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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Holly Willoughby promotes TV star's wine brand as Phillip Schofield's axed from shops

Holly Willoughby seemingly took a tiny swipe at Phillip Schofield as she promoted her pal's wine collection - weeks after her former colleague lost his.

When in Rome dropped the star days after he admitted lying to his management, ITV and colleagues over a relationship with a younger colleague.

It wasn't the only deal lost following the cheating storm with WeBuyAnyCar, Boots, the Craft Gin Club and the Princes Trust all severing their ties.

The plug was also pulled on his wine collaboration - and Holly didn't mind pushing James Martin's bottle on social media.

Uploading the plug on Instagram, she sunk a glass or two from the telly chef's collection.

She captioned the photo of the cold bottle: “Testing this out for our rose demo tomorrow. Purely for research purposes. Thanks James Martin, it’s delicious.”

Earlier, she posed for a beaming shot with stand-in presenter Dermot O'Leary.

Phil's partnership with When In Rome came to an abrupt end just three years after he joined forces with the Stroud-based company.

A spokeswoman for firm told the Mirror: "We have worked with Phillip Schofield on his range of Italian craft wines for three years and this collaboration has drawn to a natural conclusion. There are no further plans to continue filling the Schofield range for future orders."

At the time of the launch of his collaboration, the 61-year-old said: "I have really enjoyed the process of sourcing, selecting and now sharing these wines with everyone.

"I don't think there is anything I have been so passionate about, so I hope everyone enjoys them as much as I do."

Late last month, Phillip apologised for his actions after saying he had "lied" to his employers as well as the public and most importantly, his family.

In a grovelling statement, he said: "I have already apologised personally for misleading, through my lawyer who I also misled, about a story which they wanted to write about me a few days ago.

"The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning.

"I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.

"Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over."

The presenter went on to say: "When I chose to come out I did so entirely for my own wellbeing. Nobody 'forced' me out.

"Neither I nor anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever issued an injunction, super or otherwise, about my relationship with this colleague, he was never moved on or sacked by or because of me."

A week after the confession, he revealed he was “utterly broken and ashamed” - but stressed he did not groom the younger man.

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