Phillip Schofield has been accused of making a subtle swipe at Holly Willoughby as their This Morning partnership came to an end.
The former ITV presenter revealed that he and Holly are no longer speaking after he told her not to reply to his final text after admitting the hurt he'd caused by his affair with a younger colleague.
In an emotional interview with the BBC, Phillip was quizzed on his friendship with Holly and whether she knew about what was going on
He was asked by interviewer Amol Rajan: "Did you ever tell Holly?"
Phillip replied: "No god no. I don't know whether Holly ever asked me, she might have done, but I would have denied it.
"Holly did not know. Nobody knew."
His words contradicted Holly who said she had asked Phil directly if there was anything go on with their staff member and he lied to her.
In a statement released after the affair reveal, Holly wrote: "It's taken time to process yesterday's news.
"When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not.
"It's been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie."
As well as Holly claiming she had a past conversation with Phillip about the rumours, ITV also said they investigated the allegations in 2020.
A spokesperson said that following an internal inquiry into allegations of an affair between the show's lead presenter and a runner and found the suggestion did not go more than 'rumours' after quizzing staff.
Holly returned to her usual This Morning slot on Monday after taking a two week break.
She appeared alongside Josie Gibson who offered her support as she gave an opening statement about the Phillip controversy.
Holly wore all white as she addressed the scandal and read out a statement.
She started by asking viewers if they were okay before saying it felt "very strange indeed" being there without Phillip.
The mum-of-three said that she felt "shaken", "troubled" and "let down" by her former friend, saying she had given "love and support to someone who was not telling the truth".
"You me and all of us at This Morning gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth, who acted in a way that they themselves felt that they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career that they loved," Holly said.
"That is a lot to process, and it's equally hard to see the toll that it's taken on their own mental health.
"I think what unites us all now is a desire to heal, for the health and wellbeing of everyone.
"I hope that we start this new chapter and get back to a place of warmth and magic that this show holds for all of us, we can find strength in each other."
