, Martin Frizell, was sacked in December 2009 with Sue Walton temporarily replacing him. On 4 March 2010, it was