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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Jessica Sansome

Eamonn Holmes addresses 'standing by' Phillip Schofield as he blasts Jeremy Clarkson support in latest tirade

Eamonn Holmes has launched his latest tirade against his former This Morning co-star Phillip Schofield. The presenter has been vocal about his fellow broadcaster's downfall after Phillip admitted to an affair with a much younger ITV colleague.

The former This Morning presenter, 61, has previously said he had "lost everything" after admitting to the affair, and that the fallout had had a "catastrophic effect" on his mind.

In an interview, published on Friday, he told The Sun: "I do not know a time I will be able to walk out of the door. I don’t have any spirit. My friends tell me, ‘It will get better’. It won’t. Not now. Not this one." He added: "I am getting by hour by hour. I have got my girls and my friends."

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While discussing Phillip's bombshell interviews with his co-anchor Isabel Webster and showbiz reporter Ellie Phillips, Eamonn blasted the "lies" admitted to by his former co-star.

"Like everybody else, he lied to me," the 63-year-old said before addressing scenes on This Morning in 2020 which saw Phillip come out as gay live on the programme. "I was happy to stand by him until I found out that he was lying... This isn't about him being gay, not in the slightest," he added.

Eamonn also criticised Jeremy Clarkson for defending Phillip over the weekend, insisting "Clarkson didn't work there what does he know?"

Phillip resigned from ITV last week and was dropped by his talent agency YMU after admitting to the "unwise but not illegal" relationship. In his first interviews since leaving the broadcaster and This Morning, he said he was “utterly broken and ashamed” but denied he had "groomed" the man.

Eamonn with his wife Ruth Langsford and Holly and Phillip when they all appeared on This Morning (PA)

It came less than a week after he announced he was 'stepping back' from This Morning with 'immediate effect' claiming the show itself had 'become the story' amid claims of a rift between himself and his co-host Holly Willoughby.

Since then, during a secondary interview the BBC’s Amol Rajan, Phillip spoke about his friend after reports in the weeks before he stepped down saying they had drifted apart and were 'barely speaking' behind the scenes.

Asked who on the team knew about the relationship, Phillip said: “To my knowledge, I mean, somebody has to know something for there to be a rumour later on. I didn’t believe that anybody knew.”

He said he had not told Holly of the relationship, saying: “No, God, no. That’s a bigger question. Because we have, our make-up room was like a sanctuary, has always been a sanctuary. So you tell everything in that room. Holly knows everything about me. I know everything about Holly, Holly did not know. Nobody knew.”

They had presented This Morning together since 2009, with Willoughby due to return to the show on Monday after the half-term break, having taken an early holiday after news of Phillip's departure emerged.

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