Eamonn Holmes has revealed what happened backstage when Phillip Schofield came out on This Morning.
Phillip, who came out as gay in 2020, recently admitted to having an affair with a much younger colleague.
Speaking on Dan Wootton Tonight on GB News, Eamonn wasn’t shy about sharing behind-the-scenes details of the infamous episode of This Morning.
Eamonn Holmes reveals what happened backstage during Phillip Schofield coming out episode
Opening up to Dan on GB News last night (May 30), Eamonn alleged that he and his wife Ruth Langsford were unaware why Phillip was on the sofa before his coming out episode in 2020. The episode aired on a Friday – the day Eamonn and Ruth presented – and took place a few days after the NTAs, where Phil’s younger lover is said to have confronted him.
The acting is amazing, falls down on his knees crying, boo hoo hoo hoo.
“Just a few days later, you are called very early on a Friday morning, you had no notice, and you were due to be presenting a normal show and you were called and told what?” Dan asked.
Eamonn alleged: “Right, so I’m driving in and get a phone call. ‘Phillip will be arriving to appear on the programme today.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Well we can’t tell you. Holly will be coming in as well. You will be hosting bits of the programme but they’ve got something to say.’ I’m thinking, oh good, hopefully he’s going, hurrah, but it wasn’t to be.”
Dressing room discussion
“So anyway, he comes into our dressing room and he falls down to his knees, the acting is amazing, falls down on his knees crying, boo hoo hoo hoo. And I said: ‘What’s the matter?’ ‘I’m gay, I’m gay.’ I looked at him and I said: ‘Is that all? What is this?’ I thought he’d killed a child or something.
“I stood him up and I said: ‘What are you talking about? So you’re gay.’ And that tied into a lot of things you may have heard. For anybody to be imprisoned in a life that isn’t true to them would be totally wrong and we were very supportive. Ruth hugged him and we said: ‘Look, we’ll stand by you.’ It wouldn’t enter our minds that the man would’ve been discriminated against for being gay. So we were very very supportive of that.”
Eamonn felt ‘used’
“Do you feel you were used?” Dan asked.
“Oh boy, were we used,” he claimed. “We went to the studio and Miss Holly took over with a pre-prepared statement. Miss Holly is meant to be dyslexic, she read this very very well. And so they knew in advance. They’re with the same agents we are, we’re not informed of this in advance, so we’re taken for fools.”
He went on to claim: “So we get there and Ruth is constantly asked by Emma Gormley, the director of daytime, and Martin Frizell, do you want us to write something for you, do you want a script, what are you going to say? Are you sure about what you’re going to say? So we began to feel there was a certain line being peddled here, so we said: ‘No, we know what we’re going to say,’ believing the truth is that Phillip is revealing he’s gay and coming out, and Ruth ad libs without any autocue or anything else.
“At this point I’m not sure, I’m beginning to feel bad vibes so I’m like, I’m not saying anything. Ruth says what she has to say, then it goes to those two in their choreographed way, knowing how false they are, I’m sure they rehearsed it for days, who was going to hug who,” he alleged. “Holly was very specific about where I sat, where she sat, where Ruth sat, all choreographed.”
Eamonn Holmes alleges Phillip Schofield ep ‘planned for some time’
“Then we noticed The Sun newspaper was here, so the story was sold to The Sun newspaper. Kevin Lygo was there, the agents, YMU was there. We kind of felt this isn’t our show at all, it’s been planned for some time.”
Eamonn went on to speculate: “It then materialises all is not what it seems, it was all a bit weird. At that stage I believed he was gay and he was coming out. But we were lied to. Ruth and I to this day are embarrassed and ashamed when we see those pictures. When we see what some people who are tortured by their sexuality have to go through. We feel angry. We feel used.”
ED! contacted ITV for comment on the interview with Eamonn.
Read more: Holly Willoughby’s friendship with Alison Hammond branded ‘nonsense’ by Eamonn Holmes
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