Eamonn Holmes is not holding back on his views of Phillip Schofield.
In what has been a fortnight of controversy, Schofield quit This Morning amid rumours of a feud with Holly Willoughby. He later admitted to lying about an affair he had with a younger male employee who worked on the show.
Following a statement he shared on Friday (26 May), Schofield resigned from ITV altogether and was dropped by his agent YMU with immediate effect.
During this time, Holmes, who used to co-host the Friday episode of This Morning alongside his wife Ruth Langsford, has made several claims about his former colleague.
Below is a timeline of Schofield and Holmes’s working relationship, and their ongoing feud.
2006 – Eamonn Holmes joins This Morning with his wife, Ruth Langsford, as Phillip Schofield and then co-host Fern Britton’s school holiday replacement hosts. They also host each Friday’s episode.
July 2017 – As Holmes and Langford’s summer stint began, This Morning uses different opening credits for the first time, and renames itself This Morning with Eamonn and Ruth. The credits and title return to normal when Schofield and Willoughby come back in September.
April 2019 – Schofield seemingly frustrates Ruth Langsford, who appears on This Morning to preview the ensuing episode of Loose Women she was presenting. While introducing the episode’s topics, Schofield cuts her off, stating: “Guys, we’re going to have to jump in there and stop you I’m afraid because we’re a bit tight for time at this end. Thank you, Ruth.” Langsford appears unimpressed, and fires back: “Well, I only had about two more words to say.”
December 2019 – It is claimed that Langsford has filed a complaint about Schofield to ITV bosses.
February 2020 – Holmes and Langsford support Schofield as he comes out as gay during an episode of This Morning.
Holmes tells Schofield: “It’s fantastic, so many people will be strengthened by this. We’ll be standing beside you.”
Schofield writes on Twitter after the episode has aired: “Can I just say that @EamonnHolmes & @RuthieeL were utterly magnificent with me today, privately downstairs just the three of us and upstairs in front of the world. I couldn’t have hoped for a better, calming and loving set of hugs and support, I adore them both. And for the record, @EamonnHolmes made me laugh, he lightened a very emotional moment and I’m very happy that he did.”
November 2020 – It’s revealed that Holmes and Langsford are leaving This Morning in a shake-up by ITV bosses. The couple are said to be “furious and upset” by the decision.
January 2021 – Holmes and Langsford are officially replaced by Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond. Holmes moves to GB News.
February 2022 – Holmes hits out at Schofield, calling him “passive-aggressive” and accusing him of “snubbing people”. Speaking about Schofield’s rumoured rift with Langsford, Holmes later said: “It’s up to Ruth to say how she felt, but I was feeling hurt for her.” He also likes a tweet that brands This Morning’s tribute to Schofield’s 40th work anniversary “bizarre”.
September 2022 – Schofield and Willoughby are criticised for seemingly queue-jumping the public while filming a segment for This Morning about the late Queen Elizabeth II lying in state.
ITV defends the pair, who address the controversy during an episode the following week. Holmes addresses the subject onn his GB News show, stating: “I’ll tell you what’s strategic. Why is Holly fighting to keep her job, according to The Sun, but Mr Phillip isn’t?”
15 May 2023 – Schofield responds to yet another claim of a fallout with Willoughby. The presenter says that, while “the last few weeks haven’t been easy for either of us”, he views Willoughby as his “rock” and says they are “the best of friends”. However, Holmes says the pair deserve “a special award for best actors”, stating on GB News: “The public surely will suss that there's no chemistry, that it's a broken fit between the two of them and that This Morning does not depend on who presents it."
20 May 2023 – In a statement, Schofield confirms that he has left This Morning with immediate effect, writing: “I understand that ITV has decided the current situation can’t go on, and I want to do what I can to protect the show that I love.” You can read the statement in full here.
22 May 2023 – Holmes claims that Schofield was “sacked” by ITV, saying: “Oh please, just stop this. He was sacked. All this nonsense of ‘I’ve decided to step down’. I’m sure you did – ‘here’s your P45 now step down’.” ITV denied Holmes’s claim.
26 May 2023 – Schofield parts ways with ITV after admitting to lying about an affair with a younger colleague on This Morning, which took place while he was still married to Stephanie Lowe.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, Schofield said: “I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning. In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship.
“I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.”
It is also revealed that Schofield has dropped by his agents after 35 years. The entertainment world reacts to news of Schofield’s admission, with Holmes criticising his former colleague for “lying” and “deceiving” him and Langsford.
ITV issues a statement saying it is “deeply disappointed” by Schofield, and feels “badly let down” by him.
27 May 2023 – Willoughby shares a statement on Schofield’s admission, saying she asked him if rumours about the relationship were true back in 2020. She said her co-host assured her they were not, adding: “It’s been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie.”
29 May 2023 – Schofield shares an Instagram statement, hitting out at “people with grudges”. He claims it is “the same handful of people with a grudge against me or the show who seem to have the loudest voice,” adding: “This Morning is the best show to work on, with the best people. In all the years I worked there there was no toxicity.”
Holmes calls Schofield’s post “delusional”, telling him: “If you are looking for a fight, you have picked the wrong person.”
A GB news interview with Holmes airs, in which he accuses ITV of “covering up” Schofield’s relationship. He says: “Those in authority had to know what was going on and they thought they would dodge a bullet with this. With Schofield talking about those who speak out against him– namely me, Amanda Holden, Dr Ranj [Singh] as well. You simply sit there and think ‘No mate, you’ve had it all your way for too long’.”
The Independent contacted Schofield for comment.
