The BBC is reported to be plotting a bid to poach Holly Willoughby away from ITV following the wake of the Phillip Schofield scandal. Holly is reported to have received an initial approach from the BBC over in recent days.
It comes as the fallout continues from Phillip Schofield's high profile departure from ITV after the revelation of his affair with a younger male colleague. The Mirror reports top executives at the BBC are plotting new shows for Holly, with one chief contacted her directly within the past few days.
Schofield has given his first interviews in recent days since it was confirmed he was to leave ITV with immediate effect. He spoke to the BBC’s Amol Rajan and to the Sun. During the interviews, he said he is afraid to leave the house after the revelation of his affair with a younger male colleague. In a new interview with The Sun he said he feared being spat on in the street and that he was currently getting by “hour by hour”.
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Holly has largely remained quiet on the subject, and she's not been seen on screens since news of her former colleague's departure from the broadcaster broke - as she was already due to be on holiday over the half term and returning on Monday, June 5.
But sources said yesterday that Holly is "saddened" to see her former co-host like that. The source said: "Seeing Phil so downtrodden and in a bad way was distressing for a number of people who know him personally. There is a big team on This Morning and it was shocking for people to see him that way. It is an incredibly sad situation. Phil has his daughters and friends supporting him now.”
Attention is now turning to Holly's return to This Morning on Monday. She is due to present the show alongside Big Brother star Josie Gibson.
But reports on Sunday morning suggest the BBC is keen to lure Holly over to the channel. She has already hosted BBC series Freeze the Fear with Lee Mack previously.
A source said yesterday: “Holly has had a good relationship and an open dialogue with BBC bosses since she hosted Freeze the Fear.
“Ever since then they have been keen to sign her up for another project and have bent over backwards to offer her other opportunities.
“So the ongoing drama at ITV has played into their hands. The bosses have had conversations this week about what they could offer her going forward.
“And one executive reached out to her directly earlier in the week. Holly was still away on holiday at the time. But she really values her relationship with the BBC and the friendships she has built up there.”
During his recent interviews, Schofield spoke about his relationship with Willoughby. He denied there had ever been a “feud” between him and his former co-presenter and “TV sister” Holly Willoughby. “I’ve lost my best friend. I let her down,” he told The Sun. “Holly did not know. And she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say, ‘I am so, so sorry that I lied to you’.
Phillip, 61, has said the pair have broken all contact with each other following his departure from the show after two decades, and says his brother's imprisonment made her distance herself from him.
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