Phillip Schofield’s daughters have followed his lead by unfollowing his former This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby on Instagram.
According to MailOnline both Molly and Ruby Schofield showed a unified front with their embattled father with the move.
A source told the publication: “Both Molly and Ruby have seen their father go through hell, they have been at his side as he has lost everything. Meanwhile, by following Holly on Instagram they see her carrying on with her life.
“The whole scandal has taken its toll on them, their support for him has been unwavering and this is the final nail. They are staunchly loyal to their dad, despite everything that has gone on.”
In the past, Schofield, who recruited Willoughby to the ITV daytime show 14 years ago, would see his daughters enjoy girls’ nights out with the presenter during their many joint family holidays on Portugal’s Algarve where they stayed in neighbouring villas.
The sisters had grown close to Willoughby since they were teenagers.
Molly, aged 30, also worked with Willoughby for many years due to her role as a talent agent at publicity agency YMU where the presenter was signed until 2020, when she left over a legal dispute over future earnings.
Schofield, who stepped down from This Morning in May after publicly admitting to having an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a much younger This Morning staff member, also parted ways with the agency folllowing the scandal.
Earlier this week Willoughby made her first public appearance at the National Television Awards (NTAs) for the first time in 13 years without Schofield.
It comes as the ITV morning programme, which has been on a winning streak in the daytime category for the last number of years, continues to face a backlash amid the furore over the Schofield affair.
However, during a red carpet chat at the NTAs Willoughby pushed back on the claims of a toxic culture at the show. “We are very blessed, we have a great team of people, we really do,” she insisted.
“I know there’s been a lot of talk about things and for me personally, I don’t want to speak on behalf of other people, it’s a world I don’t recognise. For me, I look around and see the team getting ready and giving it all. I just want to come to work and have more of that.”
Viewership for last Monday’s show, when Willoughby returned from her eight-week summer annual holiday, was down by 200,000 compared to the previous Friday when Alison Hammond co-hosted with Dermot O’Leary.
An independent inquiry into the Schofield scandal is ongoing.
