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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Courtney Pochin

Savage Holly Willoughby claims: 'User who fakes friendships and ignores team'

For years, Holly Willoughby has been the 'golden girl' of British television, with high-profile presenting gigs on This Morning, Dancing on Ice and I'm A Celeb.

But amid her falling out with former best pal Phillip Schofield, and his subsequent departure from ITV, there have also been claims levied about the 42-year-old mum-of-three.

Former co-star Eamon Holmes laid into Holly in his bombshell interview with GB News last night, accusing her of 'using people' and 'mixing in circles, which she thought would open doors for her'.

He went on to say that he believes her current friendship with fellow This Morning presenter Alison Hammond has been faked for the cameras.

Eamon Holmes has made bombshell claims about Holly in a recent interview (S Meddle/ITV/REX)

He said: "This nonsense that goes on that Holly Willoughby now has Alison Hammond as her best friend, and it's Alison Hammond's birthday party and Alison Hammond goes to Holly Willoughby select night out with her friends.

"This wouldn't have happened two years ago. You kidding? Alison has been on that program 13 years.

"And I'm sure there was very little contact between her and the presenters. But then it all changed. They use people. It's disgusting. And it's tolerated."

Eamon also went on to proclaim that neither Holly nor Phil knew any of the names of the crew members working on the show.

"This is legendary within the production team... how they just don't care," he insisted.

The Mirror has contacted Holly and Alison for comment about Eamon's allegations.

Vanessa Feltz says Holly is a 'great woman' (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

However, not everyone shares this sentiment, with some of Holly's co-stars having had much kinder things to say about her.

Vanessa Feltz recently opened up about her relationship with Holly and Alison in an interview with OK! in which she branded them both 'great women' and said the friendships were 'real'.

"We're proper friends in real life. It's not just a TV thing, it's a real thing. Both of those women are 100 percent there for me and have been in various different circumstances," she admitted.

"Without question, they're among the first women I hear from. They're great women and they're great friends. What you see on TV is what they're really like, and they're very funny. They are excellent company and tremendous for a girls' night out."

Similarly, Dec Donnelly, who picked Holly to step in for Ant as a co-host during I'm A Celebrity in 2018, has previously praised the blonde star, explaining she was 'top of his list' for a presenting partner.

Speaking backstage at the BAFTA TV Awards in 2019, he added that with Holly by his side, the show was in "a safe pair of hands".

A source claimed Holly had helped Alison through difficult times recently (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

And back in March, it was reported that Holly was a big 'support' to Alison after she split with her partner and was blackmailed by a former friend.

A source told Closer Magazine: "[Holly's] been helping to lift Alison's spirits by not only being there for her to talk to and a shoulder to lean on but by instilling her with confidence and helping her focus on how many positive things she has in her life."

They added that although the pair have "never been best friends," Alison "has been touched" by Holly's support - which is said to have included almost daily texts and invitations to come over for wine.

More recently, Alison and fellow co-star Dermot O'Leary also directly addressed the claims that This Morning is a 'toxic' place to work.

Speaking on the show on Monday (May 29) Dermot commented: "We know we have been in the news at the moment. But just from both of us, and the whole team here, the crew, the guys downstairs, we love making this show for all of you."

Alison added: "We really do and that's exactly what we're gonna do - we're continuing to do that."

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