A ‘devastated’ woman As allegations of their ‘feud’ spread, Phillip Schofield is reported to have had a ‘tense’ phone discussion with Holly Willoughby.
Only a few days ago, it was discovered that the This Morning anchors were ‘barely communicating’.
According to reports, the Dancing On Ice hosts are not on good terms behind the scenes, and their relationship is deteriorating.
Phil, 61, afterwards issued his own statement, maintaining that he is still ‘best friends’ with Holly, 42.
‘The previous several weeks haven’t been easy for any of us,’ he continued.
It’s recently been stated that when reports began to circulate that Holly would want to continue on This Morning without Phil if he left, Phil called his co-star.
A source said: ‘Things have been difficult between them, but for it to play out so publicly was the last thing Phil was ever expecting.
‘He has spoken with Holly over the phone about how this all played out.’
The insider added to The Sun: ‘He’s devastated by it all and is incredibly upset.’
Holly has been suffering with shingles in recent weeks, and replacements have included Alison Hammond and Rochelle Humes.
Meanwhile, Joel Dommett filled Phil’s place when he was on vacation from the programme due to his brother Timothy Schofield’s sexual assault prosecution.
Schofield was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy over a three-year period after being accused with 11 sexual crimes involving a minor between October 2016 and October 2019 – two of which involved sexual intercourse with a kid.
Following the guilty conviction, Phil released a statement in which he stated that he ‘no longer’ has a sibling.
At the time, a source told Mail Online: ‘Holly is loyal to Phil and she will always be there for him.’
‘And she will always be there for This Morning too. She sees it as her role to keep things going.’
The pair’s claimed dispute comes on the heels of a fiasco last year in which they were accused of’skipping’ the queue to visit the Queen’s casket laying in state.
They later issued a statement in response to the outcry, emphasising that they had’respected’ the media’s regulations.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1.