Ruth Langsford looked set to become the latest star to investigate a feuding Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on Tuesday’s episode of Loose Women.
The presenter, 63, led the panel alongside Kéllé Bryan, Coleen Nolan and Janet Street-Porter.
The show came shortly after Phillip, 61, and Holly, 42, returned to ITV’s This Morning again on Tuesday amid claims of a behind-the-scenes breakdown in the duo’s friendship.
As the Loose Women team discussed blind dates, Ruth asked the others, “Would you trust your friends to set you up on a blind date?”
Coleen was quick to respond, saying, “I trust you all choose a blind date. Well, would I? Yes. I would! I would actually.’
Uh oh: Ruth Langsford, 63, looked set to become the latest star to dig into a feuding Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on Tuesday’s Loose Women
Tense: Phillip and Holly have continued to host This Morning this week, but have not addressed their on-air feud
Ruth apparently couldn’t resist the chance to reference Phillip and Holly’s ongoing fallout.
She joked, “Well, we could argue at that point, so…”
Her comment made the rest of the panel and studio audience burst into laughter.
Ruth went on to joke, “If we have a fight, we might pick a really horrible one!”
It comes after her husband Eamonn Holmes launched a blistering attack on his former This Morning co-stars on Monday morning.
Amid crisis talks at ITV over the future of its two top stars, Eammon called the partnership “heartbroken” when he discussed the fallout on his GB News show.
Referring to Sunday night’s BAFTA TV Awards, where neither Phil nor Holly attended, Eammon 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.’
Ex-colleagues: Eamonn co-hosted the ITV daytime show with his wife Ruth Langsford from 2006 to August 2021 until he was ‘dropped’ by ITV
Awkward: ITV would be crisis talks as Holly and Phil failed to deal with their fallout for a second day on the air
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.”
Eamonn co-hosted the ITV daytime show with his wife Ruth from 2006 until August 2021, until he was ‘dropped’ by ITV and replaced by Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
And on Monday, Lorraine also broke her silence on the feud, revealing that she believes it would be “so sad” if the collaboration ended.
Lorraine shared what she thinks the future holds for the couple The sun: ‘Do you know what they were back today and it was business as usual and everyone just carries on.’
She continued, “I’d be sad if they left the show, but I don’t think that will ever happen and I think they’ll just get on with it.”
Phillip and Holly have yet to discuss their on-air feud and have continued to air their show as usual – despite losing 170,000 viewers in a week.
Figures showed that Monday’s episode was watched by an average of 726,720 people, compared to 894,000 on the same day last week. Peak viewership was also significantly down to 914,000 compared to 1.058 million on May 8.
The duo, on the other hand, attracted 1.3 million viewers for their Christmas show in 2022 and averaged 1.4 million in the first four weeks of 2021.
Viewers watching today’s episode described the atmosphere as “awkward,” with one tweeting, “Haven’t seen the show in months. I thought I’d watch today’s, but it’s clear the collaboration is tense.’
Insiders have described Phil as “increasingly withdrawn” on set, with one telling The mirror: ‘He seems down and spends a lot of time in his dressing room. We’re worried about him.’
He also appeared to be ‘quitting’ social media amid the fallout – as his last post appeared on May 7, where he shared a video while on a trip to Paris.
It comes as Holly wrote a newsletter for her well-being brand Wylde Moon, revealing the star in a reflective mood.
“The older I get, the more I realize how daunting the concept of the passage of time can be,” she mused. ‘I can always remember my grandma saying things like ‘wait until you get to my age…then it really starts to fly by’ – and now I really get it.
“If this resonates with you, I’d like to share with you some advice that one of my friends gave me when we were discussing this very subject.
“She told me that instead of worrying about how fast things are going, we should look at things differently and realize that with every moment (big or small) that passes, we are creating a future full of joy, love and endless possibilities.’
Holly and Phil, who are embroiled in one of television’s biggest blowouts, didn’t talk about their split when they returned to This Morning on Monday, but viewers described them as “awkward” and “embarrassing.”
On Tuesday, a source suggested that public skepticism about the couple’s attempt to put up a united front could force ITV bosses to make a ‘tough decision’.
“This Morning’s relationship with its viewers is based on trust, and they need to believe that Holly and Phil’s friendship, and what they’re watching, is real,” the source said. The mirror.
The insider suggested that if this was no longer believed, ITV could be forced to replace Phil with someone else.
United Front: Sources close to the couple insist the program will continue to run smoothly, despite the backstage feud
Holly and Phil were back on screen for the first time since news of their feud broke on Monday, but couldn’t comment on claims their relationship is on the verge of breaking up and they barely speak off camera.
Phil is trying to root out the ongoing feud after it emerged he had brought in his own lawyers over the argument with his co-host, sources have revealed. He has also hired a new PR man to improve his press coverage.
Senior figures at ITV called a crisis meeting after a flurry of negative feedback on social media about yesterday’s show.
After seeing the reaction on Twitter, with viewers watching both Ms Willoughby, 42, and Schofield, 61, the ITV bosses are pondering what to do next.
A source told the Daily Mail: ‘Social media is used as a barometer to see what the public thinks. Those responsible were under no illusions that it was a total disaster.
It was painful for the This Morning team to work on it and just as painful for them to watch.
‘There was a meeting afterwards to discuss how things were going, that had been going on for a while. Honestly, everyone was so relieved it was over, but even if the show goes on for a while, it’s going to be a huge headache.”