Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield have 'vanished' from their usual appearance in a This Morning promo after a statement was issued addressing their 'feud'. Claims have been made that the pair are 'barely speaking' behind the scenes of the ITV daytime show.
Claims of a rift have been brewing in recent weeks after the presenters failed to host the programme together for a number of weeks. Phillip, 61, recently returned to the show after taking pre-planned leave around his brother’s sex abuse trial at Exeter Crown Court last month.
The Sun previously reported the absence had contributed to a “cooling” of their friendship. But in a fresh statement, the veteran presenter told the paper: "As I have said before, Holly is my rock. We’re the best of friends – as always, she is an incredible support on screen, behind the scenes and on the phone.
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"Holly has always been there for me, through thick and thin. And I’ve been there for her. The last few weeks haven’t been easy for either of us."
In April, Phillip's younger brother Timothy Schofield, 54, was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child. Holly, 42, was also ill and took time off This Morning just a couple of weeks later.
Following Phillip's statement, a new episode of This Morning aired live on ITV with Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary at the helm. The duo usually present Friday's edition of the daytime show and fill in for the main hosts during the various holidays throughout the year.
During the last show of the week, Alison and Dermot promoted what was coming up next week on the programme, including the 12 At 12 competition, which sees Phil and Holly, usually with the help of Josie Gibson, help their viewers win up to £12,000 in cash.
Viewers were asked to register their interest in entering the competition this week ahead of it happening next week, but unlike other weeks, where Holly and Phil appeared in the promotional video, there was no sign of them, the Mirror reports. However, later in the show Alison, 48, did mention Holly and Phil will be running a 'scam clinic' on Monday’s show (May 15).
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