Holly Willoughby is seemingly unfazed by the fact that her former friend Phillip Schofield has reportedly labelled her “a witch”.
Ex-This Morning presenter Schofield, 62, is believed to have come up with the harsh nickname for his previous co-host after Holly apparently declined to assist him in retaining his position on the ITV show last year.
The Mirror disclosed on Monday evening how Schofield blamed Holly for not standing by him when he was in dire need, stating: “You brought me down.”
In a dramatic outburst, the star vented his frustration at Holly via WhatsApp just a day before news of his exit from This Morning made headlines.
An insider close to the erstwhile friends informed the Mirror: “As well as saying she had brought him down, he said he couldn’t believe his TV sister would do this to him.”
Schofield directed his ire towards Holly for not publicly supporting him after rumours emerged of discord following his brother’s court case in May 2023.
He had anticipated a public endorsement, possibly a statement or photo together, which he thought could dispel the allegations of a rift between the iconic presenting pair. However, his plea was met with silence from the mother-of-three.
The source suggests that Holly’s lack of support sealed Schofield’s fate on the renowned sofa, as viewers began questioning their once celebrated on-screen partnership.
The friend explained: “He feels it was a simple gesture that might have saved his job and her refusal to do so effectively finished him off. Believing in the TV chemistry was the bedrock of the This Morning format. After the pal’s insights – coupled with the allegation that Schofield called his former co-host “a witch” – Holly’s representatives struck back.
Holly, 43, has remained silent publicly regarding the barbs, but sources say she’s not planning to dignify them with a reaction. Speaking to the same source, a pal noted: “Holly isn’t batting an eyelid at this, it’s like she couldn’t care less. Phil is coming across as incredibly bitter. Holly knows who her friends are and they’re the people she pays attention to.”
At the time, there were swirling rumours that Holly was unaware of the legal troubles confronted by Schofield’s brother. Nevertheless, a source maintains that Holly was quite informed about the situation, disclosing that Schofield told her about his brother’s legal challenges and subsequent arrest in 2021, one month after the event.
Schofield confided to Holly, praising the police for their comprehension and expressing his gratitude for her steadfast support throughout the ordeal.
Timothy Schofield, 54, was convicted of 11 sexual offence charges against a minor occurring from October 2016 to October 2019. These include two counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child.
A friend disclosed to the Mirror that contrary to what is believed, Holly wasn’t kept in the dark by Phil’s brother’s court case, asserting: “There is a narrative – uncorrected by Holly’s team – that she was blindsided by news of his brother’s court case and was furious with him for keeping her in the dark about it. But that narrative couldn’t be further from the truth.”
During the Channel 5 three-part series Cast Away, filmed on a remote island, Schofield opened up about the repercussions of his brother’s conviction on his professional life, notably his removal from This Morning. He didn’t hesitate to report his brother upon recognising the gravity of his “heinous crime”, but lamented how this led to misrepresentation from the press as being an accomplice.
In a candid moment on the remote set of the show, Schofield shared with viewers: “I had absolutely no qualms whatsoever in shopping him. We were praised by the police and we got justice done. But still, even though they knew all of the facts the papers painted me out to be some sort of complicit agent.”
Schofield described the devastating time when he felt his world begin to crumble. Despite maintaining his innocence and ITV having knowledge of the same regarding his brother’s crimes, he painfully narrated how he was informed about his departure from This Morning just one day prior to Timothy’s sentencing.
The abrupt end to his stint on the programme was revealed to Schofield during an unexpected phone call with his agent.
“‘Mate are you somewhere quiet’ which is never a good sign,” Schofield remembered being asked on the phone by his team. “‘Yeah. okay alright. I’ve got a bit of a shock. Right. I’m afraid you’ve been let go from This Morning. Yeah that’s it, it’s done. You’re not going back on Monday'”.
He detailed how his brother’s negative press resulted in his own unjust ousting: “That has nothing to do with me,” he insisted. “Why would I be sacked for something someone else did. I’ve just been fired because of him.”
He acknowledged that he agreed to claim he quit for the programme’s reputation: “Because I was becoming more of a story than the programme. It was better for the show, better for the channel. And I agreed to say that I’d resigned because it would be neater for everybody.”
In the commentary, Schofield shared candidly about his feelings surrounding his brother’s actions and their impact on his career. He conveyed the anguish of losing his job due to his brother’s infamy: “I was fired for the bad publicity, for someone else’s crime. And the thing is about a week later, I blew my own wheels off with everything else because I thought the only way to even begin to put this right for everybody is to do a full mea culpa.”
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