Dr. Phil in the line of ire

On Thursday, Dr. Phil will counsel three couples confronting their “biggest battle.” But it looks like a little group therapy would be in order for the good doctor and at least one of the couples on the program.

In a feud that sheds light on the sometimes twisted backstage dynamics between daytime talk shows and the people who agree to appear on them, singer Angela Carnegie and her husband, Keith Camire, are accusing Dr. Phil’s producers of luring them onto the program under false pretenses and then manipulating background video taped in advance to distort and sensationalize their marital and financial problems.

The producers altered audio of Carnegie’s singing voice to make her sound bad, they say, and also included a surprise interview with recording industry bigwig and Celine Dion producer David Foster, whom the couple believes left the impression that Carnegie had little chance of a successful music career.

After Dr. Phil told the studio audience that Angela’s singing is “maybe an avocation instead of a vocation,” the couple fled the Feb. 15 taping in distress.

When Carnegie complained, producer Kandi Amelon on Feb. 22 e-mailed an offer to remove at least part of the Foster material, put a link to Carnegie’s professional website on www.DrPhil.com, and arrange a meeting between Carnegie and executives at Island Def Jam Records in Atlanta.

A spokesman for CBS Paramount Domestic Television, which produces the show, said that the producers never altered audio of Carnegie’s voice and that the Foster interview had been removed entirely.

However, the show has no intention of editing the couple’s studio appearance from the program.

“They took two people who are totally in love and [made] us look like idiots,” Camire says. “We would like to tell the world how horrible of a guy Dr. Phil really is. He did not even interact with us. He was listening to his ear bud, [and] we never even interacted with him at all. He simply fired insults at us.”

In a statement, the studio said Camire “responded to a plug on www.DrPhil.com asking for help with a stressful issue in their marriage -- specifically that they were in ‘serious trouble financially’ due to Angela’s ongoing pursuit of a career in music

“We are going to continue to pursue this, and if they think they are off the hook, they are wrong,” Carnegie wrote Tuesday in an e-mail to Channel Island.

Trump busts on new night

Does the Donald still love Mondays? Last week we skeptically noted Donald Trump’s manufactured “feud” with Martha Stewart in advance of “The Apprentice’s” switch from Thursdays to Mondays on NBC. The question: Would such a stunt help the tycoon plump the show’s quickly fading numbers?

Nope. “Apprentice” bombed big time at 9 p.m. Monday, rounding up just 9.8 million viewers, according to early figures from Nielsen Media Research. The show placed fourth behind CBS’ comedy lineup of “Two and a Half Men” and “Courting Alex” (a combined average of 15.6 million), Fox’s “24” (13.8 million) and even ABC’s finale of “The Bachelor” (10.2 million). The news was no better among adults ages 18 to 49, with whom “Apprentice” settled in fourth as well with a 4.0 rating / 9 share -- far behind the time-slot leader, “24” (5.6 / 12).

Maybe Trump can do more to promote the series. We bet Martha might have an open guest slot on her daytime talk show.

Read the latest post at latimes.com/channelisland. Scott Collins can be reached at channelisland@latimes.com.