Following Phillip Schofield‘s farewell This Morning broadcast, he and Holly Willoughby are believed to have had peace talks to call a ‘truce’ amid suspicions of their apparent feud.
Phillip, 61, confirmed in a statement on Saturday that he was leaving the ITV show after more than 20 years, calling the last few days “very difficult,” adding, “I understand that ITV has decided the current situation can’t go on, and I want to do what I can to protect the show that I love.”
‘As a result, I have agreed to leave This Morning with immediate effect in the hope that the programme can move on to a bright future.’
Holly, 42, followed up with her own statement on her Instagram Story, telling her followers: ‘It’s been over 13 amazing years hosting This Morning with Phil and I want to take this time to thank him for all of his expertise, his experience and his humour. ‘The sofa will not be the same without him.’
Phillip will still ‘continue to host peak time programmes for ITV, including next month’s The British Soap Awards and a new prime time series,’ according to the network.
Meanwhile, Holly will continue to co-host This Morning alongside a variety of other personalities, including Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
Phillip’s final appearance on This Morning on Thursday, May 18, has allegedly seen him and Holly try to mend their friendship after it was revealed that they were ‘barely communicating’ off camera.
Despite Phillip’s failure to name Holly in his leaving speech, a source claims they have reached “something of a truce.”
‘It’s been a trying period for them, but they talked about the end of an era and called a ceasefire,’ a source told The Sun.
The purported chat between the two was believed to have occurred over the phone.
Phillip joined This Morning in 2002, succeeding John Leslie and partnering Fern Britton on the sofa.
Holly then joined him in 2009, and the two went on to co-host Dancing On Ice.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.
