Eamonn Holmes has broken his silence after Phillip Schofield announced on Saturday that he was leaving This Morning after 21 years on the show.
It comes after Eamonn, 63, launched a blistering attack on his former This Morning co-stars Phillip and Holly Willoughby on Monday morning, urging them to leave the programme.
Broadcaster Phillip, 61, said in a statement this weekend of his departure: “I’ve always been proud to tell fascinating stories on This Morning. But recently, This Morning itself has become the story.
“During my career in TV – including the very difficult last days – I have always tried my best to be honorable and kind. I understand that ITV has decided that the current situation cannot continue and I want to do what I can to protect the show I love.”
Eamonn, who previously hosted This Morning with wife Ruth Langsford, took to Twitter hours later to break his silence when he shared a photo of himself with his granddaughter.
Speaking: Eamonn Holmes, 63, has broken his silence after Phillip Schofield announced on Saturday that he was leaving This Morning after 21 years on the show (Eamonn pictured with his granddaughter on Saturday)
Opinion: It comes after Eamonn launched an attack on his former This Morning co-stars Phillip and Holly Willoughby on Monday morning, urging them to leave the program
Cryptic? Eamonn, who previously hosted This Morning with wife Ruth Langsford, took to Twitter hours later to break his silence
He wrote, “Daddy got hit. Thank you Emily. All in all, that finished off a nice day.’
Phillip Schofield announced on Saturday that he would be stepping down from hosting This Morning after 21 years amid his alleged feud with Holly Willoughby.
He said in his statement, “I have always taken pride in writing fascinating stories on This Morning. But recently, This Morning itself has become the story.
“During my career in TV – including the very difficult last days – I have always tried my best to be honorable and kind.
Holly said: ‘It’s been over 13 amazing years presenting This Morning with Phil and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank him for all his knowledge, his experience and his humour. The bank won’t feel the same without him.’
Kevin Lygo, ITV’s Managing Director, Media and Entertainment said: ‘Phillip is without a doubt one of the best broadcasters of his generation and we thank him for his two decades of absolutely amazing television on the This Morning bank.
“This Morning was created by one of television’s best and most diligent teams, producing over 12 hours of live television each week.
“We look forward to continuing our relationship with Phillip, starting with the British Soap Awards in June and a brand new peak time series coming up.”
On Airstrike: It comes after Eamonn launched an attack on Phillip and Holly on his GB News show on Monday, telling them to leave This Morning rather than damage the show
All Stars: Eamonn was part of the This Morning (left) family along with his wife Ruth Langsford from 2006 to 2021 (pictured in February 2020)
Holly remains on the This Morning couch with other members of the ITV family after a break and Phillip continues to present other primetime projects.
It comes after Eamonn launched a blistering attack on Phillip and Holly, telling them to leave This Morning rather than damage the show.
Eammon called the partnership “heartbreaking” when discussing the fallout on his GB News show.
Referring to Sunday night’s BAFTA TV Awards, where neither Phil nor Holly attended, Eamonn joked, “I think there should have been a special award for Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby for Best Actors.”
“They may or may not be on television together today. He brought in lawyers, she brought in a PR team. The audience will surely think there’s no chemistry, that it’s a broken bond between the two and that This Morning doesn’t depend on who’s hosting it.’
The ex-This Morning star continued, “It’s an institution, it will continue no matter who presents it and anyone can check the ratings, there’s no difference between them presenting it or anyone else.”
End of the Road: On Friday, Holly said “see you Monday” as the show ended, while Phil simply said to viewers, “Bye!”
Eamonn co-hosted the ITV daytime show with his wife Ruth Langsford from 2006 until August 2021, until he was ‘dropped’ by ITV and replaced by Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
Meanwhile, Phil and Holly both looked solemn as they left for work early Monday when they were together on This Morning despite their degenerated relationship.
It comes as it turned out that Phil was sensationally kicked out of This Morning after co-star Holly told the ITV bosses she no longer wanted to work with him.
The veteran host finally agreed to the network’s ultimatum that he quit after 21 years as host of the daytime show amid a falling out with his co-star and former close friend.
Phil – who was believed to have fled on holiday on Saturday – alluded to the feud in ITV’s statement, which was issued without warning at 3pm.
History: The presenting duo (pictured in November 2009) had been working together for over a decade after Holly took over Fern Britton as Phillip’s co-host in 2009.
The once inseparable pair had grown increasingly apart in recent months, but the split became final after Phillip failed to tell Holly about his brother’s child sex case.
The shocking announcement came days after frantic meetings between Phillip, his representatives and ITV’s top leaders amid the spat between the presenters.
It’s clear that Phillip, who was described as “a broken man,” dug in his heels to stay until the end, and it took “a lot of persuasion” to agree to terminate his contract immediately. It means that last Thursday was his last appearance on This Morning.
The decision was made late on Friday after days of crisis meetings at ITV. It was decided that the announcement would be made yesterday to give Phillip time to leave his West London home to get away from it all and escape the limelight.