NEWS
They ruled the roost at ITV, but after rumours that her friendship with Phillip Schofield is in serious jeopardy, Holly Willoughby considers reaching out to his rivals for support
They were the dream team who had ITV at their feet. But the once solid partnership between Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield appears to be crumbling.
The duo – who have been presenting This Morning together since 2009 – have been plagued by rumours that their friendship is in jeopardy since Phil recently put out a solo statement, saying “the last few weeks haven’t been easy for either of us”.
He took time away from the show in March and April while his brother Timothy, 54, was on trial and later jailed for 12 years for child sex offences – something sources say he’d kept Holly in the dark about until the week before the court case began. And although Holly and Phil – who were once so close that they even holidayed together – have so far defied predictions that they would go their separate ways, body language experts said 61-year-old Phil seems “anxious” while on screen. Sources now say golden girl Holly is refusing to budge and won’t be brought down by Phil and will stay on at the ITV flagship programme, no matter what it takes.
GRUDGE
“Of the two of them, producers think Holly is most likely to stay and she won’t be pushed out,” an insider tells Closer. “If she ever leaves This Morning, it will be on her terms and she’ll only leave when she feels the time is right. She loves working with [fellow presenters] Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, and knows she’d be fine taking over the show without Phil.
“His contract is up in September and right now there’s no firm news about him signing a new deal for him to carry on beyond that. There’s been talk that he’s beginning to think it might be best for all concerned to try something new elsewhere. There would be a lot of interest in him – despite everything, he remains a top broadcaster and apparently the BBC are interested in speaking to him. If the pair did end their time together on This Morning, it’s highly likely they would stop presenting Dancing On Ice together as well.”
And our source adds that, amid the stress of the situation, Holly has even thought about reaching out to some of Phillip’s former co-workers, who hold a grudge, to gain some support.
When speaking about last week’s BAFTA Awards, former This Morning star Eamonn Holmes, who presented on the show with his wife Ruth Langsford until January 2022, said on GB News, “I think there should’ve been a special award for Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby for best actors. The public surely have sussed that there’s no chemistry, that there’s a broken fit between the two of them.” He added, “This Morning does not
