Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield have put on a united front on This Morning after reports emerged that their friendship was over behind the scenes.
The TV presenters hosted This Morning together since 2009 when Holly, 40, took over from Fern Britton, but now an ITV insider alleges she has distanced herself from Phillip, 61. The duo have become two of the most recognisable faces on daytime TV and would frequently spend time together outside of work and even holiday together.
Holly has reportedly made it clear that she and Phil are "separate entities" and she is prepared to do the beloved daytime show without him. The source noted that, while viewers may not pick up on the tension as they act friendly on camera, it's seemingly a different story when the show is no longer airing.
The Mirror reports that during today's episode of This Morning, Holly and Phil looked as friendly as ever as Lorraine Kelly crossed over to them at the end of her show today. The pair looked happy as they chatted and joked with Lorraine about what was to come on their show.
Holly and Phil didn't mention the speculation around their friendship, but sent their birthday wishes to Holly's son Harry as he celebrates his 17th birthday.
This comes after reports emerged that the once close friends have drifted apart, as Holly was keen to 'cool off' their friendship. An insider told The Sun: "Holly adores This Morning and for the first time in 14 years she has made it clear that should Phil ever leave she would want to stay. They are separate entities.
"To those around them on set, it has become clear recently that Holly and Phil are not as close as they once were. Professionally you would have no idea there was anything going on because on camera they are acting exactly the same."
The insider added: "But behind the scenes, their relationship has cooled."
Just last year, Holly and Phil told The Mirror that they feel 'at ease' with one another as they work together on This Morning and Dancing On Ice. Holly said: "They're different shows and that's what's nice about it.
"There's a real ease when we work together. It's not like you're going in like, oh we need to find our feet or rhythm, it's an absolute given. It's nice to be doing something a bit different but still together."
Phil agreed, as he called Holly his "best mate", adding: "The lovely thing is, I get to spend even more time with my best mate. It's lovely and I adore Holly completely and absolutely and so to be able to joke around together, it's great."
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