Holly Willoughby on This Morning / Phillip Schofield
TV

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield’s broken friendship – everything that’s happened after his TV exit

Phillip quit TV in May

| Updated:

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield have had a very, very eventful 12 months, with both leaving This Morning and falling out.

Here’s everything that’s happened to their friendship since Phillip stepped away from ITV…

Phillip Schofield
Phillip revealed that he’d text Holly after the scandal (Credit: BBC)

Holly Willoughby ignores Phillip Schofield apology

Back in May, Phillip quit ITV after confessing to having had an affair with a younger member of staff.

In June, days after news of the scandal broke, Phillip sat down for an interview with the BBC and The Sun.

During the interview, Phillip revealed that he’d sent a text to Holly apologising to her for lying about the affair.

“The last time we had a conversation was when I texted Holly and said, ‘Don’t reply’ – this was after the statement last week – ‘Don’t reply, you’re probably not allowed to, but I am deeply deeply sorry that I lied to you’,” he said.

However, Holly didn’t reply to the texts.

Phillip unfollows Holly on social media

In September 2023, Phillip seemingly removed all traces of Holly from his Instagram.

The 61-year-old unfollowed his former co-host – and deleted all pictures of her from his Instagram. A few days later, it was reported that Phillip’s daughters – Molly and Ruby – unfollowed Holly.

“Both Molly and Ruby have seen their father go through hell, they have been at his side as he has lost everything,” a source told the MailOnline at the time.

“Meanwhile, by following Holly on Instagram they see her carrying on with her life.

Holly Willoughby on This Morning
Holly quit This Morning last year (Credit: ITV)

Phillip Schofield reaches out to Holly Willoughby amid TV break

Back in October, Holly decided to quit This Morning, putting her family first.

Announcing the news on Instagram, Holly wrote: “I have let ITV know today that after 14 years, I will not be returning to This Morning.

“To everyone who has ever worked on the show over the years, thank you so so much. This is such a difficult goodbye, you are incredible and I forever will be proud of what we’ve done together. Thank you to everyone at ITV for being supportive. To every guest who has sat on our sofa, thank you,” she then said.

It was reported after that Phillip had reached out to Holly following her TV exit.

“Holly and Phil’s friendship was so close before the events of this year. Phil’s decision to reach out, and the welcome it has been received with by Holly, shows that there is still a bond there. The hope is they can regain some of the ground lost, and support each other again,” a source said at the time.

Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on Dancing On Ice
Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield hosted together (Credit: ITV)

Phillip snubs Dancing On Ice

After three months out, Holly returned to television on Sunday (January 14) to host the new series of Dancing On Ice.

Phillip, of course, used to host the show alongside Holly until last year. Now, Stephen Mulhern is hosting in his place.

According to one source, Phillip hasn’t This Morning, let alone Dancing On Ice – and doesn’t have any plans to.

“Phil is still bruised by the whole Holly falling-out and the way it was played out publicly,” a source told The Sun recently.

“He still can’t bring himself to watch This Morning and even listening to the theme tune is deeply triggering. It would seem unlikely he is avidly tuning in to watch Holly’s return to TV. Phil just wants to move on and live a quiet life away from the spotlight whilst he tries to rebuild,” they then added.

Will the pair ever reconcile? Only time will tell…

Read more: Everything Phillip Schofield has been up to since TV exit

A message to you, from Holly | This Morning

What do you think of this story? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.


Robert Emlyn Slater
Senior Writer