Eamonn Holmes has launched yet another attack on disgraced former This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield and his ex-co-host, Holly Willoughby.
Schofield, 61, stepped down from his position as host of the ITV chat show last month and subsequently resigned from ITV amid revelations that he had lied to cover up his affair with a younger male This Morning employee.
Holmes, who was dropped from the Friday slot of This Morning in 2021, alongside wife and co-presenter Ruth Langsford, has repeatedly criticised Schofield and Willoughby in recent weeks.
On Monday (5 June), Holmes vented his thoughts again during his regular programme on the right-wing broadcaster GB News, ahead of Willoughby’s return to This Morning. Willoughby, 42, had been absent from the programme amid the scandal due to a half-term break.
Referring to Willoughby, Holmes remarked: “You think she’s got a big mouth? She won’t be using it today.”
Of Schofield, Holmes claimed: “He still thinks he can go on and say lies, lies, lies. He’s admitted he is a liar. You should see the emails, the texts and the messages I’ve been sent over the past week. I think he’s getting off very very lucky.
“Like everybody else he lied to me, 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.”
Schofield’s representative declined to comment. The Independent has also reached out to Willoughby’s representative.
In an interview with BBC News’s Amol Rajan last week, Schofield, who came out as gay in 2020, suggested that the reaction to the scandal had been intensified by homophobia. Several other public figures, including actor Rupert Everett and LGBT+ rights campaigner and former Labour politician Peter Tatchell, have echoed this sentiment.
During the interview, Schofield denied the suggestion that he had “groomed” the younger ITV employee, whom he met at the age of just 15. Schofield has maintained that his first romantic interaction with the person came five years later, when he was 20.
He also claimed to have experienced suicidal thoughts in the wake of the scandal.
Returning to This Morning on Monday, Willoughby appeared visibly emotional as she addressed Schofield’s departure in a speech at the beginning of the episode.
Sitting alongside temporary co-host Josie Gibson, Willoughby told viewers: “I imagine that you might be feeling a lot like I have: shaken, troubled, let down, worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides of what’s been going on, and full of questions.
“You, me and all of us at This Morning gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth. Who acted in a way that they themselves felt that they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career that they loved. That is a lot to process.”
She added that it had been “equally hard to see the toll that it’s taken on their own mental health”.
“I think what unites us all now is a desire to heal for the health and wellbeing of everyone,” she continued. “I hope that as we start this new chapter and get back to a place of warmth and magic that this show holds for all of us, we can find strength in each other.”
Holmes had previously accused Schofield of “toxicity”, alleging that ITV had been involved in a “cover-up”.
After Schofield stepped in to defend the programme in a statement, Holmes branded the presenter “delusional”. He had previously described Scofield and Willoughby as “actors”.
Holmes’ public feud with Schofield predates the latter’s public downfall by a few years, with reports of bad blood first circulating back in 2019.
A number of other celebrities have also weighed in on the scandal, including former Good Morning Britain anchor Piers Morgan, who said on Monday evening that Willoughby had been placed in an “impossible position”.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
