Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby dropped from This Morning promo as it’s revealed pair ‘barely speak’
PHILLIP Schofield and Holly Willoughby were dropped from a This Morning promo video after it was revealed that the pair ‘barely speak’.
It comes after Phillip, 61, released a statement last night as he broke his silence on his crumbling relationship with Holly, 42.
Insiders have told us that their 14-year relationship has “cooled” as issues have “rumbled for some time” on the ITV show – and body language expert Judi James has confirmed that this can be picked up in their on-screen interaction.
But today Holly and Phillip were replaced by Alison Hammond, 48, and Dermot O’Leary, 49, on This Morning today as they present the programme every Friday.
The two promoted the 12 At 12 segment – which is a competition that sees Holly and Phillip help viewers get their hands on up to £12,000.
As they spoke about it coming up on the show next week, Alison and Dermot explained to fans that they need to register if they want to win.
Usually Phillip and Holly appear in the promo clip for the competition – but today they were nowhere to be seen.
Yesterday Phillip released a statement to The Sun in a last-ditch attempt to save his This Morning partnership.
Pouring out his heart, Phil said: “As I have said before, Holly is my rock.
“We’re the best of friends — as always, she is an incredible support on screen, behind the scenes and on the phone.
“Holly has always been there for me, through thick and thin. And I’ve been there for her.
“The last few weeks haven’t been easy for either of us.”
Phil took three weeks off the show in March as his brother Timothy Schofield, 54, was convicted of child sex offences.
He is due to be sentenced next week. Phil’s statement added: “My family went through a real ordeal.
“And Holly’s support throughout meant the world to me, as did the support of my bosses at ITV, my editor Martin Frizell and the whole This Morning family, including our amazing viewers.
“And of course Holly has herself been ill with shingles.
“Whatever happens, we still have each other to count on.”
Holly is said to have been left ‘blindsided’ after her co-host released a statement about their friendship.
According to reports in the MailOnline, Holly had no idea that Phil was planning to talk and she was first made aware of it when the article was published.
A source said: “Holly had to find out from someone else which must have been awful for her. She has been so loyal to him.
“It has been upsetting for her, they have been pretty inseparable for 14 years. They have been through so much together, some happy and some really tough. But now their once super close friendship is no longer.”
Holly has since hinted at her fallout with her This Morning co-star in her latest blog post for her Wylde Moon website.
In her Wylde Moon post, Holly reflects on her stint hosting I’m A Celebrity in 2018, when she stepped in for the absent Ant McPartlin, and how that started a journey of self-reflection.
She wrote: “I think kindness and patience are the most important attributes in life. Whilst I feel it’s in everyone to be kind, personally, patience is something that I have definitely had to learn.
“I think when you live a fast-paced life, the urgency of your needs and expectations mean you’re permanently looking for short cuts to make things happen quickly. The big truth (as I’ve come to learn it) is that anything in life that’s worth having, is worth building up to and waiting for. It’s the delayed gratification that makes all of it worth the wait! Kindness and patience are totally non-negotiable for me – and should be for everybody.
“I’ve been thinking a lot recently about kindness. The Be Kind mantra is wonderful and it’s incredible to see it be spoken about and used so much more openly now. I was thinking of ways that we could move this on even further and maybe make a pledge to be kind ourselves – ‘I’m going to be kind’ – because it brings it back to us and what we can control and change to be and do better.”
This Morning isn’t the only thing people are talking about as their rift has thrown their Dancing On Ice presenting gig into doubt.
A source said: “Holly and Phil are the shining stars of Dancing on Ice, but if they aren’t getting on there are fears it won’t work.
“Dancing on Ice is a huge ITV show and it draws in around four million viewers per episode.
“Both Holly and Phil are complete professionals and neither of them would ever let on there was an issue on screen.
“But now the issues in their working relationship are out in the open, it cannot be brushed under the carpet.”
It comes after plenty of signs have shown that Holly and Phillip haven’t been talking backstage at This Morning.