Phillip Schofield has been seen for the first time in months as he reunited with his This Morning co-star Vanessa Feltz in London.
The pair were spotted enjoying dinner together at Little Bird restaurant in Chiswick this week.
In images obtained by the MailOnline, they looked happy as they shared a hug and had an animated chat. Vanessa headed home in a car, while Phil left alone on foot.
Vanessa’s support to Phil
Meanwhile, a source told the publication: “Phillip has been very, very down recently. He doesn’t know how he is going to work again. He is pretty sure that he is done.”
They added: “He keeps saying he will never work again. It’s devastating for him to realise but he also knows that there is not a lot he can do about it.
“He doesn’t know who will take him, he knows there is no way back to ITV or the BBC.”
A rep for Phillip declined to comment.
Phil has kept a low-profile since he left This Morning in May after he admitted to a “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger colleague. Vanessa is thought to have been supporting Phil ever since.
The TV presenter regularly appears as an agony aunt on the ITV daytime show. She previously spoke out after a string of stars criticised the culture on This Morning in the wake of the scandal.
During her Talk TV show, Vanessa said: “It has been suggested that quite a lot of the people who are very vocally critical of This Morning. Actually, it’s a handful of people, there are some celebrities, a couple of journalists. And what’s been suggested is quite a lot of them were once on the programme and aren’t on it anymore.
It has been suggested that quite a lot of the people who are very vocally critical of This Morning.
“And that is the reason for this aggrieved, grudging malice that is coming out. But if you ask people who are still on the programme and who are on it regularly, who enjoy being on it, they won’t know what they’re talking about.”
Vanessa under fire
However, the pictures sparked quite the reaction during a debate on GB News as host Stephen Dixon lashed out at Vanessa. After the panel decided it was time to lay off of Phillip, Stephen continued his rant about Vanessa, saying: “I’ll tell you what really wound me up. Is Vanessa – I mean, god love her, Vanessa Feltz has been through the wringer recently.
“But she was promoting an article she’d written and she did something on Instagram that I saw. It was all about: ‘You won’t believe how much support I’ve had from my celebrity friends. This celebrity rang me, and this celebrity rang me,’ and I thought, who cares about your celebrity friends?! What about your real friends, Vanessa? But it’s all just about selling.”
He added: “It’s about selling a story, it’s all PR. I just thought, come on, Vanessa. You’ve had a really rough time but we don’t care what celebrities have messaged you. What about your real friends?”
ED! has contacted Vanessa for comment.
This Morning hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby no longer speaking
While Phil and Vanessa still appear close, he previously revealed he and former best friend Holly Willoughby are no longer on speaking terms. It came after he lied about his affair.
He told The Sun he had “lost his best friend” and “let her down”. Phil also said he felt he had let the entire show down, as well as the viewers.
He said: “Holly did not know [about the affair]. And she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say, ‘I am so, so sorry that I lied to you.’ She didn’t reply and I understand why she didn’t reply, as well. So yeah. If anyone is in any way linking Holly to this; that is absolutely, wholly untrue.”
In her own statement, Holly said it was “very hurtful” to discover he had lied. Following his departure, Phil has since been replaced with a number of different presenters.
Holly has hosted alongside names including Craig Doyle, Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary. She’s currently in Portugal during her annual summer break and is expected to return in September.
What do you think? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know