Piers Morgan has revealed that Phillip Schofield has confessed to him that he is 'utterly heartbroken' over his departure from This Morning.
Former Good Morning Britain host Piers, 58, has leaked his private conversation with the fallen This Morning presenter, 61, after he announced last week that he was leaving the show after 21 years with 'immediate effect'.
Phillip stepped down from his role as host of This Morning amid fiery rumours of a feud between him and his co-host, Holly Willoughby, and pressures in recent weeks amid his brother's sex abuse trial.
After Phillip released his statement where he announced that he would not be returning to This Morning, the ITV star was given only a brief and rather emotionless send-off by former co-stars Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary who fronted the show on Monday after the dramatic weekend which saw Phillip leave and Holly remain silent.
While a number of stars have come out in support of Phillip, including Piers, Rochelle Humes, and Clodagh McKenna, the majority of his fellow ITV colleagues have remained neutral and tight-lipped about the situation, choosing not to share their opinion at all.
However, Piers has been incredibly vocal about his feelings on the matter, calling those at ITV 'savages' and 'vipers' over their treatment of Phillip, who he feels made This Morning one of the most successful shows on the channel.
The TalkTV host, who previously found himself embroiled in a long-running feud with Phillip, has continued to back the fallen TV presenter amid his dramatic exit, and has now shared some insight into how Phil is feeling as tongue continue to wag about his crumbling friendship with Holly.
Reacting to the media frenzy following Phil's announcement, Piers described it as 'brutal to watch' but also 'entirely unsurprising'.
Piers revealed that he has been in contact with the Phillip this week, and revealed that the TV star is utterly devastated by what has been said about him and feels hurt over the lack of emotion shown by those he once felt closest to.
Controversial TV star Piers has since called out Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary handling of the situation, as they briefly addressed Phillip's departure on This Morning on Monday, however, they were blasted as 'insincere' and 'heartless' by many viewers.
"We can't start the show without paying tribute to the man who spent the last two decades sitting on the This Morning sofa," said Alison. "Quite simply, we all know he's one of the best live television broadcasters this country has ever had and we and all the team wish him all the best."
To which Dermot added: "As a show, everyone on and off screen want to say a huge thank you to Phil for what he's done to make the show a success over the last 21 years."
Following the brief mention of Phillip, This Morning viewers were baffled as to why there was no montage of his best bits, or throwback clips of himself and Holly's funny moments throughout their 13 year reign - instead, there were pictures of the presenter shown on screen.
Piers has now too hit out at the 'cold' tribute to Phillip, telling The Sun: "I don’t know the full story behind Phillip Schofield’s downfall, but where I feel personal empathy with him is over the manner of his sacking.
"For ITV to not even give him the chance to say a proper goodbye to his large, loyal audience after 21 years struck me as needlessly churlish, and I know he’s utterly heartbroken about it because he told me himself."
Defending his fellow presenter, Piers wrote: “Phillip’s not the evil monster he’s being painted as, nor is he the angel his previously halo-clad reputation suggested."
Piers can relate to how Phillip is feeling after his departure from ITV after he too was forced to quit in March 2021.
He stormed off the set of Good Morning Britain during a heated debate about Meghan Markle - a public figure who he has publicly berated for several years.
Days after he furiously stormed out of the Good Morning Britain studio, Piers dramatically quit the show after thousands of viewers complained about his concerning remarks about the Duchess of Sussex, following her televised and highly controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey about the royal family.
Piers quit the show after six long years beside his co-host alongside Susanna Reid.
At the time, ITV released a brief statement, confirming that TV presenter would not be making a return to the show.
"Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain. ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add," the statement read.
