Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby were once morning television's golden duo. By their final week presenting together, they had become a punchline even in the House of Commons.
“We all know what’s going on with her and her leader,” said deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden on Wednesday in a jibe at Labour counterpart Angela Rayner. “It’s all lovey-dovey on the surface, they turn it on for the cameras, but as soon as they’re off, it’s a different story. They’re at each other’s throats. They are the Phil and Holly of British politics.”
What went so badly wrong that Schofield ended his 20 years on This Morning without so much as an on-air goodbye? With Willoughby he had seemed to find a relaxed, light-hearted chemistry that was praised by the BBC's entertainment reporter Steven McIntosh as "precisely the dynamic needed on mid-morning television".
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Viral moments included their laughing fit when chef Gino D'Acampo told Holly: "If my grandmother had wheels, she would've been a bike." During the pandemic they shared an emotional Covid-proof hug using a “cuddle curtain” contraption. After an awards ceremony they turned up for their show the next morning apparently still tipsy in what could have been a disaster but went down well with viewers. The pair, it seemed, could do no wrong.
Viewing figures were strong and as the years passed their friendship only seemed to grow stronger, to the point they went on holiday together. When Schofield came out as gay in 2020, he spoke of his immense gratitude for his on-screen partner's support, lauding her as "so kind and wise" and revealing she had "hugged me as I sobbed on her shoulder".
But last September Schofield and Willoughby had their first PR crisis in the shape of 'queue-gate'. Many saw their visit to Queen Elizabeth II's lying-in-state as a case of skipping a 20-hour queue. Although they had done nothing wrong and were among hundreds of journalists granted press access in order to be able to report, the pair became a lightning rod for public anger, not helped by widely shared images of ex-footballer David Beckham waiting in the mammoth queue.
Last month Schofield's brother Timothy was found guilty of 11 sexual offences involving a child. Willoughby had reportedly been unaware of the trial until her co-star asked for time off. The Guardian reported that the jury heard Timothy Schofield told his "aghast" brother in September 2021 that he had watched pornography with a boy aged over 16. The criminality came to light in November 2021 when the depressed victim spoke to counsellors and revealed he had been underage. Following the conviction, Phillip Schofield said he "no longer had a brother".
There were reports Willoughby was "upset" at the lack of warning from her presenting partner over the trial. But the case itself was not the only blow to Phillip Schofield during the trial. Unusually for them, Willoughby had stayed on air while he was off work — and the presenters who stood in for Schofield were "hugely popular" according to one BBC piece which observed: "Alison Hammond in particular worked well with Willoughby, and it was not long before fans were calling for them to host the show together permanently, sparking another flurry of media stories."
When Schofield returned, some critics and viewers noticed a hitherto unseen frostiness on the sofa. The flood of speculative headlines raged on. In an attempt to address the feud rumours, Schofield released a statement acknowledging the last few weeks had not been "easy for either of us". He also said Willoughby had "always been there" for him and that they were the "best of friends".
But Willoughby was reported by the Guardian to have felt the statement "came out of the blue". Although she did not comment publicly, the BBC's Steven McIntosh noted that "certain journalists in certain newspapers seemed curiously well informed about her feelings".
Former This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes was among those to scent blood, remarking: “The public surely have sussed that there’s no chemistry, that there’s a broken fit between the two of them.” TV personality Kim Woodburn was even less diplomatic, slamming Schofield as "obnoxious" and adding: "I don't know why he's still on television."
Throughout this week, body language experts were out in force to enlighten the tabloids of any signs of tension between the pair. The Guardian's Daniel Boffey described recent broadcasts as "excruciating", while McIntosh of the BBC wrote: "There was less eye contact between the pair, less arm-touching, less general camaraderie."
Another ITV star Ruth Langford, who had previously clashed on air with Schofield, joked about the feud reports. There were more headlines when Willoughby changed her Twitter bio to remove a reference to Schofield. Tabloids reported that Willoughby had told bosses she wanted to stay on This Morning even if Schofield left. And there were reports of a drop in viewing figures of around 100,000, although similar shows saw similar falls, perhaps because of the sunny weather.
Schofield finally announced his departure, with immediate effect, in a statement on Saturday. Although officially he resigned, the Mirror reported that he had been "axed". Why was it Schofield rather than Willoughby to go? The BBC speculated that the age gap between the pair — he is 61, she 42 — was a factor in ITV's decision, but not the only one.
McIntosh wrote: "[Willoughby] is very well connected in the industry herself, having hosted many non-ITV programmes including the first two seasons of The Voice UK, when it was on BBC One. Her husband Dan Baldwin is a renowned TV producer, whose company Hungry Bear is behind big hits such as Michael McIntyre's The Wheel. At a time when Willoughby was clearly unhappy at This Morning, keeping her sweet in an attempt to stop her going to a rival broadcaster would have been a high priority for ITV bosses."
PR expert Mark Borkowski told the Guardian he suspected the “storm in the teacup” had been stirred by those acting in the interests of those who might wish to replace Schofield, and that they might get their wish. “I think ITV will be protecting the format, they will be very frustrated by it,” he said. “Every crisis is an opportunity for a TV company to rethink and there will be plenty of people who might step into their shoes.”
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