Phillip Schofield believes he was ‘hung out’ by This Morning bosses after dramatically announcing on Instagram on Saturday that he was leaving the role, following his feud with co-presenter and former best friend Holly Willoughby.
The pair are said to have negotiated a truce in a private chat with Schofield, agreeing to leave the show in a deal that will see him get another solo presenting gig and keep discussions open about his future on other shows such as Dancing On Ice. .
The veteran host eventually agreed to the network’s ultimatum that he retired as host of the daytime program after 21 years amid an argument with his co-star – who reportedly told ITV she would leave if he stayed on the show.
He issued a clear statement on social media thanking fans for their support, but did not mention Willoughby at all, as sources say he told friends that the channel has “hung him too dry.”
Schofield, 61 – who was believed to have fled on holiday yesterday to visit his mother in Cornwall – now has only ‘flutters’ from his friendship with Willoughby after failing to tell her about his sexual abuse case brother.
Schofield issued a pointed statement on social media thanking fans for their support, but did not mention Willoughby at all
Sources say it’s hard to see how the pair’s friendship could ever recover from the feud
Phillip Schofield was sensationally kicked out of This Morning yesterday after co-star Holly Willoughby told ITV bosses she no longer wanted to work with him
An ITV source told the Mirror: ‘Phil’s fate was decided on Friday. It was a unanimous decision that he had to go.
He was upset, but determined that if he walked away he wanted to keep his roles on The Cube, the British Soap Awards and Dancing on Ice – crucially, with or without Holly.
“It’s all been worked out as smoothly as possible, but behind the scenes he’s told friends he’s been left to dry. And his friendship with Holly is now in tatters.
“It’s hard to see how it could recover. That he chose to expressly thank people who supported him – and the viewers – without mentioning her, says it all.’
The once inseparable couple had grown increasingly apart in recent months, but the split became final after Mr Schofield failed to tell 42-year-old Willoughby about his brother’s sexual assault lawsuit.
Phillip left the show after frantic meetings with his representatives and ITV’s top leaders. They agreed to a compromise where he was promised he could host a new show solo and talks around existing shows would continue, The Mirror reported.
It’s not clear exactly who will host the show tomorrow, but it will be someone from the This Morning team.
It is clear that Schofield, who was described as ‘a broken man’, dug in his heels to stay until the end, and that 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.
That’s what an insider told me The sun : ‘ITV bosses had to choose which horse to support – Phil or Holly. And it was clear where their loyalties lay.’
They added, “Holly is the real winner in all of this as she has come out victorious and classy.”
Mr Schofield said: ‘I’ve 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 past few 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.
So I’ve agreed to step down from This Morning effective immediately, in hopes that the show has a bright future.
“I want to thank everyone who has supported me, especially the wonderful viewers of This Morning.” He made no mention of Mrs. Willoughby.
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 Schofield time to leave his West London home to get away from it all and escape the limelight.
Thursday’s ITV show, which ended Holly with ‘See you Monday!’ while Phil simply said ‘Bye’, prompted viewers to speculate he knew it would be his last time on the This Morning sofa
The pair both commented on Schofield’s departure from the show, with Holly Willoughby saying: ‘The bank won’t be the same without him’
Gino D’Acampo is pictured fulfilling his promise that he would cook naked on This Morning if they won at the NTA Awards
The pair’s split, pictured in 2014, became final after Schofield failed to tell Willoughby about his brother’s child sex trial
Former close friends Schofield and Willoughby, pictured together on Dancing on Ice in 2006, had grown increasingly apart in recent months
In addition to losing his job, he is said to be distraught over his brother Timothy’s 11 convictions on child sex charges. His brother was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Friday.
It can also be revealed that there was a lot of bickering about what the exit strategy would be, whether he left immediately or stuck around until summer break and quietly didn’t return.
Mrs. Willoughby, who had found it difficult to sit next to him lately, hoped the situation would be resolved sooner rather than later.
It comes after weeks of feuding between the one-time king and queen of daytime television. Ms Willoughby, described as ‘quietly shrewd’ by those who know her, is said to have told ITV she could no longer share a sofa with him, while making it clear she wants to stay.
A source said: ‘It was actually an ultimatum, Holly won the war. We say what Holly wants, Holly gets, and a truer word has never been spoken.”
Ms. Willoughy also has the full support of Martin Frizell, This Morning’s veteran editor.
He’s keen to pair Mrs Willoughby with Alison Hammond, the former showbiz reporter whom he promoted to Friday presenter two years ago.
Willoughby, described as ‘quietly shrewd’ by those who know her, is said to have told ITV she could no longer share a sofa with Schofield (pictured holidaying in Dubai in 2016)
Willoughby said she had ‘never been so proud’ of Schofield when he came out as gay in 2020
The presenters were accused of queuing the Queen last year, which they denied and said they were working
The pair were the one-time king and queen of daytime television. Their reign on This Morning began in 2009
However, Schofield had the support of Frizell’s boss Emma Gormley, daytime head of ITV. Insiders call Schofield and Mrs Gormley the ‘losers’ in this.
It comes after Ms Willoughby was also left “sad and angry” after Schofield released a statement about the state of their friendship earlier this month, without consulting her.
Yesterday she made a brief statement. She wrote: ‘It has been over 13 wonderful years presenting This Morning with Phil and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for all his knowledge, his experience and his humour.
“The couch won’t feel the same without him.” She signed the statement with a pink heart emoji.
ITV sources are now expecting a stir in Dancing On Ice, the other show Mrs Willoughby and Schofield present together.
One of them said: ‘Someone will have to part with that too, they can never work together again.’
The Mail on Sunday first revealed that Mr Schofield and Mrs Willoughby’s relationship was strained as they were accused of jumping into ranks to pay their respects to the Queen when she lay in state last year.
But it was the fallout from the lawsuit against Mr. Schofield’s brother that ultimately tore apart the failing friendship.
The Mail on Sunday also revealed last week how a runner who mysteriously worked with Schofield left his role on This Morning after developing a close friendship with the host.
The man, in his 20s, moved on to the ITV show Loose Women before leaving the network entirely.