Phillip Schofield has stepped down as host of ITV’s This Morning alongside Holly Willoughby.
The 61-year-old has hosted the show for 20 years, but Holly, 42, will take his place.
This comes after weeks of rumours that they were ‘barely communicating’ behind closed doors and that their romance had ‘cooled’.
ITV revealed the news: ‘After more than 20 years on the This Morning sofa, Phillip Schofield has stepped back from ITV’s flagship morning show having presented his last episode on Thursday 18 May.
‘Having co-hosted the multi-award winning show for two decades, Phillip will continue to present peak time shows for ITV including next month’s The British Soap Awards and a new prime time series.’
Phil added: ‘I have always been proud to cover fascinating stories on This Morning. But recently, This Morning itself has become the story.
‘Throughout my career in TV – including the very difficult last few days – I have always done my best to be honourable and kind.
‘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. So I have agreed to step down from This Morning with immediate effect, in the hope that the show can move forward to a bright future.
‘I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me – especially This Morning’s amazing viewers – and I’ll see you all for the Soap Awards next month.’
Let’s take a look back at Phil’s career so far as he prepares for the next chapter…
Children’s TV
Phil began his career in the United Kingdom on children’s television in 1985. He has previously worked in New Zealand on the youth music show Shazam!
He spent two years on CBBC before moving on to host Going Live! The compilation programme featured interviews with well-known celebrities, music performances, and frequent gunges.
Phil becomes Joseph
In the final series of Going Live! between Philip left to take on the titular role in the West End’s Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat. He took over in 1992 from Jason Donovan, and remained in the production for five years.
This Morning
Phil joined original co-host Fern Britton on the sofa of This Morning in 2002. He succeeded John Leslie.
Holly took over as CEO in 2009.
In 2020, he had a major personal moment on the show. He comes on This Morning to open up a little more after coming out as homosexual on Instagram: ‘This is not something that happened overnight. This has been bothering me for quite some time. We’ve been through this together, we’ve been honest and open, and Steph [Lowe, Phil’s wife], as I mentioned… I can’t put into words how I feel for that woman.
‘She is amazing. She’s incredible. There is no one in my life who would have supported me, as a wife, the way she’s supported me. She’s astonishing, literally astonishing.’
ITV primetime shows
Dancing on Ice premiered in 2006, and it provided the platform for the renowned duo of Phil and Holly.
She departed short in 2011, and Christine Lampard took her place until 2014. Holly was back when the programme resumed in 2018 after a brief sabbatical.
He began presenting the British Soap Awards in the same year as Dancing on Ice debuted, and he will continue to do so after leaving This Morning.
Phil and Fern founded All Star Mr. and Mrs. in 2009. When his co-host resigned in 2010, he was on his own for the next six years.
He also began hosting The Cube, a game show in which competitors compete in tasks in a limited environment for cash rewards, in 2009. It came to an end in 2015.
