How Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield’s multi-million pound brand empire risks crumbling over This Morning fallout
THEY are the King and Queen of daytime TV, with a brand empire built off the back of their incredible success.
But could Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield‘s fortunes take a turn for the worse as the This Morning hosts’ fallout goes public?
Phil made a public plea to save his TV partnership this week by telling The Sun: “The last few weeks haven’t been easy for either of us.”
He and Holly looked uneasy yesterday on-screen, with sources claiming the ITV duo are “not as close as they once were” after a series of bruising scandals.
The reported breakdown in their relationship comes after they were slammed over ‘queue-gate’, while Phil was left reeling last month after his brother Tim was convicted of child sex offences.
The tensions risk breaking their TV partnership in two but also damaging business deals that have earned them millions over the years.
PR guru and talent agent Carla Speight told The Sun it’s a difficult time for Phil, whose reputation has been “seriously damaged”.
She tells The Sun: “Holly will be fine, she’s survived and thrived since queue-gate. I’m not so sure about Phil though.
“He really does need to reconnect with his fans and rebuild public opinion around him.”
Here, we look at how the duo have made their money and the challenges they face.
Joint business empire
Before landing the This Morning gig, Holly had impressed ITV while fronting Dancing On Ice from 2006 onwards.
Three years later, she replaced Fern Britton on the daytime TV show, much to the fury of the star’s agent, who allegedly branded her a bimbo without a “single flicker of talent”.
Phil defended Holly and the duo grew closer, which helped land them bigger presenting salaries together.
Back in 2017, the relationship was rocked after it was revealed Phil was earning £200,000 more than Holly, who was on £400,000-a-year.
After the furore, ITV bumped up her pay packet to match that of the TV legend, who made a name for himself on CBBC back in 1985.
The duo are now reportedly paid £730,000 per year for This Morning and top up their earnings with Dancing On Ice fees, supposedly netting £200,000 each per series.
Separately, Holly also made a reported £375,000 for the show Take Off With Bradley Walsh and £300,000 for Wim Hof’s Superstar Revival.
Carla told us: “Holly is far more versatile than Phil in terms of brand deals and even presenting jobs.
“Holly has worked hard across a wide range of work over the years, everything she’s worked on has been a hit and that’s thanks to her versatility and ability to connect with audiences.”
Holly’s deals
Holly has made an eye-watering fortune reportedly worth as much as £10million.
Her TV gigs are paid through Roxy Media Ltd, which the star owns 80 per cent of, with her husband Dan Baldwin owning the remaining chunk.
In August last year, it was reported that Holly’s company was worth £1,432,039 and made around £700,000 from that working year alone.
But it’s not just telly jobs that have bumped up her net worth, she’s also bagged lucrative deals, adverts and sponsorship collaborations.
From Instagram alone, PR expert Andy Barr told FEMAIL that she cold “charge £200,000 plus for a long-term tie-up… with a mainstream consumer brand”.
He also believed she could “easily command £250,000-plus for any TV-based commercial deals” – but she earned triple that amount when she took home £750,000 from Garnier in 2021.
The PR pro believed her deal with Dunelm Mills would have earned the star £1million and her M&S deal around £950,000 – a sum that’s since increased.
Last October, while Phil was dropped from his £1million-a-year We Buy Any Car deal over ‘queue-gate’, Holly bagged an undisclosed “seven-figure deal” from M&S.
It’s also believed the host earned more than £1million for her book Reflections with publishing company Penguin and takes home £35,000-a-time from speaking engagements.
Holly sells jewellery through her company Wylde Moon, which flogs necklaces for up to £450 and £65 candles.
Despite the recent dramas, Carla predicts Holly will be able to weather this recent storm and continue to land big deals.
“Holly maintains that presence without her personal life being splashed all over the papers. This is why brands love her,” she says.
“She’s got a huge loyal following and is selective with who she works with, meaning any brand deal she takes on is a meeting of equals.
“Her selectiveness implies she only works with brands she authentically believes in and would use herself, rather than a seven-figure deal that’s clearly only a cash deal, which is why it works so well for her.”
Phil’s deals
Phil made a name for himself on TV more than 11,600 miles away in New Zealand before his big move back to the UK to front CBBC.
He co-hosts ITV’s biggest daytime show but has presented small shows on the channel including Mr & Mrs and its celebrity spin-off, The Cube and Beat The Star.
Phil’s reportedly worth £12million but his fortune could be fading fast after the recent bombshells
Last year, he was dropped from his £1million deal with We Buy Any Car after ‘jumping the queue’ ahead of the Queen’s funeral – and he hasn’t fared much better with his wine range.
His offerings Phillip Schofield’s Benevento IGT Falanghina and Nero di Troia IGP Organic received a bitter reception from the public.
They were blown away that the TV star was flogging the wines for a whopping £24.99 a pop in Waitrose.
The high-end chain dropped the wine brand in October last year after customers called it “overpriced”, “unpalatable” and “simply beyond saving”.
Carla tells The Sun that Phil’s business deals seem “less genuine” than Holly’s because the public has “never really seen him front a brand”.
He’s a stalwart on our screens and has been a national treasure for years. This Morning wouldn’t be the same without either of them
Carla Speight, PR guru
She thought the We Buy Any Car deal was “a strange collaboration” and didn’t seem as “authentic” as partnerships made by his co-star.
Carla told us: “Phil could do with watching how Holly is aligning herself with brands and follow suit.
“If he aligned with brands consumers could really see him using in real life, then he has the potential to push for the higher figures and provide a good ROI (return on investment) for the brands.
“Otherwise, he will continue to be seen as ‘in it for the cash’ star, which consumers don’t like and aren’t convinced by.”
Phil’s property business Fistral Properties doesn’t appear to be in great shape either, with the firm reporting it was £72,000 in the red last August.
It also had losses of £23,066 back in 2021 and £35,692 during its first year of trading back in 2020 – but nearly £1million in properties and £21,035 cash on its books.
Meanwhile, Fistral Productions, which deals with Phil’s media, entertainment and presenting gigs, also reported a £14,993 loss but sat on a fortune of £2,464,251.
The losses follow the release of Phil’s 2020 autobiography Life’s What You Make, which became a bestseller and earning him a reported £1.45million.
Carla believes the TV star needs to separate himself from the scandal related to his brother and urgently focus on rebuilding his reputation.
She tells us: “Queue-gate was damaging, and the additional damage from his brother’s prosecution and impending sentencing will mean he’s got a lot to do to separate himself from that and rebuild his good reputation and career.
“If he does this with his fans at the heart of his rebuild, he will come back from this.
“He’s a stalwart on our screens and has been a national treasure for years. This Morning wouldn’t be the same without either of them.”